Today, we're talking about a very exciting topic and that is where you can travel in
the world that is cheap.
So when I say cheap places to travel, what I mean is your money
will go farther. So when I talk about how much things cost, I am comparing it to a United
States dollar value, so you can just do a little conversion if you want to figure out
how much it would be in your home currency but for the purposes of this video, just assume
that it's always a U.S. dollar amount that I'm quoting. So without further ado, let's
just jump right in.
We will start with Romania.
So Romania is a little bit off the beaten path. While the
country is known for Dracula, many charming towns and free activities remain unknown to
most foreigners. So whether you're taking a long stroll through the medieval villages
or people watching in one of the beautiful parks, Romania is great for anyone after a
European experience on a budget. There are also free walking tours where you can check
out the numerous historical sites and hostels rent about $10 to $15 per night. The food
is also hearty and delicious. And here's a money-saving tip. Have your breakfast at the
hostel and have a big, hearty meal for lunch. And then you can cook your own meal for dinner
as most hostels do have kitchens and a lot of local markets where you can shop. Public
transportation is also affordable and easy to use in most of the big cities.
Next on the list, number nine is the Ukraine.
Now the Ukraine can be a challenging country
to travel in because there is a language barrier and sometimes a lack of reliable transportation.
But if you're looking for a seriously interesting European adventure on a budget, the Ukraine
is perfect. The main thing that makes it so affordable to travel in is the devalued currency.
So tough for them but as a traveler there, it makes things a little bit easier. So a
dorm room can cost as cheap as $6 to $10 per night. Meals can run about $6 to $8 per day
and transportation is only about $1 to $3 for train rides or $6 to $15 for an inner-city
train ride. Plus as European destinations go, activities in the Ukraine are also super
affordable.
For number eight let's head over to South America and visit Bolivia.
Now keep in mind
that Bolivia can involve a lot of travel on windy and sometimes narrow roads and maybe
that's not for everyone, but Bolivia is also next level beautiful. You've got the Salar
de Uyuni which are the famous salt flats where you can take a tour with other people if you're
traveling alone, or you can be super adventurous and drive it yourself. And of course, there
is the famous "Death Road" if you're feeling particularly adventurous. We've also got part
of the Amazon jungle in Bolivia so it truly has an almost endless array of activities.
One very expensive thing though is the visa. So if you are from the U.S. or a few other
select very lucky countries, you'll be paying upwards of $100 just to get in. But once you're
there, if you're willing to sort of live like the locals do, you can spend very little on
food. So look for the menu del dia where you can get a three-course meal for just a few
dollars. Plus accommodation is really cheap as well in hostels, running about $10 per
day.
Next on the list is South Africa.
When it comes to Africa as a whole especially East
Africa, it can be very expensive to travel there. There seems to be very little in terms
of the mid-range. South Africa, on the other hand, has a lot of options. They also have
a devalued currency at this moment, so traveling there has become cheaper and cheaper. That's
not to overlook the fact that it can be a little bit dangerous to travel there, so take
caution in the cities. I have some blog posts to help you out if you do want to travel in
South Africa, so be sure to check the show notes below.
But in terms of activities, you can self-drive in Kruger National Park which makes it a lot
cheaper than your typical African Safari. Also, car rentals are not that much there.
I was driving a Ford Fiesta through Kruger National Park, so just to put it in perspective,
it's mostly tar roads and it's an amazing place to go. And the hostels that are referred
to as backpackers are truly amazing. You've got people who are from all budget ranges,
you've got locals, you've got people of all ages, you've got tons of travelers who are
all staying in the same places and this is what makes me love South Africa so much.
And we can't talk about the most affordable places in the world without hopping over to
Southeast Asia. Let's go to Laos.
Laos is a landlocked country but it is not without
its aquatic adventures. You have amazing rivers that you can tube down there. You have incredible
waterfalls. I mean truly stunning. Some of the best in the world I would say. Especially
if you're motorbiking the Bolaven Plateau, you will see tons in terms of food. You can
eat at night markets for super cheap. I mean just a few dollars especially if you're willing
to go vegetarian. And activity-wise, so much of it is free or just a dollar or two, so
it doesn't have to break the bank to do some really cool stuff in Laos.
Now I will say accommodation in Laos set me back a little bit farther than it did in Vietnam,
Cambodia, and other surrounding countries, but overall you can still get by on about
30 USD per day, especially if you're staying in dorms there. The other slightly more expensive
thing was inner-city bus rides. In other countries, it can be just a few dollars but in Laos it
was usually more around $20. That said, they take you very long distances that you don't
want to traverse any other way other than maybe by flying but that's not a budget way
to do it. So in terms of saving money and traveling around, Laos is a wonderful place
to go. It's also a little bit more off the beaten path than some of the other places
I'm going to name in Southeast Asia. So if you want a more unique experience, I highly
recommend it.
Next, let's talk about Vietnam.
Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in Southeast
Asia because it is just so diverse in terms of the landscape and very beautiful. And so
you can start in the south, which I think is just a foodie's paradise or let's be honest,
the whole country is a foodie's paradise. And one of the best things about Vietnam is
that you can eat there for a dollar or two per meal. It's also really cheap to stay in
the hostels, so just a few dollars, maybe $5 to $10 per day to be in a shared dorm room.
And what a lot of people do in Vietnam is buy a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City or in
Hanoi and then drive the distance of the country and then they just sell the bike at the end.
This is definitely a more adventurous way to go. Most people I know who did it kind
of had constant problems with their bikes and some crash, so just keep in mind that
you will probably run into some issues at some point but it's almost free apart from
gas because you can pretty much sell the bike for what you paid for it to another backpacker
who wants to do the same thing. So keep in mind that you have that option as well when
you travel through Vietnam.
Now let's talk about Cambodia. This is one of my favorite countries in the world and
it's the first place that I went on my big Southeast Asian adventure that I started seven
years ago and I'm kind of still on today.
What I loved about Cambodia is that I could
find dorm rooms that were only $2 per night. Now, they were not fancy, they were not even
nice, but they were affordable and that was something that helped me keep my budget in
check. Another great thing about Cambodia is it's a coastal country and the ocean there
is super clear and it's beautiful and there's also bioluminescence at night. So be sure
to spend some time on the coast. If you move slowly through Cambodia and spend a lot of
time on the beach, you won't spend much money at all. Now keep in mind that the activities
that are super popular and famous, like Angkor Wat are a bit more expensive. I believe it's
$40 per day now, plus the fee to take a tuk-tuk in, but you could always rent a bicycle for
just a few dollars. And that was my favorite way actually to explore because I loved the
freedom of it.
Food there is pretty cheap at just $3 to $5 per meal. And with all of these places, keep
in mind that if you're willing to eat the local food, you're going to pay a lot less
money than if you're looking for a sort of Western counterpart that you would have back
home. Also, the local food is better. Street food is also a really good option for saving
money, and I know that some people think I'm crazy for suggesting that but I have never
gotten food poisoning from street food in Southeast Asia. They cook it right in front
of you. The ingredients are usually fresh bought from the market that day. And just
go to a stand that has a lot of people at it. Especially if locals are bringing their
kids there, if they're eating it, you can too.
Now we have made it to the top three cheapest destinations to travel in the world. And so
next is Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is right next to India, but it's got a culture and landscape
all its own. There are so many interesting historical sites that you can visit and they
can be kind of expensive like $40 to $50 for a foreigner to visit but they are worth seeing
and truly beautiful. And my favorite thing to do in Sri Lanka is to take the train. It's
just a dollar or two if you do the lower class which you should do so that you can hang out
the door. It's one of the coolest things to do there and I loved it when I visited Sri
Lanka for the first time like six years ago now.
The other nice thing about Sri Lanka is that the food is super affordable and so are most
of the activities. So if you want to learn to surf or if you want to go hiking on Adam's
Peak or if you just want to chill on the beach, all of these things are super affordable,
like under $10 to $20 per day. Transportation other than the trains also isn't too bad.
You can haggle with tuk-tuk drivers to go shorter distances. You can take buses across
the country. But honestly take the train. It is an experience in and of itself.
All right, we're down to our final two cheapest destinations in the world. So next is India.
India is a country of extremes. You can spend tons of money in India if you want to, but
honestly, even if you do it sort of like a five-star balling out type of style, it'll
still cost you way less than it would to do the same thing in say Europe or the U.S. So
you can travel India if you're on a super budget for as little as $15 per day but if
you want to spend a little more, you can have an even easier experience. Train rides can
be insane if you don't book the first class. So I recommend just doing that and book it
early. Book it far in advance. But accommodation can be super cheap. Food is delicious and
very cheap and transportation doesn't have to be too bad either.
The best way to travel through India on a budget is to book things yourself. This means
no agents and no online booking sites. Also you're going to get the best deal and accommodation
if you walk into local guest houses, restaurants and tour companies and haggle in person. You
can definitely get half the price of what you see quoted online if you do this. Accommodation-wise,
you can only spend $4 to $8 per night in a local guest house, $1 to $3 for a full day
of bus and train rides, or $8 to $30 on an inner-city train ride. And sometimes domestic
flights can cost as little as $30 too.
And finally, my number one cheapest destination in the world that you can travel to is...
Nepal is a place where I only spent about $15 per day when I was backpacking through for a full
month back in 2014. Part of that is because I spent half of that time trekking the Annapurna
Circuit which can be extremely cheap especially at the lower elevations. The best way to do
it is to book accommodation for only a dollar or two and make sure that you haggle on this,
in agreement for eating all of your meals at the accommodation. So this is mostly tea
house trek. It's the same for the Everest base camp. And you don't have to spend nearly
as much on accommodation because you're agreeing to eat all of your food there. Buses are also
cheap and to be honest, a little scary in Nepal, but the transportation is easy to book
and you can get across the country for just a few dollars as well.
Now I never had any stomach problems eating street food in Nepal, but I will say that
their street food does not have the best reputation. But you can get delicious, cheap and home-cooked
meals in local run and small cafes all through the country. Similar to India, the best deal
that you can get for accommodation is to go in person and see what the rooms cost. And
kind of like India, almost everything in Nepal is negotiable in terms of price. So if you
feel like haggling to get the price a little bit lower, it's a sport. It's fun. Always
be respectful, but Nepal and India are places where you haggle.
Keep in mind in terms of trekking, it is cheaper if you don't have a guide or a porter and
you don't necessarily need to carry all of your stuff with you. I was able to stash my
stuff at a hostel in Pokhara for the entire two weeks that I was hiking the Annapurna
Circuit and Sanctuary. They're used to it. They don't mind. But you are giving a local
person a job for about $20 to $25 per day if you do hire them to be your guide or porter.
I hope that this list helped you to pick out some destinations where your money will go
farther, where you can have more value and where you can spend less and travel longer.
Keep in mind that moving slowly through all of these places is always going to be cheaper
because each day that you move on, you're paying for the transportation. So if you find
a place that you love, like I did on the Cambodian coast where I parked for a solid two weeks,
just stay and enjoy it, especially if you're rich in time but not so much in cash.
I have a blog post with even more details and more places where you can travel for cheap.
So hit the link below that says "The Cheapest Travel Destinations in the World" and you
will see an even more comprehensive list of options. I hope you liked this video. Give
it a thumbs up, share it with your friends, and make sure that you subscribe for new videos
every Wednesday. Bye.