The staff at Stanfords are very well-travelled - as you may already know from reading our We’ve been there section - and we have all partaken in our fair share of budget travel too. Here are everyone’s top tips and experiences of travelling on a shoestring…
Add your own tips and tales at the bottom of this page
Jenny Savage, sales advisor
My best budget experience was running out of money and I ended up working in an Irish pub in Peru! It was really good fun despite me speaking very ropey Spanish, and I wasn’t expecting to stay in Cuzco for more than a few days to do the Inca Trail and ended up there for three months. It was so enjoyable – I got to know the locals, lived in a cool little shed/house that I paid £20 a month in rent for, and I lived on tips from nice American tourists.
Make sure you know exactly how much money you’re going with otherwise you get a very nasty shock when you realise it’s run out. Also try and set yourself a limit of a certain number of pounds a day, depending where you are, try to stick to it but not at the 
expense of enjoying yourself. I met people travelling who were so obsessed about their budget that they weren’t doing half the things they actually wanted to do. So make sure you see everything you want to see, but it’s always possible to eat cheap. Eating where the locals eat is always the best way to eat cheaply, and fill yourself up on 2 for 1s and all-you-can-eat buffets. Eat one big meal at lunchtime and live on bar snacks in the evening.
Julio Gil, customer service
Find a company where you can rent a flat and it works out much cheaper than a hotel. I have used Enjoy B&B a couple of times.
Barbara Tognini, sales advisor
When I was in India, my friend and I were on a very restricted budget, so you can imagine the fun consequences! We travelled in third class on the train and stayed in very cheap guesthouses. I would recommend to avoid hotels and to go instead to guesthouses which are very cheap but are still fine.
Sigita Sabaliauskaite, sales advisor
Try to book a cheaper room. Book on the internet. Also, if I know the currency is stronger in the other country than mine, I try to buy things first before I leave.
Go by public transport, or by foot.
Anonymous, sales advisor
Stay in the UK! I’ve not been out of the country in years; I love going to Wales.
Rob Nash, customer service
Budget travel can have some funny consequences – I ended up staying in a brothel stroke hostel in Eastern Europe. That was quite scary!
Gregor Swiderek, floor manager
I recommend hitchhiking. It’s really good. You can go for free, you don’t pay for tickets.
Always go to the motorway exits or the truck stops. Truck stops are the best because truck drivers are the best.
Lukasz Longosz, sales advisor
Hitchhiking is the cheapest option for travelling from one place to another. I hitchhiked all the way from Poland to England once and, another time, from Poland to Austria.
Andrew Steed, general manager
When I was Inter-railing round Europe, I slept on a park bench in Geneva. It was September so it was bloody cold!
Chris Anguish, web team
Remember duty free for your alcohol, especially in Scandinavia. (Read about Chris's budget trip in Reykjavik, Iceland)
Tim Cleary, floor manager
Camping in Brittany instead of staying in hotels, I drank lots of cider and ate lots of cheese. I paid £3 a night for accommodation rather than, say, £20.
Ida Tidlund, sales advisor
I lived on rice and chipadi for three months in India. I have never eaten it since!
Take the trains and buses overnight so you don’t have to pay for accommodation. That’s good for long trips.
Gareth Brereton, sales advisor
The boat down the Nam Ou River in Laos was a pretty good experience of travelling on a budget. There was incredible scenery and lots of local people were travelling on the boat. It was really cheap, it was a kind of local public transport service, as there are no roads really - there’s one road but it’s terrible.
So try local transport, and local food.
Martin Greenaway, digital department
When I went to New York for three or four days, I found a great hotel called the Malibu Studio Hotel, and managed to get a really good rate. I travelled down there from Toronto by Greyhound bus, which was a really good price as well. There’s a lot you can do in New York without spending too much money – visiting the museums, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and there’s an aircraft carrier moored on the west side, which is really good to go around.
The internet is the best place to find good prices. I found this year when I was going to Canada, because air fares are going up, you’ve got to plan things in advance. Last year I paid £300 for a flight to Canada, this year when I looked it said £400 but I waited and kept going back to the website – almost every day – and suddenly it went down to £360 so that’s when I pounced and got it. If you keep looking round the internet you’ll find some good deals.
Aaron Glover, buyer
Hitchhike as much as you can. I’ve hitchhiked. My most extensive hitchhiking experience was in New Zealand where I hitchhiked pretty much all round the South Island. And got everywhere I wanted to go – I saw everything I wanted to see without paying a single bus fare. So, that was a good way to do it, and you do meet some characters on the way, I guess that’s an interesting aspect. If you don’t set your route in stone, if you’re flexible with how you get somewhere and don’t have a fixed, specific route, you will ultimately get to where you want to go.
Alex Tuuling, customer service
Go with someone who’s rich. And generous!!
Author: Rachel Ricks
Date: 25 September 2008
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