TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

No matter where on earth you go, whether it's New Orleans or Timbuktu, you will always experience a more rich and revealing journey if you educate yourself beforehand about the culture, traditions, and history of the place you are about to visit.

If you are going to visit Ireland, read some books by famous Irish authors.

If you are going to Thailand, watch a documentary about Thai Buddhist monks.

If you are going to Kenya, educate yourself about Kenya's political history.

If you take the time beforehand to fill yourself in on what makes a place special, you will be better enabled to truly soak in the vibe and essence of the place that you are visiting.

If you plan to use your credit or debit cards during a trip abroad, it's a good idea to let your bank and/or credit card companies know that you will be traveling.

If they don't know that you are traveling, they may lock your account, thinking that your purchases and withdrawals are suspicious because they are out of the ordinary compared with your usual use. This can not only be embarrassing, it can also leave you out in the cold when you most need the cash!

If you're going to a foreign country, don't worry about getting traveler's checks. They're practically a thing of the past, and they're a lot of hassle on both ends. These days, you can easily and safely use your debit card at any ATM machine in the world.

Just be sure to let your bank know that you are traveling, otherwise they may lock your account due to "suspicious activity"!

Well, first of all, it is technically illegal to work in a foreign country without the proper work visa. But with that said, it is possible to get work under the table. You will basically need a "cash in hand" job, and the only people willing to pay you like that will be small, independent business owners or individuals. Your best bet for finding cash in hand work is through word of mouth. You can try housecleaning, babysitting, dog walking, etc. They won’t pay much though. Sometimes in the UK you can get a cash in hand job working in a pub. It all depends on who you know and whether you get lucky. Do you have any skills? You can offer someone help in their garden, or cook meals for an elderly person. Sometimes you can get jobs picking grapes in the vineyards of France or Italy (or so I’ve heard).

If your finances are tight, you definitely don’t want to rely on getting a cash in hand job while you’re traveling in Europe. Make sure your finances are in order before you leave.

Whether or not you should rent a car in Europe depends on where you are going and how long you will be there. Europe has a good rail system, so once you narrow down the places you want to go, look on the Rail Europe website to see what trains are near your route. You can also take buses to get to places that the trains won’t go.

If you want to see places in rural Europe, renting a car is not a bad idea. You can take back roads, go off the beaten path, and see things you wouldn’t otherwise see. It’s a great idea for people who don’t want to be “normal tourists”.

If you rent a car in Europe, you’d better make sure you know how to drive a stick shift. Most rental cars in Europe are manuals, not automatics. Also, make sure you get some kind of auto insurance to make sure you’re covered in case of an accident.

Check with the country beforehand to find out if your US driver’s license is valid. Alternatively, find out if they’ll honor an International Driving Permit and then go to AAA and get one.

Finally, make sure you know a few emergency phrases in the country you’ll be traveling in, in case you have an accident or the car breaks down.

In foreign countries, it's often a good idea to wear a money belt under your clothes. This keeps your money (and passport) safe and hidden from pickpockets and purse-snatchers.

If you want to be extra-cautious, you can also hide some money in your shoe, where thieves will never get it!

When you travel abroad to a country where you don't speak the language, you need to prepare yourself for the sudden shock of not being able to communicate easily with others.

You can prepare yourself beforehand by listening to some language-learning CDs or mp3s and by flipping through a language guide. However, nothing will prepare you for the real thing - suddenly finding yourself in a country where you can't understand them, and they can't understand you!

There's no reason to get overwhelmed though. You can turn it into a fun learning experience. When people realize you can't speak their language, most often than not they will bend over backwards to try to help you out. Remember that you are just as exotic and interesting to them as they are to you!

For those who like gadgets, there are some talking translators available that allow you to type in a word or phrase, and it will actually "speak" that sentence for you in the other language. These translators tend to cost anywhere from $50 - $550. Are they worth it? For most travelers, probably not. You might want to get a cheaper one and program it to say some emergency phrases, just in case. Other than that, you're pretty safe just carrying a guidebook, using sign language and hoping for the best.

You can often get the best exchange rates abroad simply by pulling money out of the ATM.

When you pull money out of the ATM, you will usually get hit up with a fee from your bank as well as from the bank you are using. Did you know that you can sometimes avoid these bank fees?

Before you leave the country, find out if your bank has any agreements with any banks abroad. If it does, this might mean that you can use your debit card abroad at those affiliated banks, and avoid an ATM fee from either bank.

For example, I belong to Bank of America. Bank of America has affiliations with Barclays in the UK and BNP Paribas in France, so I can use either of those banks when I am in the UK or France without getting hit with ATM fees.

Considering that ATM fees can be anywhere from $2-5, and that they really add up - it's well-worth finding out if your bank has any agreements with banks overseas!

If you're traveling abroad, you can often exchange money before you even leave the country. Contact your local bank to see which countries you can get currency for. Or if you are a AAA member, go to your local branch and see what countries they have currency for. They usually sell "tip packs" for various countries.

It's handy to have some local currency in your pocket when you step off the plane, because you may need it right away for things like taxis, bus fare, a quick bite to eat, etc.

Have you ever heard of "voluntourism"? It's a combination of "volunteering" and "tourism", and it's rapidly becoming more popular as more and more people seek out meaningful travel experiences and cultural exchanges.

Voluntourism revolves around the concept that instead of going someplace and sitting on the beach all day and buying trinkets, you can actually get involved in the local community and make a difference in the lives of the people who live there.

If you search the Internet, you can find tons of different vacation packages all over the world for voluntourism experiences. For example, you can help build a house in Sri Lanka, or look after some kids at an orphanage in the Czech Republic.

Whatever you choose, if you spend your vacation volunteering instead of vegetating at the beach, you are sure to have an enriching experience that will be with you for the rest of your life.