Regions like Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, offer an amazing opportunity to travel and see the world, at a fraction of what it costs to travel throughout Europe or North America. However, unlike Europe and North America where you can find volumes of money saving tips off the internet or from guidebooks, the developing world is a much less “charted” frontier. It takes a little bit of time to learn how to best make your way through these amazing lands without getting ripped-off, or paying for expensive services when the cheap ones will do just fine.

The following is a list of what I like to call the “5 fundamentals of Budget Travel in the Developing World”, and is meant to be an introduction to the ideas and mindset behind budget travel in regions like: Southeast Asia, Central Asia, China, India, Africa, Eastern Europe, Central America, and South America. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and to add to the list below in the comments section.

1. Book with Local Companies: This one is huge. If I had a nickel for every traveler I’ve met in a developing country that paid an outrageous sum of money to some international operator to organize their trip, I would be able to afford an international operator. International operator that organize tour packages around the world serve a purpose (basically they organize everything so you don’t have to – and do so at a high fee), but if you are on a budget they ARE NOT the way to go. Instead support the local businesses and book your tour with local companies who could really use the money, and who will charge you half what a big international operator would. For example as ascent of the Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador with an international tour company like South American Experience will cost you around $310, while an equal ascent of the same volcano only costs around $198 with a highly reputable local company like Moggely Climbing.
2. Eat like a local: Forget about all your favorite foods and snacks back home, as they are probably imported and expensive where you are traveling. Instead eat in basic local restaurants, and learn to cook with locally produced ingredients. Ask the local women for advice.
3. Travel like a local: Avoid flying, taxis, and other relatively expensive forms of transportation whenever possible. Ask the locals the best and cheapest ways to get from point A to point B, and follow their advice. In most regions of the world this means taking buses, minibuses, or trains. It’s not always a glamorous way to travel, but is extremely economical when compared with other options such as flying.

   *With the recent emergence and price wars among low-fare carriers in Asia, it is now possible to find reasonable flights throughout much of Asia. Again, just do the research, ask the locals, and you should have no trouble finding the best fares.

4. Get travel tips from fellow travelers that have been there before: For site-specific travel tips, your best resources are your fellow travelers. People who have been there before can give you great advice on where to go, what to do, what to avoid, etc. Just ask fellow travelers you meet throughout your travels, in hostels, internet cafes, or get online and get advice from one of the many online travel forums such as: Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree Forum, Trip Advisor or the BootsnAll Forum. The online forums are great, just sign-up, post a question and you should have a couple of answers within 24 hours.
5. Get non-travel tips from the locals: For basic logistical matters, you have a whole country of experts to ask. Locals are usually more than willing to give advice on how to get around, what to beware of, what’s available, where to eat, etc. While information can be unreliable when you ask total strangers for advice, if you can make a couple of friends and direct your more important questions at people that are actually concerned with your well-being, hostel workers, you will likely find their advice and tips to be very valuable.

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