Wanting to solo travel for a longish time and spend little. Please advise
Posted by Wolfie437@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 26 comments
Hello, I am a UK citizen, finishing work in Ireland and wanting to travel in Jan of next year. After this week I should have around 7000£ saved up for traveling. I'll be spending a bit of that money over the next few months on a 2 month trip to Vienna (staying with gf) and flights back to the UK for Christmas and expect to have around ~£6000 left to travel with.
I've never been solo travelling before and I'm thinking of starting in Europe. So I am asking for some advice on where to save money. Ideally I want to be travelling for a while, like a few months at least. My current knowledge, I can find flights fairly cheaply that's not much if an issue and I'm flexible, my main problem is accomodation. I know about hostels but 60€ a night seems like it'll get expensive fairly quickly and start cutting through my money. (But I do like the idea of meeting others who are travelling solo). I've heard a bit about couch surfing but I don't know much about it other than the (small) membership fee. I also know about world packers, this seems like the best option but I don't know how good it actually is as I've never used it, My big worry with it is that I don't know how easy it is to be accepted, and so trying to plan the end of one trip with the start of another and booking flights not last minute to the right destination seems hard, so I dont know what it would be like linking trips.
Basically any advice on moving through Europe while saving as much money as possible would be great. Thanks!
explorefordays@reddit
I’ve just done 8 months in South East Asia and had the time of my life!! It’s super budget friendly and full of incredible experiences. Highly recommend visiting here, especially if travelling solo, as it’s safe and full of plenty of other backpackers too.
Can happily answer any questions you have ☺️
SlowAndSteady101@reddit
Hello! Could you please outline your experience and how much you ended up spending , and did you stay in hostels / hotels / etc ? Any things you wish you had known beforehand? How quickly were you moving and what places did you visit. Thanks in advance. What was your favorite part/thing?
explorefordays@reddit
Of course!
I started in January and my itinerary was as follows:
North Thailand - 3 weeks Laos - 4 weeks Cambodia - 3 weeks Vietnam - 7 weeks South Thailand - 4 weeks Malaysia - 3 weeks Indonesia - 5 weeks
I found Laos very underrated as a lot of people tend to miss exploring the South here e.g. the Thakhek Loop. The scenery is incredible and the locals were so friendly and welcoming, it’s such beautiful place.
Vietnam is great (particularly the North) scenery wise too and there some great, albeit touristy, places such as Hoi An, Ninh Binh, Sapa, Ha Giang.
Indonesia was very chaotic but did surprise me. Wasn’t a massive fan of Bali, was very busy and full of Western cafes / restaurants and sooo many tourists. Almost felt sorry for the locals here! Definitely recommend exploring more of Indonesia outside of Bali e.g. Java (Yogyakarta, Bromo, Ijen) as well as visiting the Komodo Islands.
Thailand won for food for me, could happily go back and spend a week eating and relaxing on a beach. However my favourite beach had to be Koh Rong in Cambodia (Hong Island in Thailand coming at a close second).
Including flights (not my international ones to Bangkok initially), accommodation, activities, food, shopping etc. I spent around £8500, but I’d say a budget of around £1000 pp a month for this area is doable. You could definitely do it for less, you could definitely do it for more depending on your travel preferences.
I stayed in hotels / guesthouse the entire time too. I was travelling with my boyfriend and found if you split the price of the room, it was on par with hostel prices too. Our max budget per night was £25 (together) but we were easily under this most nights.
We aimed for £25 accom a day and £25 spending a day (so £50 a day between 2) which comes to £750 per person (so gives wiggle room for doing it at £1000 pp a month, for extra costs).
Think I covered it all!
SlowAndSteady101@reddit
Thanks for the info. What felt like the most expensive country? I thought it would be Thailand, ?
I assume island life was a bit more expensive than inland? What mode of transport did you use? If you used buses did they often have working toilets and how long was each bus ride? Or did you mostly ferry/fly? Maybe trains?
What were the Komodo Islands like and how long did you spend there and prices?
Thanks again
Humble-Airline198@reddit
Search up the Camino de Santiago! It’s a months long hike from the south of France to the west coast of Spain. Every night you sleep in an Albergue (hostel) that is quite inexpensive and is only for those who are hiking. You also get food for cheap as most restaurants have a pilgrims menu only for those doing the Camino (aka cheap 3-course dinners).
I did half of it this summer and spent $1500 on everything, so you have more than enough to complete the entire thing. Not only is it beautiful, but very much life changing!
Wolfie437@reddit (OP)
Okay that does sound very interesting I'll have to have a look
Humble-Airline198@reddit
Lmk if you have any questions! There are a bunch of videos/vlogs up on YouTube about it 👍
OneTomorrow2@reddit
You can whip up some meals and cut costs. Couchsurfing is legit for meeting people and can save cash too, just read the host reviews.
Hour-Strawberry-7223@reddit
hello
oldfartMikey@reddit
You really need to decide why you want to travel through Europe, what you want to do, what you want to see.
Then of course there's the issue of Schengen where you can only spend 90 days in any 180 day period. Of course some European countries aren't in Schengen so you can plan around this.
Then of course January can be miserable in Northern Europe, or not, again it may depend upon what you like.
Southern Europe has better weather but you still need somewhere with heating, even Crete in January can be 5 degrees at night.
For the best price you need to be in Eastern Europe, it's fairly easy to find small studios out of season for less than 20 euros in Bulgaria or Romania etc but January weather can go -10 -15 or lower at night.
It's really not the time of year to do it, starting in May would be much better.
Personally if I could get away for an extended period in Jan I'd head for the far east, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia etc. Expensive to get there but cheap once you're there. (You can pay a lot of course but there are plenty of cheap options) Simple clean hotels go for at little as 15 euros, or a beach hut for 25 or less, a beach hut with a mattress on the floor from 5 euros.
Is your girlfriend happy about you disappearing for a few months?
Wolfie437@reddit (OP)
Hmmm okay good points. I want to travel to see the world and meet new people, try new food and experience new cultures. I've done a lot of travelling before but only with my family (or 2 times with school). Its something I've always wanted to try and do (solo travelling). I would love to go to Asia, Europe just feels like a nice start to test the waters and not have to worry too much about being so far away from everyone and everything I do know especially because I'm going at it alone.
My gf is fine with it we've discussed this before and she knows I want to do travelling, she's not wanting to do it for a long period of time that's why I will be going solo.
Asia is somewhere I want to go again, I really want to revisit Vietnam, it's just so far and if something goes wrong I'm alone with not much knowledge of the area, (I am considering tefl teaching at some point).
Da1sycha1n@reddit
You could do what I did at 18, I did a safe test travel in Paris (stayed in a long term Airbnb and volunteered in a kindergarten) then did a big trip to Nepal and later Vietnam
I always do workaway or volunteering to help me afford trips, but a hostel won't cost you €60! I'm currently in Denmark and a hostel in Copenhagen cost me £20. I've been here two weeks and barely spent any money as I'm out in the countryside working for food and accomodation.
You could always do a mix of workaway and holiday, it's a great way to meet local people and feel useful.
I think Spain and Portugal would be great to explore in January. Poland is also cheap and beautiful
Workaway is easy, you can find somewhere many opportunities. Travel by local train instead of flying. Choose countries to visit that are close to each other. Look into long term Airbnb lets. Remember the Schengen zone! Maybe include Croatia on the list
My advice is also to take it slow, don't try to see every country, focus on more time on one area; cheaper and a better experience
Best_Cure@reddit
For value, anywhere East from India to the Philippines is tough to beat. Huge variety of cuisines and sights. Bargain deals are everywhere. The only warnings would be what time of the year to go. Monsoons are prevalent. So many vloggers on YouTube to preview.
Wolfie437@reddit (OP)
It's far but it's definitely something I would consider but I don't know much about the area and the countries and what to do and what not to do
Best_Cure@reddit
Planning is important. However, the wealth of YouTube videos will entertain and educate you until you decide.
EntertainerLoud3346@reddit
I figured huge cities in east europe have the lowest hostel rates and in winter preferably. So Berlin/Polish big cities/Czech/Romania down to Bulgaria and maybe Athens (has hostel for 13 euro/night).
East Europe and Balcans that is, unless you want to go outside Europe then I have no idea, myself never been outside Europe.
Expensive places: entire western europe both north and south except maybe Big Spanish cities(?), Scandinavia in winter not worth it (dark all the time) plus INSANE expensive, Greek islands are a bit cheaper in winter and sme days are astill sunny even in winter but they are still more expensive that town in Poland.
I dont know if the Baltics are very cheap (latvia/lithuania/estonia)??? Anyone know?
mishmashmoe@reddit
Workaway. I’ve been traveling since January and haven’t even spent 9k yet. Totaled around 3-4 months doing Workaway’s. Gotten to know good people, strange people, fun people, local people and really dig in to the places I travel. A good way to give back/truly exchange with the places you travel and the people from the area
Wolfie437@reddit (OP)
Ooo this does look great! Thanks for this I'm definitely looking into it
singeblanc@reddit
Do house and pet sitting
Pattysthoughts@reddit
Hostelworld.com
Impressive-Sky2848@reddit
You’ve gotten a lot of good advice here. Two resources you might want to look at - homestay.com and besttimetovisit.com - if I were in your shoes, Vietnam and Thailand would be on the list.
Wolfie437@reddit (OP)
I've been to Vietnam once before when I was like 14-15 and it's the most beautiful country I've ever been too and I want to go back, and I'd love to go Thailand too it's just all very very foreign and far away for a first time solo trip it feels liken
MayaPapayaLA@reddit
I completely agree with much of what OldFart said, though my conclusion is somewhat different. I think you should plan a 3-5 week trip in Europe, for after your Vienna trip, before you plan for anything else. I realize this will be more expensive than a 3 month trip on a per-day basis, but I think you need to figure out both what you want to do and also what you are comfortable with while solo traveling. That also means that you don't burn money on reservations etc. for a trip you end up not completing or not fully enjoying. Don't leave until mid-January, so you can skip some of the Christmas holiday inflated costs.
Wolfie437@reddit (OP)
That's the kinda travel I do want (I think) I'm flexible and happy to just go wherever I can and whatever comes next. It's easier on me than planning every detail, that being said, I would like to test the waters on it because I've never done it before.
The short term trip sounds like a good plan though and I'll likely try something like that first. (My big problem is the whole Schengen area thing which is a pain in the ass)
MayaPapayaLA@reddit
In that case: sign up for Couchsurfing now, and maybe make a friend or two (literally even plan a 2 night trip to a nearby city!) while you're still at home and/or when you're in Vienna, so you hve the background on the site.
Also, I don't think Schengen is so much of an issue for you... With $6K and it being winter (so some of the cheaper countries will be off the table for a while), there's a limit to how long you'll be moseying around Europe anyways, frankly.
Wolfie437@reddit (OP)
That's a fair point, I've never used couch surfing before and you can't actually see anything on the app until you sign up so I know nothing really about how it works. But I'll look to sign up and try it out. Thanks for the help!