Did you know that you can save 30 percent of your shoestring travel budget when you arrive at a new location?
Knowing how to save part of your travel budget whenever possible is an essential routine for every long-term traveler. Following such a routine will make a trip last longer and provide valuable cash reserves for unplanned situations that end up costing more than expected. Simply put, saving a buck here and there will add up and make a big difference down the line.
The best shoestring travelers save more then 30 percent of their travel budget by realizing that every arrival in a new place follows a simple routine of needs: Transport to the center, a place to sleep and a price that doesn’t bust the travel budget on day one. Everyone knows that arrival routine, but few know how to capitalize on it.
Here’s how you can kick your shoestring traveler IQ up a notch:
Talk Taxi, wait and walk away laughing
The situation is always the same. Before you even got of the bus and touched the ground you’re offered a taxi ride.
Here’s how you play that situation to your advantage. Refuse all offers with a loud “No”, walk past every single taxi driver and act like you own the whole place. Next, wait a few meters besides the pack of taxi drivers and look around. The very eager taxi drivers will slowly walk over to you and offer you a ride again. That’s when you tell them where you want to go and ask for their ‘real’ price. As soon as you hear their price laugh as loud as you can, shake your head like a madman and start walking away again. Two or three taxi drivers will stop you from walking away and offer you a second price. Take that price and offer to pay about one third off it. After going through the whole little scene you usually get your price immediately or pay only slightly more. Either way, you most likely saved an easy 50 percent from the first price you were offered. Good job!
Walk for 30 minutes and save 30 percent on your hostel room
Tell the taxi driver to drop you off close to the guidebook hostel that you liked best. Check that place out, get a price and walk away (telling them you need to talk to some friends first is a good reason to leave if they start pressuring you to check-in now). Now walk around the neighborhood for 30 minutes and check out at least three locally owned hostels. I guarantee you that you’ll find a few locally owned places just around the corner, which are directly competing with the guidebook hostel, offering you a much better room at a lower price starting price.
I can’t tell you how often I’ve received a room in a non-guidebook hostel for 30 percent less. Thats a huge saving right there, since accommodation is a big chunk out of everyones daily travel budget. So if you can save anything on accommodation it will get you very far.
Next time you’re looking for a place do your shoestring travel budget a favor and invest 30 minutes to save 30 percent on your shoestring travel budget.
Bust down the walking ATM syndrome
If you want a good price for anything you need to understand the walking ATM syndrome and how to bust it down big time.
The ATM syndrome is the confusion that western people are perceived to be rich like hell, never running out of money and can pay any price. So if you as a western guy are saying that something is too expensive it simply can’t be true. You’re just whining and cannot be taken seriously. With that preconception you’re always seen as a walking ATM and never receive a good price in many parts of the world.
To bust down this ATM syndrome you have to show all your cards. Let locals know that you are traveling long-term and not just for a week. Show then how much money you really have in your pockets and tell them how much you can spend every day for room, food, transportation, etc.
To give you an example how this works on the road, imagine you’re on the 30 minute hostel search. After checking out a room that you like you have to build a bit of a relationship with the hotel owner. You cannot simply be another stranger. Be a person who has a name, comes from a country and has a family too. After that conversation you can move on to asking about room prices by throwing out the price you’re able to pay first. I travel on a $25 a day budget, so I often times state something in the $5 to $10 category.
If you sincerely tell people how much money you can spend per day they realize that you don’t have unlimited resources and you’re effectively busting down the ATM syndrome.
After stating your daily room budget you quite often get your room for half the price of the going rate with a big smile and a “shhh! Don’t yell the other guests!”. Bingo! You successfully busted down the ATM Syndrome and easily saved another 30 percent of your shoestring travel budget.
BTW, a nice thing I like to do to show how thankful I am for staying at hostel is sharing a few pieces of fruit or ice cream with my hostel manager.
I like your “ATM syndrome” — in so many countries a westerner is associated with dollar signs.
Aloha Raymond,
Yup, the ATM syndrome is sadly true. But once you got it our of the way your relationship with the locals will change a lot. At least that’s what I found out yesterday again, when my Tuk-Tuk driver whispered to me the price I should really pay for a fresh coconut on the side of the road.
Safe travels and thanks for the comment 🙂
These are some really good tips, especially the one about walking 30 minutes to find hostels. That way you’re still in the general area of the hostel you first liked the look of, but at a much cheaper price. Good job!
Aloha Julia and welcome to the 25 Dollar community!
Thanks for your great comment and believe it or not, I actually have a ton of fun walking around scooping out great places to stay. I guess that’s where my consulting background shines through big time: assess the situation, analyze all variables and make the best possible decision given the circumstances.
Gee, I’m such a nerd sometimes..ha ha ha!
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