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OP: do you pay rent (i.e. live at home with family vs. being on your own)? If not, you should be able to save substantially more vs. if you did. I really love a lot of the other suggestions. While most of my traveling has been doing through/for school, I have had to do some general saving (i.e. not eating out as much and saving money by cooking/packing bagged lunches, spending less on entertainment, etc.). You'd be surprised by what you can save. Oh, and I also make sure that I do some other things mentioned in the thread, like booking far in advance, whether this is for a car rental (which is often very feasible as I can cancel my rental up until the day of an avoid paying a fee) or for flights, and searching low and high for budget accommodations (generally serviced apartments or hostels . . . I haven't done Airbnb yet as my other options have always been cheaper, but am not opposed to using that service if I find a good deal).
traveling alone is a dream. I miss it so much! I would just quietly sit at a table and read or sit at the bar, but send out signals that I wasn't sitting at the bar to get picked up, just to sit by myself
Keep in mind you don't have to go to a fancy restaurant when eating out. I think a lot of people think it is one or the other - fancy restaurant, or eat at home. The best thing to do while traveling is find the hole in the wall places- the local joints that people go to on a regular basis. They will also be a lot more likely to be accessible by cheap public transit.
Don't think you have to spend a week, either. Don't worry about unpacking into a hotel room. That just eats up time.
Also, instead of doing all the tourist traps and such, hunt out the local hangouts, interesting shops, parks, etc. Those don't cost you anything.
Travel weekends, when hotel costs are cheaper. And think of the total cost of hotel and airfare and transportation to and from the airport - saving $100 on airfare is not worth it when the hotel is going to cost you another $100 a night, or vice versa.
Eating alone is hard the first time you do it, then it becomes second nature. I started out by first doing dfast food, then a diner, then sit at the bar. And try to eat a little off the normal times. Better service and more comfortable.
I'm adventurous, free-spirited and an ambivert. My default setting is traveling alone. It comes second nature to me. IMO, traveling with people requires bravery lol. As far as saving for travel, 100% of my work bonuses go into a travel account. You could get a part-time job and use the extra money to fund your travel account
Well if you travel to big cities, safety is an issue. You could end up being robbed or hurt in the wrong areas if you get lost. Plus it is kinda weird to eat out alone.
If you think it's weird to eat out alone, perhaps you're not cut out for solo travel. If you still think you are, start by eating out alone where you live.
Consider adding a part time job with that money designated for your travel fund.
Just don't go out for a few weeks and you'll save literally hundreds of dollars in a couple of months. Eat very simply. Lentils, rice, and potato curries, cheap local produce, etc.
Hitchhike across the country if you have the time. It's not that scary, honestly.
I travel alone for a few months per year. I live with my parents but I think you'll manage a one-off regional trip making $15/hour. I prefer to travel alone because then I don't have to compromise my wants for another person. Are you male or female?
Good luck.
IGNORE THIS PART! BEEN there and done that.
Hitchhike across the country if you have the time. It's not that scary, honestly.
i consider myself a very timid cautious person, and yes I have travelled internationally alone. occasionally i will go with a group, depending on the country i am traveling to. In preparing for a trip to the Ukraine, many people advised not going alone, so i went with a group, this worked out well. When I went to Israel for several weeks, half of that was with a group, half of that was on my own. I traveled on my own to Peru and Scotland. I am a female and my age on these trips was between 35-55 years. It is scary for me but i do it anyway, because there are places i really want to see. It is definitely outside my comfort zone. I am glad to take these trips, but it is also exhausting and stressful. However they are always a very positive experience.
I consider myself low income, and i have always been able to travel because i live very simply: I live in towns with a low cost of living, i have a travel fund that i contribute to every month, i don't own a lot of stuff. International travel is important for me to be able to do so i keep my living expenses really really low to allow me to have a travel fund.
Well, me and my partner at the time took a trip to visit my hometown, Miami, and see my family. We did this last July. We both worked at IHOP, me as a host and him as a server. I only made 8 dollars and hour and he relied on tips (he also worked a second job at Sonic so that helped) We made enough for gas, lodging (being a gay couple, my mom didn't want him to stay with me at the house at first, so we booked a place with airbnb.com) and food, within a month. We began working June 1st and left for the trip on July 12th. The main thing that helped was the place we lived in over the summer was a friend's grandpa's house that he owned but didn't live in, and we didn't have to pay any rent.
Not only did we go to Miami, go to the beach and see my family. (Also, I turned 21 there) We also took a detour through New Orleans, a beautiful city that I always wanted to see, and stopped for the night at one of my uncle's farms, in the north Florida countryside. It was definitely a wonderful trip, cost probably about 1000 dollars in total? I would say it was around 600-700 for gas but I can't remember.
Budgeting and saving up is the best way to go, and travel with someone else to help with expenses but also make the trip more enjoyable. If two college kids working at a West Texas diner can do it, I'm sure someone making 15 dollars an hour can too! I'm going back down for a baptism in May and planning to go to Minnesota for my next birthday. Probably a trip to Kansas or at least Oklahoma in January. You just need to plan and save up.
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