Budget travel

Hi there,

This topic has come up before, but I wanted to share a fresh experience from early 2025.

For those of you looking to take the bus to Santiago Airport, I recommend taking the Centropuerto bus from their departure point, which is located in the middle of Alameda, Santiago’s main avenue, just outside Line 1 of the Los Héroes metro station. If you board the bus anywhere else, it’ll most likely be full, and if you have luggage, that can be a hassle.

During daytime hours on weekdays, these buses run every 10 to 15 minutes. Plan for anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour to reach the airport from this spot, depending on the time and traffic.

The ticket costs 2000 CLP pesos, payable in cash in the local currency—about 2 € or $2 USD per person.

Hi everyone, I’m thinking of heading to Southern Africa next autumn for several months. I’d love some advice on my itinerary—I’m looking for authentic spots with cheap accommodation. I know Southern Africa is generally pricier than Asia or Latin America because of the lack of backpacker infrastructure (except maybe Cape Town). I’m planning to visit South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, and maybe Eswatini. My main goal in South Africa is to see the coexistence between white, mixed-race, and Black communities. I think I’ll skip Namibia and Botswana because of the cost of living. Thanks

hi I’m planning to visit Quebec this summer and I’d love to hear about any great tips for budget accommodations in Quebec City and elsewhere. Thanks in advance to everyone! Danilo

Hi everyone, Next year I’d love to spend some time in the Dolomites and do a few nice hikes—not too difficult. Can anyone give me some tips? I’ve read that it gets super crowded, you have to start really early, and everything’s pretty expensive. Anyone familiar with the area? Thanks for your help

Hi there, For our upcoming trip to China, we're planning to get around by bus and train. For trains, we found a few sites, including: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqfiOqfmBSYlDwjPCXo4nkF7uF3ILYs_o3wlLu9uBy7gC7iN-2C, and for buses: https://www.chinabusguide.com/ but the latter site isn’t very complete. Have any of you tried other sites? Thanks for your help! Alod

Hi everyone! This is my first time in Spain, and I don’t know it at all. I’m heading to Barcelona for 3 days, but I don’t have any specific plans yet. I’ve heard it can be quite expensive, so I’d love to get some tips on how not to break the bank during these 3 days! 😊

Hi there, we’re heading to the Seychelles at the end of March for two weeks. I was thinking 5 days in Praslin, 3 days in La Digue, and 5 days in Mahé. Does that time split sound good to you?! For accommodation in Praslin, does the Grande Anse area seem nicer than St Anne for a quiet stay? And on Mahé, is the south coast or the west coast better? Do you know where the boats usually leave from for island-hopping excursions? Last question: I’m a fisherman and I’ll have some gear with me. Do you know where the fishing reserves are? Are there any small harbors where I can hop on a boat with locals? Thanks in advance for your tips!

Hi Could you tell me how often the bush taxis run from Ampefy to Tana?

Hi there,

We’re planning a trip around Madrid to visit the must-see spots—Alcalá de Henares, El Escorial, Chinchón, etc. We’ll be traveling from Béziers by train and getting around by bus or train. Which village would be the best base for a week-long stay, given that Madrid itself is too expensive for us?

Thanks for your help!

Hi there, Could you please let me know if there are any campgrounds on the islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, Lanzarote, and La Palma? Thanks in advance!

Hi there,

I’m planning a trip to Lindos with my 15-year-old son for a week in July.

I’m looking for a 3-star hotel with breakfast and, if possible, half-board. Or any other affordable accommodation (up to 700 € for the week) that isn’t too far from the center of Lindos, since I won’t be renting a car. However, we do want to do some activities (visit to Lymos, etc.).

Thanks in advance.

My friend and I are arriving in New Delhi on March 4th at 12:05 AM. Could anyone recommend a decent and affordable hotel? Is 20 € the going rate? Thanks!

Hi there! Right now, we're in the southeast part, Isan, staying with a French guy. We don’t cook much—at most, a restaurant meal for 5 people costs us 1000 baht, with 3 big tsinga and, of course, a full stomach.

Hi everyone,

Any bus companies you’d recommend for Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh?

Thanks!

I'm arriving in Agadir from Brussels tomorrow and plan to travel by road to Mauritania. What are the best spots and accommodation options along the way? Thanks to all members for any tips and answers

hi everyone, here’s the thing I just made a hotel reservation on Agoda through Kayak

I found an interesting hotel in Krabi—booking directly through Agoda was 160 € per night, but when I searched the same hotel and dates on Kayak, it showed 136 € per night... So I went with that option via Kayak, and I landed on Agoda with the original price of 160 € crossed out and the new price at 136 €. I completed the payment and instantly received an email from Agoda confirming the booking.

But why such a discount? I’ve got quite a few more bookings to make, and they’re all cheaper through Kayak. I’ve seen negative reviews about Kayak, but only for flights. Plus, at the bottom of Agoda’s site, it says Kayak and Agoda are partners.

I’d love to know if anyone else has used this method and if they had any bad surprises... Like the site canceling the reservation last minute or the price suddenly going up.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts! :)

Hi there! 😊 I’d love to take my two kids (12 and 14) away in July. We’ve never traveled all three of us together before. My son would like to go to Italy, but nothing’s set in stone… We’d like to go abroad, but I have two tricky conditions: - Budget max 1000 € all-in, I’ve tried but I can’t save any more than that 😅 - I have some health issues, so… I can’t drive for more than 2-3 hours. No way we can go by car. Also, once we’re there, I can’t do long hikes or sports (short walks and swimming are fine).

Any ideas, please?

I’ve started looking at Airbnbs and the prices are reasonable, but as soon as I check flight tickets 😵💸🔥

Maybe it’s better to go for an all-inclusive place like Booking.com?

Thanks so much to anyone who can help! 😊

Hi, we’re planning a 15-day road trip in mid-May. We’d like to rent a vehicle with a reliable agency (I’d seen CIZGI, but the reviews are really mixed). Rates with full insurance are around 1000 € or even more…) Do you know of a rental company that won’t rip us off? Thanks for your help. Praline33

Hi, I’d like some info on buying flight tickets for 4 people to Guadeloupe. Like many, I’m looking for reasonable prices. Where can I buy tickets and pay in installments so it’s not too much all at once? Best regards,

Hi there, We’re heading to Argentina and Chile next February and really want to do the Carretera Austral starting from Coyhaique.

We’d love some info and feedback on bus routes to get to Coyhaique: Buenos Aires to Comodoro (which we’ve found pretty easily so far), or Buenos Aires to Bariloche (same, there are buses).

The tricky part is getting to Coyhaique in Chile, the starting point for the Carretera Austral. We can’t find any routes! Has anyone done this trip before and could share some tips?

Thanks in advance

Hi everyone,

Need some fresh advice, please.

I’m planning a trip to Japan for late February/early March 2025.

A friend who usually travels there often used to fly from Marseille (yes, really) with round-trip tickets for around 500-odd euros to Tokyo—something that’s impossible to find now. Her last trip was just two months ago.

Any tips, please?

I already know flights magically get more expensive on weekends, but I’m looking for tips to find fares under 900 € per person...

Thanks in advance!

"By the time a man realizes his father was probably right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong." 😛 — Charles Wadsworth

😉

Hi, I'd like to find a small hotel on the main street, not too far from the beach. Thanks for your help! Fanfancom

Hi everyone, So great to be back on our forum!...

For the past few years, I’ve been traveling on a budget, especially by sleeping as often as possible in campgrounds or in my car... If I can help, I’d be happy to.

Hello, My wife and I are planning a 15-day trip to Cambodia. Could you share some itinerary ideas with us? Thanks

bonjour, petit passage à tangalle pour profiter de la plage et se reposer logement à"patini bungalows" en bord de mer , acces direct plage bungalows tres clean, accueil extra par severine et daya et leur 2 enfants longue plage, plusieurs kilometres à faire en balade, de nombreux restaux sympa et pas cher: "malika" et "little pumkim" sympa prix moyen: "star fish", "blue horizon", "zanzibar restaurant", "chance lanka" sympa plus standing: "ibis bungalows", "ganesh beach" logements trés nombreux de ce coté là de la ville et pas mal coté route de matara transport tuk-tuk à privilégier, meme pour aller à temple rock; de toute façon les conditions de circulation sont difficiles pour tous les moyens de transport:entre 40 et 50/heure maxi de moyenne au restau, vous devrez attendre partout environ 30à40 minutes pour manger, rien n'est fait à l'avance on est au sri lanka et "demain est un autre jour"; dites bonjour à tous ces braves gens , cela leur fera plaisir condition de baignade difficile; preferer le matin pour vous baigner;écouter les conseils des locaux pas très loin du port, les petits pécheurs ramènent le filet à la plage avec l'aide de la population si vous passez par là, donnez un petit coup de main;le marché a lieu le mercredi et samedi prés de la gare de bus les petites boutiques sont sympa et peu chères; pour le courrier, la poste est prés de l'hopital; tangalle est une petite ville simple ou l'industrie du tourisme n'est pas encore présente, profitez-en . bon voyage!!

hi, I’m heading to Amsterdam for the weekend on November 10th and 11th, 2024. Do I need to book tickets in advance for things like the Anne Frank House or multi-day bus-boat passes? Thanks!

Bonjour à Tous

Juste une petite question : Les bus 350 et 351 entre Paris et Roissy Charles de Gaulle sont ils actuellement au tarif de 6 € ( 3 tickets ) ou au nouveau tarif de 2 € ( 1 ticket ) ?

Merci et Bon week end

bonjour, je fais cette recherche pour un ami, car en ce qui me concerne, je voyage plutot dans des endroits confortables et pas forcement bon marché...

quel est l'endroit, mer et plages ou il peut aller se poser 3 mois, ou il peut aller dans une guest house, et normalement..pas bouger pendant ces 3 mois...cette année il est allé a madagascar mais ce n'est pas la bonne période et il a eu pas mal de pluie.

en revanche, il l'avait choisi car cil ne parle pas anglais, mais je pense qu'il peut s'organiser avec les quelques mots dont il aura besoin... un grand merci si vous pouvez m'aider a lui faire quelques propositions, jeanne

hello les aventuriers

j'ai décidé de voyager en ethiopie vers le mois de septembre.j'ai entendu que c'est un super beau pays. j'aimerai avoir le temoignage de ceux qui ont été la-bas. j'attends vos conseils avec impatience Anysia

Bonjour à tous, Je pars avec ma copine un mois en Chine cet été, avec départ et retour à Pékin puisque nous avons choisi de prendre le train. Conditions météorologiques obligent, nous n'irons pas sur le littoral mais privilégierons a priori un trajet Pékin - Sichuan - Yunnan - Tibet - Pékin (nous sommes de gros marcheurs et prendrons des trains de nuit). Mon problème, concernant le Tibet, tient à ceci qu'étant étudiants notre budget demeure quelque peu serré, ce qui entre en contradiction avec les conditions d'obtention du Tibet Permit : si donc nous sommes bel et bien obligés de passer par une agence, les prix affichés sont de fait exorbitants. D'où une double question : - Connaissez-vous des agences qui présentent des prix réellement abordables ? - Pour ce qui est des agences elles-mêmes, est-il possible d'allier l'exigence de prix et celle d'une autonomie conservée au moment d'arriver au Tibet, sans être soumis aux agendas préconçus des guides (nous marchons beaucoup, donc, et voudrions visiter des monastères ou des camps pas toujours mentionnés) ? Avoir un guide ou un véhicule apparaît plutôt comme un bien, mais pas la nécessité de rattachement à un groupe ou à un agenda. Par avance en vous remerciant, Théo