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Anya Kamenetz Generation Debt

Anya Kamenetz, Generation Debt

Ten Tips on Traveling Cheaply

by Anya Kamenetz

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Posted on Tuesday, December 4, 2007, 12:00AM

It's that time of year when thoughts turn to travel, whether it's a holiday visit home, a spring break trip, a summer abroad, or a mid-twenties yearlong walkabout. Travel is a huge priority for young people, and with good reason -- we need international perspective to compete in today's economy. Last year over 200,000 American college students studied abroad, for example, a figure up 8.5% from the year before.

No matter the duration of your journey or your desired destination, there are ways to do it without breaking the bank. Here are 10 tips.

1.) Watch the exchange rate.
A weak dollar makes Europe, the UK, Japan, and even Canada especially steep for American travelers right now. Better to stick to traditional budget destinations such as Central, Southeast, and South Asia, and Spanish-speaking Latin America, where the currency is tied to the dollar. Consider Africa and Eastern Europe as well. You can still get a beer in Romania or a museum ticket in Senegal for 50¢.

Tim Ferriss, author of "The 4-Hour Work Week", calls this "geographic arbitrage."

"I can take a month in Argentina and experience world-class skiing with all the amenities for pennies on the dollar, while still earning income in the US," he says.

Before you go abroad, check international exchange rates here.

2.) Grab cheap fares.
Most of the mystery has been taken out of finding cheap flights online at sites such as Kayak, Orbitz, STA, and Sidestep.

If you have a far-flung or open-jaw itinerary (e.g. starting in Istanbul, finishing in Paris), it's also worth checking the prices you find online against those by discount ticket agents.

You must book well ahead to get the best deals. Be flexible and open-minded about your destinations as well. Find more tips here.

3.) Don't forget foreign discount carriers.
In the past few years, Southeast Asia, South America, and India, to name a few, have started their own equivalents of JetBlue or other discount carriers. Internal flights are an invaluable way to see more in a limited amount of time. For example, you can currently catch a flight from Mumbai to Goa on SpiceJet, or from Bangkok to Chang Mai on AirAsia, for less than $20 one way.

4.) Pack appropriately.
Packing appropriately prepares you to travel cheaply. For example, packing light makes you flexible and adaptable -- you can walk instead of always taking cabs, and you'll never have to buy an extra seat for your bag, or tip someone to carry it, or pay for more-expensive lodging for fear of theft.

Colleen Kinder, author of "Delaying the Real World" (a book aimed at 20-somethings that will give you all the inspiration you need to go on a life-changing journey), concurs.

"If you have one of those travel towels, you won't think twice about saying yes to a hostel that does not provide them," she says. "And how heavy your backpack is really does determine how many places you're willing to trek to in search of the cheapest option."

Check out this site and find out why taking an average-size bookbag might be best, even on a long backpacking trip. I did it, and it was great!

5.) Consider a cruise.
If you have a big posse and limited time for a trip, a cruise that leaves from an American port can be the way to go. Think $50 a day, all expenses paid. Check out CruiseCheap for last-minute deals.

EasyCruise is aimed at younger travelers and has a unique, á la carte approach to the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

6.) Crash on the couch.
If you have family or friends you can visit elsewhere in the country or overseas, that place should be at the top of your list. Lodging is your biggest expense for most trips, even more so than airfare. Don't have an Uncle Miguel? Try Web sites like Global Freeloaders, Couchsurfing, Hospitality Club, or even Craigslist. Warm Showers is geared specifically toward those on bike trips.

"Those are a really great way not only to stay with somebody and cut down on your expenses but to get the inside track on the best cheap restaurants and free entertainment deals," says Tim Leffel, author of "The World's Cheapest Destinations". Of course, use your common sense when crashing with strangers, and be willing to move to a hostel if things seem unsavory.

7.) Do good.
Lots of young people are interested in volunteering abroad, but the cost and the value of these programs vary. Some volunteer programs can have you paying $2,000 for a two-week trip. Leffel recommends the "reasonably priced" programs at Volunteers for Peace, as well as checking out Transitionsabroad.com, a magazine aimed at expats.

If you're up for an adventure, you can ask around once you get to a destination to find great local projects that need help but don't necessarily have the money to recruit overseas. Leffel says, "If it's something a local person could be hired to do, like construction or farming, that's not necessarily helping so much."

He recommends offering your special skills instead, like teaching English or computer skills, or imparting medical knowledge. Nonprofits worldwide tend to need grant-writing and clerical help from English speakers.

8.) Make it a working vacation.
There are tons of options other than teaching English. In a treehouse in Laos, I met a 24-year-old British guy who was taking a long-awaited trip around the world with his best mate. A graphic designer, he was toting his laptop, stopping off along the way to complete assignments at Internet cafes.

I have one friend who visited Bali as part of a performance troupe. Another friend, an independent musician, toured Eastern Europe playing at festivals and on street corners; another pal makes it to Thailand for a month or two every year, keeping up with his software programming assignments via the Internet.

Are you an aspiring musician, journalist, or photojournalist? Can you get some kind of online work that can be done anywhere, like tutoring with EssayEdge? The possibilities are endless -- just get out there!

9) Get off the beaten path.
Xcalak? Huay Xai? Krabi? Bornholm? Guaranteed, your favorite spots on any trip will be places you never heard of before you left -- the smaller, cheaper, less-traveled spots. Get there faster, and stay away from the pricey tourist traps, by chatting up everyone you meet along the way, whether travelers or locals.

Paid homestays in rural areas are another budget travel option that can be an absolute highlight of your trip. I'll never forget learning to cut rice and attending a wedding in a Cambodian village. Village Homestays lists opportunities in Thailand, Fiji, and South Africa.

10) Go long.
"The longer you travel, the less you spend per week," says Leffel.

If you can afford to take off work, save up, and rent out your apartment, you can spend far less money having the time of your life overseas than on basic expenses back home. The suggested target budget in Leffel's book is $1,000 a month for a couple. Depending on where you live, that can be less than your rent Stateside.

Kinder's book explains how to transition into and out of a long trip in a way that can help, not hurt, your career.

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84 Comments

Showing comments 6-35 of 84<< PreviousNext >>
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  • Karin - Sunday, December 9, 2007, 9:26PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    another tip is to use Craigslist to rent out your condo for a few months. I like to travel for 3 months every winter and I am able to rent my downtown condo fully furnished to professionals for a profit. It helps pay for the plane ticket! I am 48 now but I like to encourage young people right out of college to vagabond for a while. There is more to life than that archiac american dream of getting married, have 2 kids and get sucked into suburbia. Enjoy yourself before you get sucked into the consumer machine!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Sunday, December 9, 2007, 6:05PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Great tips. Wish I'd had this kind of guidance when I went overseas 3.5 years ago....

  • Mark F - Sunday, December 9, 2007, 12:23AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    its good to enforce common sense when traveling. thanks for the tips!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Saturday, December 8, 2007, 1:16AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    If a person was not learning something new from an article, why would they bother to continue read it and go so far as to write a scathing critique. Presumably nobody was holding a gun to their head making them read it. It would seem they have another agenda, to self aggrandize themself, which we all know is a cover for their own inadequacies. It all comes out in their unevolved self centered view, arrogance, lack of couth and display of anger. Might it be possible that there are people out there who have not travelled extensively who might have learned something from this article. I have travelled extensively and still learned a few things. If one knows it all then there is no reason for them to read this article, and they might consider finding a source that will provide them with info comensurate with their level of travel knowhow. However, it seems unlikely these folks have really travelled all that much, but if they have, then there is a new breed of "Ugly American" circling the globe. The coarsening of America continues!

  • Hard worker - Friday, December 7, 2007, 3:25PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Not space stuffer for me. I don't travel much (don't like to) so these tips are great for people like me who don't have time or want to spend time learning how to get the best deals. She covers it all in one article! Thanks!

  • Ice - Friday, December 7, 2007, 1:16PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Not sure why so many posters take shots at Anya. Jealous........... maybe a little? C'mon admit it, she's doing something you wish you could do. My only question is what jobs do young people have that allows them to travel the world for weeks at a time? And........... vacation is about leaving your laptop at home!! Being able to work from some exotic location is about as exciting as a double root canal.

  • KWOK YIN - Friday, December 7, 2007, 1:07PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Nothing new; nothing insightful. I call this article a space stuffer.

  • JetMan - Friday, December 7, 2007, 12:27PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Some gems amongst these suggestions. Well done!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Friday, December 7, 2007, 9:42AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Common sense, exactly - DUH !

  • racerX - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 7:50PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    bad

  • Marge - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 7:22PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Common Sense ! !

  • puravida - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 12:00PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Off the beaten path~ Do you have to mention the names of these areas? A couple that you mentioned I FOUND ON MY OWN, & have enjoyed the solitude of these destinations long before loud-mouthed idiots spread the news, basically spoiling the charm of these areas.Part of the adventure when it comes to traveling is taking a hike on your own, or turning a corner and discovering it on your own. Then there are those out there that insist on labeling these areas for the general population. These people are the ones that RUIN the charm of these "OFF THE BEATEN PATH" destinations. The news leaks out, more tourist's go to these destinations, and before you know it, you have another Cancun or Cabo or Las Vegas with tons of arrogant people not respecting the people, culture and the surrounding area. TAKE A HIKE. Keep it to yourself and enjoy the splendor before people that write articles like this destroy the quiet destinations so many have enjoyed for years. This article isn't worth a bean!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 11:18AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    Talk about stating the obvious...

  • Julia - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 10:57AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    For anyone who's traveled overseas for longer than a week, this should sound familiar. Yet this is still a useful guide on how to travel on a budget. I personally don't like to stay in hostels either, but I got around that in Spain by finding an apartment to rent for a week and meeting up with a penpal. And if your job allows you some flexibility, go to a place with a favorable exchange rate and stay there for longer than a week. Usually, local travel to surrounding cities or places of attraction will be cheaper from there (like using RyanAir to fly from one city in Europe to another for pennies on the dollar). Find your adventure without 5 star hotels this way, or save up and go for a week to a luxury hotel. Your choice. This is just a guide.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 10:54AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Does she ever write anything worth reading? I keep reading just because I hope it will get better. Why hasn't she been fired yet ... oh, cheap labor?

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 9:57AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Is this person financially compensated to compose this worthless drivel, or is this some sort of pro-bono therapy for the mentally challenged?

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 9:41AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    I have to agree with the previous post, this is by no means a comprehensive guide to travel in style. It's an article designed for the budget conscious entitled - "Ten Tips On Traveling Cheaply" And though it may seem brief, the writer has managed to include enough information and website links to help those who are looking to travel where the dollar is stronger. So if you don't like the article, share what you don't like or what you disagree with, but let's leave the puerile comments out of it.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 9:18AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    Useless? Imbecile? Fluff? No substance? This article was aimed at users who desire to travel cheap. Check out a "travel with style" guide if that's what you desire. In ten tips, she can't be comprehensive by any means. If you want a more comprehensive guide to traveling cheaply, buy a book. I hardly think it is mature or appropriate to rant or rave about a professional who is just doing her job. If her assignment was to write a book, she probably would have done so. Lay off the expert. Remember, the title says "10 TIPS".

  • Bernard - Thursday, December 6, 2007, 1:41AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    This cheap travel stuff is fine if you are young and poor, but traveling in style is a lot more fun if you can afford it. I think that instead of obsessing on how to spend less, Anya should spend more time figuring out how to earn more money. Of course this may involve a reall profession and real work.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 10:15PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Who is this imbecile? Yahoo would be better off publishing the output of a random word generator. I would like to see a battle of wits between this jackass and Penelope Trunk. Scoreless tie!

  • Hotblack - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 8:15PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Also, if you have a choice between flying on a US airline or a foreign one on the same route, think foreign. Prices are usually about the same, but airlines abroad generally still have a strong emphasis on customer service. It's a good way to enjoy your time in the air and avoid the stingy surly abuse which passes for customer service on airlines like American and United. I've traveled more than most people for both business and pleasure and I avoid the US carriers whenever possible. Latin America and Africa might be exceptions here when you get into really small airlines, but for travel to Asia or Europe it's nearly the rule.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 5:59PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Or, instead of writing "don't forget foreign discount carriers," why not give us some tips on how to find those discount carriers. The reason travelers wouldn't fly SpiceJet from Mumbai to Goa for $20 is because they have never heard of SpiceJet, and SpiceJet didn't exist when their guidebook that is 1 year old, and 2 years since being compiled and edited was written. All fluff and no substance. Waste of time.

  • channonm - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 5:52PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Stupid, mindless "advice". "Watch the exchange rate"?! Of course. How about some useful tips on exchange, such as: withdrawing money from an ATM in the foreign country is a heck of a lot cheaper than exchanging currency at a US retail bank before your departure. OR, don't worry about foreign-currency-denominated travelers checks since there are so many ways to exchange your checks abroad without fees (and, BTW, tips on how to buy the travelers checks without paying fees.) Finally, point out to people that different credit card issuers charge different fees for foreign transactions, in addition to whatever exchange rate fees that MasterCard and Visa charge (and you'll get a slightly better rate from MasterCard than you do with Visa.) "Sleep on a couch." Folks, "don't spend money" isn't really advice on "how not to spend money." Hey, when traveling, sleep on the street and see how that country's poor people live. It will be a good learning experience.

  • looneytarian - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 5:37PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Had to add a couple extra stars to offset the boneheads who think this site should only contain investment news... BOOORRRRIIIING! This is Yahoo FINANCE, not Yahoo INVESTMENT. There are plenty of links on this site to take you to hard investment news,so go figure out your own stock tips instead of looking for someone to spoon feed you. Meantime, most of us appreciate any tips on how to save money whether it is traveling, home/house related, or whatever. This article contains some great money saving tips but obviously, most of them mean you are not going to be spending much time at a five star resort. By the way, Rougue Trader, there is nothing hypocritical about warning travelers about potential hazards of traveling abroad. Most US citizens are aware of the hazards at home, but it can be easy to forget that when you are in another country, there are different hazards you should be aware of. Most experienced travel agents can give you a list of what to be careful of. The federal government also posts advisories about potential danger areas across the world, not only for the military and civil service, but for the general public's benefit. One general piece of advice for traveling abroad is don't advertise the fact that you are an American like putting US flags on your luggage or something similar. It is ALWAYS a good idea to keep an eye open on what is going around you and to avoid traveling alone whether you are home or away. It is also a good idea to remember that when you are in a foreign country to show respect for the differences in culture and don't expect things to be the same there as here. Shoot, the differences are what makes travel interesting. Otherwise, why bother going at all?

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 5:33PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Working vacation is an oxymoron. Otherwise a good article. Tomorrow is Tursday. Hooray! That means another of those Penelope Trunk articles with the hilarious comments!

  • RobertM - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 4:53PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Common sense advice. Would also note that one should be careful working abroad without proper permit/visa and to think carefully about safety when planning a trip particularly if you are a white American (and especially a woman). Young Americans can be criminally naive. Personally, as I have become older I have taken an 180 degree turrn and now would rather stay in a more expensive place, so as to not have to deal with the cheap crowd. You pay more for what is offered and for who is not there.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 4:35PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Yahoo has a problem with hard investment news, instead, they reach for the fluff... its like watching the ABCCBSNBC evening news. Vapid.

  • ag - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 4:34PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Having spent a Summer in Europe, sleeping on beaches, sleeping in parks, sleeping on the couch at a Church, sleeping on the floor of a US military barracks in Fulda, Germany, and mostly sleeping in the cabins and sometimes hallways of trains, this is great advice. Getting out there was truly awesome. Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the Parthenon in Athens, Prague, Budapest, Berlin, Paris. OK I will not quit my job and travel again.

  • Da Big Guy - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 4:04PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    A decent article for the target audience. I traveled to Europe a couple of summers over 25 years ago, backpacking with a Eurail Pass and $500.00 in travelers checks. Staying in hostels and bed-n-breakfasts, I was able to tour Rome Pisa, Torino, Munich, Vienna, Paris, French Rivierra, Madrid, Barcelona, the Rhein and Dijon areas among many others. I could never have done this a couple years later (married with 1st child on the way), and encourage any in that 20-30 something audience to do so if at all possible. One of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Domestic travel is all I have time for now, if that helps you other drape yourselves in the flag, complain about everything commenters. LIGHTEN UP!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 4:03PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    Interesting article. I have no idea why it is here or why I read it. But interesting nonetheless.

Showing comments 6-35 of 84<< PreviousNext >>

More from Anya Kamenetz

Read the Generation Debt Book

According to economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Generation Debt offers "a truly gripping account of how young Americans are being ground down by low wages, high taxes, huge student loans, sky-high housing prices, not to mention the impending retirement of their baby boomer parents." Generation Debt will inspire you to take charge of your financial future.

Read more from Anya Kamenetz here and here.

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