Seven Ways To Save On Long Term Travel

Image taken by Bryanna of The Ecological

So many people I know managed to do some long term travel as part of a gap year or between university years but it’s something I never did. Sometimes I do just think about packing up a bag and jumping on a plane with no plans to come back but of course reality isn’t that easy. One day I’d love to do some longer term travel for a month or two, perhaps by taking a career break from work. Australia and New Zealand are definitely where I’d head as between those two countries there’s so much to explore but my biggest thing would be the cost so I’ve been thinking of ways to save on long term travel.

Buy a cheap second hand car

Driving when you’re away is the easiest way to explore a country as you have the flexibility to start and stop when ever you want and you can do whatever route you want without having to rely on public transport which I know can be unpredictable in the outbacks of Australia. Buying a cheap second hand car like those on Gumtree is a great alternative as you can use the car for your trip and then sell it on again at the end when your trip is over. Just make sure you do a little research into the car beforehand to ensure it’s in good condition and won’t end up costing you loads to fix underlying issues as this defeats the point of buying a car.

Plan your accomodation

Accomodation can be one of the most expensive parts of a trip especially when you don’t plan in advance. Paying an extra £10 a night might not sound like a lot but if you’re travelling for a longer period this can amount to a lot of money so prepping is so important. Of course the easiest way to save money on travelling is to stay in hostels but it’s worth putting in the prep work and looking at all your options including Air B&B, couch surfing and B&B’s as you never know what might work out cheaper. Sites like booking.com and Expedia can give you a good comparison but it’s worth comparing cities and choosing the cheapest place to lay your head.

Image taken by Samantha Wragg from Coco Travels

Prioritize where you want to go

Before you go make a list of where you want to visit and what you want to do so you can research beofre you go. Use Lonely Planet, tourist boards, travel blogs and Pinterest to get an idea about prices, itineraries and seasonality as remember a lot of things are dependant on weather and the time of the year.

Give yourself a daily budget

In the same way that it’s easy to overspend on accomodation if you don’t set a daily budget it can be easy to splurge and overspend on food and drink. Before you go away think how much money you realistically have to spend so you can set a daily budget. By setting a daily budget you’ll be able to balance things each day and you know if you don’t spend your daily budget one day you have a little buffer in future days.

Photo taken by Amanda at Ldnrose

Think about working while you’re away

If you’re travelling for long periods of time you might find it beneficial to work for some time while you’re away and in Australia it’s commonplace for visitors to work on farms or picking fruit. It’s worth seeing where the most jobs are and factoring in some extra time there so you can build up your funds before travelling off again. By working for a month you might be able to make enough money to fund your travel for up to six months depending on your daily spend. Depending on your skill base you can also think about working remotely while you are away because sitting in a beach front cafe looking out on the Sydney Opera House is a far better location for working than back home.

Have a fallback plan

It’s always important when you’re travelling especially long term to have a fallback plan so you can handle any unfortunate/ unforeseen events which can offer especially if you’ve bought a second hand car. The last thing you want to do is be stuck unable to pay for things if something goes wrong so make sure you have a cushion in the bank to cover yourself.

Have travel insurance

Following on from the above point a way of protecting yourself is to make sure you have travel insurance. If you get ill or hurt yourself while abroad medical bills can be very expensive so having insurance can protect you against that and ensure that you don’t come home with debts up to your eyeballs.