I spend 2 months in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Myanmar with a total spend of £1000 (not including flights to and from Asia but including internal flights. Over my trip there were a few things I did to save money. I will impart this knowledge unto you.

1. Book flights in advance.

Wait for sales on budget airlines and book early.

2. Don’t book hostels in advance

When you book a hostel online, the website often adds a booking fee or just quotes a higher price to make some money. There are so many hostels in the touristy areas of Asia that it’s easy enough to find a place to stay by just turning up.

3. Think about things you buy before you leave

You often buy a lot of things for your travels and don’t count these in your final budget, but these costs add up. Instead of getting an expensive portable charger, get a cheap one and just remember to keep it charged. My backpack is a durable Karrimor 30L I got for £17, you don’t need to spend £100s on gear.

4. Compare prices for tours (but not too many or people will hate you)

A guy I met in Hanoi told me how annoying his travelmate was. He would ask around tens of tour agencies to save $5, another guy told me his friend kept trying to haggle street food. Of course ask around for prices and haggle when appropriate but don’t take it too far or you’ll have no one to enjoy your 10p discounted pho with.

5. Do things yourself

Sometimes tours are great, for example Soe Brothers 1 day tour of Hpa An. Other times they are overpriced or just bad. Consider the costs of doing things yourself before signing up for the tour, often you’ll have a much more positive experience.

6. Take the local bus

My favourite thing about arriving in a country is the first journey from the airport to the city. I love to look out of the window and see my first glimpse of a new place. The best way to enjoy this is on a local bus. WikiTravel is a fantastic resource that always has information of getting local buses from the airport.

7. Eat street food

The way to a traveller’s heart is through their stomach. Street food is often the soul of a city, is it delicious, fresh (usually) and a great way to meet locals and watch the world go by. Don’t be afraid of it, if the place is busy it means food is likely to be fresher. It’s even more fun if you don’t speak the language, just point to something that looks good on someone else’s plate and enjoy.

8. Wash your own clothes

I don’t take many clothes and so I need to wash them every week. I fill a tub with water, put in some soap, soak the clothes and then scrub and rinse them before finding a place to dry them. It doesn’t take too long to d and saves some money. It also means I don’t end up with missing clothes.

9. Use travel apps

I use Trabee Pocket to keep track of my expenses which helps me keep track of me spending. Maps.me is a great offline map although I prefer to save locations on Google Maps and use the GPS to find my own way. Agoda is a great one for accommodation and Google translate for getting yourself understood.

10. Stay in hostels, or even better, couchsurf!

Hostels are a great way to save money but Couchsurfing is also an option. Let me be clear and say that Couchsurfing is NOT for free accommodation, it is for spending time with a host, learning about a new culture and giving back. Couchsurfing is not for everyone and unless you find a host you want to hang out with and decide on some way of paying them back (cooking a meal, buying them a drink, bringing a present from home etc) I don’t suggest you try it.

11. Sleep around

Sleep on overnight buses/trains, in stations, in airports if you have an early flight or camp. Give yourself a relaxed day to recover afterwards. It’s hard to enjoy yourself if you’re tired but having a rest day after an overnight bus is a great feeling.

12. Teach English

This was great in Vietnam, I taught English for free accommodation, for a free tour and just because I wanted to. It’s a great way to meet people and help them gain confidence in their language skills.

13. Haggle (within reason)

Ask around for prices other people have paid before starting your haggling.

14. Be friendly

Be friendly to people and you can make friends to share food or travel costs with. You can also get discounts on accommodation and souvenirs. And of course, when you make friends whilst travelling you have friends to visit around the world.

15. Quit those nasty habits

Smoking, drinking and drugs are expensive.

16. Don’t buy so much stuff

I know it seems obvious but so many people blow their budget on souvenirs, look for multipack items like lanterns or bracelets from temples that are cheap, fun and you can distribute to friends and family.

17. My favourite tip: pack light!

Read my blog post on travelling light and save luggage fees and your posture.