Park Güell Barcelona

It's the season where we all turn our faces to the endless blue skies and puffy white clouds and daydream where our next vacation would be. If you live somewhere that remains mostly grey throughout the year, you might be wishing you could get away to somewhere sunny or even extend that regular vacation into something longer.

Globetrotting is something that everyone should try to do at least once in a lifetime. You could experience the medley of cultures across the planet and seeing the sun setting in different horizons. That’s one of the best life experiences that you could get!

Other than a lack of sufficient vacation days from work, money could be one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to travelling. But with a little thinking outside the box, you can bypass the money issue in its entirety and see the world. Sure, you might have to change up what you have in mind for the perfect vacation, but it's worth it.

A fancy beach hotel with the infinity pool might not fit your budget, but if you’re willing to go for a more down to earth experience, then there’re ways you could make your dream of travelling come true. Here’re 8 tried and true ways to bring down your budget. Let's go!

Open-air bath in the middle of Pacific Ocean

Colosseum in Rome

Save Your Airfare

Airline tickets can often be enough for someone to put their world travel dreams to bed, but it doesn't have to be a deal breaker. You can get around the high-ticket prices in many ways. For example, the credit card that you use probably has tons of travel rewards and benefits that you may not have discovered yet. Some card companies have points systems whereby you can earn points for purchases, and as you build them up, you can exchange them for miles. Another trick is to clear cookies on your computer. Your computer reads your searches and saves them, so next time, you may find that your ticket prices shoot up!

Haggle, Haggle, Haggle

There’s an art to haggling down a price. For example, when you are dealing with accommodation, you can get the price down simply by asking. If you're planning to travel for a longer duration, you might want to look for a studio apartment for rent monthly. That way, you could negotiate a lower price by paying all upfront. If you don't ask, you don't get. And that’s the harsh reality. You might get turned down in your haggling efforts, and that's okay, you can try again another time. Always smile and always keep as friendly as possible, what's the worst that could happen?

House Sitting Can Be A Winner

There’re services out there asking for house and pet sitters, and you can find these around the world. And the best thing is that you can often earn some extra cash for doing so. Hotels can put a real hole in your travel budget. Consider refraining putting your dollars in a pillow menu and a rainfall shower, instead put them towards the travel experiences. Check out sites like this and see if you can house sit your way around the world.

Self-Cater Where You Can

All-inclusive vacations can be attractive, and it's because it saves you time from planning and having to cook or clean up after yourself. However, when you’re trying to travel around the world, you’ll need to save up for the experiences as much as you can. If you have an apartment to stay in while you travel, you might want to consider self-catering. Not only you're in control of the ingredients and budget, you can choose how extravagant or economical you want a meal to be. You can even meal prep and have them ready to go while travelling.

Use Public Transit

Renting a car can be expensive, and taking the taxis everywhere isn't always the most practical. Sometimes being behind the wheel can also take away from the experience you're having as you can't even interact with locals and your surroundings as much. A great tip that is often suggested by travel sites is to walk as much as you can. And if not, look into the public transit system or rent a bike. A lot of major cities have robust public transit system that can take you almost everywhere with ease and little cost. You could meet locals and new friends and learn a whole lot more about the city that you’re visiting at the same time.

Biking around Kyoto, Japan

Cinque Terre, Italy

Think Twice About Souvenirs

Most of the friends and families might expect you to bring home some souvenirs, especially if you are traveling the world. It's time to say a hard nope. Souvenirs could add to your cost and also weight to your luggage. And you’d want to minimize these as much as possible. When you're travelling around the globe, it’s best to travel as lightly as possible. Instead of spending on souvenirs, consider sending them a postcard instead. You could even post photos on social media to allow your loved ones to see your journey as you go.

Work If You Can

Other than a lack of sufficient vacation days from work, money could be one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to travelling. But with a little thinking outside the box, you can bypass the money issue in its entirety and see the world. Now, you might not be stretching as far as to wonder how much does it cost to own a private jet, but by doing a little extra saving, you can be well on your way to being able to travel any time you wish. Sure, you might have to change up what you have in mind for the perfect vacation, but it's worth it.

Working at a bar, serving tables and pouring coffee is one of the best ways to earn some money for your adventure to prolong the time that you're traveling. You can go from place to place, seeing the world and paying as you go. It's a great way to learn the area and get to know new people, too! Check out these 15 ways to earn money while traveling.