You Gotta Be Kidding

You want travel advice from me? Travel advice from a former road-tripping, thumb-out Pius Itinerant? You gotta be kidding. Beyond what type of pack to choose and canned or prepared foods to have on hand for emergencies, I’d advise that the best budget tip is to always keep a twenty in reserve. You can pull it out when Officer Opie tries to snag you as a vagrant. “No, sir! See, I have means !”

Well beyond that, I’ll admit that it’s really just a bit of daily life. Actually have a budget and keep to it. One thing I’d add is that you should budget generous gratuities. They are more important than you might expect. The people you are tipping are your best resource for local information. They are not living in a void; they live in that or a surrounding community. They can advise you that the “top-rated restaurant” is actually an overpriced tourist trap, and Mama Louise’s is where you want to go. Local knowledge can be priceless, and the trip guide is probably six months or a year outdated.

Entertainment? My advice is to budget time for spending in a good coffee shop and people-watching. It’s kind to the budget, and you can learn lots by watching the vibe on the street. In the morning, pick up the local paper, do the crossword puzzle, Horoscope, and read the local articles, looking for ultra-local events that are reasonably priced and surprisingly good.

Do it right, and you’ll have fun on a thrifty budget, and at the end of the week, your neighbors in the coffee shop will be thinking that you’re a local and asking you for advice on where to go and how much.

So that’s the word from the old Pius Itinerant: be good, and don’t tell Opie that you saw me!

Daily writing prompt

What’s your best tip for budget travel?

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