How to Travel More and Spend Less in 2023: (My Ultimate Hacks)

It’s around this time of year, that we start to feel a little down as the January blues set in. While the dark, cold nights can be depressing, they can also be an excellent opportunity to reevaluate our plans for the coming year! If you’re wondering how you can travel more and spend less in 2023, please read on.

In the last 10 years of travelling long-term, I’ve become accustomed to meeting people on the road who want to travel more. 

The problem: they don’t know how.

Almost everyone says the same. “Soph, I would love to travel more, but… But… I cannot afford it”. With a hopeless and curious look in their eyes. Wondering how I could possibly be travelling this long term. I’m often accused of having a financial donor or a sugar daddy funding my travels 

But the thing that usually surprise people is: although I travel full-time, I don’t travel that often. 

Right now, for example, I’m enjoying a slow Sunday, sitting in a cabin surrounded by nature atop a remote Ecuadorian mountain in Banos de Agua Santa. I’ve been on the road in South America for 4 months so far and I’m currently on my 9th week in Ecuador alone. 

So no mum, this is not just a phase- I don’t plan on ever returning to my old life in London. 

I’m in it for the long run- living a slow, simple and happy life on the road.

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Because when we go slow, we give ourselves a chance to appreciate all the joy and beauty that surrounds us.

These days, I enjoy waking up without alarms in unfamiliar destinations and making myself fresh juice with local fruits. Slowly strolling around my new area, sipping a coffee from a local cafe on a quaint square and saying “Buenas Dias” to my new Ecuadorian neighbours. I like getting familiar with the local community. Spending time in distant neighbourhoods and making friends in corners across the world. 

This is all possible because I travel slowly. 

Also read: Darkness, Discovery and Divine Timing

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A Different Approach: The Art of Slow Travel

“But Sophia!” you say, ready to slap me with a reality check.

Before you jump down my throat, I’d like to remind you that you do not need an unlimited bucket of money or a wealthy sugar daddy/mummy to fund your travels. Travelling the world with little or no money is possible. It may not be always glamorous, but it is possible.

Again: you do not need to be rich to travel.

I’ll explain.

Though, so many of us decide to travel. It seems we miss the entire point of why we wanted to travel in the first place.

Somewhere between the 200th and 1000th pose in front of another pretty landmark, it gets pretty boring… 

It’s amazing how many backpackers I meet, spending their ‘break’ rushing from place to place. Waking up at the crack of dawn or jumping on flights to tick tourist sites off their bucket lists. The same people then return home, exhausted and depressed because they’ve run out of money and have to go back to work.

(A lot of the time, to earn more money so they can travel again).

What’s crazy is that every one of those people could have made their 1-month budget last 3 months. Or a 6-month budget last a year if only they’d slowed their travels down. But as most people are so set on getting back to their ‘normal lives’, they can’t comprehend the idea of spending 3 months in Bulgaria or a year in India.

Vice versa, the travellers I meet with the slow approach are those who are relaxed, content, free and open to the world and its possibilities. I know people who’ve entered a country with $500 to their name and are still travelling 3 years later. I’ve known people who’ve left their normal jobs to travel and ended up living on the Galapagos Islands as a diving instructor.

These people prove that when we adopt a slow travel mindset we can make our travel dreams a reality.

I learnt this during COVID and living in India in 2020. That travelling long-term is a lot simpler than people think. My life looked a lot different just a year ago. And I can tell you my friends, the sweet gifts of living and travelling slowly are so worth it.

Also read: Osprey Fairview 70 review: A Backpack for Curvy Women!

Slow Travel: The Basics

Slow travel is a powerful offshoot of the slow food movement that began in Italy in the `1980s. As such, it’s a mindset that prioritises quality over quantity and takes the less is more approach. Slow travel removes the “I’ve been to 20, 30 or 40+ countries” attitude, and allows us to structure our travels in a way that focuses on the journey over the destination.

Slow travel is cultural travel. It takes us back to our nomadic origins, to how we once travelled before the modern age of fast flights and life at the click of a button. Its prioritises cultural experiences, like staying with locals and learning traditions, over staying at a 5* resort with a heated pool. This style of travel focuses on gratitude and approaches travel with a less is more mindset. For example, accidentally stumbling across a beautiful remote location with a hostel not even listed on booking.com, over of booking an all-inclusive tour in advance. 

Slow travel, therefore, is a big f*** you to the glamourous Instagram channels and Trip Advisor-style blogging platforms. The ones that promote jumping from place to place, seeing a whole country in a week and ticking off the list of overcrowded must-sees.

Also read: I’ve Been Locked Down in India for 9 Months of the Pandemic

My Ultimate Hack: To Travel More, Travel Less and Travel Slow. 

In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow

Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness

Because by travelling less, we put precedence on learning, connecting and creating with the land and people around us. Instead of speedily ticking things off our bucket lists. By slowing down, we connect with nature, people, history and culture in our destinations, and reap more of the benefits of travel we set out to achieve in the first place. 

Like anything, there may not be a ‘right way to travel’. But I strongly believe rushing around stops us from making the most of our time in foreign destinations.

So here we are my friends, join me as we dive into the world of slow travel, prioritising our time and letting go of where we should be or what we should be doing. Here’s my ultimate hack guide on how we can all travel more in 2023.

How to Travel More and Spend Less in 2023 

I’ll assume by now you’re all fired up and ready to go. Wondering how you too can travel long-term and apply the slow travel mindset to your next adventure. Since each and every slow travel venture is unique, writing you a prescriptive guide on exactly how to slow travel would be a waste of time. It’s a process of trial and error, and I’m also still working on becoming a better slow traveller myself.

But, what this guide will do, is open your eyes to a world of possibilities. The travel hacks detailed below are those that anyone can use, to make travel a reality for you in 2023. 

1. First Things First: Alternative Accommodations 

As with anywhere in the world, be it the ‘normal’ or travel life, it’s likely that your biggest living cost will be your accommodation. As such, to make the long-term travel lifestyle possible, the first thing we need to consider is alternative and nifty ways to lower our living costs.

I have a big list of accommodation-saving tips. I’m in the process of writing a post with all of these tips, so for now, I’ll leave you with these thoughts.  

– Backpacker Hostels and Homestays

The go-to option for backpackers is to stay in hostels. With 6-8 people in a room, I understand why someone people are still apprehensive about giving hostels a go. For some reason, there’s this strange rumour that all hostels are dirty or unsafe, which couldn’t be further from the truth. In November, I stayed at this place for £9 a night in central Cuenca! Clean, comfy, warm and a great place to meet other travellers.

Whether you are a 1st-time backpacker or a retiree, backpacker hostels are a great way to meet people from across the world. From boutique and budget hostels to homestays, there are safe, clean and affordable accommodations around the world.

– Save on accommodation by volunteering

– Housesitting and petsitting

I got to dip my toes in the housesitting gig when a volunteering position offered me a 3 week’s stay at their property while they went on holiday. Looking after 6 cats and 2 dogs in a big house in rural Bulgaria taught me so much about the joy of simply being. Sites such as TrustedHousesitters and UKHousesitters, have become popular in recent years and give us the freedom of time in the destinations we visit.

– Couchsurfing

When Gemma from Greece let me stay in her one-bedroom apartment in Thessaloniki, I was shocked by her kindness as she let me have her bedroom and took the sofa. On my first trip to India, I was overjoyed when Raj, a local businessman let me volunteer in one of his clothing factories in Tamil Nadu. Couchsurfing has restored my faith in human kindness time and time again. Though it has been around for a long time and the platform’s popularity has decreased, in my eyes it’s still the best way to meet locals and gain local tips- more on this here.

– Van/Boat life

I adored travelling off-road in a friend’s campervan through Scotland for 6 weeks in 2022. Imagine having your accommodation and transport all rolled into one, slowly exploring the road less travelled. Getting off the beaten path is one of the sweet joys of travelling slowly, but your own vehicle can take you to unknown and untouched destinations.

I’ve not sailed much, but it seems like the epitome of slow travel. This year I’d love to give it a go and float peacefully around the world or work on cruise ships.

2. Give Back on Your Travels by Volunteering: 

A core value of slow travel is getting involved in the local community and leaving the places we visit in a better state than when we got there. One way to slow down our travels and give back to the destinations we visit is by volunteering. Before I discovered volunteering abroad, I was caught in the cycle of travelling, returning home, working, travelling, returning home etc.

This is because, unknowingly, I’d made my travels all about me, and all about money.

Money used to dictate where I could go and what I could do. But, I’ve learnt in recent years that kindness pays off, and building community empowers us all. By volunteering in the destinations we visit, we not only utilise travel for good, but we can also save on accommodation and often, on food. From volunteering on permaculture projects in Bulgaria to helping a disabled author proofread her books in Portugal, I’ve found volunteering to be a refreshing way to travel and create authentic connections by removing money from the situation.

While I’m reasonably comfortable with finding volunteering opportunities by just showing up in a new little town and checking the local notice boards in a cafe. For first-timers, I’d suggest using Worldpackers or Workaway for access to 1000s of opportunities across the world. Using my links will give you a $10 discount or additional months added to annual memberships!

Also read: A Slow Travel Guide to Bulgaria: 8 Charming Experiences

3. Flight-free Living, go by Land

4. Have a Plan, Don’t be Attached To It

A crucial mindset shift from fast to slow travel is to let go of your itinerary. I used to be the girl who planned every week of her travels ahead of time. A rigid line-by-line Excel spreadsheet had my travels to India in 2020 laid out for 6 weeks.

Buuuuuut, of course, when the pandemic hit in 2020, I threw my beautifully crafted document in the virtual bin and ended up staying in India for 9 months…

These days, I barely plan beyond the next day. Because I’ve learnt that strict plans limit our freedoms and apply rigidity to our day-to-day. As such, it’s good to have a loose plan and a rough idea of where you’d like to go. With enough flexibility to follow new paths that may appear to be free for the plan to deviate and flexible enough to follow new paths. Which means giving up the ‘shoulds’ in life. Where we ‘should’ be or what we ‘should’ be doing and simply letting life pan out the way it’s meant to.

The next level of slow travel. When we begin to let go of the ‘shoulds’ and simply enjoy the time we have granted ourselves to see the world. This is where we find the real freedom and liberation slow travel provides. The freedom of mind to simply wander, explore, and enjoy the beauty of the world without plans.

5. Live Like (or with!) a Local

From a simple smile at a stranger to utilising Couchsurfing.com, my journal is filled with beautiful stories from meeting locals across the world. This one time in Scotland, I wandered into a cafe and got talking to a friendly member of staff about my travels.

Rather than eating at a top 10 restaurant, I find much more joy in meeting a local and enjoying a home-cooked meal. Then, waking up the next day wandering to their favourite nature spot down an unidentified road.

This mindset shift from tourist to traveller turns your plans into possibilities. It gives up our itinerary of having to do everything and see everything, skipping the tourist-hounding hotspots. Reminding me of the simple magic of life on the road.

When you next get on the road, let yourself enjoy the mystical magic and an enhancing thrill of living without plans and stepping into the unknown.

Slow travel is the art of being, and the greatest hack to see and appreciate all the beauty of the world.

Over the years I have travelled the world, I’ve eaten excellent food and seen many incredible landmarks. But even after a year in India or 3 months in Ecuador, I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. Slow travel keeps us curious and revitalised by the world. Now I have homes and friends all over the world, and I’ve still never felt ‘done’ with anywhere.

Slow travel emphasises the joy of being and the power of community and kindness. We all have something to give, be it a room, a skill, an inspiring conversation or a homecooked meal.

Be mindful, slow travel IS budget travel. And to truly enjoy the world, we need to get into the local swing of things and practice the joy of simply being. With so much to see, feel and learn, I often say we are human beings and not human doings and we deserve the time to enjoy the worlds beauty.

So while Trip Advisor would have you running around, waking up at the crack of dawn to tick off all must-see places or top 10 restaurants you must try, you may return home more exhausted, and a lot more broke than necessary. Mix it up this year. With a slow travel mindset and by staying in one place for longer, we can make our travel dreams a reality. When you next hit the road, practice travelling slowly by implementing a variety of these tips. With a little creativity and a more local attitude, we can travel more and for longer on relatively little money.

The world is big and life is short. For the time we have here, let it be beautiful.