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Martin Schroeder didn't want to settle down. He wanted to see the world, there was just one problem – a lack of funds. But that didn't stop him, instead he sold a few things, pooled his savings and set off.

“I knew when I was 15-16 that I wanted to travel around the world, so that's what I did,” he explained in a recent Reddit Ask Me Anything session.

Eight years later the German travel enthusiast has racked up 125 countries across every continent and he's still in his 20s. Here are some of the secrets to travelling the world for very little indeed, as he explained on Reddit:

Food

“I eat the local food, because it's cheaper,” Martin explained.

“The best option is buying in supermarkets or eating street food. Expensive [options] are restaurants, cheapest option is dumpster diving and foraging,” he explained in more detail in an imgur post.

But after visiting 125 countries, which has the best food? “If I were rich: France. Since I'm not: India,” he said.

And to drink? “Just drink tap water,” he said. Well, most of the time. “If the locals don't drink it, you have to filter it or buy filtered water.”

Travelling for less

Martin cycles and hitch-hikes wherever possible to save money, but sometimes that's not possible.

“I started as a backpacker, first year was train-passes, round-the-world flight ticket and lots of hostels,” he explained.

But he's become more experienced since then.

For example, when asked what the easiest way to cross an ocean without a plane, he replied: “Hitchhike on a yacht. Easy to [do] on on the Atlantic, very hard to do on the Pacific.”

As to finding the cheapest flights, Martin uses this little-known flight search engine to help him.

“[I] Search by month, it will give you all prices for 30 days in a row. Pick the cheapest.”

Accommodation for (almost) nothing

Martin carries a tent with him on his more remote trips, but also uses sites like Couchsurfing and Warmshowers to find places to stay while overseas.

He finds free camping sites in more remote countries by looking for places that are “close to the street, a bit hidden, flat/large enough for my tent. That's it”.

Of course, that wasn't always possible – but he found himself welcomed into homes on many occasions when he couldn't camp.

“In Africa I mostly just camped at the side of the road. In Somalia I tried, but the local police/military/paramilitary wouldn't let me, so I stayed at peoples house, if they invited me, or in a hotel, which was usually free, because the owner had never seen a foreigner. On a bike. Or because the military told them to let me stay,” Martin said.

In richer countries, he couch surfs.

“I cycled four months from Los Angeles to New York, spend £0 on accommodation by camping, Couchsurfing and Warmshowers,” he explained.

Of course, there are other options too.

“For people on road trips use the car as home, for people with houses you can use home swapping to get free accommodation elsewhere. If you have the time and no money, do wwoofing/volunteering, usually in hostels or farms, often in third-world countries or Australia/NewZealand.”

The cheapest countries to travel in

“Curiously enough it's easier to spend less in expensive countries,” Martin explained.

“It's easier to say no to a $25 hotel room and camp, than to say no to a $5 hotel room and camp. In Europe I'd go camping and couchsurfing all the time out of necessity, but here in Asia I'd happily pay for accommodation, because it's cheaper.

“But of course that adds up and in the end I pay more. I remember spending 6 months in the US and Canada and I spend £0 on accommodation.”

Of course, it doesn't always work.

“Besides camping and biking, the easiest countries are the poorest: Bolivia, Peru, Nepal, India, even Thailand and Malaysia would be fine with that amount [£10 a day]. Lots of countries in Africa too, and to some degree Eastern Europe.

And where do you get the most for your money?

“India and Nepal,” he said. “Vietnam and Cambodia too.”

The hardest country to spend jut £10 a day in

“Japan. I did spend more than £10 a day there. Also island states in general, because the transport, be it flight or boat, to the island already costs more than what I'd spend if I just ride my bike there.”

Any advice for people wanting to travel for less?

“If you really want to do something like this, work on it. Make it part of your daily schedule,” Martin advised.

“Start reading blogs, magazines, NatGeo, etc. Learn Spanish, French or whichever language you might need. Start saving £12 a week. If you do that for a year, you have £600, which is enough for 2-3 months.

“Please believe me when I tell you first hand: The world is far safer than most people assume and people are generally very friendly and try to help.”

You can find out more about Martin's quest to visit every country in the world for as little money as possible here