Travelling the world is something most of us dream about, but we don’t need to let finances crush our dreams, on the contrary, limited finances can improve the experience. Exploring a different country or a part of your own backyard with only a twenty in your back pocket can be terrifying, but also enlightening. So many of us make the mistake of falling into the typical tourist traps, overpriced hotels and group tours that cost more than your first car, well it’s time to ditch the cliché and see the ‘actual world’.
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The back alleys, dingy restaurants, and backpacker motels show you a true culture. Eating street foods and wandering a city/town on foot allows you to see a lot more than you would sitting in the back of an over-priced taxi and packing your suitcase well will help you save on excess charges.
So, without further a due, here’s our top 3 tips on how to travel without selling your soul:
Stop forking out cash for tourist traps
I know you want that green screen photo of yourself with the empire state building in the background, but a homemade shot of you out front of the actual building tells a much fuller story and it’s free! The same goes for your monuments that charge triple the price for a crappy 50c key ring, try buying your friends and family a souvenir that actually reflects the country, not just it’s tourism industry. You’ll thank yourself in the long run.
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Walk, walk and walk
Shed the calories from your hotels free buffet breakfast and hit the pavement armed with some comfy shoes, a map and your camera. Like we said before, from the back of a taxi the scenery glides past too quick, but on foot everything’s yours for the taking. You can see everything you want to see in slow motion or at your own pace.
Invest in a water bottle
Vendors will take advantage of thirsty tourists in desperate need of some hydration so beat them at their own game and bring along your own refillable drink bottle. Scattered around the streets and parks are always drinking fountains and most places will fill a water bottle for free. When you do the math, say you drink two bottles of water a day at $5 a pop, that’s $10 a day that can continue warming your pocket.
Image via Love&list.com
