READ: Best Translation Apps for Travel
Newsflash: I’m not rich either, yet here I am! I’ve had people saying “You must have earned a lot of money in your job“, “You must be from a rich family; your parents can always back you up” or “You must be getting extra money from someone.“
Go into a savings routine: for example, save a bit of cash every week. If we put it into numbers, let’s say you save Php 100 (roughly ) every week of the year, and then if you add that same amount weekly (in an incremental way), by the end of the year you have saved about Php 138,000 (,000+)! You can mix your career and your travel plans, both at the same time! (See samples of jobs that will enable you to work remotely in this article here. Especially after the COVID pandemic, a lot of people have been able to negotiate a ‘work from home’ arrangement, allowing them to work anytime, anywhere).
» “I can’t afford a life of travel, it’s too expensive. I don’t have the money, I’m not rich!”
Always remember: it won’t be an irresponsible decision if you really plan for it ahead and make the necessary preparations.
Then again… I have a hunch that after some time of travel, I don’t think you’ll ever want to work for someone else again and that along the road, much like me, you would have found a remote career that will fulfill you for the rest of your life.
These countries are not only in Asia but there are several places in South America too that are visa-Free; they are Brazil, Peru, and Colombia among many others.
I say this because, for me, inspiration played a HUGE role in my life. I mainly acquired it through the people that I met: they were nomads, backpackers, and entrepreneurs who were mostly passing through the city of Manila, sharing their stories of adventure. One of those people was actually one of my best friends, and it was because of his life story and influence that my plans of working remotely were finally put into motion. He even helped me a lot in realizing that my fears shouldn’t hold me back—they should rather help me go forward because there were other things that I should be more concerned about: one of which is a possible future where I’m miserable and unhappy.
Aside from it being transient, there are so many ways that can keep you from getting lost. Moreover, if you actually do your ‘homework’ beforehand, such a predicament won’t ever happen to you.
In short: do your homework. For instance, once you’re in a country that you’re visiting, you can ask the hotel or hostel for tips and if there are any areas that you should avoid.
But if a life of travel is what you really want, it is still very possible. I don’t have kids yet but I certainly know that having a family requires a certain level of dedication and one can’t just get up, quit, and go like I did — still, the opportunity of traveling for an extended period of time will still and always be there.
Tell you what: there’s NO right time.
Overall
I have met too many people in my life who have had this grief, saying that they shouldn’t have waited until they’re ‘settled’ because now they’re too tired to venture to far lands.
Ultimately: don’t give up your dreams for someone else.
NOTE: In lieu of this, for sure there’s the topic of ‘privilege’. A sample of concern is: “What if I’m supporting my siblings or parents?” I can understand how difficult of a situation this can be since it’s a common occurrence, for instance, in Asian countries like my hometown, the Philippines. But still and the same, there’s a viable option for you: finding a better job where you can compete and gain a salary that’s not within 3rd world standards — which is what I’ve done and which I’ve achieved.
They pour out their doubts and their fears and for sure, I’m happy that you guys confide in me but much like what I always reply with, it helps to acknowledge that most of them are travel excuses at the very core.
You see, it’s never an impossible thing. This is but just one of your travel excuses.
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It shouldn’t keep you ‘stuck’ in where you are. To know how you can cope with your fear of flying, read below.
Have you heard of Graham Hughes? He’s the first person in the world to travel to all 201 countries WITHOUT using a plane. It takes a while alright, but apart from avoiding your fear, it will also save you loads of cash!
So if inspiration does hit you—may it be in the form of a person, a book, a movie, or this post—go and quickly take advantage of it. Take action.
» “I don’t think I can consistently travel after I start to do so; I might run out of money!”
READ: How to Save Money for Travel
The Philippines, for instance, isn’t really one of the safest countries in the world, you know? Manila is even ranked by some publications as one of the world’s most dangerous cities, and yet here you are: safe, alive, and reading this post!
Other than this, let me face you with the reality that you can’t really predict the future. What if one day you lose the ability to use your legs despite still being in your 30s? Okay, that’s a bit of a drastic example but the idea is that you really wouldn’t want to wallow in self-pity thinking that if only you took that trip 5, 10, 20, 30 years ago then you would have managed to at least have a taste of that wanderlust being fulfilled.
But here’s the thing: if you try your best to explain to them that this is what you want to do with your life and that this is what will make you happy—then I don’t think they’ll be that heartless to not let you go. Certainly, they’ll be taken by surprise at first because they’re simply concerned about your well-being, but if you lay out your plans and backup plans, they will not only be assured of your safety but they will also get the message that you are serious about this.
- Couchsurfing – people will let you stay in their home for free, letting you use whatever space available—may it be the couch, the floor, or if you’re lucky, a spare room! There is a whole community for this at www.couchsurfing.org and you just have to read the references or testimonials of other people to assure that your host is someone that you can trust
- Home Stays – you stay with a family overseas and experience their day-to-day life (a good website for this is www.helpx.net)
- Home Swap – if you have a house/apartment/condo that you’re leaving behind, you can let someone stay in your residence for free, and then in return, you can stay in theirs for free too (www.homeexchange.com)
- House Sit or Pet Sit – you get to have a whole house to yourself which you have to look after while the owners are gone for vacation; most of the time, to take care of the pets too (www.trustedhousesitters.com or www.mindmyhouse.com)
…How?
READ: How to Convince Your Parents to Let You Travel the World
» “I think my parents will kill me if I do this! (or) I don’t think my friends will understand.“
Now these people have either gone to the extreme of selling their properties or just simply saving up for the big trip to bring the whole ‘wolf pack’ along for the ride (since travel can really bring a lot of lessons for the kids). But there are others who have also tried leaving the kids for a while with family as they do a year or two of travel — it becomes a no-issue of course once the kids are older and more independent.
I made this lifestyle happen. I had to make changes and sacrifices to get to where I am today. I had to make do with the little resources that I had in order to make it day by day.
Sounds cliche to say it but it’s evidently one of the joys of traveling! For my case, I’ve gotten lost before and it had always led me to beautiful places if not situations.
And then once the ‘big trip’ starts, sharing costs also helps. There are a lot of traveling couples out there and it’s a fun way to travel because you’re experiencing and discovering new things alongside a special person: your best friend!
Not entirely true. This is but just one of the travel excuses on your list.
We’ve been far too conditioned to think that travel is too expensive and that it is only for the rich, upper-class, lucky, or pension-filled people. But no, it’s not. It’s for average people too and if you can practice some discipline, it can be done.
» “I have no one to travel with. I’m afraid to travel alone!“
I can’t help but talk about it because I have met too many individuals who look back on their lives with bitter realizations that they are filled with regrets, missed opportunities, ‘what ifs’—and I don’t want you to end up as one of them.
Top Travel Excuses: Rebuked!
If you want more chances of scoring free accommodation, you can try:
But don’t be. I assure you that once you go traveling, you are never really alone. You’re always bound to meet people along the way and they could eventually become your best friends for life. They may be locals or they may be travelers like you, and this whole process is one of the best gifts of travel that you should not miss out on.
Needless to say, the effects and advantages of such a feeling are tremendous that you should never, ever, ignore it or delay it. If you want to travel NOW, then the time to act is definitely NOW.
Hello, travel excuses — you don’t always have to take airplanes. Say hello to ships, buses, trains, or generally: land and sea vehicles!
NOTE: Especially with the COVID pandemic, this could become one of those ‘legitimate’ travel excuses. At the height of such events, of course, you would be a fool to pursue traveling. However, given what we have witnessed afterward, things went back to normal; and as long as you are aware of the precautions to take then it should not hold you back from living your life.
If I may add, getting lost isn’t so bad either because it gives you the possibility of discovering ‘hidden gems’, meeting new people, and developing important life skills.
One of the things that you should never let happen is for someone to hold you back from what you want in life; you will definitely regret it, and that ‘regret’ might even put a damper on your relationship because, in the long run, you’re bound to inadvertently put the blame on your partner for keeping you from your dreams. (And let’s say you unfortunately break up in the future! Remember that those years are years that you can never get back and you might hate yourself and your ‘ex’ for that. Naturally, you should definitely avoid this circumstance).
» “It’s too dangerous! I might get sick, killed, robbed, kidnapped, or scammed!”
TIP: Also remember the possibility that if you have rendered a long period of service to the company you’re working for right now, they could grant you a long time off or sabatical from work, so start negotiating!
To illustrate, there are various free offline translator apps for different languages wherein you can translate a sentence to read or show off to the locals (if you can’t read the translation yourself).
A little regret here and there is fine, but for something that you really want? That would really hurt deep, especially if you know that you could have done it if only you did not hesitate; so start ditching these travel excuses and go do what you want: to finally travel!
For me to get to stay long here in Europe, I first tried showing to the embassy a proof of sponsorship from a relative (which was only on paper), and later on, as I continued to have a more steady cashflow from my online work, I showed documents supporting such—both cases have worked very well and got me the visas that I wanted.
Of course, I wholly understand how certain travel excuses can be justifiable in one’s case; but most of the time, they are actually invalid. So unless you are banned from every country in the world or plagued by a serious health condition, let me tell you that it is VERY possible for you to lead a life like a do.
• • •
» “I can get lost!”
Otherwise, you can also do volunteering! This does not pay, BUT it will give you free accommodation and even food. This will undeniably help a lot since hotel or hostel costs can really eat away your wallet. Now there are volunteering opportunities for charities, but most of the time they come with a fee; fortunately, there are also those who don’t need any fee at all (restaurants, bars, hotels, hostels, etc.). They would just require you to do some small tasks and in exchange, they will be more than glad to take you in and pamper you a bit. (Some websites that will help you look for these jobs are www.workaway.info, www.anyworkanywhere.com, or www.overseasjobs.com)
And you can do the same!
RELATED READ:
How to Travel the World on a Third World Passport
How to Legally Stay Longer in Europe (Schengen)
Visa Application Tips: 4 Things to Get You Approved
Not to mention that if you do manage to get some first world visas granted to you, they will automatically give you visa-free access to other countries that would normally require you to separately apply a visa for.
You have to realize the drastic effect that ensues when you always try to put things off: the more you postpone it, the more unlikely it is to ever happen.
» “I’m in a relationship right now. I can’t leave my partner/bf/gf! I wish I had done this when I was single!”
So no one has the same passion or goal as you do; that’s a shame, I know. But hey, there’s no rule saying that you have to be with someone while you travel!
No, no, and no.
Plus, if they are really your friends, though they will be concerned at first, they should support you, they should cheer you on, and they should probably even throw in some tips so that you can keep your head in the game. There might be those who are secretly wishing that you fail, but we can’t really avoid those, can we? Just carefully pick your friends and above all: start mastering the life skill of ‘not caring so much about what others think’.
I guess you noticed that I brush a lot on the topic of ‘regret‘ in this post.
As a Philippines passport holder, I know the frustration of having to apply for Visas to 1st-world countries like the U.S. or Europe. However, our passports are not as limited as you think, you may not get into the U.S. or Europe as quickly or easily, but there are still other options for you to start traveling around visa-free.
So please just always remember that age is not an issue—it will never be an issue. Take it from the world’s oldest backpacker, Keith Wright, who doesn’t let his age (95) get in the way of his travel plans!
» “I have a family and I have children.”
Watch out for cheaper options: if you focus your travel goals first on cheaper countries, the whole plan itself becomes even more attainable. So keep a lookout for airline discounts too, or opportunities to get accommodation for free (like couchsurfing). Once you do these small but big steps, it becomes easier and easier as you prepare and save up for your travel fund.
Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your dreams or career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.
Deteriorating health is unavoidable and I am very sorry to hear that this is your case. However, if you are still able to move around, then this is not an excuse that you should use… after all, it’s never too late to travel!
They thought I’d gone crazy!
Fast forward and now you’re on your deathbed, about to die. You’ll remember this phrase with utter bitterness, regretting that you never made those travel dreams happen… despite saying that you will.
» “I’m too old. It’s too late!”
If you do, the two of you can save together for your travel fund and it will make things faster and easier, thereby further avoiding that ‘I can’t afford it‘ travel excuse. (You could also conquer the ‘I’m afraid to travel alone‘ part!)
READ: How I Afford to Travel the World
On the other hand, should you ever really have to deal with visas, there’s always a way to make it a hassle-free process by properly planning beforehand and using whateverresources you have to prove that you can make it out there.
READ: How to Get FREE Accommodation Worldwide
» “I have to take airplane rides, I hate and fear flying!”
..But you know English, right? Then you’re good.
There are ALWAYS ways: do a quick Google search for the most popular phrases of a country’s language, buy a book like Lonely Planet since they usually list out the important translations, or simply use your smartphone. With the advent of technology, there are tons of translation apps to make your travel life easier so this is definitely one of the top travel excuses on your list.
By the time I was 21—the point where I realized that I was terribly uninspired and that a 9-to-5 job wasn’t what I want from life—I took the necessary steps and preparation in order for me to launch my ‘life of travel’, after which I finally quit my job. It was a bumpy road at first, but I eventually managed to secure a stable income from my freelance jobs online as a digital nomad; today, I am traveling through various countries and have even picked up the inspiration to start my own online business together with my partner.
I bet you will say the same thing next year, and then the year after that, and so on… that it just becomes ‘never‘.
» “I don’t know any other languages. I won’t be able to get around.”
If your partner is understanding, he or she wouldn’t be so selfish so as to prevent you from doing what you want in life. It may seem noble for you to not do this for your partner, but how about you? You’re totally neglecting yourself — which you never should. So try and make a compromise. For short term trips, see if you can do something in return for your partner once you come back; whereas for long term trips, see if a long-distance relationship can work.
In the end, don’t ever let yourself say that you can’t afford to travel because as you can see, you really can. You just have to be smart and in control of how you can work your way to make it happen.
I actually know a couple of fellow Filipino travel bloggers who are currently back-packing through the whole of South America for years; there’s Argentina for instance that requires a visa, but they still have managed to apply for one while still staying abroad whilst enjoying the rest of the visa-free countries — so there really is a lot of proof for you to know that it’s possible no matter if you have a ‘weak’ passport.
Surely, I know that you can do something similar as I’ve managed to do it so with maddening perseverance. But of course, this post does NOT cater to those who are poverty-stricken because I am rather catering this to people like you who at least have the chance to access the internet — a vast area where you can gain a LOT of opportunities to uplift your life’s situation. This is for the reason that, that fact alone should show you the reality that with that kind of ‘privilege’, you CAN already turn your life around if you dearly will it so.
It’s going to be a foreign territory so this is one of the top travel excuses that can be a valid reason… but it’s not.
For starters, I know a lot of travelers out there who have their kids traveling with them (just search Google for travel blogs of families and you’ll see what I’m talking about, or see the comments section of this post; some bloggers who are traveling with their families have attested to this possibility!).
Voilà! See how you’re never going to be ‘alone’ especially if you are proactive about it?
» “It’s such a hassle. My passport won’t get me anywhere good, anyways!“
But let’s say you’re one of those people who aim to travel for a while and then come back to their home country to search for a job again. Depending on your skills and experience, doing a bit of travel and then launching on a work schedule again won’t look bad on your CV. In fact, as a potential employee for a company, it will shape you into someone who is capable and well-rounded. HR people will also probably go crazy for your experiences and learning if you market yourself the right way.
As someone who leads a life of travel, I get a lot of messages from people asking for travel advice — and then there are also others who ask for advice on how they can start a similar lifestyle. Once the discussion gets going, there’s always that inevitable moment wherein they would reply with an: “I wish I can travel and work remotely like you, but… I can’t!” and then they list out the reasons that are keeping them from traveling. (Travel Excuses)
Bottom line: pay no heed to social pressure. You’ll just be wasting your time trying to mind others when you could just focus that energy on quitting your job to travel the world.
End result: always a win-win!
Meanwhile, if you’re planning on spending a long time in certain countries that have a unified language, you can invest in learning the basics. Other than taking formal classes (since those can be expensive) there are a lot of free platforms online that will help guide you through this process (e.g. Duolingo or Rosetta Stone).
READ: How to Learn a New Language for FREE
To slowly ease your way into the idea of going solo, try going on a trip to a place in your home country all by yourself. Try it once, twice, or even more!
» “I won’t have a career (or) I might not get a job once I finish traveling.”
However, of course, I understand that some people are hesitant about the idea of doing such a bold move by themselves…
Basically for this: always know that there’s an option for you to avoid flying IF NOT overcome it.
Even if it would, there are a lot of people — and travel apps — that can help guide you back to the right track. You can even take precautions like bringing a GPS for driving or an actual map with you. You can also take a card from the hotel or hostel you’re staying in so that in case you get lost, you can either call the hotel or show the locals the address and they can definitely guide you back home.
This is why you plan for your travel fund beforehand and if you’re careful like a hawk, I don’t think you’ll spend your money away carelessly. It’s all about budgeting appropriately and again: discipline. (I know fellow travel nomads who have lived under just or Php 500 a week and they are still on the road!)
» “I don’t have the time to do this. I’ll just travel later on when I’m settled.”
No, they don’t do that. What they do is that they quickly use that impulse to DO things, because they know that it can vanish any second and that it might never come again.
But of course, I recognize the possibility that some partners wouldn’t want to do the same — it might not be their passion. If showing them the possibilities and joys of a traveling lifestyle is futile, it may be time for a little bit of assessment… maybe even some sacrifice.
If not, you might find solace in your solitude.
Once you start to get a feel for it, start planning the big trip! Go and jump on opportunities that will surround you with lots of people: staying at hostels, attending festivals or concerts, and the like. You can even join communities online—there are a lot of groups that hold meet-ups in different parts of the globe (like Couchsurfing or InterNations)! And of course, don’t forget us, the travel bloggers. Just message someone who’s in the country you’re going into and we’re always more than happy to meet you and show you around.
» “I don’t think it’s the right time. Maybe next time…?”
You just do it and make time for it. It’s as simple as that. We are never ready for anything anyway; may it be love, studies, career, or moving to a new place. It just happens if you let it happen.
It’s the universal language of the world and almost everyone knows at least a word or two. Hand and body gestures can already help a lot too.
Change your habits.
Live cheaper as you work towards your goal while making ways to save money at every chance that you get.
As for your friends, they are really not an issue at all — in fact, such a concern is totally one of the top travel excuses. After all, this is YOUR dream, not theirs. You do NOT need their approval.
So yes, every place can be dangerous but it’s up to you to make it not as dangerous as it seems. The world isn’t such a scary place as others or the media paints it to be. You just have to continually use your common sense and be street smart at all times (much like what you do at home) and you’ll be fine. Do the basics of watching out for your safety and finding out what to avoid.
Plus, I’m pretty sure that during your travels, people from back home or even people on the road might suddenly want to accompany you on your journey. But like I said, there’s also the chance that you have found the joy of traveling solo so you don’t mind being by yourself at all — you might actually embrace it.
For starters, track your spending habits: where is most of your salary going to? Is it from eating in expensive restaurants during lunch break? Is it from your bar hopping spree on the weekends as you drown your worries away? Is it because of your shopping sprees whenever you feel stressed from work? Go and quickly identify these unnecessary expenses and then cut them out. You’ll see for yourself that you can save a LOT of cash when you really separate your wants and needs, and then scratch out the unimportant expenses that you are making on your ‘wants list’.
If it’s just a short trip, I’m sure your parents or in-laws would be more than happy to hog and spoil the kids while you’re gone (better yet, just bring the kids along with you).
You need to make some sacrifices.
This is definitely one of the top travel excuses because if traveling is what you really want, no matter if you are broke, if you make it your priority, travel is absolutely possible. Surely it won’t be accomplished overnight but with a few changes in your lifestyle, it becomes very achievable in the long run.
READ: Top Solo Travel Tips
Truth be told, I have been robbed and scammed more in my own country than in the foreign countries that I have been to.
