These countries are best enjoyed as a backpacker or independent traveller, making use of the local economies and living close to the ground. Try the local cuisine, and stay in backpacker hostels and budget guesthouses instead of big all-inclusive hotels!
1. Vietnam
WHY GO: Buzzing street life, great food, gripping war museums, rice terraces, Ha Long Bay, traditional villages
Colorful boats at the fishing village of Mui Ne
Vietnam has that perfect combination of being fantastically cheap as well as having lots of fascinating sights. If you’re a backpacker on a shoestring budget, you can certainly survive on very little here. For example, a dorm bed might cost you as little as $7 a night. If you have just a bit more money to spend then Vietnam also gives you great value, as you can easily find wonderful modern hotel rooms for under $30 a night.
Dig into the delicious Vietnamese pho noodle dishes (about $2 for a meal) or drink the bia hoi (locally brewed beer at $0.50 or less a glass), and you can manage to spend very little indeed. Activities and tours, such as those to Ha Long Bay or the Mekong Delta, are all reasonably priced, especially if booked locally.
In my view, the beaches in Vietnam aren’t quite as nice as those in neighbouring countries (with Phu Quoc excepted), and tourist sites like Ha Long Bay can get somewhat overcrowded (look into the less-visited Bai Tu Long Bay nearby). But Vietnam is also one of the region’s most dynamic countries where you can truly feel like you’re in a different world.
2. Northern Thailand
WHY GO: Buddhist temples, hill tribes, and food markets. Beautiful nature allows for trekking, caving, rafting, and more. Party scenes in Pai and Chiang Mai.
Trekking through lush northern Thailand, near the town of Soppong
Huh, Thailand? Isn’t Thailand supposed to be an expensive resort destination these days? That may be true to some extent if you only go to the beaches in the south, but not if you turn your focus to the inland regions in the north.
Take an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (cost: $12) and you will quickly realize just how affordable Thailand can be. For example, here you can still find backpacker dorm beds starting at $4 and basic private rooms starting at about $8. Need something more midrange? Chiang Mai is one of the best places to find great independent hotels for very little money. Food throughout Thailand is delicious and inexpensive, especially if you eat local—hit up a fun roadside eatery and you can get a fantastic stir fry for about 100 Baht ($2.50). Stick to local transportation (like the ubiquitous tuk-tuks) and you might struggle to spend more than about $25–$30 a day as a backpacker.
Thanks to convenient transportation, little hassle, and low cost, Thailand is also one of the easiest travel destinations worldwide… but watch your budget when going to the popular island or beaches (such as the now overrated Koh Phi Phi), as prices can easily double here.
3. Morocco
WHY GO: Sahara, ancient medinas, Atlas Mountains trekking, laidback surfer towns on the Atlantic coast
Touring the Sahara desert on camelback #nofilter #seriouslydontneedthem
Stick only to places like Djeema El Fna square in Marrakech—Morocco’s most touristy location—and you might think the country is really not so cheap. Order a simple shish kebab with some salad at one of the street stalls here and you might be charged a highly unreasonable $12. But… turn a few corners and you can find that same meal at an authentic Moroccan eatery for just $2.50.
If you are easily seduced by smooth sales pitches, know that the salesmen in Morocco work from finely crafted scripts. But keep a stiff upper lip at the markets and you’ll find that it’s easy to travel in this country for under $30/day, especially if staying in backpacker hostels or budget guesthouses. On a midrange budget of around $50/day you can stay in some of the famous riads—courtyard mini-palaces offering wonderful relief from the sun and buzzing city streets.
If you are European or travelling in Europe, Morocco is easily reached by budget airline from the continent, or via a short ferry from Spain. As the most stable and secure country in the region, Morocco will give you a great taste of northern Africa.
4. Albania
WHY GO: ancient castles, white sand beaches, mountain trekking, remnants of communist past
Okay, first a little confession: I haven’t yet been to Albania! But for my next big trip I have my eyes firmly on the Balkans, and the buzz on the European backpacker trail is all about Albania. Since this list previously neglected to mention Europe at all, I’ve chosen Albania to represent here for now.
Yes, you can travel cheaply in Europe. You only need to look towards the east and south-east of Europe, including the Baltics, Central Europe and the Balkans. Some have even taken to calling the Balkans the ‘Southeast Asia of Europe’, which is a weird way to put it but it kind of makes sense. While Croatia is the most touristy in the region and getting more expensive, you can travel very cheaply in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Macedonia, with the cheapest country in the region easily being Albania.
Right on the Adriatic coast just above Greece, Albania offers beautiful white sand beaches, while inland you’ll find huge mountain ranges as well as the buzzing capital of Tirana. The country doesn’t have as many direct flight connections as some others, so it can be easier or cheaper to fly to nearby Corfu in Greece or start a trip in Dubrovnik in Croatia.
5. Nicaragua
WHY GO: Epic volcanoes, Carribean islands, mountain coffee regions, surfin, volcano boarding (!), and only half the cost of Costa Rica
The volcano lake island of Ometepe
Nicaragua had long been off the radar due to years of political and civil unrest, but today the country is stable and open for tourism—and becoming increasingly popular. Currently it may well be the cheapest destination in Central America (though Guatemala is close).
In 2013 I was easily able to find a good dorm bed in the colonial city of Grenada just a block from the main square for just $5 a night. Basic privates (with a shared bathroom) can be found for around $10 a night even in the touristy seaside town of San Juan Del Sur.
Whereas neighbouring Costa Rica has clearly capitalized on the influx of North American tourists, Nicaragua is still a burgeoning tourist destination and so a lot of the activities and tours are very attractively priced. Costa Rica’s cloud forests in Monteverde and many other popular Costa Rican destinations are just half a day of travel from Nicaragua, so the two countries can also be easily combined into one itinerary.
