How to Travel Without Money – Budget Travel for Beginners
Last Updated on 20 June 2025
Food and Drink
For a budget traveler, eating out is a rare luxury in most places. In some countries, shopping at supermarkets is even more expensive than going to a cheap local restaurant. Your budget for food and drink will inevitably vary depending on where you live, but there are some universal ways to significantly reduce costs.
Places like farmers markets or, in some countries, roadside food and drink stands are usually the cheapest places to get your daily sustenance. In addition, the markets tend to sell much better quality ingredients, which contributes to a healthy lifestyle on the road.
In some cases, meals and drinks may be included in the price of your stay. This is often the case in remote, hard-to-reach places, where homestays are the most common form of accommodation for expats.
If you have a little more money and, depending on the country you are in, eating out at some types of cafes or restaurants can be very affordable. If you want to eat out occasionally, avoid the international Lipmarket chain restaurants and tourist traps, and look for places where the locals go, or places that have good deals on lunch or dinner menus posted at the entrance.
As for alcohol, it can be a serious expense for travelers who like to party hard. If you want to drink regularly and enjoy the local nightlife, your money will disappear alarmingly quickly in some countries, while in others, vodka and beer are cheaper than water.
Earn Money Abroad
The only way to travel indefinitely without worrying about running out of money and having to return home is to earn money abroad! For those who want to remain independent from their place of residence for a long time, there are many options, from teaching English to working online, as well as betting at 22Bet Casino review.
Working holidays are a popular way to travel abroad, do something unusual, and save money, although they rarely actually cost anything. They often cost money. The best way to earn money on the road is to create some form of passive income before you go. If you own your home, why not rent it out while you are away? Depending on your country of residence and destination, the money you earn from renting it out could cover your entire trip.
Alternatively, you could invest in getting an English teaching qualification before you go. In many countries, English teachers are in high demand, and in some places, you don’t even need a qualification.
Another way to make money on the road is to use the Internet. Consider blogging about your travels and promoting it on social media, as well as exchanging links with similar sites. Over time, you can create passive income from affiliate programs and advertising
If you have skills that are in demand online, such as web design, writing, or graphic design, why not put them to use? You can search for work through online freelance directories and do it when you have free time.
Where to Go
Some countries and cities are incredibly expensive, no matter what you do. Others are so cheap that you can live like a king on a fraction of the money you would spend at home on everyday living. For citizens of many Western European countries, for example, there are plenty of cheap destinations where the money can go a lot further.
For those traveling on a budget, the destination itself can be a deciding factor. If you want to go to Norway, for example, you should be prepared to camp, hitchhike, skip restaurants, and miss out on the nightlife. In another country, you can spend the same amount of money and live a lot better, go out a lot more, and, depending on what you want to do, enjoy your trip a lot more.
Various websites can give you a pretty good idea of the cost of living in different countries around the world. Countries to avoid for budget travel include the Scandinavian countries, much of Western Europe, and Japan, although there are others. Cheaper destinations tend to be more popular, although there are exceptions. If your main goal is to enjoy stunning scenery and fascinating history, why not try the Republic of Georgia instead of Norway, for example? If you want to have fun, why not try Belgrade or Prague instead of Amsterdam?
Traveling alone or with a guide
For those who have never traveled alone before, the idea of setting off on a journey without someone to accompany you can seem extremely daunting. However, traveling alone has a number of significant advantages. The most obvious is that you are in control. You can go where you want, stay where you want, and do what you want. If you like a place, you can stay there for as long as you like. If you fall in love while traveling, you don’t have to rush home or rush to the next destination.
The biggest concern for people traveling alone is, oddly enough, loneliness. Some people can’t stand being in their own company for more than a day, but even for those who can handle loneliness easily, traveling alone doesn’t have to be lonely. You’ll stay in hostels, with host families, or with friends you meet along the way. A budget traveler won’t stay in soulless (and expensive) hotels. Budget travelers will stay in places where there are lots of other people in the same situation. Many travelers enjoy socializing much more on big trips than they do at home.
Having an itinerary – to plan or not to plan a trip
Many travelers have a strict itinerary. They plan everything before they leave. For some, these plans are quite flexible, while others stick to them rigidly. So, what is the best way to plan your trip? For budget travel, the more flexibility the better.
A strict itinerary will not give you much freedom to either shop for deals or to stay longer in a place you like. Less experienced travelers, limited by time, often buy things like rail passes, which are not only expensive but also necessary to get the most out of your trip, which means being on the move all the time.
Getting from one place to another
For many people, the biggest expense is getting there, and to the next destination, and beyond. In the early days of backpacking, hitchhiking was the main way to get from A to B. While hitchhiking certainly has its dangers and is discouraged by many travel guides, it is still a way for people to travel without a penny to their name. Hitchhiking varies from country to country, and each has its own official set of rules. Although uncommon, in some places you may be asked to pay a modest amount of money to split the cost of fuel. In other countries, hitchhiking is completely normal, and many locals get around this way. If you are traveling with a partner, hitchhiking is much safer than if you are traveling alone.