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Travel the world on $30 a day

Meet the young Australian student who travelled the world for nearly a year, visiting 4 different continents and over 22 countries all whilst only spending $30 AUD per day.

Kyle Harbour took a year off in between high school and university to put himself to the ultimate test, a test to see how far he could stretch a $12,000 budget. An experience he says absolutely changed his life and his perspective of the world. But how exactly does on live off so little for so long? Here’s what Kyle had to say.

Kyle's view of London
Kyle’s view of London

 

Q: Where did you find were the cheapest places to visit amongst all your travels?

A: The cheapest countries to visit by far are in South East Asia. Places like Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. They are all dirt cheap and that’s where I spent most my time, street food is like $1 and accommodation is anywhere between $2-$10. I also spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe. If you want to travel cheap you’ll have to save western Europe for another time. Countries like Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria are very cheap.  If you can also avoid visiting big capital cities and instead opt to explore smaller cities in the countryside that is another great way to save money.

Kyle in Ha Long Bay Vietnam
Kyle in Ha Long Bay Vietnam

Q: What options for accommodation did you explore that were different to the usual youth hostel?

A: I had a sleeping bag and a hammock with me and in South East Asia which I slept in it a lot. In Bangkok, I would sleep on rooftops and in other countries I was sleeping on beaches. Europe was a little harder, but I met a lot of people (even quite a few girls) that were camping but obviously in the warmer months.

You can also try things like Couchsurfing. It’s still a very safe thing to do but I would suggest to always stay with a female host. They are more reliable and there are lots of very cool ones out there.

I also made a lot of foreign friends through my travels and later when I’d find myself in their country, I would hit them up for a place to stay.

Q: Tell me something about your experience hitchhiking through Europe?

A: Hitchhiking was so much fun! I travelled over 1,500km in 5 different countries hitchhiking. I met travellers as well as locals. The fastest I was picked up was within 10 minutes and the longest took me 6 hours of waiting for a 6-hour ride from Bosnia to Serbia. It was a great free way to meet different people I wouldn’t have normally met, people outside my social circles. I met a Croatian fisherman, Saudi businessmen even a French couple on holiday. It was easy and so much fun.

Q: Do you think hitchhiking is a safe option especially for solo or female travellers?

A: Hitchhiking has to be taken with a grain of salt, it can be dangerous. But I always checked the car and person before I went with them, it’s important to judge them but also be open minded. It can be very safe for females, although I wouldn’t recommend hitchhiking alone as a female. Some countries have different views on females and their social status.

I met plenty of female travellers that had hitchhiked. My favourites were two Scandinavian girls, who hitched hiked from Denmark all the way to Greece! They were very cool, I first met them in Mostar and then again in Athens, they stayed together the whole time and always checked out the person first.

Q: How did you find cheap transport especially when travelling from continent to continent?

A: Booking flights can be cheap especially if you buy them a few months in advance. I bought my cross global flights months in advance and paid just $350 to fly from Bangkok to Germany, last minute these flights can cost thousands.

In some countries like Turkey I even bartered the price of buses down, I often got 50-80% off bus trips, even overnight ones simply by asking and haggling. To get a cheap flight you must be flexible, you must be willing to suffer some discomfort, whether that be a 4 am flight or a long stop over.

Often time costs money, a direct flight will be more expensive. When I wanted to go to Berlin from Bangkok the flight was $500. But a flight to Cologne was only $300 and from there a bus to Berlin was $40. It took me a day longer but I saved $150. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice your time to get cheaper transport.

Q: What is the most important thing to remember when travelling on the cheap?
A: By far the most important thing when travelling on a budget is to travel slowly. Don’t try to do as many cities as you can, take your time, a week in each city or more, learn about the people and the culture, make friends, know the city like the back of your hand. I always spent at least a week or two in each city. Staying in places longer helps you spend less money on transport as the days you are moving between cities will be the most expensive.

I also did a lot of work while I was travelling. I never even officially worked for money though. I often volunteered for free accommodation or experiences. Websites like workaway, helpx and hostel jobs are great for this. I worked in a bar, a hostel and as a painter in a hotel. None of these jobs paid me money but they gave me free accommodation which helped me save heaps. I even worked as a photographer on a bus tour which allowed me on board the tour for free. That tour took me all through Croatia and I didn’t have to spend a cent.

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