How To Pay For Two Years Of Travel -- Part I

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I'm asked this question often. Are we independently wealthy? Do we work along the way? Do we stay with other people?

The answer to all three questions is yes.

First, we gave up or sold just about everything we had before leaving the United States. Apartment, furniture, appliances, all of it. We only kept what we needed or what was most important to us -- art, books, music and all Lila's baby stuff.

Then we put aside a certain amount of money and said we'd travel until it was gone. It's enough as long as we make careful choices. We work along the way, sometimes exchanging work for a place to stay. We have home shared, couchsurfed and learned to travel cheaply.

It is not as expensive to travel as you may think!

Long term travel is not like a vacation. You have let go of everything at home and thus don't have to worry about rent, school payments, gas, electricity, water, and all the other payments that keep you tied to a needing a certain level of income per month. 

We have two bills we pay per month. One is a phone bill which goes automatically on our credit card. The other is our credit card bill. We pay them both online and with the exception of our months in Europe, our monthly credit card expenses rarely exceed one thousand dollars. Then add to that rent and travel expenses such as buses, airline tickets, car rental and gas.

There's a lot to be had for free or at least very cheap!

Food: Local markets are the best. You'll find the best food for the best prices. 

Don't discount street food. Along the way, we've had crepes, empanadas, johnny cakes, tamales, bunuelas, cupcakes, the best chicken sandwiches on earth, fruit, vegetables, and so much else bought for pocket change. Often, this food is home made or made on the spot, and the people making it are usually local so they know the best places to buy bread, cheese, fish and vegetables.

Lodging: One word: Couchsurfing. We've couchsurfed for approximately half of our two years traveling. Sometimes, the three of us squeezed onto a small couch in someone's living room. Sometimes, we've had an apartment all to yourselves. If this is something you plan to do, create your Couchsurfing profile immediately and start meeting people. The more people you know, the more connections and references you have, the more people will feel comfortable opening their homes to you.

There are other options as well. WWOOFing, for example. Where you work in exchange for food and a place to stay. There are WWOOF options all over the world. Some are best for singles, but many are even better for families with children. Imagine staying on a small farm in the Andes with a family with three children. You'll tend the garden, learn to keep beehives and improve your spanish while living with a host family.

In addition, you can check out Home Exchange, Hospitality Club, idealist.org and Voluntourism. These are just a meager beginning of the options out there, but they are a good place to begin your research.

Entertainment: We've never found a place that was too expensive to find something cheap and unique to do. Even Iceland, home of the 40 dollar hamburger -- at the time of our visit, anyway -- had many very affordable options. Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir hot spring area and Þingvellir National Park are all free entry. The thermal baths to be found in every city and village of Iceland are also very affordable, even if you plan on renting a towel or bathing suit.

The best, though, in Iceland was happening into Halgrim's Church in Reykjavik in time to hear the gorgeous Klais organ tuned and played in our own private concert.

In Provence, we found endless candy and perfume factories you could tour for free or almost nothing. The Florian Candy Factory in Nice gives free tastings in their gift shop after your tour.

We've found most of these things while just exploring places on foot.  The feria at the Mercado Municipal on San Martin in Salta, for example. Or get on a local bus and ride around until you see something you want to explore.

Paying for a night's sleep is much more expensive than paying for a month of sleep!

We stayed in Provence at Domaine de la Begude for three weeks at a much reduced rate in the height of tourist season. We also rented by the month in Buffalo, Atlanta, Buenos Aires and Bocas del Toro. All far cheaper than had we rented by the day. In Buenos Aires, for example, you can find apartment rentals for 500-800/month as opposed to the at least 75 dollars a night you would pay at a hotel.

You also have a kitchen, which means you save even more because you cook for yourself. You also have the benefit of exploring the food offerings of local panaderias, boucheries y mercatos where you'll learn more about language, culture and people than you will at the nearest tourist trap.

Coming next week!

When I began writing this article, I intended for it to be only one entry, but it turned out to be far longer than I expected.

See How To Pay For Two Years of Travel, part II in which I discuss:

• Where to stay when you have no choice but to pay for the night.
• How to find work along the way.
• How to find the most current travel information for anywhere in the world,
• And some basic travel advice.

Also, some upcoming topics:

• What To Keep In Mind When Traveling With A Child
  
• Women Traveling Solo
• What To Do In Case of Emergency

In the meantime, feel free to email with any questions or leave your comments on the page. As always, subscribe to my feed to be informed when new posts go up.

So then, until next week....

Comments

[Jeffery Patch]

Great post. I'm hoping to hit the road in the next couple of years and these tips are invaluable.

Happy adventures!

[Dan]

awesome, leigh! you're spot-on in all of your comments. i hope you're loving it up north, we miss you down here in BA!

[Home Base Holidays]

What an inspirational and informative post! I'm glad you included home exchange as a free lodging option. If you plan to be away a long time on your travels (or to never return to wherever 'home' is), selling your home and belongings make home exchange impracticable. However, if you are able to keep your home, using it (and having it looked after) for home swaps along the way, this option makes good use of your assets.

If you do look into home exchange, think laterally - choosing the largest agency, or one based in your own country, is not always the best choice. Rather, look for services based in the country you want to exchange to as such services will generally have the best balance of listings in their own countries. If looking for a home swap in the UK, I hope you will check out our listings - Home Base Holidays (based in London) has been operating since 1985.

Cheers!

[Kimberly]

Oh my heart is aching right now...I want to do this SO bad. Thank you for this article! I look forward to the follow-up!

[Leigh Shulman]

Thank you all for your positive comments on this post. If anyone has tips or ideas of your own, please feel free to add them here.

I know many of you have your own travel websites, so also, please add them in the comments as a resource for others (and myself as well)

Kimberly: Let me know if there´s any other information you would like. I think for many, the fear of leaving everything is the biggest obstacle. I know it was for me.

Lois: Yes, homestays and swaps are very important. I didn´t go ito it as much as I could have because I haven´t done it, but there are many resources out there that can help.

Dan and Jeffrey: It´s good to hear when fellow travelers agree. Hopefully our paths will cross at some point soon, too.

[Lisa Lubin]

Great post and all so true! I just returned from 2 1/2 years traveling around the world and couchsurfed, volunteered, got an apt, cat sat, taught English, worked at a cafe amongst other things. Long term travel is way cheaper that most people think! Way to go!
Lisa

[Annabel Candy]

Sounds similar to our travel experiences. People think it's impossible for them but it's not. You just have to want to do it and take the plunge. Good on you!

[Daniel]

Leigh, this is an exceptional post. And I completely second your thoughts on Couchsurfing, it has changed our lives for the better in many, many ways.

Thank you for sharing your expertise!

Dan
Casual Kitchen

[Travel With Kids]

Hello, this is all so true! We took a year off and traveled around the world and it was the greatest experience of our lives (so far.. hope to do it again!) Most people dont understand that it is cheaper to be away than at home.

We even started our own travel guide television show called Travel With Kids that is on air in 10 countries and has a line of DVD travelguides. travelwithkids.tv for more info.

I want to learn more about couch surfing for our travel guide show and our future travels. I hope you get the chance to go to South East Asia!

[sunluvgirll@earthlink.net]

How much money do you think a family of four would need saved up in order to set off to travel for a year?

[Leigh Shulman]

It would depend on where you plan on traveling. Places in Asia, South America and even Central America will be cheaper than most places in the US and Europe.

It also depends on what type of travel you plan to do. Obviously, with the backpacking, hostel, couchsurfing route you'll need less.

As a very basic figure, not knowing the above details, I'd say you'd be good to start with 25K or more. And remember, there are also ways to make money along the way.

[Mark]

Hey, you are right about what you say that in Buenos Aires you can find apartment rentals for 500-800/month as opposed to the at least 75 dollars a night you would pay at a hotel. I did that last year when I whent to Argentina. I was looking an apartment for rent buenos aires
because I had been told that they were affordable and comfortable. It was true! They were classy and near the downtown. I had a great experience.
Mark

[Lily]

This seems to put it all in perspective that it is possible, but how frightening! I think you are brave for completely uprooting and going and I love what you're doing & hope to someday have the courage to go on an adventure like this myself!

[Christian]

This sounds awesome! I really want to just drop everything and travel and see things. I wonder if I could talk my wife into it.