Finding Inexpensive Accomodations
Matt Kepnes
Lessons
Travel is Affordable
28:11 2Experienced Travelers on Fears & Money
34:32 3Preparing Yourself For Your Trip
14:48 4Optimizing Your Finances
30:18 5How to Bank Smart
39:44 6Staying Safe
23:03 7Female Travel Safety
28:17Finding Travel Companions
12:25 9Unsupportive Family & Friends
12:58 10Essential Gear and Technology
38:35 11How to Stay Connected on the Road
45:41 12Secrets to Affordable Flights
43:36 13When to Buy and What to Avoid
19:23 14Finding Inexpensive Accomodations
23:08 15Saving Money at Any Destination
26:57 16Save Money on Transportation
26:01 17Save Money on Attractions and Activities
14:09 18Finding Work & Living Abroad
26:31 19Experienced Travelers on Finding Work
31:54 20Career Breaks and Taking Your Job WIth You
29:15 21How to Plan Your Dream Trip
51:30Lesson Info
Finding Inexpensive Accomodations
So flights are really expensive accommodations really expensive after flights this is going to be your biggest that expense you gotta find a place to stay every night um I mean my dad you know love to sleep most feels back in the seventies but I don't care whether it's a seventies or now mostly I'm not sleeping in any field so you know in the states we have education culture we go away we go away for two weeks we relax we hey you know hang out by the hanging by the pool and drink all inclusive moderators and martini's I don't know those batteries so we're used to hotels and so when we travel we sort of have this like that really expensive like I got to stay in a hotel well I'm going to travel around the world for you how you doing before that tells us so expensive how many of you stay in hotels three me too but I stay for freeze and those travel hacking points I really like the w you saw my body's lotion yesterday uh I don't think I've ever paid for a w star would probably would hate t...
o hear that um but there are a lot cheaper alternatives out there I'm going to go through the list because when I say a cheap alternative tio hotel what's the first thing that comes to your mind yeah hostels where else airbnb anything else campaign my car your car sleeping on the train night trains you can sleep on trains yes friends places friends places okay was great I'm those are all great alternatives and they're all listed here too so there's some other good ones so first let's talk about cart serving way sort of address couchsurfing ah yesterday we talked about it over your building in network and as a way to also meet friends locally hospitality networks which is what come surfing really falls under no great they're free you live like a local uk kitchen they take more than one traveler you can have a local tell you like what to do what to see where to go you avoid this area at night you definitely go this area a night to forget party don't walk here watch over these people eat here etcetera etcetera um so I really love hospitality that works because there's nothing better there's no better way to save money than free and you can get a couch I stayed on coaches I've stayed on blow up mattresses I've stayed on beds I've got a whole guest wing myself ones says this guy's mentioned australia I was really nice um you know I've slept on floors it's really a mix and match of whatever it is you in the host on these will like tell you like what kind of bed you'll get you know so you don't show up randomly and be like you for the badge in that's the floor some boring part is you don't get a lot of privacy because you're sharing, you know, usually in their living room, uh made the host is boring that's happened to me, you got to be really trustworthy, your people and I really like looking for profiles that have someone verifying like this person is not, you know, a serial killer and I'm not going to end up, you know, chopped up to pieces it's not always luxurious your living room, you got to be ready for anything you're their guest now, and they want to take you out if you're like, hey, thanks for the free place I'm gonna, you know, be my book for three days kind of defeats the purpose of using it, and they might not want to say that they played great killing here. Um, so couch surfing is the big one, other good ones or be welcome, maybe welcome global freeloaders kind of gives you the message or what they're going for. Ana service e r v s that's an old one as well as hospitality club. Those ones tend to skew older, be welcome, skews very be welcoming global free lawyers, skew young and couch surfing and serve in the mill, but they're great I mean, this is like a free alternative and for all ages you know I have status families I've seen two young kids I've seen old people I've seen you could go as couples you go his family's you just sort of set the search parameters for what you want home exchanges this works is you have a home through nomadic like me don't have a home well I did nothing to exchange but free they're great for it seniors, couples, families comfortably kitchen is your you know your whole house right? Um con you must have a home to offer who has a homes offer two okay, we get three our other seven eight concluded so um the other trust your family gonna be selective and you may end up in a home that really not centrally located so this could be problematic but it's really a great way to swap and there's you know, and all these sort of, you know, hospitality nowhere home exchanges house sitting that we'll get into trust and safety is really an issue. Um but all these sites I have ways to verify your your profile the user profile especially with home exchange and house sitting they have tons of liability insurance that you can get um so you got to trust other people but bear in mind they're trusting you to yes going through a couch surfing and using the system of verifying them have you had any lake pretty questionable experience is the worst thing I ever had on culture thing was somebody told me I got a bed and actually on the couch in the head in their seats and so I would like to sleep in my jacket but I've the system is pretty self right regulating because people are you know, verifying you leaving honest reviews and they do go through ah process that doesn't mean you're never going to get someone who's boring a little weird or maybe a little sketchy but that's why I try to stick to profiles who have you know I see here I stayed here I've stayed here if you're a girl and you see a guy's profile the only people who are saying I say there are girls he's probably using couch surfing for more than just you know showing local zahran showing other people around so keep that in mind great officer of families wouldn't but matt do you know of anybody kazama is asking just couchsurfing network will for families yes it does it does again change your search having soon you know how many people like I'll be say fifty exactly boardings but it's usually like you know how many people will we are with your party or host like four people and then it will just show back and people who are willing to host that many people okay for families check that button how something is another thing to do you know if you want to stay and john and alison talked about this and they're talking about how they were going up to bc and they had signed up for a bunch of houses there well, you know if you go away you don't want your house is empty for four months while you're away I'll come and watch it for you it's free I get the kitchen and I get you need to use your car I get to meet your neighbors um you know, so it's a great service I mean, there are things you need to watch out for, but all these sites understand that you know, people are naturally suspicious of others, so they work to build trust and, you know, you can bet people I mean, for the house saying you can interview people you know, it doesn't feel right now for same thing with the home exchange I don't remember people are swapping with you, so they're just as freaked out and you can always send your neighbors to know and your friends to minor apartment rentals. You had talked about air being day, I used to use couch surfing a lot, but I find as I got older, I really don't I like to use culture from a lot because I like my own space and that tend to have like to write a lot on guy again, I find the rule if I was like, hey, thanks for the free college now don't mind, may I have to type like four articles and answer some e mails? I really have grown into apartment rentals and that's renting out like an airbnb home slightly home away the r b o vacation rental by owner people renting out extra space in their home. We talked about this as a way to earn some extra money. They're cheaper than hotels, um, more expensive and hostile, so there certainly in between the private there, calm the furnace, you could get a kitchen so you can cook, thereby reducing your food costs stay longer, so I really like them. They're good, you know? One thing you definitely want, oh, watch out about is where the location is, you can't just talk yesterday about, you know, she was in the very early, you know, quiet, part of time, and, you know, maybe she realized she's going to start saying, in places where there's lights and people around, you know, if you're really removed from the center, one that could take a lot of money to get to where you want to see, but, you know, you're in a quiet neighborhood that you don't really know at home, you don't really know, and so I did this in london I definitely got the department really kind of sketchy part of time you know? So you want to be conscious of where that homeless look att can you address before you move on negotiation you know there's the price that's listed and then there's what the hell? Martel's um I've never negotiated the price I just sort of pay would pay with is asked I think that's something that that she they rather encouraged on airbnb they want you to you know say would you take you know, whatever they want two hundred would you take hundred fifteen? Apparently people are very open to that they like the negotiation process so I know they're discount offer like long term like can you stay a couple of nights? Um ah, yes, I learned something I will start negotiating but you know, I just figured, you know, people are forty bucks for the night every forty bucks for the night on travel anywhere is saying that if you've never catch this before, how do you set yourself up with the network? S o if there wasn't like a meet up in your area, this is really new to you and people looking to see because they're vetting you just as much as you do, so we have a full profile, you know, lots of pictures of yourself up there feel everything out completely um join groups you know, even just if you're just interacting with people online in the group's get friends to verify you have couchsurfing verify you because just because you don't have a home because I mean they they won't let us sort of a traveler um and those are some ways to do it such your own cops sniffing up yes, a place that I list on airbnb and a lot of the people do trying to negotiate on the price yeah if the dates are really close then I'll typically go a lower price because I just want to get those dates booked that starting to look out for if you're using it okay was great well negotiate I'm a bad negotiating those I mean like you said fifty will have a forty nine soul cheaper um yeah so if with couch surfing you know make sure your profiles complete and they can see like you're sort of a real person and get verified by culture thing themselves interact with some groups and have some friends or give you some thumbs up especially if they have used car stuffing before and they sort of have a verified profile so I could be like cruz is john and says, you know bob is awesome quicker in your profile and I'll see you like you're a real person with great um social prove him all right well we'll must be great so let's let's bright bring him over I went to germany to do a tv show for years and somehow they had gotten to book me a room, so I did a thing be and it was great, but he was the airbnb because I've never used to before he kept saying I'm really nervous coming to a skype call I really need to see you and I'm on tv you know what e mean it that way you can find out who I am you can see whatever buddies and no I need to talk to any sky and I appreciated that I've never done it before he needed to make sure he didn't have a single white female coming too and I'll say the other way around actually my husband and I when we first moved to san francisco we did airbnb and we instead of booking it before we saw it, we went in and saw it and negotiated and then decided to book it from there I think you have to remember you are going into somebody's home the other thing yeah definitely um so a couple of things to get through the time farm stays firm yet they're like more like a bed and breakfast is it can be kind of pricey, but you get to be on the nature uh there a lot of farm state websites from australia from say, us peaceful calm, very family friendly, very good for a long term traveler who should have wants to stay in a place for a while you're going you might be allowed to work for your meals room and board um there's ah something called wolfing on that similar uh when working uh working on organic farms um it's free the only and you farm skills just kind of show up there's a little book you get you pay a membership fee they give you a book of funds that accept workers use included yet to give back you have a lot of it's a great place to the other long term travelers even if you just want two weeks go somewhere and work wolfing it is great probably that could be luxurious you're going to have to wake up early and do farm work um johnny and the experience and so this sort of the flip side of the farm's day I stayed on in permaculture farm and it was actually more luxurious than you would think and there was a waterfall nearby and we played and I actually got to learn a lot about something that I don't know about. There was an experience of learning and also, um didn't work us too hard yeah yeah yeah this is a really popular thing, especially in australia, new zealand lots of travelers do farm work, pick a lots of fruit strawberries and cream ice pick by intrepid backpackers looking to stay longer you know is really popular. France is really popular thing is growing and central and south america you had a question would you have any like websites you'd recommend to look for those suffering dot com so here's another unique thing to stay monasteries most times you can stay with them for free but some of them do cost money keep in mind that you know, while their family friendly you often get meals included monks and nuns wake up pretty early and you're waking up with them and you probably will likely have a curfew. Um but you know there's the community's santiago which is a big programmers trail through france and spain, same monasteries and free um, you know, it's really a very different way to stay, but there are many, many my service that will let you stay there's a few up sites out there. Uh, but most time you kind of have to call up or show up. Um, you know, I sort of find out they're great expressions. You could do like a pilgrim in his path like you wanted to like the community is santiago. You want to walk that you wanted to the one in turkey that canada's talked about yesterday um yeah, definitely unique way and, you know, oftentimes cost very little asking the question about conference in europe it's the same thing in europe thing I think you know the convents you know you'll be a woman for most juries tend to be open more male but sometimes we'll take families and such before we move on from exchanging stays for worker or anything like that do you have that could be concerned with visas or any kind of application process you should always look at the work visa policies off the country going for so in australia new zealand which have a big pool of applicants to pull from they tend to look for travelers who are on working holiday visas which is a visa you can get if you're thirty or younger and allows you to work in that country and I've known in europe where people have just showing up and you know as long as you're not overstaying your tourist visa that's sort of fine uh it depends really on the farm and the country so in europe you can't get away with it and normally attend to like you have more of a visa this game the neighbors tend to be sticklers for the rules uh surely new zealand they do want to have a visa just because it's such an important part of that local economy and there's so many people coming in doing it they'd much rather make sure everything's on the up and up so lastly that's our hospitals who loves hostiles? I love hospitals who thinks hostels are only for young people who thinks you're going to end up in bratislava, the subject of america medical experiment bratislava thanksgiving not a good time we have to compare notes yeah you so hostels have this perception that they're you know they're old dirty there's taking either filled with thinking backpackers and the facilities are so nice and you know you're going to get we're told fungus when you go into the shower um that made into a long time ago, but now they tend to be pretty nice there very affordably a storm rooms you get private rooms, they're great place to meet people who talked up about that yesterday essentially located they have informed staff even if I'm not staying at a hostel, I will walk into hostile and ask the staff where's a good local market were some cheap things to dio they they feel those questions all day every day from travelers they know the budget stuff to dio so here's a tip even if you're not staying in the hospital, go in and ask them about things to do and see and working cheap because they're going to know most have kitchens, which is great because you can cook your meals and save money on food some of the downside is that yes, when you in a place full of young travelers they tend to be a lot and they might party a little bit too much. There may not always be family friendly and not all of them our super clean, but there are plenty that are family friendly. There are plenty of other super clean, and there are ones not so loud. Uh, why a j hostels are great for groups and family travelers you can look on hostile world dot com hostile bookers, hostile dot com all these sites allow you to sort of see rankings for hospitals as well as reviews, so you can know if, like, you know, maybe that one person was like, uh, this wasn't spotless, I think is dirty, but if everybody is like the shower smelled, then maybe they're not going to be too clean, so you keep this mind hostels are a great place to meet people I love staying in hostels. I don't stay in dorms too often because I don't sleep well and I'm passed that stage in my life were sleeping with eight people in dorm room while five people are snoring is enjoyable experience for may, but I love them. They have showed pictures to my parents of hostiles, I've stayed that that have common rooms and wifi and first class kitchen and organize tourism like he's at the hospital I remember like no totally different out as people have grown up in sort of the technology age, they have higher expectations of comfort, and they expect more from hostiles. You can still find those buy them barrel hostiles, but most of time they're really nice. So with that, uh, I will leave you with that. There are many alternatives to simply book your flight, book your hotel and forget it. Mentality that you see so often is just going to one site, you know, go to the hotels dot com site book. I'm done. If you not, you know, search a little bit, think outside the box, you're going to find ways to not be the sucker paid the most money for the plane ticket, and you can find great alternatives to hotels. A lot of tuesday, get more in touch with locals, save you money, and you have a kitchen meet. Great people.
Class Materials
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
I discovered this course via Matt's blog. It's a fantastic course with a ton of practical information about budget travel that can be applied to any trip—whether it be a year long around-the-world adventure or a two-week family vacation. Matt covers everything from booking flights and accommodations to what backpack to buy, how to find jobs abroad, how to keep your tech stuff safe, and so much more. He also has quite a few knowledgeable guests who offer their own great advice. But the best part of the course is how inspiring it is. Matt really helped me understand that travel is possible. You don't have to be a millionaire; you just have to be willing to do a little planning. I'd definitely recommend this course to anyone interested in traveling.
Andrea Magee
I used Matt's travel blog city and country guides on my recent 3 month trip through Southeast Asia and New Zealand. This course got me thinking about where next, and how to travel for longer. Coming into the course, I already felt like I knew a lot about travel, but Matt has great insights and things I hadn't considered before. New travelers or seasoned ones, it's a big world out there and stress-free budget travel can help you get going!