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Budgeting

Transport

After a few weeks of life on the open road, the backpacker soon learns that there is transport to suit every budget. Your flights will make the biggest dent in your budget but by using local transportation and avoiding internal flights once you're there, not only will you limit your carbon footprint but you'll also save yourself a lot of money. It's all a matter of comfort, by sacrificing your cushioned seat you could gain an extra night in the hostel once you reach your destination! If you have long distances to travel, night buses are ideal since you simply go to sleep and wake up in your next destination- it also means you don't have to buy a night's accommodation.

The round the world plane ticket- the travellers' dream- is not always as expensive as your might first think. Many flight companies have jumped to answer the increasingly high demand of people wanting to see the world by now letting you tailor your ticket to your ideal route that's as flexible as you want it to be. This kind of travel lets you choose the countries you visit, how long you stay there for, what you do while you're there- ultimately you are in complete control of your trip.

Vaccinations/ Anti-malarials

Some countries require you to have certain immunisation before allowing you into the country so make sure you triple check with the relevant government health organisations or with the FCO for any outbreaks or legalised vaccinations before you go. Sadly these are often the more expensive ones!

You can find out which vaccinations you need for each country on sites like: The Travel Doctor. The next step is to visit one of the hundreds of travel clinics around the UK who can help you with specific advice on each country you'll be visiting.

Try: MASTA Travel Health and you can even get for a comprehensive travel health brief with up to date travel news, vaccinations, malaria advice and seasonal diseases for around £3.99.

Alternatively, for a small fee you can register with E-Med which puts you in contact with an online London doctor via email, phone, fax and even Skype video consultations, who can offer any health worries you may have wherever in the world you are.

Check whether your country is within a malaria zone and what anti-malarials work for that country. Also, some countries like India are only at risk from malaria during certain seasons or below certain altitudes; checking things like this will save you a lot of money buying malaria tablets and also save you space in your backpack!

Visas

Apply for any visas you need well in advance as you will have to send your passport off and at busy times, embassies can be a big hassle. Find out which visas you can buy on the border, how much they'll be or if you'll need a photograph, it'll cut down the time spent queuing at borders. If you can buy the visa in the UK, buy it in the UK, while it's sometimes a little more expensive arranging it through the embassy as opposed to on the border, it's always comforting to know you have everything already sorted and could help avoid any potential hold-ups while you are on the border.

Passport

Make sure it is in date and will be in date for the duration of the trip, even if you decide to extend your trip while you are away. Sounds stupid, but it has been know for people to go travelling and have their passport expire while they are away! Also, make sure you have enough blank pages in your passport to accommodate for any visas and entry stamps you might need. If you don't have a passport, you need to anticipate how long it takes to get a new one- a new application takes about 3 weeks to process.

Insurance

This is often seen as an optional cost and is often neglected by many travellers but it is very important when going backpacking since you're likely to be living a little more dangerously than usual. There are many types of travel insurance including some that specifically accommodate for backpackers including clauses for adventure sports etc. With insurance, should you be unlucky enough to get robbed you can claim some money back for things like clothes, cameras, mp3 players if you have content cover.

For people under 36, many insurance companies offer specific backpacker insurance that covers you for things like cancellation, repatriation, hijack, catastrophe cover, money and contents.

For those aged over 36 who are taking a career break, you can also get extended travel insurance which can be tailored to cover the same types of adventure or volunteering activities.

Apart from your flights, it's unlikely you'll be able to find most of these costs cheaper, since passports, immunisations and visas tend to be a standard price. With things that are more variable, like insurance, tempting as it is to go for the cheapest option to save money for aforementioned exciting activities, you have to bear in mind that the cheapest insurance packages probably won't include cover for anything more thrilling than a donkey ride.