Ubertramp Backpacking » Cheapskate Paradise

Live the High Life on a Low Budget

Ubertramp — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:15:12 +0000

Are you looking to for a different kind of travel experience? Still want to see a variety of different countries and feel up to a bit of a challenge? Then read on, as I have the perfect solution right here.

I’m talking motor racing with, of course, a travel twist.

Unfortunately, the main drawback with the majority of these automotive extravaganzas is the prohibitive entry costs. The prestigious Gumball 3000, for instance, will set you back a cool £28,000 to get among the action – not to mention the need for Ferrari or Lamborghini or other such machine to actually become any kind of real player.

It’s much the same story for the ROARR classic car race across the Himalayas and the Lisbon-Dakar Rally, coming in only slightly cheaper at £20,000 and £8,700 respectively. Sigh.

If, like me, you are starting to feel a little downhearted at these prohibitive registration levies, worry not. There are other options for the more budget conscious.

Let us focus on a triplet of races that are less Club Class and Caviar, and more Skateboards and Sandwiches. In contrast, the following challenges are infinitely more affordable yet still offer fun and adventure by the trunk load.

The Cannonball Run. London – Puerto Banus

If the Lisbon-Dakar is luxury travel, the Cannonball Run is definitely backpacking. Essentially, it’s a 2,400 mile, 4 day event for pre 1991 vehicles. The cost is £1,350 based on two people, and includes ferry transfers, accommodation at the end of each race day (and champagne!), personal sign writing on entrance vehicles, and the black-tie party on the final evening. For more details visit www.cannonballrunclassic.com

The Italian Job. Venice – Brighton

Cheaper still, this 3000 mile, 10 day charity event will set you back £500 to enter. Competitors must be over 21, and be comfortable behind the wheel of a Mini. Micheal Caine look-alikes are also heartily encouraged to join in the fun. Visit www.italianjob.com to find out how you can get involved and help raise more money for NCH – The Children’s Charity, and other worthy causes.

The Plymouth – Banjul Rally

The Plymouth-Dakar Challenge, as it is now known, has been encouraging hundreds of the world’s ~~lunatics~~ cash-strapped explorers to head into the wilds of the Sahara Desert since its inauguration in 2003. If the Cannonball Run is the backpacker, then this must be the hardcore vagrant. Forget the Gumball 3000, and enter the Oddball 3000.

The 3000 mile fundraising ‘race’ from the South of England to the West Coast of Africa is mere snip at £300 to enter and, now here’s the kicker, you must have a cheap car to enter. It has to cost less that £100, to be precise. Now for an insider tip: Russian built Ladas seem to be the vehicle of choice as none of them have failed to complete the challenge…yet. You heard it here first.
For more information on the mother of all cheapskate rallies, visit http://www.plymouth-dakar.co.uk

5 Cheap Ways to Relive your Travels

Ubertramp — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:00:54 +0000

Coming back from a long trip is tough and staying back is even tougher, but there are some things we can do to lessen the culture shock and bring those memories flooding back. Here are 5 of them.

1. Picture the scene. Its night time, you’re in bed, and you’re dead beat. But, before you begin to drift into a pleasant slumber, be sure to start up a couple of misfiring chainsaws. Place one approximately 4 feet above you, and the other at the foot of your bed for true dormitory surround sound. For added authenticity, set your mobile phone alarm to go off at random times throughout the night.

To further enhance this experience, go on a 5 day hike in the countryside without a change of socks. Upon return from your hiking adventure place said biohazards in a sealed, plastic bag. Then, just before bedtime, duct tape one of them to your upper lip, close your eyes, and once again savour that exquisite dorm aroma.

Still yearning for greater authenticity? Then invite friends around to your bedroom to have a crinkly plastic bag fight at 5am.

2. Drink. Too much. Regularly.

3. Randomly select a handful of regular pills from your medicine cabinet and then sit down with at least 5 complete strangers. Chow down the pharmaceuticals and then each set fire to a $50 bill. Talk sh*t for 30 minutes whilst eagerly waiting for the trip of a lifetime. Wake up 10 hours later – after an incredibly deep sleep – with no sign of a headache. Spend the whole of the following day feeling embittered and resentful, musing over how much better that money could have been spent.

4. Do you miss the atmosphere of the big Asian cities? Then buy a dehumidifier for your lounge. Now, here’s the kicker – fill it full of diesel and select ‘Reverse’ and ‘Full Power’. Hey presto, downtown Saigon at a fraction of the cost of another long haul flight.

5. When buying fast food in your home country, use a homemade $500 bill. Hand it to the vendor as you would have done a $20 bill abroad. Give a nervous, apologetic smile and wait for the “What the hell is that and do you really expect me to be able to change it?” look.

I would write more of these pointless witterings, but I’ve gotta go pick up some diesel.

Couches, Couches Everywhere and Now a Place to Sleep!

Ubertramp — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:38:13 +0000

Sofa, so good: hospitality exchange schemes go from strength to strength.

Some may already know about this increasingly popular phenomenon – but for those as yet unaware of this fantastic arrangement, allow me to share with you an exciting prospect this Cheapskate Friday.

What is a hospitality exchange scheme?

Essentially, it is, and does, exactly what it says on the tin. You offer someone a place to stay when they visit your area and in return you get offered a short term stay – also free of charge – when you go abroad.

Now, if I were mercenary I’d say this was simply a way of getting free digs all across the globe but, although I do admit it’s a rather major draw card into the sites offering this service, a hospitality exchange is much, much more. It’s a way of meeting new people and making new friends (whether you are a host or guest), and seeing life in another country from a local’s point of view and learning about an area from someone who knows the place inside out – in fact, saving 10 bucks on a room is really just pleasant aside.

How does it work?

In short, it’s a glorified matchmaking database. You sign up for free with one of many websites offering this service and put yourself down as a host, then, as an when the need arises, you can search for possible hosts offering free lodging during your time away.

Which sites organise hospitality exchanges?

Well, there are 3 main players: www.couchsurfing.com, www.hospitalityclub.org, and www.globalfreeloaders.com. And although still the newbie (started in 2004), couchsurfing.com is the largest of the 3 networks with around 370,000 members. Hospitalityclub.org comes in second with around 50,000 members and globalfreeloaders third with around 40,000 members.

Now, membership declarations aren’t the be all and end all – so, to give you a better idea of their popularity I’ve put my geeking skills to good use and have come up with the following Alexa graph to give you an idea of their relative size and usage.

You can see that Couchsurfing.com is clearly the daddy of them all, and you could be forgiven for wanting to leap straight for the couchsurfing jugular. But despite more members generally meaning more opportunities (and therefore the greater chance of take up when you enquire about spare couches), they’re not mutually exclusive – so why not join them all? If you combine them, that’s one shed-load of sofas! Remember though, potentially it could mean that you will be putting up more people so make sure you can accomodate (if you wish to maintain your couch karma then it’s better to honour you’re noble offers where possible!)

With a service like this there will of course many questions that need answering before going ahead and inviting a stranger into your home (or before staying at someone else’s, for that matter) – such as potential safety and security issues – but rather than me repeat all the site blurbs parrot fashion, check out their FAQ pages and testimonials for more information.

Happy surfing!

Backpacking Las Vegas…Cheaply

Ubertramp — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:46:25 +0000

When I thought of Las Vegas before now, I thought of glitz, glamour, excess, and a heady collection of high rollers and big hitters (read: a crazy place, but not one for backpackers), but I was wrong. After friends duped me into booking a flight to Las Vegas, whilst magnificently drunk and unable to say ‘no’ I may add, I realised I’d fallen foul of this common misconception. Previously, on my measly budget, I couldn’t have imagine lasting even one weekend in Las Vegas, but after looking into the possibilities of a cheaper Las Vegas I found that it could be done – or at least in theory it could, anyway.

You see, it as if Las Vegas’ obscene display of wealth and excess, or, more accurately, the way in which it’s created, actually helps backpackers to exist here. Everywhere you look in Vegas there are systems in place to entice folks into the casinos and to keep them in there spending money – free booze, free food, free shows etc – but if you can keep your head, it’s nothing but a big, fat green light for freeloaders the world over. But only if you don’t allow the casinos to do what they do best will you have busy, fun, AND exquisitely cheap week in Las Vegas.

Anyway, here are a few choice links to help backpackers planning on weaving a cheap Las Vegas into their itinerary. Nb. There are many more websites, but most of these links will lead you into the wonderful world of cheaper Las Vegas anyway. Enjoy!

LINKS TO A CHEAPER LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas Coupons and Forums

Vegas4locals helpfully split their coupon offers into sections.

Another appealing Las Vegas coupon website is the aptly named vegascoupons. The good thing here is that they also host a cheaper Las Vegas forum – it’s great for the latest deals and also shares heaps of tips and tricks to help make for a cheaper stay.

Another good cheap Las Vegas forum is Las Vegas Direct, which also has a pretty comprehensive tips section.

Lasvegas-nv also offer discounts and coupons, but mainly for tours and shows.

Las Vegas Maps

Map of the Las Vegas Strip

Map of Downtown Las Vegas

Map of Greater Las Vegas

I seem to recall being able to pick up a cheap fold out map from one of the tourist booths too, but these’ll help you plan and get a feel for the layout before you go.

Cheap Las Vegas Websites

The maps above come from Big Empire which also comprehensively covers other aspects of a cheaper (and some times even free!) Las Vegas – tings such as their Free Las Vegas Crap, Free Las Vegas Eats, and Free Las Vegas Sights sections. And although not quite as good as their free-flavoured stuff, they have cheap sections too!

Another sight in a very similar vein is the Cheapo Vegas website. Again, they have the free and cheap sections, but also have a really handy set of comparison charts to give quick overviews on the following:-

Las Vegas accommodation

Las Vegas food

Las Vegas games

Las Vegas entertainment

Both Big Empire and Cheapo Vegas give hotel reviews, but in my opinion they’re a little off the mark as they tend to slate some of the Las Vegas accommodation options which, in my opinion, really aren’t that bad. I’ve stayed at a few of the ‘stinking places’ as they put it, and thought they were just fine – but then again I have no standards…

In addition, of the sites that deal with cheap accommodation, many fail to mention the Las Vegas Backpacker Hostels. At the time of writing there are 2 backpacker hostels that I know of (and have stayed in) – the Sin City Hostel and the USA Backpacking Hostel – both are around 22 bucks a night PP (remember though, if you are in a larger group, turning 1 hotel room into shanty town may be a better option value-wise).

The USA Hostel offers a little more for backpackers in the way of stuff like free Wi-Fi etc. but is way off the strip and a fair walk through a pretty shitty area to get among the action. The Sin City Hostel on the other hand is right on the main boulevard between Freemont, Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Strip proper – just walk out and jump on the bus to either area. Perfect. incidentally, the Las Vegas 24hr bus pass is the way to go on this one if you want a full day checking out the numerous casinos as the distance between them can be quite deceptive!

As well as price, other added bonus of these 2 hostels is that they both come with a free breakfast and fully equipped kitchens – so if it’s been a while since breakfast and you’re sick of the free coffee and doughnuts in the casinos, you can retire to the hostel and eat 10 cent noodles to your hearts content. Oh, and watch Elvis marry a few suckers off whilst you do so – it may shake you up, but please don’t cry in the chapel.

There are, of course, plenty more Cheapo Las Vegas-style dotted around the internet, but it’s also worth casting the net a little wider in terms of Las Vegas Bargain hunting. A little time spent surfing the more ‘mainstream’ Las Vegas sites can also reap rewards since they do throw up the odd sweet deal on stuff like fancy hotels, non-Taco Bell dining, some of the long running shows, and other Las Vegas travel deals not usually found in the recommends above.

Well, there you have it – a cheaper Las Vegas for backpackers. “U-huh-huh, thang-ya-verr-much.”

Download European City Guides – For Free!

Ubertramp — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:05:28 +0000

Welcome to another Cheapskate Friday where we focus this week on European travel guidebook giveaways. And without doubt, the one site at the top of the pile as far as backpacker guidebook freebies go has to be www.inyourpocket.com.

So, What is In Your Pocket?

In Your Pocket is the brainchild of German Matthias Lufkens and Belgian brothers George, Oliver and Nicolas Ortiz, who, since 1991, have been building up a catalogue of European urban guides into the tremendous resource that it is today.

Essentially, In Your Pocket offer quick guides to a large number of European countries and in depth guides to over 50 European cities. The countries covered are detailed on their map (right) and link directly to their country guides from where you can explore and bask in their selection of lively, refreshing and honest guides. But don’t just take my word for it, check them out yourselves.

Free AND Geeky…I love it!

But not only are these guides excellent, they are free too – yep, the backpacker’s favourite flavour. Also, they’re not just on-site wonders. Guides to each featured European city can be downloaded for free in PDF format – and since more folks are beginning to travel with laptops/PDA’s these days, this could prove to be a real bonus. I particularly like the PDF option as otherwise it means downloading stacks of pages onto a memory stick (like on other sites) and sifting through them later. Here, they are all in a neat little package. A free e-book travel guide? Make that very neat.

If you have a way to read them (either internet café or laptop/PDA), then, arguably, these guides have enough information within to forgo the necessity of a guidebook altogether and to still feel fully briefed – but even without a laptop you could print them out easily enough. Before, for instance, if I were to stay in a city for a length of time without a guidebook, I would try and find the tourism office or airport or main bus station etc and stagger away 20 minutes later laden with pamphlets and fliers and leaflets and subsequently sift through them to get the gist of a city’s attractions, highlights, transport networks, and to find out what’s going on where etc But here the research and sifting has already been done and (because it’s an altogether different publication from other more widespread travel guides) it also means less chance of becoming the latest addition to the Lonely Planet backpacker conga stretching between the ‘highly recommended’ hostel to the ‘must see’ attraction.

Is this the end of the Guidebook as we know it?

For those thinking of backpacking in Europe without a guidebook but are a little apprehensive about doing so for the first time, these guides could provide a happy medium. And for those that hate the thought of forking out cash for a full on guidebook when the are only visiting a few choice cities, these guides are a must.

Here’s the list of In Your Pocket European City Guides to give you an idea of the quality and quantity on offer.

Nb. The incredible amount of work that has gone into these guides is solely attributable to the creators of In Your Pocket. We are in no way claiming any of the credit for it, they’re simply a great resource and one worth sharing.

The guides themselves aren’t solely for backpackers though as they do contain information on a whole host of things to suit all tastes and budgets – but the real boon for those backpacking around Europe on shoestring are that these guides are free, frequently updated and are chock full of useful info and handy resources such as city maps, transport network information, and tips for the first time visitor.

More Than Just Free Downloads

But that’s not all. In addition to these pocket European city guides there are also smaller, instant city guides available covering cities sometimes overlooked by the travel publishing industry – like Minsk in Belarus, Jurmala in Latvia, Nida and Druskininkai in Lithuania, and Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. Here’s the full list of European cities covered by instant guides:-

Instant City Guide – Berlin

Instant City Guide – Birstonas

Instant City Guide – Cesky Krumlov

Instant City Guide – Druskininkai

Instant City Guide – Dubrovnik

Instant City Guide – Frankfurt

Instant City Guide – Gdansk

Instant City Guide – Jurmala

Instant City Guide – Karlovac

Instant City Guide – Kashubia

Instant City Guide – Kaunas

Instant City Guide – Krakow

Instant City Guide – Klaipeda

Instant City Guide – Liepaja

Instant City Guide – Lodz

Instant City Guide – Kyiv

Instant City Guide – Minsk

Instant City Guide – Munich

Instant City Guide – Nida

Instant City Guide – Osijek

Instant City Guide – Palanga

Instant City Guide – Poznan

Instant City Guide – Prague

Instant City Guide – Pristina

Instant City Guide – Riga

Instant City Guide – Rijeka

Instant City Guide – Shkodra

Instant City Guide – Siauliai

Instant City Guide – Skopje

Instant City Guide – St. Petersburg

Instant City Guide – Tallinn

Instant City Guide – Tirana

Instant City Guide – Vilnius

Instant City Guide – Warsaw

Instant City Guide – Wroclaw

Instant City Guide – Zadar

Instant City Guide – Zagreb

Accurate and free city guides, instant guides, and country guides all in one place is a bit of a bonus in itself, but throw into the equation a well written, regularly updated blog and other equally nice asides such as articles and video clips and you have a site worthy of any internet café bookmark. Head over to In Your Pocket to see it all in action.

Other European city guides worthy of mention include a selection from Hostelworld – although these are fairly light and fluffy in comparison those offered at Inyourpocket.com – and, for the multimedia buffs, a whole range of audio guides for iPods can be found at Podcityguides and TechRepublic.

And if you’re prepared to spend the time to dig a little deeper, many more individual guides can be unearthed – although these seem to be generally spread out over several sites dedicated to those particular places. Given time we’ll dig a few more out and put them in some semblance of order – but until then: happy digging!

Links for the Thrifty Nomad 9/11/07

Ubertramp — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:23:12 +0000

Thanks once again for dropping by ubertramp.com, and welcome to the first in the series of regular round-ups celebrating all things backpackery, geeky, and cheap(y)!

As you may have already gathered, this new weekly slot is a celebration of web based austerity. Each Friday I’ll be compiling and sharing a handful of discoveries from around the web – discoveries geared toward preserving that meagre road fund.

Ok, just a few links this week as I only had the idea of doing this whilst having a smoke a few hours ago. Its now mid afternoon and if I leave it much later I’ll have to change the title to cheapskate Saturday – and I don’t want to do that.

To kick off this week’s festival of frugality we’re going straight over to Eyeflare.com and their recent trilogy of tips to help secure a cheaper flight.

Essentially, it deals with air consolidators. And thankfully, the first post in the series kicks off with a brief outline of what an air consolidator is and what they are all about. Now, with this newly gained knowledge tucked into your belt they’ve then laid out a most useful guide to using an air consolidator – with tips and tricks as well as perils and pitfalls.

So, once you are all about on them, all that’s left to do is give you a nice hearty list of some of the main players, and some links to help you get the best deal on your flights. Good, eh?

“But it’s a fast moving business!” I hear you say “Things change all the time!” you shriek again. Never fear. The editor of eyeflare.com keeps his finger on the pulse, diligently updating the posts as required – so it’s well worth dropping by from time to time to check out the latest goings on there.

Ok, moving on. Please allow me to now share something incredibly special with you this first ever Cheapskate Friday. It’s without doubt the most endearing and thought provoking travelogue I have ever found. It’s sharp, exceedingly well written and truly inspirational – and best of all it’s a current, ongoing adventure and has everything to do with getting by on meagre funds.

It’s bristling with romance and humour, and delivers shrewd observations by the bucket load – but its not all flowers and smiles, oh no, there’s enough grit and heartache from front to back to have you reaching for the Prozac. In short, it’s got it all – It’s Song of the Open Road.

I first heard about Song of the Open Road whilst in Morocco a couple of months back, and have been returning to catch up on his latest antics ever since. Of late, I’ve had a little more time to trawl through his site – and have flitted to and fro checking out the posts stretching back a good few years. All I can say is that despite his vehement disapproval of my recent post about Swiss Army Knives, to me he remains a true inspiration.

The astute author Wade – a self confessed happy, rolling cowboy – and his girl, Mira, are currently gallivanting through Portugal on their latest acquisitions: two old bicycles picked up in Spain after their departure from Morocco. I can only assume they will be heading further north, but who knows? But therein lays the beauty of this blog – you never know where it’s going to go. It’s boldly eccentric, magnificently free, and thoroughly recommended. Check it out.

Well that just about wraps it up for this week, so enjoy your weekend – wherever you are and whatever you’re doing – and be sure to drop by again for a more comprehensive round up in 7 days time. Hell, why not subscribe while you’re here as there’ll be plenty more posts in the meantime. If you don’t know what an RSS feed is or how to subscribe, then check out my easy guide to RSS!

Subscribe to the Ubertramp feed

Oh, if you’ve discovered a site that you think is a worthy inclusion to Cheapskate Friday, or in fact run one, why not drop me a line and tell me all about it? Basically, if it’s backpackery AND cheapy I’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, why not share the first Cheapskate Friday with a stumble? It all helps spread the word. Thanks!