A Gypsy Gene

Check out Native Traveler's full-length BUDGET TRAVEL show!

 
 

The best part about travel on a shoestring is not always saving money.  Today we learn all the tricks, hacks and insider strategies from the masters, Matt Kepnes (nomadicmatt.com) and Dani Heinrich (globetrottergirls.com).  First though, we head to Spain's Costa del Sol to hear how such budgeting strategies can actually make for a richer, more transformative experience.  Listen in...

 

Jess Simpson // A Gypsy Gene

Jess is a freelance travel writer with bylines for Paste Travel, Mental Floss, UAB magazine, al.com, Bustle, and Birmingham magazine. She loves long runs in new destinations and music-fueled yoga sets. Her mom jokes that when she was a kid and anyone said, "Jess, do you want to go..." she would jump up and down, squealing, "Yes!" before any destination was named. That trick still works.

 

Nomadic Matt

Matthew Kepnes runs the award winning budget travel site, Nomadic Matt, and wrote the New York Times best-seller, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day. After a trip to Thailand in 2005, Matt decided to quit his job, finish his MBA and head off into the world. His original trip was supposed to last a year. Over twelve years later, he is still out roaming around and teaching others how to do the same.

 

Dani Heinrich // GlobetrotterGirls

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Dani's mission is to inspire curiosity about the world and provide the tips and tools she's gained first-hand to help you see as much of the world as you can for yourself. At its core, GlobetrotterGirls remains the first-hand account of a girl exploring the world.

Housesitting in Southern Spain

Housesitting in Southern Spain

Saving money is what drew us in, initially. We’ve been traveling for 18 months, 13 countries, in perpetual motion. We’re experiencing so much but, frankly, we’re exhausted. And grossly over budget.

When fellow travelers suggest housesitting, we shrug it off. After all, we sold our own house to embark on this grand adventure, free and unburdened. The responsibility—caring for a stranger’s home—seems… well, like a step backwards.

But the value equation is becoming irresistible. I care for your home and pets, you provide me with a free place to stay.

A listing for a villa on southern Spain’s Costal del Sol soon catches our eye.