Budget travel is an art dictated by science, and with any science, one must have the right tools to be successful. When it comes to stretching your budget while on the road, it can be just as important to make money as it is to save it. With this in mind, I report my three “must have” online resources that every budget traveler needs while on the road.
1. Couch Surfing Account
CouchSurfing.org is a hospitality exchange site that matches budget travelers with people willing to share their spare bedroom (or their couch) for free. It is currently the most visited hospitality service on the Internet, averaging around 40 million page views per day and boasting over 1.7 million members worldwide. The site takes various precautions to weed out predatory activity and the vast majority of members report find richer travel experiences through the kindness of locals. The site is technically free, but in order to truly participate one must pay a one time “verification” fee (one of the many security measures in place on the site). A CouchSurfing account is absolutely essential for minimizing or eliminating the high prices of hotels and hostels.
2. Flickr Account
Flickr.com is, in this author’s opinion, the best image and video hosting web service on the Internet. Take it from someone who knows; getting your digital camera stolen on the last week of a 3 month vacation is really a downer. With Flickr, you are able to upload the complete, high resolution photos from your digital camera to the web. Now you can willingly give away your camera to the guy pointing a gun at you without the stress and anxiety of losing 3 months of digital memories. Flickr offers a free service, but their unlimited data plan is reasonably priced and should not be overlooked.
3. Backpack Forever Account
BackpackForever.com is a new travel community of budget travelers working together to turn their travel experiences into passive income while they are on the road. The site is built around its profit sharing mantra of “Get Paid while Traveling” in that the advertising revenue of the site are returned to the site’s contributors on a monthly basis. The way it works is that backpackers upload their tips, tricks, insights, and experiences to the site in the form of travel articles. Backpack Forever matches these articles with travel-related advertisers and the profits are redistributed monthly to the site’s members. A Backpack Forever travel community membership is necessary for those looking to share their experiences and get the most out of their travel fund.