Seize the Moment: Low Budget Ways to Travel the World and Have the Adventure of a Lifetime

If you regularly read travel blogs or scan your world map, wondering if you’ll ever be able to afford to see the world in person, you’re in for a terrific surprise! You can travel to all your ideal destinations, which isn’t as difficult as you might imagine.

Traveling without a lot of money takes some planning, budgeting, and compromise, but you will savor every moment of it. 

Here are five low-budget ways to travel the world and have the adventure of a lifetime.  

1. Book Bargain Airfares 

One of the highest upfront costs for travel is airfare, especially if you are planning an overseas adventure. However, you might not want to drive across the country either, so you’ll need to think about finding the best air travel fees in either case. 

Here are some tips for finding the best bargains on airfare: 

• Shop for your airline tickets on the weekends.
• Avoid traveling on Sunday or Monday since those are prime days for return trips home. 
• Buy tickets before your trip, but don’t plan too far ahead. The recommended time to buy your tickets ahead of travel is around 70 days. 
• Pack lightly and strategically to avoid baggage fees.

2. Organize a Group Tour

Whether you and your friends want to visit Europe or find a Facebook group of people planning a group vacation, this is a great route. A group tour is cheap because travel agents often offer significant group discounts. If you take this route, you’ll need to do the administrative duties of planning the trip, then everyone can go on their separate adventures during the trip.

3. Trade Labor for Accommodation 

While this works most easily for domestic travel, you can probably work out something for overseas travel too. Work with the owner of establishments like a ranch, farm, hotel, or beach or ski resort to come up with a mutually agreeable arrangement that allows you to work for them, stay in their lodgings, and enjoy the environment. 

4. Fundraise for a Volunteer Expedition

There are many ways you can volunteer your time across the country or worldwide. Many volunteer travelers seek missions for wildlife conservation, water irrigation projects, or teaching English. If your passion is helping others, there is no shame in fundraising for your trip. Use a platform like Go Fund Me, and advertise your mission on the social media platform where you have the most engagement, sharing your enthusiasm for your mission, how you plan to help, and what their support would mean to you. 

5. House Sit or Pet Sit

People love their houses and their pets, and many will be happy to invite a trustworthy guest to tend to them. Become a member of websites like TrustedHousesitters.com, MindMyHouse.com, and HouseCarers.com to undergo a background check and other vetting processes and verify the other parties’ information. 

As you can see, enjoying low budget travel takes time and creativity. It’ll all be worth it when you arrive at your ideal destination.