“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmachern
**** Disclaimer… how we travel is NOT for everyone! But keep reading….
I guarantee you will still be able to get something out of it or think, yeah that’s pretty cool, but maybe not for me!
We traveled by motorcycle up the coast of Vietnam.
If your dream honeymoon is laying on a beach at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico for a week, then this probably isn’t your type of trip. It’s one of a kind and was completely “us”. And that’s what we called it… YOU (Year Of Us) A year where we had nothing else to think about but ourselves …where we were going to sleep next, what our next meal was, how we were going to get to our next destination and what was going to be our next adventure. That’s it…. but all while watching our money as best as we could.
So how did we do it?!
Before we even left for the trip, we cut back on all unnecessary purchases. Something that is easy for us especially since we were super motivated. Watching your money is always a good start and something to think about even if you’re planning a small trip and money is a concern. It’s simple…start saving for more experiences, not more stuff.
I could write a book about this, so I’m going to sum it up….. for the majority of the trip we roughed it!
#1- CHEAPER COUNTRIES is the way to go.
Our adorable little server helping out at her parents cafe in Cusco, Peru
The majority of the countries we visited were second and third world countries. We started in Costa Rica and worked our way south through Central and South America until we reached the southern town of Punta Arenas in Patagonia, Chile. When you can find Airbnbs for $15 a night and delicious meals for $3, it definitely makes traveling more affordable. Keep in mind, there was nothing luxurious about it. The rooms were VERY basic and some of the restaurants were a little rough…. We’re talking dirt floors with guinea pigs running around your feet, waiting to be killed and served. BUT it was cheap and good enough for us. (FYI, I couldn’t bring myself to eat a guinea pig)
When traveling to these countries the dollar goes a long way! Even in South Africa where the quality of everything was pretty high in most parts, you could eat a delicious meal with a glass of wine for about $8 at the time we were there. It’s key to look for countries where the dollar is strong. We traveled to five countries throughout southern Africa, also Asia and Nepal would all fall under this category. Just a side note, when traveling to these countries you need to be up for a little adventure and lower your standards of what you’re used to in the US if you want the deal. I would still highly recommend visiting these amazing countries even if you aren’t into roughing it. Many of them have options for higher end hotels and restaurants.
#2 ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS
Surf Eat Sleep was the hostel we ran in Pichilemu, Chile for three weeks
If you want a cool (at least it was for us, but not for all) and unique travel experience, check out workaway.info. It’s a website that connects you with people all over the world looking for workers for jobs ranging from working on a vineyard in Chile or taking care of sheep in New Zealand, to working on a boat off of the coast of Croatia. It’s considered volunteer work in exchange for a place to sleep and sometimes you get a meal for working up to 4 hours a day for 5 days a week. We did this in Costa Rica at a hotel, doing maintenance, a hostel in Chile and Argentina and helped build a hostel in Peru. We ended up quitting in Peru due to very poor living conditions, but we ended up finding an Airbnb room for $15 a night which was a no brainer.
There are quite a few different ways you can travel this way. If this is up your alley and you are looking for free alternative accommodations, check out House Sitting, Pet Sitting, Couch Surfing, Home Exchanges and House Swaps. We haven’t tried any of these, but have heard good things about them.
#3 ROUGHING IT
Our “romantic” honeymoon accommodations. Just missing our 5 Columbian roommates in the picture. I think we were angry in this picture because they shut off the plumbing after 7PM. So just imagine what the one toilet looked like. Might be a nightmare to some, but it was still an adventure to us and had many laughs!
While doing our Workaway “job” in Peru I shared a twin bunkbed with my husband Kevin and 5 other Columbian men in a room the size of a closet. The conditions there were deplorable and we ended up quitting. It was a little too much even for us. At another hostel that we worked at in Argentina, we shared our room with a random German guy who couldn’t have gotten any closer to us sleeping in a cot in between our two beds for a week. He was cool (thank goodness) so we didn’t mind, and made us laugh. I remember joking with Kevin saying I never thought I would sleep with this many men on my honeymoon! Like I said, this type of honeymoon is not for everyone.
We didn’t stick out at all traveling around in “Bert” our camper van through South Africa. 😜
In New Zealand we lived out of a van for a month and in South Africa for 10 days. We only needed to pay a small amount each night for a spot at camper parks. We had a little stove in the back that allowed us to cook every meal instead of eating out. I could write a book on this experience but to sum it up… it was the BEST. We both never felt so free. To wake up with the most beautiful sunrises at the edge of our bed every morning, some by the ocean and some by the mountains, was amazing. I understand the whole van life trend that’s happening now. If I could fit my three kids, dog and husband in a van, I would in a second!
#4 NATURE IS FREE
One of the many trails we hiked in New Zealand
We are outdoorsy people so that definitely helps if you’re trying to watch your money. Most parks are free and that is how we spent the majority of our time. The best part is, we were able to see some of the most incredible places in the world like Mount Everest (from a distance, we climbed to base camp), the Glaciers in Patagonia, sand dunes in Namibia, the fjords in Norway. These experiences were priceless and cost little to nothing to have nature as our entertainment and benefited us in too many ways to mention.
#5 CUTBACKS
We made cutbacks with almost everything we could. We rode the cheap buses that took much longer than a train or airplane. If eating out was even a little more expensive than making our own food, we chose to hit local farmers markets or grocery stores and had picnics in the most beautiful places. We also limited ourselves to cheap activities. If it wasn’t something we really wanted to do, it was an easy no.
#6 NORMAL EXPENSES
Traveling like a nomad for an extended period of time eliminates all of the daily expenses. Think about all of the things that you pay for in daily life that really add up. We didn’t have a mortgage, utilities, insurance, car payment, gas for our car, birthday gifts, random things for our house, etc. the list could go on and on. Now that I’m home, every month when it’s time to pay our credit card bill, I’m still in shock as to how much it is and how it all adds up and can’t help but think of what that would equate to in a pretty rad trip.
When you live out of just a back pack for a whole year, you really don’t have the option to buy anything. We weren’t tempted because there wasn’t any room. We needed every single item that we were carrying and nothing was worth the hassle of carrying anything extra. This could be most peoples’ worst nightmare. Can I just say how freeing that is?! There is something to minimalism.
#7 ENTERTAINMENT
Nothing better than finding free wifi in a parking lot and binge watching Netflix in the back of your van with a beer
On our trip, entertainment looked a bit different. Besides wandering around in nature, one of more memorable things we did was drive around in our van (in South Africa and New Zealand) looking for free internet so we could lay in the back with a bottle of wine and binge watch Netflix. To us hitting the free internet jackpot in the comfort of our van bed, was WAY more of a thrill than being in the States eating a $200 fancy meal. It really is the little things in life!
Besides the binge watching Netflix using free internet, I would say that the other form of entertainment we had was the INCREDIBLE people that we met along the way. The times we spent chatting up a group of people from every corner of the world over a beer was pure entertainment. Learning about each other’s culture and just getting to really know different people was priceless which also happened to be free. I will still never forget the people I encountered for just one night because they left that lasting impression which I have to say is pretty awesome.
NO HOLDING BACK (sort of)
Before jumping in with the sharks. I think Kev was nervous!
We definitely were smart with our money but also didn’t hold back on special excursions that we knew were going to be a once in a life time opportunity….. like cage diving with sharks in South Africa, a tandem bungee swing jump in New Zealand, a safari in Africa, a round of golf at the highest golf course in the world in La Paz, Bolivia.
We also traveled to one of the most expensive countries out there…. Norway, where it costs $40 for a “not so great” pizza and $10 for a coke. Not sure if it was a good or bad thing that it was the last country. Part of us was like screw it, we will be back to reality and working in no time. And the other part of us was like, hell no I’m not paying $15 for a crappy beer. So we ended up sleeping in our car for 5 nights (one being in a cemetery) as well as one night on the airport floor, which was a little rough. But there were lots of laughs and it saved us at least $1,000 for 6 nights. It also made our last 2 nights which happened to be our last of the trip at our super quaint and reasonable Airbnb in the middle of nowhere Norway, feel like a palace
What we saw and did that year are memories that most people won’t be fortunate to have in a life time. We are super fortunate and forever grateful. Once again, travel teaches you to learn to appreciate the little things in life. And in many cases, the little things are either free or cost little money.
All smiles sleeping in the car for a week in Norway
To be honest, I’m going to remember the laughs we had as we were trying to fall asleep in the front seat of our rental car in a cemetery in Norway over any nice hotel. We have a year full of memories like that. Something that I wish everyone can experience at their own “comfort level”.
My hopes…
My hope is that by reading this will get you thinking about how you can start making your travel dreams come true, no matter what they are and not to let money be the reason you never go. Maybe it’s not a YOU (year of us) and it’s a MOU (month of us) or WOU (week of us), it could be a weekend getaway. Whatever it is, that is awesome! Find ways to make it happen.