KasiaTravels on a budget: Solo backpacking - on a budget - in Latin America. (Part 2: “Some practical questions before solo backpacking trip”)

[k-a-s-i-a]

KasiaTravels on a budget:
Solo backpacking - on a budget - in Latin America.
Part 2: “Some practical questions before solo backpacking trip”

Hello my Steemian friends!

I am happy that you have enjoyed so much my recent post. Thank you for all the nice and encouraging comments!

Today, as a continuation, I want to show you how I prepared myself for my solo backpacking trip. Less about emotions, more practical information and my suggestions. I hope you will find it helpful.

Although I will be mostly concentrated on my travel destination, I will also try to be as general as possible, so I hope anyone willing to travel will find some goodies here. :)

Make sure you understand well what your travel destination and expectancy is.

I would say that it is important to know a “little” more about the region you are heading to. And, more less, how you want to spend your time while traveling. I suggest taking those points into consideration:

• It is good to understand what your priority is: slow travel (staying longer at one place; immersion in the culture of the country you are visiting) or visiting as much as possible (thus staying just for a short time in each place)?

• What places/cities/attractions you know you simply cannot miss? From there it’s much easier to design the frame of your voyage.

• Once you know what countries you want to visit, you have to know if you need to be vaccinated. If yes, what vaccinations, how many doses are required, and how much time in advance?

• Do you need a travel visa? Do you need a transfer visa? Can you do it on the premises or you have to take care of it in advance?

• What will be your estimated daily budget in each destination? Although it seems difficult to predict, there are, however, some travel bloggers who share their experiences. This should be done for each country separately. I suggest you count accommodation + alimentation + transport + little pleasure expenses + prepaid telephone card (in case you stay longer in one country) + must see/do attractions (the city is famous for dance – check the dance classes! Great coral reef – go for diving; you get the idea; nowadays most of the attractions have their internet sites. It makes traveling so much easier.) + souvenirs and so on.

• A significant part of your daily budget once you are travelling on a budget will be your accommodation. Will you stay in hostels? If yes - are you prepared to sleep in the dorms (rooms with beds for 4 up to 10 people) as these are the cheapest rooms available? Or maybe you are ready to experience couchsurfing (staying with a local person)? (more about the idea and my experiences with couchsurfing in my future post)

• Transportation. It would be good to know when it is definitely advised to take a flight (because the road is dangerous – like from Santa Cruz to Sucre in Bolivia, or extra-long) and where you could travel by bus. Obviously, when travelling on a budget it is recommended ;) to take buses as much as possible simply because they are, in general, much cheaper! (I did many all-night plus rides myself)

• What kind of weather can you expect? Will the weather be the same everywhere or it will change depending on the differences in altitude?

• Will you be exposed to a dry or rainy season?

• What about mosquitoes or other insects (meaning do you need to have an additional protection against them)?

Important note on why preparations before travelling on a (tight) budget are so important:

Most of my suggestions are for those of you who want to travel on a (tight) budget. In my opinion, and from my perspective, it requires a little more effort and concentration before departure.

My aim before the travel was to limit unnecessary expenses while travelling in order to spend my money on things that I value more (like attractions, food etc.). What does it mean in practice? Because I am practically blind without my contact lenses and, in addition, my eyes are super sensitive, I need to wear 1 day contact lenses. It means that for 1 month I am using 30 pairs instead of 1! Nevertheless, I have decided to buy and carry all the stock of contact lenses because I knew it can be difficult at times to find them in stores, and that those kinds of lenses will be far too expensive in most of the places I’m heading to. Happily, with every passing day the package was getting smaller ;)

If you know that you don’t have to restrict yourself, I mean you know you will be able to buy anything you could be missing, preparation time will be less stressful ;)

So what travelling on a budget is?

If: you have a certain amount of money on your account that you are able to spend while travelling; moreover you are aware that you simply cannot go crazy and overspend, because it will mean that you will have to find savings (thus make cuts) elsewhere - you are travelling on a (tight) budget. It’s not always easy, it requires quite a lot of discipline.

Sometimes, we are going to be exposed to deferent climates – from extremely hot (in my case in Costa Rica, Brazil), to moderate (in parts of Peru, Argentina) to cold (like in higher parts of Bolivia and Peru). So, in order to avoid surprises, it is better to understand the countries and the region you want to explore before packing. ;)

I already invite you to my next post in which I will share, among others, what I think should be on any packing list. Stay tuned! :)

Sending joy!
Kasia

• More about me here.

• My recent stories from South America:
  KasiaTravels on a budget: Solo backpacking - on a budget - in Latin America. (Part 1: “When you finally decide to do it!")
  Kasia and the death road - la ruta de la muerte - Bolivia (part 1)
  Kasia and the death road - la ruta de la muerte - Bolivia (part 2)

• And if you enjoy sport & nature:
  Level easy or adrenaline? Canyoning – a great idea for your free time! (part 1)
  Level easy or adrenaline? Canyoning – a great idea for your free time! (part 2)

Comments

[angela.ghkh]

hey great advices and infos about the necessary things and points for traveling! thanks for share it ... by the way your first pic is awsome

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you for your kind comment!☀️ btw. i almost forgot about this photo😅

[curitek]

Pozdrawiam i zazdroszczę (troszkę 😉)

[k-a-s-i-a]

również ciepło pozdrawiam! :)

[travelstheworld]

One of the big problems when it comes to packing is the size of bags people buy! Generally, in my experience, no matter what size of bag you have, you will fill it. This is why you see so many travelers in the hostels with massive 70-80L bags that they are breaking their back carrying on a 4 week trip. What size bag do you opt for @k-a-s-i-a ? I prefer 30L for any trip less than 3 months.

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you for this comment!! ☺ This will be the topic of my next post! But if you saw the photos, you knew that my backpack had far more than 30l! 😉😂😂

[travelstheworld]

Yes it definitely is! That's alright though sometimes you just have a lot to carry, I definitely been there. On my first trip about 10 years ago I had an 80L pack filled to the brim and I hauled that thing around for about 2 months before I finally donated half my clothes and lightened up!

[k-a-s-i-a]

In my case it wasn't as much about the amount of clothes. During the same travel I was heading to countries were it was and where it was cold. At the end every little thing fill out the space😅😅

[some-dude]

CRYPTO OR TRAVELLING?

[agcaapo]

hot post vote and reward

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you☺

[yhernanpalac]

I really liked your writing, you're right about the risks, but these trips make you change the way you see life and energy as it rises.. Congratulations and I wish you very good travel...

[k-a-s-i-a]

Yes, we should take risks! Good luck! ☺

[isabellalily]

Awesome photography and well written, Thanks for sharing @k-a-s-i-a

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thanks for an awesome gif😎 cheers @Isabellalily!

[hitmanatjeh]

Great post and nice shoot, i new be in steemit. I hope u suport. Thanks

[debo4200]

woooww i bet you really had alot of fun... wish i would be able to do this somtime!!! i will one day and i will post about it!! good job!!

[k-a-s-i-a]

I keep my fingers crossed for your adventures☺

[jhon-rumbya]

I really like your posts

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you😊

[jhon-rumbya]

Good post 👍

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you☺

[wham]

Enjoyed reading about your travels-loved the pictures too

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you☺

[sadeghr1987]

You are so beautiful

[k-a-s-i-a]

Haha, thank you😉

[bert0]

Son unos consejos muy útiles, nunca he viajado de mochila pero entiendo que tiene que ser una experiencia inolvidable!
Estaré atento al siguiente post :)
(No escribo inglés, me da miedo hacer faltas jaja)

[k-a-s-i-a]

Hacer faltas es humano😉🤣 gracias por tu comentario! Necesitas probar un día😎😁

[wilsonblue5]

Wow! That is awesome!
Who wouldn't like to travel and adventure yeah? I thinks everybody dreams for a travel and an article like this is definitely helpful! Nice one!

[k-a-s-i-a]

You are right, all dreams. Then, it's up to us to do the next move😉☺

[faruque]

Enjoy your time 👍

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you☺

[faruque]

welcome ☺

[motherearthist]

Traveling around the wonderful places and taking the photos must be wonderful. I'm jealous now! I upvoted and resteem.Thanks for sharing.

[k-a-s-i-a]

It is amazing! You should try! Good luck!☺

[xionc]

Really Awesome!!! I always wanted to travel like You :D But I'm not surrender :D

[k-a-s-i-a]

Good luck!!☺

[funworlding]

Great photos and very readable content... I really love it... Thanks for sharing. Upvoted and followed. Peace and Love from Spain.

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you for your kind words🙈 good luck to you too! Saludos desde barcelona😉

[deeplove]

Nice 😍😍 I also want to travel

[k-a-s-i-a]

So do it!!☺

[abdo1]

WoW Amaizing post with storis @ k-a-s-i-a (

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you☺

[carleenp]

Wonderful advice. I'm resteeming this and I followed you. I love reading about travel adventures!

[k-a-s-i-a]

Oh, that's great!☺ And do you have a dream destination? Cheers!

[climb-yoga-van]

Ahhhh! Steemit is making my summer too hard to plan! I want to do all of the things! Looking forward to seeing more of your adventures :)

[k-a-s-i-a]

That's true! A lot of interesting content here! ☺☺

[younessrafik]

All’s well that ends well.

[joeljuly]

Hello freind steemit followed you @k-a-s-i-a you post pliss

[k-a-s-i-a]

True😉

[atravelers.life]

That's so great that you are out there doing it and sharing your love of travel with others!!! Let's get more people exploring and adventuring because there's so much more to life than what we know from our own home towns!

[k-a-s-i-a]

!! So true! And how about you? What is your favourite destination?☺

[atravelers.life]

I have to say Mexico. I've only really been throughout North America and Central America quite extensively but I keep coming back to Mexico. Currently I'm living in Mexico and I just love it. I'm in Playa Del Carmen, south of Cancun.

[ryacha21]

Solo backpacking trip! Will it be danger?

[k-a-s-i-a]

It may be dangerous! But walking down the street may be dangerous too😉 you make the choice😉☺

[exploreand]

good thoughts. it depends also on the personality. i am usually just fine on a budget without planing. it might be actually more stressful for me to plan than just to hang out somewhere for a day longer :D but i should do it and get better at it as well.

[k-a-s-i-a]

All depends i would say😅 thanks for your comment!

[steemit.travell]

amazing and inspiring blog, followed!

[k-a-s-i-a]

i'm blushing! thanks and good luck with your plans!:)

[elizabethyog]

Thanks, these I’m sure I will be happy I read! Have a nice weekend :)

[k-a-s-i-a]

:)

[commonlink]

looks like an amazing trip!

[k-a-s-i-a]

It was!! I absolutely recommend visiting South America!☺

[emlimig]

I see you having a good time mademoiselle
Travelling is awesome
Gives you exposure and enlightenment

[k-a-s-i-a]

Thank you. Namaste!

[steef-05]

Good information. Those contact lenses must be a burden indeed. Although "quite" expensive, I can totally recommend a laser procedure ;) Really liberating. Although I did not had day lenses, they still bothered me every day. Safe travels!!

[dayzieblue]

Ohh my gosh this looks like such fun, such an amazing trip! I so want to go!

[xyrenerazon]

I really enjoy your post :) very interesting.

[k-a-s-i-a]

That's so kind☺ thanks!