I’ve been to 86 countries and learned to travel on a budget. I book tours once I’m in the country and embrace public transportation. [Video]

As a teenager who lived in a small town, I became obsessed with travel, collecting piles of books written by authors who’d traversed the globe under their own steam. I vowed to do the same and got a job at a bookshop to pay for it. There’s nothing like working all hours to make you appreciate money, and I vowed not to waste a cent when I did get to see the world.

After a trip to watch wildlife in Tanzania at 18, I caught the travel bug in a big way which made me even more motivated to save as much cash as possible for future trips. Now, 20 years later, I’ve visited 86 countries on a shoestring budget.

While independent backpacking conjures up images of having to sacrifice various experiences, it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, there have been many occasions when I’ve stood next to other tourists and looked at exactly the same thing, …