How I traveled to 8 countries in Europe and Asia with only $2,700

As someone who's spent the past three years traveling on a shoestring budget, nothing has taught me more about budget travel than getting my wallet stolen three days into a six-week trip.

Using a little flexibility and innovation, I visited Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Thailand, and Denmark on a $2,700 travel budget. Here's how.

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Saving money before my 6-week trip

Finding a mistake fare on Priceline.com for a one-way ticket from New York to Bangkok, via Milan and Prague, for just over $300 was the swift kick that got me started on my budget trip. With only a month to save for a six-week excursion, my first step was to cut expenses, namely from eating out.

Eliminating dining out saved me about $100 a week, in addition to the extra income I was earning picking up bartending shifts in the evenings. For my arrival to Thailand, I also arranged a week of work cooking on a boat, a hobby-turned-skill that has become a major supplement to my travel funds.

By the time I was ready to leave, I had about $1,500 saved and expected another $1,000 from my week of work on the road. My budget came to $35 a day, which would call for diligent budgeting in Europe — but left a lot of freedom once I got to Thailand.

Getting around with low-cost transportation

Being flexible with my travel plans allowed me to book low-cost transportation. Being open to indirect routes, I was able to make it from Bangkok to New York for just over $400. I booked separate flights through Copenhagen on Norwegian airlines and stayed in Copenhagen during a week-long layover. By building a familiarity with budget airlines and their major hubs, I was able to create my own connections at a reduced cost.

For overland travel, Rome2rio.com was my go-to site for getting between cities. From Venice to Ljubljana, Slovenia, I was able to reserve a rideshare for $18 on BlaBlaCar.com, less than half the price of taking the bus. When I did take the bus, train or flights, some lower-cost fares were at night, sometimes eliminating my need to book a room.

Booking the right accommodations

In designing my budget, picking the right hostel was my first priority. Though centrally located hostels tend to be slightly more expensive, I didn’t have to use subways, buses and taxis as much.

When I arrived in Ljubljana, freshly pick-pocketed, my friend offered me a place to stay just outside of the city. I realized, however, it would be more expensive getting in and out of the city than just booking a hostel near attractions. I ended up staying both at Hostel Tresor and Hostel Celica, a former-prison-turned hostel.

In Europe, HostelWorld.com helped me cut back on spending. On average, I found hostels in Europe cost about $15 per night, leaving $20 for my remaining daily expenses.

After I ran into financial issues, I turned to Facebook. There, friends living within reasonable distance of Slovenia offered up their couches, and I reworked my itinerary so I could stay in cities where I could couch-surf. So while my expenses visiting Venice were unavoidably high, having a free place to stay helped to get me back on track.