Living the travel dream on a shoestring

Beautiful isolation: The fairy-tale scenery of a winter’s day in Norway, one of the many small villages dotted along an expansive coastline.

Loren Sirl encourages wannabe travellers to get out of their comfort zone and take a leap into the wonderful global community. She took the leap and made it happen. Here is how she did it . . .

Have you abandoned all hope of travelling overseas? Resigned to the fact that armchair TV, flipping of travel channels may be the closest you’ll ever get? Scanned your grocery docket, and realised that if the price of a block of butter is $8, then you can forget that train travel across Europe, window shopping in Paris, or roaming the Scottish Highlands for a glimpse of a tartan-kilted Jamie from Outlanders?

I had all but given up, until late one night, while aimlessly scrolling the internet, I came across a house-sitting site. No stranger to local house-sitting, this one was on a global perspective. Fancy a month in the English Cotswolds in a historic stone cottage? . . . uh, yeah. I applied. I got it.

Now how would I afford to get there? Semi-panic/excitement set in. I cleared the kitchen table, produced a large calendar.  On a budget, a solo woman, with daily aches and pains reminding me my youth was fading fast, my determination kicked in.

Eight countries, $3500 including all flights, car hire and accommodation and two glorious months of travel — I am here to tell you, YES it can be done.

Here’s how I did it — couchsurfing, house-sitting, Airbnbs, backpackers, space pods, and one piece of cabin baggage.

Be warned — it did take hours of searching and planning on the internet and some necessary stepping out of my comfort zone.

I discovered introductory flights – flight paths that are relatively new for airlines and on a trial basis offering discounted airfares. My flight from Singapore to London was $390. That same airline, Norwegian Air, provided me with a flight from Norway to Florida for $200.

Megabus, who operate in North America, offer seats for as little as $1. A $5 bus ticket took me from Florida right through to Atlanta, past Elvis Presley’s hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi and into Memphis . . . a distance of over 1000km.

I always travelled with cabin luggage only. It reduced the cost of flights greatly. New things can be bought in countries, and bumbags hold a lot, as does a good jacket with lots of pockets, or hiking pants, also with zipped pockets.

Space pods feel like sleeping in a rocket ship — a cocoon of comfort, soundproof, lockable, with internal power sockets, wifi, and luggage storage all for under $50 a night. Singapore has a few choices available for this unique type of accommodation.

Couchsurfing? Their website promotes “meet and stay with locals all over the world”, free accommodation with the benefit of a local’s knowledge and hospitality.

In exchange, your hosts love to meet travellers from across the planet and gain insightful information.

New Zealanders are especially popular. I chose hosts from the website based on their good feedback, opting for women in the same age bracket with similar interests, hobbies or job roles.

And that was the key to my success as a novice couchsurfer.

Diane in Scotland offered me her spare room and picked me up from the Glasgow train station. I sifted through her photo albums for the best Scottish offshore islands and the best castles to visit, all while eating haggis.

Rose in Oslo, Norway also had a spare room. I awoke to wild deer softly treading fresh snow in the backyard.

Within 24 hours I flew to Florida. The hot humid air was filled with the soulful sounds of Aretha Franklin. It was the day of her funeral. It was broadcast throughout the country on every screen and radio station.

Tia in Florida had an affordable converted garage for $25 a night. I went to church with her family the next morning. “Watch out for crocs,” Tia said, as we crossed the swamp-edged carpark.

A retired naval officer residing in the small fishing village of Lossiemouth, Scotland had a string of great feedback and rave reviews on the Airbnb website (mainly for the big breakfast included in the price of $30 a night).

Lonely after his wife had passed away, he was happy to receive guests from around the world to share a whisky and a yarn. A fully laden table the next morning greeted me — a smorgasbord of streaky bacon, haggis, tattie scones, mushrooms, sausages and black pudding.

There were times when I cursed my measly budget that couldn’t afford the luxuries of travel, or a mere taxi ride.

This usually happened while I was tramping miles down country lanes. But mostly I was grateful for the opportunity it presented of a more authentic experience.

On one occasion, I was couchsurfing in York, northern England. I had to wait for the owner to arrive and next door was a rambling stone church with a public garden and wild raspberries to pick.

Once I was settled into my attic room, another traveller and I shared a Scottish tea, swapping travel stories around a huge English oak kitchen table.

The host advised me I was in fact only a few kilometres from the National Railway Museum. With time up my sleeve I decided to visit. This outstanding museum even had a non-rail buff like myself hooked. There were actual train carriages from countries around the world and you could walk through fields of trains, including royal carriages with their interiors untouched from centuries past.

Students in France offered up their tiny studios or bedsits cheap over their holiday time, while they returned home. You can find this option by contacting universities. England also offers this service.

I stayed in a tiny home in a suburb outside of Paris. It included a record player with a stack of vintage LPs to listen to.

I pleasantly discovered one of my remote bookings was in fact included in the top 10 rail journeys of the world — a day trip across Norway for close to $100, travelling from Bergen to Oslo. The roughly six-hour journey bestowed on its guests’ numerous scenic views from both sides of the windowed carriage — fjords, glacial valleys and red wooden traditional houses dotted the landscape.

My return home included a stopover in Hawaii. Its popularity meant it could be pricey when it came to accommodation, especially on the island of Maui.

Finally, I discovered an affordable glamping tent in someone’s backyard, which turned out to be owned by a landscape gardener. The tent was positioned among stunning Hawaiian tropical natives.

I finally arrived back home in NZ late at night to a friend dressed in K-Mart pyjamas and sporting drops of stained tea down the front panel.

When she picked me up at the train platform she said, “Wow, you have a glow about you.”

“Yeah, I sure do,” I grinned back.

Did I mention on arrival at the UK house-sit I spotted two antique furniture pieces being thrown out on the kerbside?

My first trip in the owner’s car was to pick them up. I resold them in the next town. Opportunities to pay the bills can come along.

Reviews, reviews, reviews . . . check previous guests’ reviews. That also goes for companies, such as car rentals. Expect the unexpected — that can be on a positive note too. If you’re game enough try couchsurfing, as it’s a free service. Offer a hand with cleaning, or arrive with a small gift from your own country. The majority of hosts offer their homes – which generally is a spare room, not a couch. They just want to talk travel and learn more about your own country, or share the love of their own.

If you apply for a house swap or house-sit position, choosing one that also offers the use of their car can save you a lot of money, especially if you are staying for a long period of time.