At the beginning of the year, my best friend and I went on a friend-cation.

 

 

Being that we are new into the working world, we hardly earn any money, so we were working on a strict budget.

Here is how we worked around that and managed to spend about a week by the sea.

1. We booked in at a backpackers.

 

Now it may be a risk in some situations, BUT the website seemed legitimate, and the reviews were mostly great. One thing that I have to say is that we didn’t find it within the first two tries, not even the first five tries. Jessica and I spent about a week making a shortlist and then getting quotes. I think that another major thing was that I was weary of places that only had great reviews. Perhaps I am a pessimist, BUT I honestly don’t think that a place could be that great.

2. We drove and didn’t fly.

Lucky enough my sister in law owns a car which is super fuel efficient. We managed to borrow her car, and fuel was one of our lowest expenses. Bear in mind that this was during Christmas season and so flying was not an option for us since we were on a budget.

3. We prepared a large deal of our meal ourselves.

Of course, we didn’t cook every single day, but we bought enough food to make lunches and suppers. Fruits were the main ingredient, and they went perfectly with beach days.

4. We did touristy stuff within reach.

From rock climbing on the beach to the yoga provided by the backpackers which we stayed at, we mostly did activities that didn’t involve spending money. We were on holiday which meant that we needed to relax and not fills our days with activities.

5. We didn’t mind compromising.

When money became tight, we didn’t sit and sulk or try and break the bank. We just kept to our budget and did simpler things.

Do you have any tips on budget travelling?

Written by Hulisani Khorombi, Associate Editor, #mygirlsquad