How to Travel the World on $75 a Day: What Savvy Travelers Do Differently to Make Every Dollar Count

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How to Travel the World on $75 a Day: What Savvy Travelers Do Differently to Make Every Dollar Count"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
• Host: Sally French and Meghan Coyle, NerdWallet Travel
• Episode Title: How to Travel the World on $75 a Day: What Savvy Travelers Do Differently to Make Every Dollar Count
• Release Date: July 9, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways, hosts Sally French and Meghan Coyle delve into the art of budget traveling, aiming to show listeners how to explore the world without breaking the bank. The focal point of the discussion is an interview with Matt Kepnes, also known as Nomadic Matt, author of the updated book How to Travel the World on $75 a Day. This comprehensive guide offers practical strategies to maximize travel budgets, making dream vacations attainable for more people.

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Guest Introduction: Matt Kepnes (Nomadic Matt)

Sally and Meghan welcome Matt Kepnes to discuss his expertise in budget travel. Matt shares insights from his extensive travel experiences across over 100 countries and elaborates on the evolution of his travel mindset since he began his journey in 2006.

Notable Quote:

Matt Kepnes [09:20]: "When you're a backpacker and you have X dollars and that's it until you go home, $100 food tour isn't, you know, Right. That's like a couple days on the road."

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Inspiration and Evolution in Travel

Matt recounts his initial inspiration to travel on a budget, sparked by a transformative trip to Thailand in 2005. Dissatisfied with his corporate job and driven by a desire for adventure, he decided to embark on a journey that would redefine his life and career.

Notable Quote:

Matt Kepnes [09:20]: "I was working in healthcare, doing administration stuff. Didn't like my job, wasn't my career. So I was also in a graduate program at the time. And so I was like, you know what? Perfect plan. I will quit my job, finish my MBA, do my gap year like the Europeans come back, and then do the American 9 to 5 corporate dream."

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Budget Travel Philosophy

While Matt has transitioned from traditional backpacking, his core philosophy remains rooted in immersive, culturally-rich travel experiences. He emphasizes the importance of engaging with locals, exploring authentic eateries, and partaking in activities that offer a deeper understanding of the destination.

Notable Quote:

Matt Kepnes [10:21]: "I want to get out of the hotel, I want to do what the locals do, eat where the locals eat, just kind of like get a feel for the city and the culture. I want to meet other travelers."

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Overview of How to Travel the World on $75 a Day

Matt introduces his updated book, How to Travel the World on $75 a Day, which expands upon his previous work to reflect changes in the travel industry, especially post-COVID-19. The book provides readers with actionable tips on budget travel, leveraging current tools and strategies to find deals applicable across various global destinations.

Notable Quote:

Matt Kepnes [12:29]: "I ended up rewriting about 80% of this book because just so much has changed."

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Strategies for Saving Money

Matt offers practical advice on budgeting and saving for travel. He underscores the significance of tracking daily expenses to identify and eliminate unnecessary expenditures, thereby increasing overall savings.

Key Points:

• Expense Tracking: Monitor every expenditure, from major costs like lodging to minor ones like a daily coffee.
• Eliminating Non-Essentials: Cut back on discretionary spending such as multiple streaming services or frequent dining out.
• Leveraging Remote Work: Utilize remote work opportunities to maintain income while traveling.

Notable Quote:

Matt Kepnes [13:18]: "If you factor in long weekends and holidays, you can take weekend breaks to a lot of places. Travel doesn't always have to be like get on a plane and go halfway around the world."

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Best Value Destinations

When asked about the best value for money, Matt highlights Southeast Asia and India as top contenders due to their affordability, rich cultural experiences, and well-established travel infrastructure.

Notable Quote:

Matt Kepnes [16:32]: "Southeast Asia remains the best bang for your buck. It's affordable. There's a well-worn travel trail. There's lots of activities to do there. The food's great, you'll meet a lot of other travelers. It's very safe to travel around."

---

Essential Travel Hacks

Matt shares several hacks to enhance budget travel:

1. Utilize Local Tourism Offices: These offices offer maps, brochures, and discount cards for attractions and transportation.

   Quote:

   Matt Kepnes [18:49]: "Visiting the local tourism office... they do have maps. They sell tourism discount cards, which is like a city pass that's like 24, 48 or 72 hours long that covers most of the major attractions and usually comes with free public transportation."

2. Engage with Locals: Ask locals for dining and activity recommendations to discover authentic and affordable options.

   Quote:

   Matt Kepnes [19:33]: "Ask, like, 'Hey, when you go to lunch, where do you go to lunch?'... they go to places that locals frequent, ensuring better quality and value."

3. Avoid Tourist Traps: Implement the "five-block rule" to steer clear of overpriced tourist-centric establishments.

   Quote:

   Matt Kepnes [21:08]: "If you walk five blocks away from a touristy area, the menus switch from multiple languages to just the local language, and the quality of food improves."

4. Use Hostels Strategically: Even if not staying overnight, hostels can be valuable resources for insider tips on budget-friendly activities and eateries.

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Advice for Travelers with Limited Time

For those constrained by limited vacation days, Matt advises maximizing existing time by planning short, local getaways or leveraging long weekends and holidays for mini-adventures.

Notable Quote:

Matt Kepnes [22:06]: "If you live anywhere, just get in the car and drive somewhere or take a weekend break."

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Leveraging Travel Credit Cards

Matt strongly advocates for the use of travel rewards credit cards, highlighting their benefits in accruing points or miles that can significantly reduce travel costs. However, he cautions users to pay off their balances in full each month to avoid interest that can negate the rewards earned.

Notable Quote:

Matt Kepnes [25:34]: "As long as you can pay your credit card off each month, there's absolutely positively no reason not to get a travel rewards credit card because you are getting rewarded for money you're spending anyway."

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Rapid Fire: Matt's Favorites and Tips

• Favorite Region: Southeast Asia, with a special mention of Thailand for its rich memories and affordability.

• Least Favorite Travel Mistake: Not adhering to his "five-block rule," leading to unnecessary expenses.

• Desired Change in Travel Industry: Implementation of visitor limits to preserve destinations and encourage responsible tourism.

  Notable Quote:

  Matt Kepnes [27:27]: "The world was not meant to have billions of people traversing it... it's important we do it in a responsible way."

• Single Piece of Travel Advice: Maintain flexibility to seize deals and explore a wide array of destinations without being tethered to expensive locales.

  Notable Quote:

  Matt Kepnes [28:42]: "The more flexible you can be, the more likely it is you'll find a deal."

---

Hot Takes and Additional Tips

Meghan's Hot Take: Avoid Taking Uber Directly from the Airport

• Strategy: Utilize free hotel shuttles or walk a distance from the airport to bypass extra Uber fees imposed by airport services.

  Notable Quote:

  Meghan Coyle [29:48]: "Anything you can do to avoid that [Uber airport fees]. It'll help save you money."

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with Sally and Meghan encouraging listeners to apply Matt's budget travel strategies to make their travel dreams a reality. They emphasize the importance of flexibility, smart budgeting, and utilizing available resources to enhance travel experiences without overspending.

Final Thought:

Sally French [31:36]: "We hope you're inspired to keep your passport full and your wallet even fuller. See you next week."

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Connect with Matt Kepnes:

• Website: nomadicmat.com
• Social Media: @nomadicmat across various platforms

Book Recommendation:

• How to Travel the World on $75 a Day by Nomadic Matt

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights shared during the episode, providing listeners with actionable advice to enhance their travel budgeting strategies.

Transcript

[Megan Coyle]

Today's episode is sponsored by Fiji Water. No way. I love hydration same and Fiji Hydration no less. It really is from the actual islands of Fiji, as in 1600 miles from the nearest continent. It's bottled at the source and untouched by man until you unscrew the cap and you don't have to go all the way to Fiji.

[Sally French]

Although you have been to Fiji, Megan.

[Megan Coyle]

Yes. And I was living off the Fiji water. I would get out of the ocean, take a little sip of Fiji Water. It tastes so good.

[Sally French]

And it's easy to get it here too. Fiji Water is the number one premium bottled water brand in the U.S. it's.

[Megan Coyle]

My go to hydration for everything from beach days to jungle hikes, or even just a little water on the hotel nightstand.

[Sally French]

Oh, you know, I love my gallon challenge. I gotta say, if you are not doing the gallon challenge every day, my hot take is you are not hydrated enough.

[Megan Coyle]

Honestly, I agree. And did you know Fiji Water has more than double the electrolytes as the other two top premium bottled water brands? That's what gives it that extra smooth taste.

[Sally French]

Fiji Water is Earth's finest water, Megan. If I am doing an Orlando theme park in the summer, I'm like, sometimes two G challenge, baby.

[Megan Coyle]

That's a lot of bottles of Fiji Water and I love that they're travel size so that they fit in my crossbody bag.

[Sally French]

I'm plowing through my Fiji Water bottles and luckily, Fiji Water is environmentally responsible.

[Megan Coyle]

Yes. Since 2022, the 330 and 500 milliliter bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic. Fiji Water continues to lead the top premium bottled water competition on launching 100% recycled plastic bottles.

[Sally French]

I love water and you know, if I see a Fiji Water bottle available, that's definitely the one I'm going for.

[Megan Coyle]

Fiji Water, Earth's finest water.

[Sally French]

Stay hydrated. Like us travelers. Question for you, Megan. How much money do you think you spend on average per day when traveling?

[Megan Coyle]

Ooh, does it include like lodging? Like how much I had to pay?

[Sally French]

Yes, like literally everything. Like parking, tolls, food, lodging, all the things.

[Megan Coyle]

Oh, okay. I'm going to guess $150.

[Sally French]

Okay. Actually, that's like pretty good, I would say, but I can do better. Today I'm going to introduce you to someone who says you can do it on just $75 per day.

[Megan Coyle]

Oh, my gosh. With like, wherever they stayed. I hope they're not staying in hostels.

[Sally French]

You gotta listen to the episode. Welcome to Smart Travel, a deep dive into the tips, tools and Tactics to maximize your travel dollars. I'm Sally French.

[Megan Coyle]

And I'm Megan Coyle.

[Sally French]

And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip.

[Megan Coyle]

And today we're talking about planning a trip for less than $75 a day. But first, our usual disclaimer.

[Sally French]

Yes, today we will talk about some credit card companies that are nerd wallet partners, but that does not influence how we discuss them. The benefits, terms, fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but things can change. Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening, so for the latest details, follow the links in the episode description.

[Megan Coyle]

Okay, a couple big news items out of Uber this month.

[Sally French]

First up, Uber rent. Did you know you can rent a car through Uber, Megan?

[Megan Coyle]

Yes, I did.

[Sally French]

I did not realize this was possible, but apparently you can in some cities. And the service is growing beyond purely the ability to just rent, but also the ability to skip the rental car counter entirely. I feel like this is quite a concept. It is called Uber Rent with car delivery. With this, no more schlepping to a rental lot in what is now 24 cities. Uber will actually deliver a rental car, right, to your hotel or house or really wherever you want the car delivered, as long as they service that address.

[Megan Coyle]

Nice. I would love to do anything to skip the car rental line. And I'm assuming when you're done, you don't even have to drive it back to a lot or anything.

[Sally French]

Right? Same deal. Someone comes and picks it up for you.

[Megan Coyle]

Interesting. Okay, so where can I find this?

[Sally French]

They are in many major cities, including both San Francisco and Los Angeles. So I think you and I might need to try this out.

[Megan Coyle]

And then if you prefer using Uber for rideshares, travelers will find this next piece of news really useful too.

[Sally French]

Yes. So Uber is expanding their Uber Share at Airports program. With this, you split your ride with just one other person headed from the airport. And it's less than having your own solo ride. So the app basically pairs you up with someone whose final destination is is near yours. And then it hits both stops.

[Megan Coyle]

Oh my gosh. It's like Uber pool. And I'm guessing this whole benefit is cheaper for you.

[Sally French]

Yes. With this, Uber says you can save up to 20 off your Uber X fare.

[Megan Coyle]

Didn't they do something like this in the past?

[Sally French]

Yeah. Well, so that was Uber pool. And I love this. When I was like, basically broke in my 20s, as most things happened in 2020, they paused. Shared rides, a very sad Covid casualty. I guess people didn't want to sit in a car next to each other. Now, this did come back in a limited form in 2022, and now we have what's kind of an extension of that, but specific to airports.

[Megan Coyle]

And it's available at more than 40 airports around the world, many in the US but also some international locations, including major airports in Lisbon, Paris, and Zurich.

[Sally French]

Moving over to some cruise news. This one out of Royal Caribbean, and that's that Bookings are now available for Royal Beach Club Paradise Island.

[Megan Coyle]

This is the cruise line's private beach club on Nassau, and it is set to open in December 2025.

[Sally French]

And I have to say, a lot of cruisers will look forward to this news, as I know Nassau is usually not most people's favorite stop on Caribbean sailings.

[Megan Coyle]

Really? They haven't been to Atlantis then?

[Sally French]

Oh, my gosh. I feel like Atlantis is so wacky. So I've only done one cruise to Nassau, and I actually did enjoy just kind of walking around, but a lot of people were like, no way. Nope, I'm not getting off. And Megan, have you been to Atlantis?

[Megan Coyle]

Yeah, I love the water park. It's so fun. Like, I did all the slides. It was a great time.

[Sally French]

Well, maybe I missed out because I'm too cheap. I was like, I just want to walk in and see the spectacle. And everything was paid, so I couldn't even see it at all. It was. It was kind of a bummer.

[Megan Coyle]

You missed a good time.

[Sally French]

Now, speaking of paying, you could pay for Atlantis if you are doing a Nassau cruise. And I think that is one way to make Nassau really enjoyable if you don't want to just mosey around like I do. But now with this option, you can pay to go to what is effectively their private beach club.

[Megan Coyle]

So you're going to get like a cabana or an umbrella or something and have access to a bar with drinks. How much does all that cost?

[Sally French]

So, sadly, unlike Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect day at Coco Key, which is basically.

[Megan Coyle]

You call it Coco Key or Coco.

[Sally French]

Okay, Megan, I have to tell you this. I am so confused because I feel like it's key. And I literally, before this recording, I watched a ton of YouTube videos to try to find out, and I don't know. So someone on the Internet was like, no, it's key. But then it's like, yeah, perfect day. Cococay. It rhymes. Someone at Royal Caribbean tell us on.

[Megan Coyle]

The Disney cruise, they have their own island called Castaway Cay. I thought I remember calling it Castaway.

[Sally French]

Castaway Key. No, I think it's Castaway key. Please tell us the right pronunciation, podcast listeners. Anyway, the case is that there are many free things you can do at CocoCay. CocoCay. Whatever you want to call it. But to get into this beach club in Nassau, you do need to pay and it's not cheap. Adult passes start at $130 per person.

[Megan Coyle]

Oh my gosh. Really?

[Sally French]

Yeah. I mean that's how cruises get you is they suck you in with this really low upfront sailing fee. And I do love Royal Caribbean is very affordable. But it is so tempting to go for all these extras.

[Megan Coyle]

No, in that case, I would just stay on the boat. Save yourself the $130. Speaking of affordable ways to vacation, we are in the middle of Amazon Prime Day, which is really four days this year. It's not one day.

[Sally French]

Yeah, and most people think of Amazon prime being deal stuff and there certainly is that.

[Megan Coyle]

So many suitcases on sale, but also lots of travel deals like discounts on cruises, hotels, rental cars, Amtrak. We will link to the guide to Amazon prime deals that we've been updating non stop in the episode description.

[Sally French]

And I gotta say, shout out again to Royal Caribbean. They have this deal where you can get your third and fourth guest along with you for free. Plus some sailings are offering up to 800 off plus up to 40% off onboard extras which are things like Internet or alcohol. That's a great way to go to perfect day at CocoCay. Coco Key, whatever you want to call it. And Megan, get this on some sailings that could shake out to less than $70 per person per night.

[Megan Coyle]

Wow, that's perfect considering that's the main topic of today's show.

[Sally French]

Haha. See what I did there?

[Megan Coyle]

If we're traveling the world on $75 a day, then I'm guessing today's guest is none other than Nomadic Matt, otherwise known as Matt Kepnes, that is Right.

[Sally French]

Now some of you longtime fans might be thinking $75. He wrote a book which published in 2013 called how to Travel the World on $50 a Day. Travel cheaper, Longer, smarter.

[Megan Coyle]

Let me guess, inflation has forced the title to go up a bit.

[Sally French]

You got it. So he just launched the 2025 version of his famous book now titled how to Travel the world on $75 a day. We talked to him about what's inside the book and more. So you too can travel without spending wild amounts of money.

[Megan Coyle]

Without further ado, Sally, take it away to your interview with Matt.

[Sally French]

I am here with Nomadic Matt. You are author of the book how to travel the world on $75 a day. Thank you so much for joining us on the show.

[Matt Kepnes]

Oh, well, thanks for having me to talk about travel.

[Sally French]

You have been traveling the world since 2006. I want to know what inspired that first step and what is your travel mindset and how has it evolved since then?

[Matt Kepnes]

In 2005, I went on vacation to Thailand and I met a bunch of backpackers for the first time. And it was talking to them and just kind of seeing backpacker culture for the first time because, you know, like, everyone backpacks Thailand, that's the spot. Just really made me want to do what they were doing at the time. I was working in healthcare, doing administration stuff. Didn't like my job, wasn't my career. And so I was also in a graduate program at the time. So I was like, you know what? Perfect plan. I will quit my job, finish my mba, do my gap year like the Europeans come back, and then do the American 9 to 5 corporate dream. And so I left in 2006, and I just kind of just never came back.

[Sally French]

Amazing. We on this show talk about so many different travel styles. People who do the relaxing cruise, and then you sort of seem like you're on the other end of the spectrum with the backpacking style. What is your travel style like?

[Matt Kepnes]

Yeah, you know, I consider myself a budget traveler, less a backpacker these days in the sense that, like, I'm not sleeping in hostels, and I have a bit more money to spend on food and such and activities, but I still have that mindset, you know, backpacking as much as it is about the hostels, I think it's also sort of more a way of travel to try to get to know cultures and places a little bit more than on a cruise or resort. I still have that ethos when I travel of, like, I want to get out of the hotel, I want to do what the locals do, eat where the locals eat, just kind of like get a feel for the city and the culture. I want to meet other travelers. For me, it's all about the people. So I still have that ethos. Even though I might be staying in a nicer hotel, have more fancy cocktails, and pay for tours. You know, when you're a backpacker and you have X dollars and that's it until you go home. $100 food tour isn't, you know, Right. That's like a couple days on the road. So you're like, oh, well, maybe pass.

[Sally French]

A couple days on the road according to your book. Now your book is Titled how to travel the world on $75 a day. Tell us about your book.

[Matt Kepnes]

That is, if you're going to backpack the world, how much it would cost on average per day, you know, going through Europe and Australia, Southeast Asia, Central America, et cetera, et cetera. But it's really just sort of like my book on budget travel and how to think like a travel writer and where to find deals that can apply to any destination in the world. Like you said, inflation. Last edition of the book came out in 2017. Things have changed. We have this thing called Covid. And so, so much of the travel industry changed because of the pandemic that I really wanted to update this book to be a more current resource for travelers. Many of the companies and tips I had in the old edition aren't around anymore or don't work anymore. Right. You know, for one example is round the world tickets. You know, where you would buy, like pass on an airline alliance, like, up front.

[Sally French]

You know, all your those days are gone.

[Matt Kepnes]

Yeah. You know, I mean, the airlines don't really offer them anymore. Especially in the age of budget airlines. Why do you need an around the world ticket? Right. You know, back when they were popular, you couldn't go from the US To Asia cheap. Now you have zip air and you can go across for a couple hundred bucks. So I ended up rewriting about 80% of this book because just so much has. Has changed.

[Sally French]

One of the things I know a lot of people are asking is you did not go into that corporate world. You started traveling and you. You're also talking about spending money on $75 a day, which is not a ton of money. But you talk about this in the book is how to pay for travel, how to get this money. But how do people get the money to pay for travel like you and quit your job and just travel around the world?

[Matt Kepnes]

Well, I mean, in terms of, you know, how do you save the money? Where people go wrong is they don't actually know how much they spend. Right. You know, you can have somebody say, I would love to do what you do. I just don't have the money to go travel. And I always say, well, what do you spend your money on? Right? And a lot of people are like, oh, well, you know, I do this and that, and they have a rough estimate. But very few people sit down and think, what did I spend money on this week? And that's not only, you know, your groceries or your night out. It's like, did you buy a bottle of water on the way to Work. Did you grab a coffee? Did you donate 10 bucks to a charity? So really writing down everything you spend, tracking your entire expenses for like a month to see what are your fixed costs and what are your non fixed costs. And then from there you can be like, oh wow, I didn't realize I spent a lot of money on coffee per day or eating out and then going from there and just kind of eliminating the low hanging fruit can really help increase your savings a lot faster because you'll actually see where your money goes. I mean, for example, right? How many of us have multiple streaming services, right? Why not just have one per month, binge everything in that month, cancel following month, sign up for one service, binge everything. And then usually when you cancel, like wait, don't go, we'll give you six months for three bucks. And you're like, okay.

[Sally French]

Better yet, I have this treatment service that I get for no extra cost because my credit card covers it.

[Matt Kepnes]

Another thing is that once you realize that the cost of travel isn't as expensive as you think it is. Originally when I was doing this remote work that didn't exist, there was no concept of it. The digital Nomad was just basically bloggers that worked online and coders. Now it's really anybody has remote work opportunities. And even if they don't have it full time, a lot of companies still offer like, oh, you can go away for a few weeks at a time. And so using that leverage can allow you to travel while still actually earning money.

[Sally French]

You heard it from Matt. There are places you can travel cheaper. There are places you can travel for $75 per day. We will be digging into some specific money tips with Matt after this. Stay with us.

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[Megan Coyle]

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[Sally French]

Mac or drop a crispy fry between.

[Megan Coyle]

The car seats or use your McDonald's.

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[Sally French]

Matt, you've traveled to more than 100 countries. What is the absolute best value destination per dollar spent?

[Matt Kepnes]

Good question. I can't say. There's one country, maybe a region. I mean, well, I actually like. India is a very affordable country, you know, especially with the rupee current exchange rate. But as a region, I think Southeast Asia remains the best bang for your buck.

[Sally French]

I have to agree.

[Matt Kepnes]

It's affordable. There's a well worn travel trail. There's lots of activities to do there. The food's great, you'll meet a lot of other travelers. It's very safe to travel around.

[Sally French]

Do you have a favorite spot in Southeast Asia?

[Matt Kepnes]

Thailand. Just because the memories.

[Sally French]

Okay, yeah. Great backpacker spot. I really do love how you break down regions. And even in your book you sort of break down travel by sub regions. So you could go to Europe, but you even break down how Eastern Europe is so much cheaper than especially, you know, northern Europe can be really expensive. I made this mistake because I wanted to go to Spain and Morocco and I got a cheap flight. It was like 500 from San Francisco to Sweden. So we flew super cheap to Sweden. But then we had two nights in Sweden and we went to like their equivalent of the McDonald's and it was like 15 for like a terrible cheeseburger. Super expensive. So it is super important you tell people to go to the affordable places and not just get sucked in for one reason.

[Matt Kepnes]

Europe is so varied by region. Whereas there's more price uniformity in Southeast Asia. But Europe is so different. A lot of people ask me why I don't include Africa in the book. And it's, you know, Africa has 60 plus countries and it's so vastly different that it would be impossible I have to have a whole book on Africa alone. Whereas Europe, there's Western Europe countries are a little bit more price uniform. Same with Scandinavia. And you know, so. But yeah, you know, if you're going to Paris or France, you know it's going to be way more expensive than if you go, you know, to Slovenia, the euro country, or even go further east like Bulgaria, Romania or somewhere around the Balkans.

[Sally French]

Do you have any specific travel hack that you think really saves money? But a lot of travelers overlook, I.

[Matt Kepnes]

Would say one that I think a lot of travelers overlook is visiting the local tourism office. And these offices exist for people to get information, maps, brochures. And we think of them often as the place where you go to get a discount off, like Madame Tussaud or Torture Museum where they're just trying to upsell you. But they do have maps. They Sell tourism discount cards, which is sort of a city pass that's like 24, 48 or 72 hours long that covers most of the major attractions and usually comes with free public transportation. Another thing where people go wrong is that those offices are also staffed by local people.

[Sally French]

Right.

[Matt Kepnes]

Who you can ask, like, hey, when you go to lunch, where do you go to lunch? Because they ain't going to the places tourists go. When you go to dinner, where are you going with your friends and family? What's your favorite bar to go to? Right. Those are the places that like locals now. Right. And that's a really important thing because. And actually this one hack works anywhere, is like, never ask somebody like, hey, I'm visiting, where should I go? Because then the mental model that gets queued up is, I don't know where the tourists go in the city. Oh, they go to Rainforest Cafe, a Fisherman's Wharf. I know. But if you say, where do you go with your friends? It's like, oh, well, I go to this bar and that bar. Another hack is step into a hostel and ask, hey, I'm visiting. I'm trying to find, like, a really inexpensive place to eat or like a market. Do you know of anything nearby? Because the hostel clientele is all really cheap travelers. Right.

[Sally French]

And often I feel like those places are so much better anyway. I remember so many amazing farmers marketplace meals. I've had so many hole in the wall meals, and often it's not the Michelin meals I recommend. I feel like I even have to answer my own question is I think a lot of travelers just look up best restaurant in a city, and often that is going to be the Michelin restaurant. And then they think they have to go and spend all this money. And I'm like, no, just go to the amazing hole in the wall, and it's probably going to be just as good and just as memorable.

[Matt Kepnes]

Also, just to clarify the point about hostels, you can go in if you're not staying there too.

[Sally French]

I think you say in your book you should not eat within, like five blocks. Five blocks of a tourist hub.

[Matt Kepnes]

The five block rule, I call it. There's just sort of like this invisible line that, you know, if you walk like five blocks away from, like a touristy area, like, the menus go from like eight languages to just the local language. Maybe they have an English menu. Places that cater to tourists don't care about the quality of their food because you ain't coming back. Right?

[Sally French]

Right.

[Matt Kepnes]

So, like, if it's just mediocre, who cares? Whereas if you go to a local restaurant, then it has to be good because people aren't going to come back and then you lose business.

[Sally French]

That's a good practical tip right there. Now, you talked about, you know, the people who are able to travel full time, the people who can work remotely and can get out on the road more often. That's not necessarily practical for everyone. There are people out there listening who only have two weeks of vacation a year. What's your advice to those people?

[Matt Kepnes]

Got to make the most of what you have. One, I think people have more time than they think. If you factor in long weekends and holidays, you can take weekend breaks to a lot of places. Travel doesn't always have to be like get on a plane and go halfway around the world. It's really far off place. If you live anywhere, just get in the car and drive somewhere or take a weekend break.

[Sally French]

Now, you mentioned you used to do hostels more than it sounds like you do now. Are there any budget strategies that you used earlier on that maybe you don't recommend anymore?

[Matt Kepnes]

Not for accommodation? I mean, hostels are great for people who want to stay in dorms or just meet people. I mean, a lot of hostels have great private rooms, but they're unfortunately, post Covid, not as price competitive as hotels. Pre Covid, you might pay a couple of bucks more, a couple of bucks less depending on time of year as a budget hotel. So you'd be like, oh, well, whatever. You know, it might not be as nice as a hotel, but at least you get the social aspect of it. Post Covid, especially like, you know, Europe, Australia, private rooms and hostels have gotten more expensive than budget hotels. So they are not a good deal. But, you know, accommodation wise, Airbnb rooms, you know, we think of Airbnb as only houses these days, but you know, they started off as like, you would stay in someone's guest room or, you know, spare bedroom. That feature still exists. You just use rooms. And so that's a great way to save money on accommodation. Have the perks of a home, maybe meet someone who can show you around, be a friend. But that's a great budget accommodation option. If you want sort of like a middle road between like a hostel and a hotel. And then there's Home Exchange is a good one.

[Sally French]

Interesting. We have to do a show on home exchange. I've never done it.

[Matt Kepnes]

Yeah, you trade your home for someone else's home. They also have a system where, let's say you don't want to do a reciprocal exchange, like I don't want to go to sf. I want to go to la. And so you get like guest points.

[Sally French]

Yeah, yeah, I've heard about it.

[Matt Kepnes]

It's like a three way trade. Like I have someone say I accumulate guest points and then I can use those points to stay at a place in LA rather than trading with you directly. Then there's also hospitality networks. They used to be big out there, but they're not as popular as they were in the early 2010s. Couch surfing and you stay on someone's couch, spare bedroom, whatever. But those have actually been supplanted by Facebook groups. Funny enough, we think of Facebook as a very boomer esque place where family members fight each other. But post Covid, there's been a huge rise of Facebook groups for travelers to connect with other travelers. Digital nomads, there's, you know, find the travel buddy. There's backpack in Europe, you know, there's girls love travel, there's Southeast Asia. There's usually one for like digital nomads, like digital nomads, Bali, Digital nomads, Mexico City. And so you can use these groups to connect with people not only as a way to meet people, but also stay maybe at their place.

[Sally French]

Now we touched briefly on credit cards to either make your daily expenses a little more manageable through benefits on that card, but also to pay pay for travel. What are your thoughts on using travel credit cards? Do you use them? If so, what do you recommend?

[Matt Kepnes]

Yeah, I think points of miles are the best thing ever. As long as you can pay your credit card off each month, there's absolutely positively no reason not to get a travel rewards credit card because you are getting rewarded for money you're spending anyway. And I mean the banks are charging all these fees, right? You know, nothing's free in the world. So like somebody else is getting the points through your credit card activity, you might as well get it too.

[Sally French]

Right?

[Matt Kepnes]

And they'll save you thousands of dollars per year. Yeah, I just think there's absolutely no reason not to do them.

[Sally French]

Yeah, of course, a caveat. You have to pay it off in full every month. Otherwise that interest does, does not do anything to help the rewards you earn. Other benefits on credit cards. Okay, so I want to jump to some rapid fire questions about you favorite place to travel to.

[Matt Kepnes]

I don't have a favorite country, but I do love Southeast Asia, Japan and France.

[Sally French]

Ooh, I'm still waiting to go to Japan. I can't believe I haven't been. Top place you want to go to next. Mongolia Ooh, that's also the top place I want to go to next. Are you going to do camping there?

[Matt Kepnes]

I will do whatever there.

[Sally French]

Okay. You mentioned hostels. Do you have a favorite hostel you've ever stayed at?

[Matt Kepnes]

I've stayed at thousands of hostels. I can't pick just one. Give you a couple of. Couple ones. Kabul in Barcelona. Francesco is in Eos. Greece. The Flying Pig in Amsterdam.

[Sally French]

Oh, cool. Okay, good recommendations. Maybe you make no mistakes. But do you have a worst travel mistake?

[Matt Kepnes]

I partied too hard in Prague once and overslept an international flight.

[Sally French]

Okay, that is a rough mistake. Worst travel mistake that you see other people make.

[Matt Kepnes]

Not following my five block rule.

[Sally French]

Ooh, okay. Five block rule. I like that one. If you could make one change to the travel industry, what would it be?

[Matt Kepnes]

Oh, I mean, what aspect of the travel industry? Sorry, I need some caveats.

[Sally French]

So we talked to Scott Keys from Going, and he said that you should be able to resell your airfare. So so many cancellation policies are rough. So instead of, like, you can't cancel it, so I can just, like, resell it, like, Ticketmaster style. So he focused on the air travel aspect.

[Matt Kepnes]

I would say if there's one thing I would change, I would put visitor limits on most destinations.

[Sally French]

We're already seeing that in a lot of destinations.

[Matt Kepnes]

We should see more of it, you know?

[Sally French]

Okay.

[Matt Kepnes]

The world was not meant to have billions of people traversing it, and there.

[Sally French]

Are so many other places to go. I think a lot of people also say, well, where do I go? If there's a cap on this hike in Hawaii, But I think there's so.

[Matt Kepnes]

Many untouched spots, another trail you can do. I mean, people just get kind of lazy. Like, I know I sell travel and tell people to go travel, but it's important we do it in a responsible way. If you take in a place like Angkor Wat, you know, the pyramids, or, you know, these old structures, like, you just can't have that many people every day walking through them. You know, they're going to get ruined.

[Sally French]

There really are so many alternatives of just cities that need tourism dollars that people aren't going to. All right, can we boil this down to one single piece of travel advice for listeners?

[Matt Kepnes]

The more flexible you can be, the more likely it is you'll find a deal, because there are deals happening every day to thousands of destinations around the world. If you're flexible, you can always find a deal.

[Sally French]

Flexibility is key. Sometimes adjusting your flight by one day can save you hundreds of dollars.

[Matt Kepnes]

Like you said, you know, There are so many other destinations in the world. Right? You know, like, if Paris is too expensive, go somewhere else.

[Sally French]

Okay, so where can our listeners find you and find your book?

[Matt Kepnes]

I [e-mail] and on social media Omaticmatic Everywhere. On social media Omaticmat. Not Nomadicmat Everywhere. Just to clear that up.

[Sally French]

Okay.

[Matt Kepnes]

You can find the book everywhere where books are sold.

[Sally French]

And I should say, it was a great book. Super quick read. I read it in two days, so I would highly recommend everyone pick it up. Matt, thank you so much for joining us today. I learned a lot. I think it's been fun.

[Matt Kepnes]

All right, well, thanks for having me. I love talking about travel, so this is great.

[Megan Coyle]

Wow. I used to read Matt's stuff in college. He's still alive and well and still budget traveling. It's great.

[Sally French]

More than ever. Okay, it is now time for our hot take section. Do you have any hot takes, Megan?

[Megan Coyle]

My hot take off for today is don't take Uber from the airport.

[Sally French]

Oh, I love that.

[Megan Coyle]

Anything you can do to avoid that. It'll help save you money. Because the airports charge extra fees, it might take longer to catch the Uber from whichever airport you're coming from. So there's a lot of other things you can do here. You could take a free hotel shuttle and call the Uber from there. You can maybe walk a bit. I walk almost half a mile outside of LAX to take a Uber from outside of the airport.

[Sally French]

Wow. I can't believe you walked. I do the hotel shuttle hack out of lax. Although, you know, recently they've started putting signs on the hotel shuttles that say not for Uber.

[Megan Coyle]

Oh, yeah. I mean, they know that everyone is onto this hack, so they're watching.

[Sally French]

But you know, some airports, this is really easy. Like lax. This is. You are a little bit unhinged walking a half a mile out of lax. But some airports, like Palm Springs Airport, they charge you an upcharge to grab your Uber at the airport. You can literally walk right across the street. That airport is so small. Pick up your Uber right across the street and avoid that airport upcharge.

[Megan Coyle]

And if you can't get on a free hotel shuttle, I would take the shuttles to the rental car area. That's an Uber from there. Sometimes that's a little bit easier than taking the hotel ones.

[Sally French]

Okay, hot takeoff slash amazing money saving tip. Thank you, Meghan.

[Megan Coyle]

We want to hear from you. Tell us how much you spend per day on travel. Email us@travel nerdwallet.com or you can even leave us a voice memo which is cool because I love hearing our guest voice on the show.

[Sally French]

And please give us your reviews. And besides giving us your feedback, come back for more by following the show on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio.

[Megan Coyle]

That way you can automatically download next week's episode and all future episodes to come.

[Sally French]

This episode was produced by Hilary Georgi and Tess Viglund. Claire Sosi helped with fact checking, Nick Karisimi mixed our audio and thank you to NerdWallet's editors for all their help.

[Megan Coyle]

And here's our brief disclaimer. We are not financial or investment advisors. This info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.

[Sally French]

Thanks for listening. We hope you're inspired to keep your passport full and your wallet even fuller. See you next week.

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Hello, this is Matt from the Explorers Podcast. I want to invite you to join me on the voyages and journeys of the most famous explorers in the history of the world. These are the thrilling and captivating stories of Magellan, Shackleton, Lewis and Clark, and so many other famous and not so famous adventures from throughout history. Go to explorespodcast.com or just look us up on your podcast app. That's the explorerspodcast.