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[JamesD25]

I notice that there are several members on this forum who travel internationally on a relatively regular basis. From your experience, what is the cheapest/best way to accomplish all of this travel?

For example, I would love to travel to Japan at least once a year to train and the idea of dropping in on one of the greats like Ashiharakaicho in South Africa is very appealing to me. What is the best way to do this?

And before anyone mentions it, becoming independently wealthy isn't an option.

[Lowlander]

I would also love to hear some input in this matter as well! Great thread idea.

[slaine]

I'd love to hear to , I've never been able nor do I think I will ever be able to do it .

[ashiharakaicho]

Originally Posted by JamesD25

For example, I would love to travel to Japan at least once a year to train and the idea of dropping in on one of the greats like Ashiharakaicho in South Africa is very appealing to me. What is the best way to do this?
And before anyone mentions it, becoming independently wealthy isn't an option.

Let's start off with the last line - I travel and have travelled budget for all my travelling life. Started that journey by hitch-hiking across South Africa to train at dojo in other Cities whilst in High School.

If I could be compared to Fred Flintstone in one episode for travelling budget is to sit on the wing of the airplane. ...

It is actually amazing how cheaply one can travel if one really wants to. During my six months bus journey across the States, many people were amazed-astonished, that I travelled by bus which is/was frowned upon by many who think only the "poor" travels that way. I spent a minimal amount buying bus passes and could travel through 40 of the States that way. Also could sleep in the bus and thus keep costs low.

In 2005, I took eight of our students with for a 5 week tour in Europe. We also travelled by bus and in England I hired a 14 seater to take us around - again our costs was minimal and we could visit 9 countries during that time.

When flying to for example one country - one can for example fly with one of the Middle Eastern Airlines like Emirates, Egypt Air, Etihad or Singapore Airlines and so on. That means you go via their hub. For example, I went to Thailand twice for WKO events - the one time I flew with Singapore Airlines and could then go visit some friends in Sing on my return from Thailand. The other time I flew with South African Airways to Mumbai and got a connecting flight with Jet Airways to Bangkok. Coming back I could then stay over in India and visited several Cities. I then flew to Amritsar, took a taxi to the Wagga Border post and walked over into Pakistan and was met by my rep and spent time in Lahore and also flew to Karachi.

I will be going to Japan in October - so will play around with what airline to go (whilst I am a member of the Star Alliance) it is not always that I can get the cheapest flight with the members then I opt to get a cheaper one and at times, they fly via other hubs. So I will check where do I want to go and then I can visit someone there that would possibly host me.

As I am used to backpacking, I don't mind roughing it - I mean who cares if you sleep in a "Y" when you can say I've been to yet another country ... Many times it is a bummer in having to fly half way across the world to get to a destination, but when one can see some more, why not?

But more later.

PS. And thanks for the praise - I'm just a normal person "Just Doing It!" (Fu Gen Jikko) - so not a great. But hey, Mi Casa es Su Casa - our home and dojo is always open for fellow travellers on the Way!

Originally Posted by slaine

I'd love to hear to , I've never been able nor do I think I will ever be able to do it .

Hey, that is already defeating the object. South Africa's Rand is about 8.5 times that of the Dollar and even less to the Sterling. So it is rather costly for us to go abroad but so much cheaper for others to come here ... The US dollar goes a far way here.

[FredInChina]

Originally Posted by JamesD25

(...) before anyone mentions it, becoming independently wealthy isn't an option.

LOL... that's too bad, because frankly, this is the easiest choice!

The trouble with financing travels from a job are:
(1) you have to pay for it with after tax dollars... if you have a company, it is easy to partially deduct the travel costs from income or sometimes directly from tax.
(2) a job is the exchange of your time for money; travel requires both, and as DrPhil mentioned, good flexibility helps reduce costs.

The second best solution, is a job that pays you to travel


Osu!

Originally Posted by ashiharakaicho

(...) I will be going to Japan in October - so will play around with what airline to go (whilst I am a member of the Star Alliance) it is not always that I can get the cheapest flight with the members then I opt to get a cheaper one and at times, they fly via other hubs. So I will check where do I want to go and then I can visit someone there that would possibly host me. (...)

hehehe... fly via Shanghai old friend, you have a home to stay at


Osu!

[ashiharakaicho]

Originally Posted by FredInChina

Osu! hehehe... fly via Shanghai old friend, you have a home to stay at Osu!

Helped Mas book her ticket and the cheapest option was via Cathay Pacific -that would not be too bad because I have a student teaching in Hong Kong and a side trip to Shanghai might be possible.

Haven't been to China so it looks very attractive. Will see what happens with flights as time draws closer, but I will definitely look into it.

[sandman]

Here are a few random thoughts - if I can think of more later I'll add them.

- Be open on your destination. Some places are simply less expensive to travel to than others. Unfortunately Japan will probably always be more on the pricey side - both to fly there AND to sleep and eat there. Thailand however, would likely be a fair amount less expensive in general - maybe not the flight, but certainly the expenses once you get there.

- Be aware that flight prices vary a lot over time. Do some research on what reasonable fares are for where you are going, and watch ahead of time, starting several months out, if possible. If the fare is high now, check in often and you will likely see it go down.

- Don't worry about staying in a fancy hotel. Depending on your length of stay, you can often find a vacation rental apartment for less than a hotel, and then you get the benefit of being able to cook meals in, rather than eating out for every meal. This works especially good for a family. For someone traveling alone a hostel is a great inexpensive option. Think about the hotel (or hostel or apt. or whatever) as simply a place to sleep and store your stuff, and no more. Don't waste your money on fanciness.

- Live on a budget the rest of the year. Think of stuff that you spend your money on regularly, and decide if it isn't better to put that money towards an awesome trip instead

Osu!

[DrPhil]

To me, the most important thing is to be flexible on the dates. For instance, Paris - New York can go from less than 400 euros to more than 1200 euros, and about the same for Paris - Bangkok. It all depends on the dates.

Nowadays, with sites like ebookers or kayak it's very easy to get the cheapest fare. You can also be flexible on the destination. Sometimes, I want to travel but I'm not specific on the destination. Let's say I want to go to South America from New York, I'll check prices for Lima, Bogota, Sao Paulo and so on and see if I can find a good deal.

Then it's usually cheap to sleep in hostels, cook your own food, travel like locals and so on.

Overall, it's possible to travel cheap without sacrificing too much comfort. It's a matter of organization and compromise. It helps to have a lot of free time.