It always ended with a plan. They talked about it and soon forgot about everything. Why? Because they were afraid of something. Because they didn’t believe in their dreams and they were looking for reasons to let these dreams go. People give different explanations of why they are scared to travel. They don’t result from the fact that there is something to be afraid of but from our ignorance, stereotypes or looking for excuses.
Because we don’t have enough money
People often think that travelling requires a lot of money for expensive hotels, airplanes, restaurants etc. From experience we know that it’s not the case. Our first trip – 12 countries across Western Europe in one month – cost less than 2500 PLN per person, including buying and preparing the car. Our cheapest 2-week trip to Italy was around 400 PLN per person.
When you take away the costs of travel agents, guides, hotels, planes and restaurants and you start hitchhiking or travelling with your own house on wheels or with a tent, the expenses become really low.
What are the best ways to travel cheap?
- Putting up a tent in the wild
- Couchsurfing
- Traveling in a private car with many people
- Going by bike
- Hitchhiking
- Taking food from Poland
- Booking cheap flights
And many others
Because we won’t have a place to sleep
Many people say that it’s impossible to travel without booking a hotel, hostel or at least a spot in a campsite. Having visited 52 countries in 5 continents we never paid anything for accommodation. We always put up a tent in the wild or we slept at people’s whom we met by accident and who invited us over.
Many people told us it was impossible to put up a tent in the wild in such civilised countries as Germany or England because we would be chased away and given a fine. On the other hand, people told us camping in Ukraine, Albania or Kosovo was extremely dangerous and that in the States they would shoot us if we pitch a tent on someone’s land.
How was it in reality? We never had any problems with putting up a tent in the wild. We also never got a fine. We were approached by the police a few times but after a short conversation, when they saw we were travellers and not gypsies, they never caused us any problems. We always told them the same thing: we are journalists from Poland, we looked for a campsite but all of them were closed, it was very late, drivers were tired and we didn’t want to cause any dangerous situations on the road and so we put up our tents next to a parking lot. It always works.
And we slept in many different places – beautiful national parks, cliffs, wild beaches, as well as abandoned ghost hotels, an old petrol station, a minefield or a supermarket parking.
In the States, for instance, when people saw our colourful van with foreign plates they approached us and started talking to us. When they heard we only had a few dollars to spend a day and that we slept in tents, they invited us for dinner and offered us a place to stay for the night.
Because the car may break down and repairs cost a fortune
The construction of our car (VW T3 1989) is so simple that it can be fixed with a hammer, a few spanners, some tape and a wire. It can be repaired by any mechanic, even the one from a small village barn. Despite what we were told, the spare parts for our van are quite cheap everywhere we go. We had no problems finding them in the States, Mexico or Australia. In Norway, which is said to be very expensive, we bought the engine for 400 PLN and we still have it.
We have had many breakdowns. In the States alone our car broke down 11 times in 12 weeks. There was always someone to help us though. It was often enough to stop by the road and open the bonnet – this is an international sign that we need help. After 10-15 minutes Americans stopped and asked if we needed any assistance. Our colourful van makes people interested and it shows from afar that we are positive travellers whom people are not afraid to talk to.
Because we don’t have a travel companion
We had the same problem. When you tell people about an idea for a crazy trip at a low cost, everyone is full of enthusiasm. But when it’s time to set off, we are left alone. Luckily we have the Internet or such events as our own Mototravel Festival (for the festival events click here ) where you can meet travellers from other parts of Poland and organise your trip with them.
For a few years now we have available seats in our van and everyone can join us – we are looking for travel companions online. You can find all the details here
Because we will be beaten by snakes
Many people are afraid of animals, especially if they sleep in a tent in the wild.
It would seem that Australia, where “everything wants to kill you,” is the worst place for such travels – it has poisonous snakes, spiders, crocodiles, sharks, jellyfish and other beasts. The truth is that if you follow the basic safety rules (for example, if there is a sign next to the water that you should put up the tent at least 100 metres from the water edge because there are crocodiles living there, you should treat this sign seriously) animals will never attack you because for such a snake or spider there is no point in wasting venom on us.
You can read more about Australian animals here: “Deadly Australia”
Our fear often comes from the fact that our friends, who have never been abroad, frighten us with strange stories. When we were going to Albania and Serbia for the first time, people clutched their heads in disbelief and said that those countries were still at war and everyone had a gun. You shouldn’t believe in everything that people say. And you mustn’t believe in what online know-alls write (they told us we were idiots if we wanted to go to the States with our own van because the police will confiscate it immediately).
Because we are afraid of falling ill and not being able to pay for a doctor
We buy a Euro26 Card with international health insurance (less than 200 PLN a year) every year. In 5 years we needed medical treatment twice. For the first time it was a toothache in Australia and the second time – a kidney stone attack in Norway. In both cases we went to the first available doctor or hospital. We were admitted on the spot and the insurance company paid us back 100% of the money. The only thing to remember is to call the insurance company on the same day (the phone number can be found on the card) and report the medical case.
Because we don’t have enough knowledge
People often don’t travel because they think that if you go to Mexico or India you have to read 50 books, have complete knowledge of the country and a plan for each day.
It’s true that it’s always worthwhile reading something before the place we are going to visit but it’s much better to travel without a guide and a detailed itinerary. It’s often the case, as it was with our 4-month trip to Australia, that you simply cannot plan every single day.
As they say, “the end of your tongue is the best guide.” The most interesting places that we visited were those recommended by local people or those that we found by accident and would never read about in any travel guide. In this way we ended up living with Ziggy in the Aborigines’ land, we tried to beat the speed record in the American salt desert and we learnt how to surf in Florida.
The truth is that if people want to travel there is nothing that can stop them – neither lack of money, nor travel companions nor enough knowledge. And if we put every effort to find a reason not to go, we will always find one.
More information about all expeditions on: By Bus Around the World or FB
Author: Karol Lewandowski
Photo © By Bus Around the World