Dirt Cheap Journeys

Whether you are traveling within your own country or you have bit the bullet and decided to go abroad there are many ways to help cut down the cost of travel. In fact there are ways to get free accommodation, discounts on flights, & cheap food.

First of all you need to change your mindset about what you actually need and think simplicity. In reality you need very little to live on and if you can give up some amenities you can travel very cheaply. Your expenses on the road can be significantly less than what you are paying at home. This is especially true if you are planning on traveling long term and have either rented out your home or are not a home owner and your lease is up at your apartment. If you are a home owner do not fret as there are home exchange programs available to you. We will discuss those a bit later.

The most difficult expense to reduce is transportation. Patience and planning is the key to getting a good deal on flights, bus tickets, and train tickets. Very often if you are able to purchase your ticket several months in advance you can get a pretty food deal. I got a one way ticket to Dublin Ireland from Chicago for $245.00 which wasn’t to bad. I purchased the ticket about 6 months in advance though. Consider a multi-stop ticket or a RTW ticket. These can save you a huge amount of money. It is cheaper to purchase a Multi-stop RTW ticket than it is to purchase a round trip ticket to Bangkok. The ticket will be good for a years worth of travel.

Train & bus travel are also good ways to travel and you can get good deals. After checking out Amtrack you can go from Cleveland to Sacrament California for $196 by train. I certainly cannot drive across country for that price. When in Europe be sure to look into a Eurail pass but do not overlook flights as they can be a great deal going from one country to another.

Travel does not have to be expensive. It just has to be fun and meaningful. These are some videos that I found to be very inspirational.

Trains and a Cold Night: Part one

Santa Barbara Morning: Part two

Into the Mountains: Part Three

Confusion on the Night: Part Four

Along the Coast: Part Five

A few years ago myself and my good friend Matt decided to take a bicycle trip across the country. Our friends Candice & Lee were moving to California and we all had a mutual friend in Minnesota so we quit our jobs, loaded up our backpacks & camping gear and we rode out there with them and brought our bicycles with us.

After spending a few days with our friends and having a great time while enjoying free accommodations and free food we began our journey. Until this point I have never experienced freedom as I had during this trip. I had my bicycle, Camping & fishing gear , and a good friend traveling with me. We were really just living in the moment going where we pleased.

The first nights accommodations were camping illegally at Lake Minnetonka. At this point I realized that the state of Minnesota has more mosquitoes than anywhere else on earth. We were camping out under the stars with just our sleeping bags. Dinner consisted of power bars & some ramen cooked with an msr pocket rocket.

The next day we road for about 10 hours arriving at a campground. Unfortunately I cannot remember where. I had to stop at a bike shop and buy a more comfortable seat. The one I had was killing me. I asked for the squishiest most comfy seat available and I had no problem dropping $65 to get it. It was well worth it. We spent a few days camping in the town who’s name I cannot remember. We fished a bit and did a little bit of grocery shopping, buying rice, bread, peanut butter & jelly, tang, and ramen. All of which is cheap and easily prepared. We were drinking water mostly throughout the trip but the tang was a nice change. We would just fill up the water bottles on our bikes at gas stations and convenience stores. We carried several water bottles and each of us had a camelback with us. We were able to eat for about $25 a week.

We would fill our shampoo bottles with soap from restaurant restrooms. We were just living freely and cheaply going wherever we wanted. Eventually we ended up in Lake Lillian Minnesota. We stayed at a very nice campground.

At this point we met with my parents and rode across South Dakota with them. Stopping to see Cosmos & Mount Rushmore. We camped in the badlands which was just amazing. I really had a good time out there. Eventually we all ended up in Yellowstone in Wyoming. We got fishing licenses and fished in a beautiful crystal clear lake, saw old faithful, elk, & wild buffalo. We stayed in Yellowstone for a few days. I want to go back and spend more time there.

After that we parted ways with my parents in Jackson Hole Wyoming. We crossed the Teton pass by bike. Ok, actually we walked our bikes up most of it and rode down the other side very, very, quickly. I wasted a set of brake pads on the way down! Neither of us had breakfast that day or anything to eat at all. We ended up in Idaho at a primitive campground that day. When we got there I was really light headed and needed to eat. We had some soup and some canned fruit & set up camp for the next couple of days.

After that we rode to Idaho City & did not find any campgrounds so we stayed at an amerihost hotel. It was nice getting to sleep in a bed and getting a nice shower. The next day consisted of an 80 mile stretch through the desert ending in a town called Arco. We were using SPF 50 Sunblock applied every couple of hours. I ended up getting ahead of my friend Matt by a few miles. I was getting worried about him and ended up turning around and going to look for him. Well he had ended up hitching a ride as he was out of water and was laying on the side of the road. It was nice that someone stopped to see if he was ok. I had been trying to flag down cars passing by me to see if they had seen my friend. Everyone of them did not stop and just looked at me as if I were crazy. Matt and the guy he had hitched a ride with stopped and I gave Matt a bottle of water. It turns out there is a rest area about 3 miles ahead. There was not enough room in the car for me & my bike so I told Matt that I would catch up with him soon. They took off and I began riding. Within the first mile I got a flat tire! Talk about luck. So I begin walking with my bike and come to a cross roads. Not knowing which way to go I hung a right and a guy with a pickup truck stopped and I asked him for directions. It turned out I was going the wrong way and he ended up taking me to the rest area to meet Matt. We had rode about 65 miles that day and he took us to the closest campground which was in Arco. It is so nice to find good people who will help you out. We stayed at this campground for a few days. We got in contact with our friends Lee & Candice and we decided that this was going to be the end of the bike ride. Our friends came out and picked us up and took us back to California with them. We stayed at a hotel In Oakland on Telegraph street.

I had not been to the ocean since I was little and the next day we went and we swam. It was very nostalgic for me and brought back memories of growing up near Virgina Beach. We explored San Francisco for a few days and had a great time. I had awesome sushi in China town. The next day we got kicked out of our hotel and headed out RT 1 and ended up camping on a beach for a week. Sleeping by the ocean is so amazingly relaxing. I love watching the tide come in by moonlight. We found sea urchin & starfish in tidal pools. We met local surfers, fishermen, and other people camping on the beach. I remember meditating hand in hand with Candice under the moonlight just listening to the waves crashing and watching the tide come in closer & closer.

On our way back to the city we picked up a hitch hiker who was on his way to Oakland to a show at a place called purple house. It was a communal house and that night there was a show going on with several different bands playing. Food not bombs was there cooking, and we met some really cool people and Matt, Candice, & I ended up grilling vegan hotdogs and vegetables for everyone. Then Eventually the cops showed up and said that we were breaking a noise ordinance and shut the place down.

A few days later Matt & I were on our way back to Ohio on a greyhound. We had given our bikes to Candice & Lee. After a 3 day bus ride we were home. However my home felt strange to me. It felt confining and awkward. I learned so much about myself during this trip. I learned that I do not want to conform to the typical live, work, die mentality that most so quickly embrace. I want so much more out of life. I want to travel the world and learn about new cultures. After returning from that trip I ended up traveling all over that year. I ended up in Maine, Tennessee, North Carolina, Vermont, New york and many other places. Now I am moving onto my next goal a round the world trip.

Badlands South dakota

Badlands Sunset

Tetons Wyoming

Waterfall in Yellowstone

Tidal Pool in California

Pacific Ocean

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