traveling cheaply on $560 - What can I do? (cost, hostels, vacation)
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Ok, I know this is going to sound absurd so I don't mind if you point that out to me. I'm just looking to brainstorm some ideas.
I have $560 saved up and my wanderlust is particularly strong. I'd like to travel for the next 3 months on just $560 - doesn't matter where. I realize this is extremely little to travel on, so realistically, I'd probably have to find just one place to settle down in for awhile and find work.
So far, the ideas I've come up with are:
wwoofing: volunteering on a farm somewhere in exchange for food and shelter.
teaching english: the problem is, i don't intend on staying past 3 months, so it's not fair to the kids to start teaching them only to leave them hanging mid-term.
fishing in maine/alaska: i don't really have any experience.
Ok, I know this is going to sound absurd so I don't mind if you point that out to me. I'm just looking to brainstorm some ideas.
I have $560 saved up and my wanderlust is particularly strong. I'd like to travel for the next 3 months on just $560 - doesn't matter where. I realize this is extremely little to travel on, so realistically, I'd probably have to find just one place to settle down in for awhile and find work.
So far, the ideas I've come up with are:
wwoofing: volunteering on a farm somewhere in exchange for food and shelter.
teaching english: the problem is, i don't intend on staying past 3 months, so it's not fair to the kids to start teaching them only to leave them hanging mid-term.
fishing in maine/alaska: i don't really have any experience.
all comments, naughty or nice, welcome.
Not sure where you live but traveling cheaply in the winter is probably not a good idea. In warmer weather you might want to get a tourist related job and camp out someplace cheap to save money.
Like Glory said the hard part is "getting" there. That will be the most expensive. Do you have a car? Or do you plan on hiking? Food will also be fairly expensive. Even on the cheap you need about $5.00 a day and that would be sandwiches and water. That's about $450.00 of your $560.00 of your 3 month budget.
Are you in the states? You will have to stay in the states. You might be able to hike across the country, work at restaurants for food, and volunteer at farms for a bed. If you don't plan it ahead and make prior arrangements I think you will run out of money too soon and your adventure might turn into a nightmare.
This is not the 1970s, youre not just gonna find a daily job in random places, people cant find jobs when they live in the city! why dont you just work some extra hours and save up some more money and actually enjoy a vacation?
If you are looking for a volunteer program, just forget about it because any respectable program will have you pay a certain fee because they provide you with food and insurance.. typically 2,000 dollars+
I think this sounds like a pipedream and seems completely unrealisitic.
i'm currently looking into wwoofing, but i'm in a bit of a catch22 because while australia and new zealand have the most and best programs (and virtually free), the airfare just to get there is out of my range. the places nearby, like central and south america, have affordable airfare, but their wwoofing programs are less developed, often demand some sort of daily expense for food/lodging, and generally have very little information to go by.
thanks for all your thoughts. if i figure something out and it somehow succeeds i'll let y'all know.
Yeah I think crossing a pond is your biggest challenge to making that workable, unless you'd consider driving South into or thru Mexico. Even going native in El Salvador, Nicaragua, or Honduras I can't imagine being able to stretch $560 out for three months, so it would have to be some sort of deal that involved room and board. I wouldn't worry about leaving students hanging I think you'd find programs are a lot less structured than a rigid semester system.
In the summer months you could get a job at one of the national parks. You'd likely get free lodging and meals plus a small income. Three months would be about the right amount of time for places like Yellowstone where the tourist season is May-August. You'd need to get your application in now.
$560 isn't going to get you anywhere and especially for 3 months. Even staying in hostels in 3rd world countries in grungy areas is still $10-$20 a day, then you have to eat and travel.
Going overseas is not an option for anything cause $560 will barely buy you a plane ticket anywhere overseas and even if it did, how are you going to live on $20 for 3 months?
Working in the national parks is a good suggestion. I have known a few that have done that and enjoyed the experience. You make enough to survive.
Back when I worked in Vail, a lot of the people I worked with were saving up to travel. $8000-$10000 was considered a reasonable amount for traveling overseas for a few month and that's living in hostels.
I'd have a look at the Cool Jobs website, that might help out.
Sign up for a car delivery service, one when you drive a person's car to Florida (or elsewhere) for them. You'll need a driver's license and references.
Sign up to work on a yacht delivery crew if you have the skills. Most of those big yachts you see aren't captained by the owner. They employ cooks too for short term and long term travel all over the world to get to where the owner will connect for vacation.
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