Budget Travel Plans: September 2014 to January 2015

When I have told my friends that I'm traveling long-term starting September, they often are surprised.  I'm not rich, and I happen to have bipolar and Aspergers (a bit more detail on my experience traveling with mental disablities will be in the next post).  I'm not the most fortunate person in the world, but I still travel.

I do this by budgeting my money very carefully, and spending as little as possible.  Hostels, Couchsurfing, and Airbnb are all fair game when it comes to lodging.  Regional transit is often a cheap method of transportation, and Amtrak is also becoming more affordable.

Food... that's my white whale as far as budgeting is concerned.  Starting in September, I plan to spend $15 a day on food, as opposed to $25.  It will be a challenge for me, but after looking at restaurant menus for destinations I'd like to go, I think I can pull it off and still eat well.

Here's what I plan to do in the next several months:

September

First week and a half: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Rest of September: Seattle/San Juan Islands/Port Angeles/Olympia area, Washington State, USA

Vancouver, BC, Canada

San Juan Islands

October

(Not sure, except that I'll probably spend a week in Redding, California and a week in Arcata, California)

Arcata, CA, USA

November

New England region, USA

Providence, RI, USA

December

Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

January

Spain

La Rioja province, Spain