Top 10 Tips for First-Time Budget Travelers

The Traveler’s Toolkit is BootsnAll’s toolbox for all things travel. From our latest version of the Toolkit, here are the top 10 tips for first-time budget travelers:

Budget travel is the way to go

1. Traveling is a great way to learn about yourself.
How creative can you be with a few dollars in a foreign country? To me
it’s "cheap" to do all the expensive things like eat at the "best"
restaurant, see the "top-rated" musical, buy the touristy sweater that
says "Harrods" on it or whatev. The richest experiences are more like
sharing a sandwich in a park and maybe making friends with the locals -
then you might have an authentic taste of culture. (From The Benefits of Budget Travelling)

2. Get your shots!
There may be specific diseases you need to get shots or prescriptions
for, such as malaria, hepatitis and dengue fever. If you are in a
larger city, visit a travel clinic that deals specifically with
travelers and travel-related illnesses. You are not allowed to enter
certain countries without proof of shots. (From Travel Health Tips for Women)

3. Get a pack that fits.
Most of you girls don’t need us to tell you, but in case you haven’t
heard – getting a pack that fits well is one thing you can’t really
compromise on. In general, women have smaller builds than men, so it
makes sense that their packs would be proportionally different.
Although many women do travel with unisex packs, we’ve met plenty of
female travelers who swear by their "woman-sized" packs. (From A Woman’s Guide to Packing)

It’s important to pack light on any travel budget

4. Pack light.
There’s a quickly-aging cliché among travelers that you should put all
your travel clothes and all your travel money each in a pile, and then
get rid of half the clothes and double the amount of money. It’s
obviously not nearly quite so simple, but the wisdom behind this idea
is sound, and as long as you understand it this will help you pack in a
manner that will cover your needs and still give you mobility. (From How to Pack Light: Tricks the Pros Use )

5. Only carry what you love. This
may sound strange, but it’s the most important rule. Often when
packing, we can focus on what we think we may need, which is completely
different to what we love. With the exception of my travel documents, I
didn’t feel like I really needed anything: I just chose to carry a few
things out of personal preference. The end result was amazing: I felt
totally liberated and free to connect with the people and culture
around me. (From The Art of Traveling Lightly)

6. Take advantage of everything your hostel has to offer.
Cook in the hostel kitchen, hang around the bar and lounge chatting
people up, ask staff for recommendations, watch free movies, go on
walking tours, borrow a bike – whatever the hostel offers, go for it.
(From How to Survive Hostelling)

Hostels are great places to meet people

7. Use your hostel’s kitchen.
Not all kitchens are created equal. I once bought frozen pizza only to
discover afterward that the hostel kitchen had no oven. The chewy base
you get from microwaving pizza is edible, but barely. Many hostels have
a "free box", made up of food left behind by other hostelers and
perhaps common items like salt and cooking oil. Check the contents of
the free box and you can avoid buying items already there. (From How to Make a Hostel Dinner)

8. Use local transport,
such as buses or subways. Try to avoid taxis, especially in big cities.
Walk! Get some exercise, see things at a different, slower pace, and
see what unfolds-and walking is always free. Rent a bike: small price,
more comfy, faster pace. (From General Tips for Budget Travel)

9. Eat on the street.
Think of meals as another chance to experience a new culture. Eat
widely, eat bravely, and eat at food stands on the street. Head towards
the stand that’s the most crowded, find out what everybody’s nibbling
on, and then point to what you want if you don’t speak the language.
Odds are you’ll come away with something delicious and budget-friendly.
Or, if you’re proudly presented with a big bowl of tentacles and
eyeballs, at least you’ll have a good story to tell. (From Eating Well on a Tight Travel Budget)

10. Taking a class can be a good way to meet people
if you’re staying in a place for a fairly long period of time. A
language class will introduce you to foreigners like yourself, many of
whom will also be in the country alone. Other kinds of classes (yoga,
cooking, wine tasting, etc) can be good ways to meet natives. (From Beating Loneliness on the Road)

The BootsnAll Travelers Toolkit has been around since 2000. It was just updated and re-launched at http://toolkit.bootsnall.com. If you have any suggestions for new articles or places that need to be updated to help other travelers, please let us know.

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