BootsnAll Travel Community

Howdy ya'll,
I have been reading these forums for a week or so now as I prepare for a bike trip across Europe in May and June. I plan to leave from Amsterdam, and ride to Budapest. Here I will stay with a friend for a couple of weeks and then ride from Budapest to Sicily.
I would like some input on the best ways to save money. I plan to "free camp" in my tent or in peoples yards/barns as much as possible. I will cook my own meals and eat and live as frugaly as possible.
In this forum especially, I have read posts by different people saying they can live on as little as $2 per day. I am open for suggestion and would appreciate and comments you might have on this.
Thanks in advance,
Michael

Surely it is possible.
But probable? I don't think so.
I wouldn't even attempt it on $20 a day.

Europe is ungodly expensive, even if you are camping for free.

But that is only my opinion, which is free
(and worth as much).

I once worked in a Youth Hostel in Brussels, and recieved free room and board.

I was getting fat on the carbohydrate loaded food they served, but I did eat. I washed dishes four hours a day for this privilege. I spent 10 dollars a day because I liked to buy things outside the hostel, and had to use public transport.

The cheap food in Brussels is also fat heavy and fried for the most part. One serving costs around 2 euros, sometimes 1 euro if you're on the cheap.

I was in Vienna and had free digs. I spent about 15-20 dollars a day there, because I wanted to see things, and eat reasonable food on the run. I suppose I could have done a lot more dumpster diving, as my student friends did.

In other words, yes, it can be done, but its hard, and its more a way of proving one can survive than travelling to learn.

Getting a job from town to town in countries that hire foriegners is probably a preferred way of living in a country without draining the bank account.

Thanks TT. This is the kind of info I was hoping to acquire. I know it CAN be done, and I also know it WOULD NOT be the ideal way of traveling, but I am interested in technique rather than theory. Sure Europe is expensive, the dollar is weak. But I know a place in Santorini I can eat a gyro and have a beer for about $3. They tell me in Prague you can get 3 pints of draft for $2 US. This is the kind of discussion I am hoping to elicit on this thread. Any help would be greatly apprectiated.

MBoyd: like you said in the above post- there are indeed cheap places for a brew & grub (especially in Eastern Europe), but I think actually living on $5/day is darn near impossible.

Even if every single nite you either camp for free or stay @ a buddies flat, there will still be other things you need to spend money on (like public transportation; replacing toilettries; making a phone call or sending an e-mail to the next friend you'll be staying with, etc.)

Besides you do wanna eat more than just one $3 meal/day, right? Even if you buy groceries you'll still need at least $5/day for that plus the other misc. expenses. I'd say $20/day is more realistic- at least averaged out. There maybe many days in a row where you spend nothing, then all of a sudden you have to come up w/ bus fare to your next destination and you'll have to open up that wallet.

Good luck though and have a blast!

Try looking into WWOOF, or organic farm work. But don't expect to be in the center of a city.

Taylor,
Thanks for the tip, I will definately check into it. I plan to stay out of most major cities while riding, so this might be a perfect opportunity.
MB

It's possible, but it would be very rough going. But it's an interesting intellectual exercise to think of how it can be done.

First, I would exclude any airfares, travel document fees, pre-trip preparations, etc. from the reckoning.

Free camping, free cycling - well, that takes care of two of the Big Three Money Drains: accommodation and transportation. The third Big Money Drain is food. Unless you want to drink river water (filtered, of course) and subsist on bread, you'll probably want to spend more than $5/day. And as for restaurants, even McDonalds will be out of your price range, unless one meal a day sounds acceptable.

What other expenses may you encounter?

Sightseeing: there may be some museums with free admission, as well as some churches. It costs nothing to walk into and around St. Peter's Basilica, for example.

Shopping: Forget souvenirs, unless you do what someone I know does and collect a small rock from each country he visits. But you may need supplies: what if you run out of toothpaste or soap or lose something.

You'll probably want to take a shower at some point, too. Being a haggard, stinky mess could drive people away and make your experiences more unpleasant. I'd suggest getting a very short haircut before you go, so you don't have to worry about looking horribly unkempt! There's always something like GlobalFreeloaders.com, where you can stay for free at people's houses (and have showers), but then you'd have to check email, and that would cost $$$ in Internet cafes.

I'm interested to see what other comments people would have about the practicality and feasibility of ultra-budget travel in developed countries! Ways to stretch the budget are an interest of mine, even if I never apply these methods!

You might want to split up costs into:
Accommodation
Travel
Food
Extras

Seems like with camping and biking you have the first two taken care of. Cooking your own food is probably generally the cheapest, plenty of pasta and rice etc. Meat is usually expensive, good news if your a vegetarian!
Keep an eye for cheap special offers in McDonalds! Someplaces you might be able to find 2 meals for price of 1. Probably would be still be a splurge.

As the previous poster noted, you will have extras like soap, musuem fees etc. Just remember to have fun instead of watching the pennies all the time. Might be better going for a shorter time and enjoying it.
No smoking & drinking will save money, but....

I've heard of people turning up at events/talks/openings where you might get free food!

Good Luck!

Are you going to keep a blog, might make interesting reading?

Globalfreeloaders is a phantastic concept: You register for a year at a time and the site will put you in contact with people offering somewhere/seeking somewhere to stay. But You need to get in touch some time in advance and of course need to offer hosting in return.

Yet, this or staying with friends is probably the only way to save on accommodation in places like Europe and Australia. 'Free-camping' can land you in trouble in many places. A way around this is to sneak into a forest/park in the dark and hide. I have done it many times, but take care. And a shower now and then is a must, although you might be able to jump into a pond/small river...

Bubbha and Colinm,
Thanks for the discussion! Yes, if I do it - I'll blog it if at all possible. This will be another topic I hope to broach before I leave in May. If you are interested in my travels (mostly via cruise ship) to date, you can check out my sight
www.michael-boyd.com

The thought of inexpensive travel excites me. I feel that this kind of travel can open doors for me that I have never entered. Along my route I'm sure there will be some museums and tourist areas I will want to visit, however I am mostly interested in the challenge of the ride, the beauty of the landscape, and immersing myself in the culture. Working on a cruise ship, I am ready to skirt (most) tourist oriented places.

That being said, I believe I can make a very low dough trip across Europe (of course $5/day would be difficult, but I think I can keep it under $20/day). Like you fellows mentioned above, food will be my main concern. Riding as much as 50 miles per day I am guessing I will likely need about 3 liters of water per day. That would figure to about $3 US. Some fruit for breakfast will bring me up to $5 US. Lunch - maybe I can get by for another $5 and then spend $10 on dinner. This would leave me a little bit of leeway, as on some days I would spend more and some days less. In Europe they say it is not uncommon to be invited in to have dinner with a local family. This is the kind of culture and entertainment in wich I would like to imbibe. It's free, and in my opinion it would be a wonderful tool for learning the practices of other countries.

Bathing will definately be necessary, as well as supplementary items - soap, toothpaste, etc... But again, I am thinking budget. I am not opposed to a quick dip in a river before I start my daily 50 mile ride. Internet access, I'm afraid, will be my downfall. I love to blog and I will want to keep in touch with my friends and family back home as much as possible.

Enough from me for now, thanks again for keeping this discussion going. I was referred to this website only a couple weeks ago, and I feel it will be a very important tool in my preparations.
MB

Wow, $5/day! I want to see how it's done! Keep us posted.

It doesn't sound that hard to me. The main expenses when you travel are transport and accommodation, and you've got those covered, and even in the most expensive countries it won't be that difficult to spend less than 5$/day on food when you cook for yourself.

hey guys. i finally decided to get a name on here so i could post to this thread.

theres nothing difficult about spending less than 5 dollars a day to travel. this is a vagabonding forum. unless youre rich, vagabonding requires frugality. i dont understand quite how anyone can be a vagabond on MORE than 5 bucks a day. i met a german guy in new zealand who told me he left his home in germany 7 years ago and hasnt spent a penny to date(this was last janurary). granted, im sure hes put up with some tough situations, such as going hungry some nights and all, but travelling for free IS doable. theres a real vagabonder there.

i dont claim to be up to that challenge though, since i like the security of knowing that i will eat on any given day. and the security that i can buy a hostel room if i am absolutely stuck.

personally, i spent an average of AUD$4 dollars a day when in australia. hitchhiking covers transport. sleeping rough, as ive heard many aussies call it, covers sleep. and between people i met hitching and 4 dollars a day, i ate quite well. i cant stress the importance of bread and peanut butter enough. i find that the less money i spend, the more i enjoy my trips. when you have a zero dollar day its an awesome feeling.

i cant wait to get over to europe this summer and see how the budget works out. i plan on doing exactly the same as i did in nz, aus, fiji, and hawaii. ill be going through scandinavia and russia, some of the most expensive parts of the world(well in russia at least moscow is expensive from what ive read) i dont see a reason why i would have to spend more than 5 dollars a day.

and im also excited to get over to southeast asia and india, so i can really get down and dirty, spending probably 2 dollars a day or less, and eating like a king. (eating all fresh fruits instead of bread and peanut butter)

check out www.ledbydestiny.com
kinga and chopin from poland spent 5 years going around 5 continents on less than 5 dollars a day.

travelling requires you to choose a comfort level that you want to travel with. if you feel comfortable on 5 dollars a day, its not a big deal.

let me know if youd like some more money saving tips to help you actually spend less than 5 dollars a day.

cheers,
andrew

Yes, I'd like to see some money saving tips.

Hitchhiking, free camping, staying with friends, walking, bathing in the river, and drinking filtered river water are all things I've done at some time or another. Things I haven't done, but which are possible, include offering to do work at a hostel in exchange for a free bed (more easily done at smaller, privately owned places without a bureaucratic structure).

What other tips are there? Let's make a list!

well ive never done the filtered water bit. mcdonalds and burger king(aka hungry jacks) work great for free water. ive never been refused a polite request to fill up my water bottle.

another great trick to try out at any fast food joint is to go in just before close(or at any time for that matter) and ask if you can have any food they would otherwise throw out. ive goten quite a few meals this way, and found someone to talk to.

one thing that i hear so many hitchhiking websites talk about is what bus or train to take "ouf of the city" to start hitching... why do all that? i hitched out of every australian capital city with ease. just start walking down even the biggest city street with your thumb out, and you will get picked up. this also applies to airports. just find the car exit and a good spot, and youll get a ride into the city without a worry. i even had luck one time asking a taxi for a free ride. the guy was bored and wanted someone to talk to, so we both enjoyed that ride. when hitching from downtown chch i drew a picture of an airplane on a piece of cardboard i found. i suppose that may have influenced my rides decision to pick me up...

this next piece of advice should be taken carefully. asking a ride if you can stay with them. i did the math, and i end up staying with someone that has picked me up just about 1/3 of the nights i am on the road. you have to be tactful, and make sure that you ask in the right way, as to not sound like a murderer or desperate. almost always when im in a car with someone and it gets dark, they ask what im doing that night. i simply explain how i usually find a place to sleep. if youve got this far, youve practically got a nice place to sleep that night.

about the showers...yes ive taken a few scrubs in rivers, streams, and waterfalls, but many road houses offer free showers, as well as showering at anyones house i stay it(of course only if offered) (as a general rule its more polite to be offered, i try not to ask people for things, rather be offered them) also. its not a big deal to not shower for a few weeks. really. you can stay pretty clean with a bathroom sink to rinse your armpits and face. yeah, so you get a little bit of a traveller stink, but if anything that can possibly make you seem more genuine. of course, being clean is something thats always important, especially when meeting total strangers. quite a few times ive been picked up people remark to me that they picked me up because i looked clean(i dont shave during my trips, and i always think its interesting how different people pick me up at the beginning when im clean shaven as opposed to bearded at the end)

always hitch into national parks, and ask the driver before you get in if its ok if you dont chip in. of course, feel free to offer a few bucks to help em out. also, it never hurts to ASK a park guide or tour operator if you can go on or do whatever for free. tell them your situation, and see what they can do. again, youd be surprised how friendly and helpful people can be.

two times in oz truck drivers offered me money for helping them load or unload something. its so much fun to make money for something that you are happy to do in the first place!

heres an easy money saving tip: dont use internet cafes, use public libraries instead.

for phone, i bought an international student ID card and used it to leave messages from payphones for my folks to download on the computer. it was like 15 bucks and i could leave up to i think a half hour of messages before they had to delete some to get some more. i did call home every other week, using a phone card that was only a few cents a minute from aus to the states.

before using an ATM machine, its good practice to ask the bank how much they charge in conversion fees. in australa, national bank charged 4 dollars plus 1.4% on all withdrawls from my american account....so i used (oh man im having trouble thinking of the name of the bank, but their colors are yellow and black)..but they didnt charge anything! what a goofey system, eh? this kind of stuff adds up.

i got a free buzzcut from a nice girl in a christchurch barbershop. i noticed she was sitting there with nothing to do, and decided to give it a shot. remember, asking to get things for free is not evil. stuff like this involves a bit of luck, but a friendly smile goes a long way too.

i was in fiji for 7 days and spent all of about 10 dollars. i stayed with a fijian family whose newphew had tried to sell me a tour to "the islands" when i arrived in the airport. little did he suspect that id be spending the night with him, and the next week with his relatives on the coral cost of viti levu.

im sure i could think of some more, but the main ideas are to think about alternative ways of getting what you want, as well as reconsidering what you want. becuase when you throw out the ideas about hostelling a trip the whole way, youll find maori homes, aboriginal communities, and fijian families to stay with...how can a hostel beat that kind of stuff!?

it takes work to not spend money. but if you really try to stick to 5 dollars a day, with regard to your safety of course, its easier than you may think. always ask yourself, "is there a way i could do/get this for free?"

and smile. everyone feels good when you are smiling, including you.

quote:

---

always hitch into national parks, and ask the driver before you get in if its ok if you dont chip in. of course, feel free to offer a few bucks to help em out.

---

Also, about national parks, at least in the US there's a US$50 National Parks Pass card that can get everyone in the car you're in into a national park for free, and the card is valid for one year. It pays for itself after a few visits to some of the pricier parks (e.g. Yosemite, Grand Canyon).

When hitching, the person who picks you up may not have a National Parks Pass, and may appreciate a free entry into a National Park that you could give him by being present in his car. Great trade-off!

Hey, great tips guys. I especially like the one about public librarys for internet. This is something I had always known, but had forgotten. Does anyone know if it is common for public librarys in rural Europe to have Internet capabilities?
MB

Greves, it's really only accommodation in Moscow that's very expensive (I got a room for 1000 rubel, and it didn't even have hot water!).

Please keep in mind that most people in Russia are very poor, so it's not really fair to get rides and free housing from people (which I'm sure you will) and not give anything in return. And learn some Russian before you go, it will get you a long way!

Greeves,
I forgot to mention that I too have toured Scandanavia (and St. Petersburg Russia). I can remember in Oslo purchasing three postcards and a Sprite for almost $15 US. Norway is extremely beautiful and should be camper friendly in the summer.
MB