Long Term Solo Travel: How to Make It Happen

There are a lot of people who want to travel for more than a week or two. There is a way to do it, but it takes a lot of preparation. Below there are several ways that I, and several of my friends, have make long term solo travel work. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

How to Make Long Term Solo Travel Work

You first need to establish your income source. If you are planning to quit your job and travel around the world, you need to have a plan for how you will pay for things. There are some countries that require for you to prove that you can fund your travel before they will offer you a long term visa. It’s important to know how you are going to get that done.

1. If you are like “the cheap god” then you may have a military benefit or disability benefit coming in. If this is the case, then you know that you have a steady income that is coming in. This will help as you are planning out your budget.
2. You can find a job that will allow you to work remotely. A lot of times these aren’t jobs that pay a lot of money but it may be enough for you to live in a cheap country abroad. Some of these jobs may also be freelance where you will have to find your own clients or compete with other freelancers to get the work. This could make your income vary and unstable.
3. Try finding a job in a hostel. Hostel jobs will at least have your accommodations covered. My friend Meredith, has traveled long term extensively. One of the ways that she made it happen was by working for a hostel. She volunteered for 20 or more hours a week and then was able to have a free room in the hostel. She mostly helped to check in other patrons, change sheets, and keep the bathrooms clean. Most hostels are not going to pay, but you save on lodging.
4. Find a work away program to work for. There are also websites like Coolworks.com where you can apply to different locations in the US that will pay you for your services and often give you free lodging. There are websites such as WWOOF where you can work all over the world in exchange for free labor. I have found so many companies that allow you to work in exchange for some sort of compensation.
5. Save for a long time. When I went and spent a month in Europe. I worked 18 hour days for about 3 months to make it happen. I still had bills to pay at home so I saved and saved in order to make my trip happen. Long term solo travel will require a lot of commitment and compromise.

Long Term Solo Travel Requires Sacrifice

In a lot of cases, you will have to learn to live without a lot of conveniences. One way that I sacrificed was to stop eating out. I needed to save every penny to make my travel happen. That $10 lunch can sometimes be a whole day worth of spending in other countries. Is that little burger or salad worth it?

I know a lot of people who sell almost all of their possessions to make their long term travel goals a reality. People have sold their cars, homes, jewelry, furniture and clothes in order to travel the world. There are people who choose to live with their parents or couch surf with their friends so they don’t have to pay rent. The money has to come from somewhere.

Ways to Make Your Money Stretch

1. Try to pick a country where your money can go further. This can include Southeast Asia, some of the cheaper Eastern Europe countries, and certain places in South America. Depending on the money that you have and your ability to work, you may be able to try slightly more expensive countries. Without some form of income though, living in Iceland for 12 months just isn’t realistic.
2. Look for places where you can get cheap food. Getting food is going to be one of your biggest expenses. For this reason, you want to find places where your meals are not going to be so expensive.
3. Live in a place where you can get access to a kitchen. You are going to need to cook some of your meals to make your money stretch. If you are on a tight budget then, you don’t want to be eating out for every meal.

Safety Tips

If you are planning to live abroad then realize that locals are going to start taking notice of you. If you are traveling alone, long term travel could cause you to be a bit of a target for scams and attacks. You should always keep in mind that you need safety, shelter, and food at all parts of your travel.

It is important to make sure that you are picking safe destinations for your long term solo travel. You need to make sure that you have access to an embassy, medical attention, public transportation, language services, banking, a phone/ way to contact your friends and family, and safe food and drinking water. The last thing you want is to get sick and have no way to get better.

At all times, you need to have an exit plan. You always need to be able to afford to get back home or to another location. What if a political demonstration breaks out and the country is no longer safe? Do you have a plan if you are attacked or no longer safe where you are living? You always need to have a plan.

There you have it! Some of my tips and tricks regarding long term solo travel. Let me know what you think in the comments below. You can also find additional safety tips right here.