Adventure on a Budget - How to Experience More Without Spending More
Coming from a middle-class background in South Africa, money has always been a big barrier in terms of travel for me. It's partially why I spent so much time exploring my own city to the max instead of traveling to other countries like I dreamed of. Yes, I wanted to travel the world and see all these wonderful new places, but the weak South African Rand, and my even weaker business acuity, made it daunting to travel to any first-world country.
I remember visiting New York City for the first time and going to Whole Foods on my first day. I was blown away by the size and quality of the Midtown store but absolutely floored by the price of everything. Having just flown over 24 hours to be there, I was tired, jet-lagged, and extremely hungry, and I just needed something in my system. The cheapest "meal" I could find was a cheese and ham sandwich for about $6, I think. That was about R100 to me. Comparatively, a sandwich of the same kind was about R30 back in South Africa. I couldn’t believe that two slices of bread, one slice of cheese, and a slice of ham could cost so much. What a rip-off, I thought. If that was the price of a sandwich, how was I going to afford anything on that trip? But that was the reality of New York City and traveling to a first-world country. It was also my ignorance and not knowing that, even in New York City, I could find ways to travel and eat cheaper. The first step is not going to Whole Foods if you’re trying to save money. Lesson learned.
In this short article, I’m going to go through the ways in which I am able to travel, explore, and adventure around the world without breaking the bank. This is an amalgamation of my own personal experiences and lessons, and hopefully, it can help you to adventure more often and more freely.
As I mentioned, money was a huge factor in how I approached adventure when I was younger. In a world where most countries had stronger economies and better exchange rates than I did, my immediate mindset was that everything, everywhere is so expensive and it would limit my ability to travel and explore. That was a lie. This brings me to my first and most important point: Adventure does not have to be expensive. In fact, it doesn’t have to cost you anything if you don’t want it to. It all starts with your mindset and philosophy around adventure.
An adventure, by definition, is "an unusual and exciting undertaking usually involving danger or unknown risks." This doesn’t mean you have to travel to another country, book an expensive hotel, or buy an exotic experience. Even running 10 miles to work when you usually drive could be considered an adventure.
The truth is, opportunity for adventure is all around us.
The problem is, we've been conditioned, and continue to be conditioned, by social media algorithms to believe that adventures have to be Instagram-worthy to count as adventures.
Social media embeds the idea that if we’re not traveling to some faraway, distant land, then we’re not really on an adventure. Further, it sells us on the idea that we NEED to spend lots of money and go to these exotic places to prove that we actually did have an adventure. Backed up by social proof, validation, and a raging system of capitalism and consumerism, most people are doomed to believe that they can’t have the adventure they so crave unless they buy it. This is also a lie.
If we get down to the nitty-gritty of the real expenses of an adventure, your biggest costs come down to transport, food, accommodation, and experiences. If you can learn to minimize these basic needs, you can start to have cheaper adventures, and therefore, more adventures. More bang for your buck!
Transport
Along with accommodation, this will be one of your biggest expenses for any trip. Getting to and from a place, and getting around a place, will be a significant portion of your budget. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be with these tips I’ve learned.
If you're traveling internationally, chances are you'll have to fly there, unless you can drive to your destination or take a boat or train. In a lot of cases though, flying somewhere you could drive can often be cheaper. Either way, my point is: flying is part of going to see the world. It’s quick, efficient, and allows us to go to places our ancestors literally couldn’t imagine. But it can be expensive as all hell, especially if you’re flying from America to South Africa once a year.
My number one tip for getting cheap flights is using sites like Skyscanner, Kayak, and Google Flights to find and track prices. I usually won’t book a flight immediately unless it’s a great deal, and instead set email notifications to track flights to places I want to go. These sites will usually show you indicators on where the current price sits compared to normal as well, which is super useful. Once I see that a flight is priced below the average or has dropped significantly, I’ll pull the trigger and book.
My next hack is using these tracked flights and then booking through my own credit card platform, in my case Chase Sapphire, to use existing points or grow my current points to use towards more travel. I recently did this and saved $400 off my flight to Cape Town.
Do your research and find which credit cards work for you, your lifestyle, and your travel goals, and start using the system to your advantage. Many credit cards will also give you a sweet startup deal if you spend a certain amount of money on the card in the first few months. Do this strategically and rack up those free travel points.
Next, I want to talk about ground transportation. This is when you’re already at your destination and you need to get around, whether in a city or moving between cities. Obviously, the cheapest way to get around anywhere is to use your own body. Walk, run, cycle. Not only is it healthy, but it allows you to slow down and see the places you’re in with more detail. Unfortunately, this can’t always be the case and you’ll need to get a ride from one place to the next.
The cheapest way to travel around or between cities is public transport. If you're traveling to a first-world country you shouldn’t have any hesitation about using it. Most major cities have been designed to accommodate people without cars and their transport systems are usually very efficient, accessible, and most of all cheap.
For example, I recently traveled to Italy. After flying into Florence, my friend and I had rented motorcycles down in Greve, a town about 45 minutes south. At first we looked at taking an Uber, especially if we were sharing the ride, it couldn’t be that bad, right? 150€ was the total cost. Way over anything we were willing to spend, even at 75€ each. Switching gears, we managed to find a public bus that ran down to Greve every half an hour for a mere 5€ in comparison.
I know that figuring out a new transport system in a foreign country is always scary. Am I going the right way? Is this the right bus, tram, or train? Am I going to get robbed or end up in some sketchy neighborhood? All of these concerns are valid, but with smartphones these days and super convenient eSIMs, it is quite difficult to get lost. Overcoming the fear of figuring it out is part of the growth that comes with travel. Yes, it’s daunting, but it’s also necessary if this is something you want to do. You can always pay 150€ for an Uber if you want.
My last tip when it comes to ground transportation is sharing rides. Typically, the more people that can fit into a moving vehicle, the cheaper it will be. The same is true with Ubers and rideshares. Sometimes this can be the only and/or most efficient means of transport, and if you’re able to split the costs of the ride with two or more people, it can work out to be cheaper still than public transport. Assess your group and do your research to see what the best way of getting around a city is before you get there. That way you’ll have no weird surprises… unless you want that!
Accommodation
The next most expensive part of your trip is usually finding a place to rest your head for the night. Depending on your type of trip, this could be a tent, a backpacker’s dorm room, a hotel, an Airbnb, or a fully fledged villa. Obviously, the price of accommodation will differ depending on where you are in the world and how central or remote you find yourself.
The cheapest form of accommodation is free accommodation. If you have family, friends, family friends, or even someone you've been chatting to online (and confirmed they’re not a psycho killer) before the trip, it’s a great way to significantly cut down your costs. Offer to take them out for dinner or pay for gas in order to "pay them back." It’s a small act of kindness that goes a long way for all the effort they put in to host you. It will still be much cheaper than paying for a night somewhere else, and you get to spend some quality time with that person.
Depending on if you're moving quickly or based in one place for a few days or weeks, this can also impact the place you choose to stay. Usually, if I’m only spending a night in a certain place, I’ll look for a cheap backpacker’s that seems half-decent. I’m open to sleeping most places, but that doesn’t mean I want to sleep in some rat-infested hole either. Do your research, Google the place, and check out the photos. If it doesn’t seem clean, have good ratings, or meet your minimum standards, then you can look elsewhere.
Sites like Booking.com are great tools to find cheap places and compare prices within your desired area and price range. Many hotels and BnBs will also have good deals on unbooked rooms the day of. Personally, I don’t like to plan out my trips too much since I want to be flexible. When you’re having a real adventure, there are too many variables at play to secure one spot way in advance. Be open to change and be open to booking things last minute. I’ve never had a problem doing so.
Another great way to save money is to stay in a private room in someone else’s place. Especially if it’s short-term or you’re going to be out all day, a small private room to store your bags and rest your head is all you really need.
Again, like with rideshares, if you can split accommodation with friends this will make a world of difference, and usually you can end up getting a pretty nice place.
If you have a big nature-based adventure, camping and sleeping under the stars is your best bet. Not only is this super cheap or free depending on where you are, but you can also experience the land and sleep in unique locations in a way you wouldn’t with a conventional building.
There’s also car camping and van life for road trips. After traveling across the US in a van for three months, my ultimate hack for this is parking in nice hotel parking lots. It’s usually safe, monitored, and in great locations. Look up on Google Maps to see if they have a big open lot. That’s your golden ticket. If you can’t seem to find it, they probably have underground or valet parking. Avoid those spots. With this hack you can usually stay within 10 minutes of a big attraction like a national park without paying exorbitant amounts. Just make sure you’re stealthy!
Food
The make or break expense for many a traveler. If you are a foodie you might have a tough time with this one. In order to fully experience a place and its culture, you need to indulge in its food. Food has a rich history and will often dictate a lot of your choices on your adventure. If you're having a local adventure, this can still play a part but maybe not as much. For me, I absolutely love trying food in new countries and places. I feel that it’s a crucial part of the full sensory experience in traveling and I will go out of my way to try something local. Sometimes this can be expensive, other times not. Depending on the type of food, the culture and the country, food can have a wide range of pricing.
I like to approach my food consumption in extremes. On the one end, I'll buy bread and cheese from the grocery store and eat that for an entire day or get a slice of dollar pizza, and on the other, I will splurge and get a nice meal at a cool restaurant. Just like regular life, you can eat cheaply and well at the same time. If you go to the grocery store and buy simple, whole foods you can feel good and save your wallet. Alternatively, if like real life, you spend your money on takeout, food delivery and restaurants every night, that will add up pretty quickly.
Keep your meals basic and buy fresh food every day. This way you aren’t carrying around a ton of extra weight you don’t need right away and you don’t need a fridge or freezer to keep things cold.
Experiences
Lastly, experiences like tours, events, or entry fees will take up the final chunk of your budget. These things aren’t necessary and in many cases I skip them in order to save costs. A lot of the time they are overpriced and geared towards the mass of tourists flooding into a new place. This is not really the experience I’m looking for, but sometimes, it’s so worth it and you are able to get access to places and experiences you otherwise never would, like the time I paid for a bayou tour in Louisiana or visited a remote village in South Africa. These are things you could do on your own but sometimes the ease of not having to figure out complex systems and cultures is worth the price.
Once again, the best free adventures lie in nature. Nature is the gift that keeps on giving and expects nothing in return. Except that we take care of her, but that seems to be a struggle for most. And yet, she still gives to us her beautiful gifts free of charge. Hikes, meadows, swimming holes, trails are all great free adventures just waiting to be had.
Occasionally, depending on the city you’re in, some museums might be free as well. For example, Washington DC has a myriad of free museums that are exceptional. Take advantage of your hard-earned tax money and visit these places. If you do happen to find yourself in a place where museums are not free and the attractions and tours are really expensive, but you would still like to learn more about the place, YouTube and podcasts are your best friend. The best free guide you can find is right in your pocket. Search for the history of the place you’re interested in, free audio tours, or informational guides. The internet is an endless adventure in itself. Again, if you want to find what you are looking for you can find it relatively easily nowadays. Especially with tools like ChatGPT to supercharge your research.
Use these things as the tools they are, but remember to still be open to finding things out the old way—by discovering hidden corners, reading old signs and having conversations with locals. This is really where the magic of a true adventure lies and you find things that can’t be found online.
Off the top of my head, here are some ideas for cheap adventures I have been on myself. You can easily do these for no more than $100 or for free in many cases:
Anything in nature – nature is free
Camping for the night in your backyard, a local park, or a nearby campsite
Short or multi-day hikes
Day trips to new towns in your area
A sunset row or paddle
A weekend road trip
A one-day bike tour
A sunrise swim
I could keep going and the options are endless. The only limiting factor is your mind. Your imagination is the ultimate problem-solving tool and if your intention is to have more adventure in your life and keep your bank account looking solid, there is always a way.
As you travel more you'll figure out what you like and don’t like.What you find non-negotiable and what you're willing to splurge on.Maybe it’s a nice restaurant if you love food. Maybe a sunset cruise or a scuba diving session.
Being smart about your budgeting allows you to plan and spend the money on things you actually want to spend money on rather than on unnecessary or unplanned expenses.
There will always be things that come up. Things you didn’t plan or want to spend money on but that’s part of adventure and you can plan for that too. If you have a budget set out, make sure to have a percentage set apart for unexpected expenses. That way you’re prepared if you need it, or if you don’t use it you have some extra spending money for gifts, a nice meal on the last night, or you can put it towards your next adventure.
At the end of the day, an adventure can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be and is largely proportional to your tolerance for living simply and/or discomfort. Cheap adventures are not for everyone. They require sacrifice and will put you in situations that aren’t perfectly comfortable. But in my opinion, that’s the whole point of an adventure. To experience new places, people, and states of being. To push yourself past your comfort zones in order to grow as a person. So while the big bougie adventures are always a treat, I often feel that the cheap, figure-it-out-as-you-go adventures are usually the best ones with the best stories and the most lessons.
So to answer the question of how to Experience More Without Spending More, you have to ask yourself: how adventurous am I willing to be?