Google Flights — great tool for getting the “big picture” of the available flights.

Momondo — another useful tool that scans various booking websites and looks for the best offers.

JetRadar — this tool, very similar to Momondo scans numerous of airline websites to find the best deal for you.

Actual Costs

Actual ticket cost: $222 for a direct flight from Stockholm (ARN) to Bangkok (BKK).

$222 for a flight to Bangkok from Stockholm with Norwegian.

Try to get to one of these international/regional hubs like in Europe we have London that can fly you anywhere; New York or Los Angeles in the USA, in Southeast Asia it can be Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Bangkok with cheap airlines like Tigerair, AirAsia, Jetstar you can fly pretty much anywhere for under $100, if you have flexible dates you’ll even fit under the $50/flight group.

The most expensive flights are from one continent to another. I’ve paid $598 for a one-way ticket from Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) — Tokyo (Japan) — Los Angeles (USA).

Domestic flights are pretty cheap, I’ve paid $61 for a roundtrip from Bangkok (DMK) — Chiang Mai (CMX) — Bangkok (DMK) with AirAsia.

How to save?

When booking a room or a flight, make sure to uncheck everything airlines and hotels try to offer you by default (e.g. hotel, airport pick-up, car, insurance, priority boarding, meals, reserved seat, SMS confirmation, etc.).

Packing

Everything I am packing for my next 9-month trip.

I’m a light traveler. I prefer to pack little and have a luxury of mobility and flexibility. It’s better to have a budget to buy something in case you need rather than carrying a huge luggage with you.

Note: when flying or taking a long haul bus or train trip, have a sarong or wear long-sleeved top and pants as you can get cold quickly.

Always pack the most necessary things for you travels, earlier I’ve written a packing list for digital nomads, which has changed significantly as I have got rid of many things.

Fees

I’ve already spent hundreds of dollars in fees for my bank providers in Lithuania and the United Kingdom. Lloyds bank seems to be the worst choice ever when traveling, charging me for every single transaction.

Bank fees. You will not avoid these, especially if you are going to travel and work at the same time, meaning that you will be getting money and cashing it out in different places and ATMs. Be prepared for these and calculate how much cash you need, take the most available at a time.

Departure fees. When traveling in Asia make sure to research your destinations so you can find out how much visa costs, are there any other fees like departure fee. Leaving any airport in Indonesia you have to pay a certain fee. Even though fees are not super high they don’t accept credit cards which means if you have spent all of your cash you will have to go to the airport’s ATM and take the cash out and pay the fees again.

Government taxes. In some countries in Southeast Asia, cafes and restaurants usually do not include service tax or government tax, so be prepared to add 10–25% to your final bill.

In some countries like Indonesia, foreigners pay a higher price for services like gym membership just because they are foreigners. Might look quite racist at the first glance but makes sense once you find out how low local income is, so everyone can afford it, fair enough.

Hidden VAT. In the USA many places show price without the VAT tax, so if you go to a supermarket and see a nice T-shirt for $15 it will be around $18 at the end with the VAT, depending on the state you’re in.

Seat reservations. In Europe many trains require a seat reservation, meaning that buying the ticket from A to B doesn’t guarantee that you are going there, you need to reserve a seat for an additional fee. Very annoying but avoidable if you jump on the train last minute and pretend not to speak English when the conductor comes.

Visas

In the summer of 2013 I’ve traveled around the Europe with my best friend Justas Markus. We had an idea of where to go and what to see but mostly our route was developing on the way. What we have experienced was the ease of entering a new country, the European Union has made moving from country to country so easy that visiting 13 countries we have never had to show our documents when crossing the border unless it was a flight.

In the USA, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia the story is totally different. Unless you are from one of the Asian countries like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, you will have a lot of hassle getting visas and paying for them. Most countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore issue visa on arrival for free or a fixed fee, depending where you come from, but some countries require an invitation letter from the country like Vietnam, other countries take couple of weeks to process the visa (India).

Visa costs for Lithuanians

Visa on arrival in Indonesia for 30 days costs $35, you can do one more month extension for the same fee by going to the immigration bureau.

Visa on arrival in Thailand for 15 days costs 1000 baht (~$30), 60-day tourist visa costs the same and can be issued at your own country’s Thai embassy.

Visa on arrival is free in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia and allows you to stay from 30 to 90 days depending on the country.

For more accurate information about visas check the table showing how many countries you can visit with your country passport.

Visa requirements for Lithuanian citizens

Visa requirements for United States citizens

Visa requirements for British citizens

Accommodation

People are scared of going to new places because they don’t have home there. Finding accommodation on a budget might be really challenging in particular places, especially the ones loved by the tourists. To avoid high costs, choose places that are not in the area of touristic attractions and consider going in the low season. Below are some of the services I’ve used for finding an accommodation in different places in the world.

Agoda lets you search hotels and hostels and offers very nice discounts, especially in Southeast Asia region.

I loved using it in Bali, Kuala Lumpur and many places in Thailand as it shows prices with all the fees and service charges included as well as they don’t charge anything from your card, you just pay once you get there. Cancelation policy is super strict but if you certainly know you will stay there, it’s fine. However, check reviews and general ratings before making a final decision.

During the low season in Bali, Malaysia and Thailand Booking.com had some pretty cool deals for 30–60% off, including this 3-star resort with a breathtaking ocean view.

I’ve never used it in the USA or Asia to find an accommodation, but it worked for me and Justas couple of times in Europe and the Middle East (Dubai, UAE). It’s a great tool to meet up with locals, though. I’ve met so many cool people and travelers at the Couchsurfing meetup in Budapest, Hungary.

Airbnb

It’s a cool service that connects locals renting their place with short or long-term travelers. Airbnb gets pretty expensive on high seasons and especially if you stay a night or two in one place and then book another one as fees add up quickly.

Typical Balinese breakfast, Nasi Goreng with Sate Ayam.

What I do is simply set the rent duration to a month and get a special monthly price which has a better value and can get you places with swimming pool, breakfast included, free coffee/tea and room service every single day for $405/month.