By Horace Chuffnell, HopTraveler’s man on a very tight budget
Travel content these days falls into two categories. First, there’s the influencer who insists you can “live like a king in Bali for £3 a day,” then conveniently forgets to mention they slept in a ditch and ate nothing but air for a week. Second, there’s the glossy brochure version where a couple “discovers themselves” in a £900-a-night glamping pod while wearing matching linen shirts.
Neither of these people is you. You’re someone who wants to see the world, eat decent food, sleep somewhere that doesn’t share walls with a nightclub called The Raging Anus, and still have enough money left over for a pint when you get home.
Welcome to the £40/Day Challenge. Not £40 after flights. Not £40 “if you skip lunch and walk everywhere barefoot.” A real, actual, not-pretending £40. And before you ask, no, I didn’t include “emergency sausage roll money” in that total. You’ll have to find that yourself.
Here are seven cities where you can live like a modestly successful geography teacher rather than a broke postgraduate.
1. Ksamil, Albania – Where Your Wallet Goes to Retire Early
Albania is the Eastern European country that everyone forgets exists, which is precisely its charm. Ksamil sits on the Ionian coast with water so clear you’ll assume someone has photoshopped it. The locals are friendly, the pace is slow, and the prices are so low you’ll start wondering if there’s been some sort of administrative error.
Accommodation: A private room near the beach will set you back about £13. That’s not a “shared dorm with a man named Enver who sharpens knives at 2am.” A proper room. With a door. And a lock. Revolutionary.
Food: Fresh seafood, grilled vegetables, and enough feta cheese to send a vegan into a moral spiral. A hearty meal with local wine? £8. Breakfast by the sea? £3. A beer while watching the sun set over Corfu in the distance? About £1.50. You can afford to have two, really.
Activity budget: Free beaches. Actual, sandy, public beaches. You don’t need to buy a £25 cocktail to access a sun lounger. Just bring a towel and lie down like a normal human being.
Verdict: Ksamil is the sort of place where your money gains confidence. It struts around like it owns the place. You’ll feel like a millionaire, albeit a slightly sunburnt one.
2. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico – Colonial Charm Without the Colonial Debt
Mexico’s central highlands are home to this cobblestoned beauty. San Miguel is popular with American retirees, which normally means inflated prices, but here’s the secret: they’re all hiding in gated communities. Stay in the centre, eat where locals eat, and you’ll be fine.
Accommodation: A basic but clean guesthouse room: £15. If you’re willing to share a bathroom with a charmingly old-fashioned plumbing system, you can knock another £3 off.
Food: Street tacos for 50p each. That’s not a typo. You could eat eight of them and still have change from a fiver. Wash them down with a horchata (a sweet rice drink that tastes like a hug) for 60p.
Activity: Free walking tours run daily. Tip what you like. Then wander the Artisan Market – entry free – and marvel at how many sombreros one human being can reasonably try on without buying any.
Evening entertainment: Sit in the main square (El Jardín) and watch people. It costs nothing. The entertainment value of watching an American tourist ask for “authentic tacos, but like, gluten-free” is priceless.
Verdict: Mexico’s answer to “can I feel cultured and eat my body weight in carbs for under £40?” Yes. Emphatically yes.
3. Tbilisi, Georgia – Not the American State, the Actual Country
People hear “Georgia” and think of peaches, Atlanta, or that one uncle who won’t stop talking about the Civil War. Wrong Georgia. This Georgia sits between Europe and Asia, serves wine that’s been made in clay pots for 8,000 years, and has hospitality baked into its DNA.
Accommodation: A Soviet-era guesthouse with creaky floors and infinite character: £12. The owner will probably force-feed you homemade chacha (grape vodka) upon arrival. Accept it. It’s rude not to. Also, you’ll need it.
Food: Khachapuri is a cheese-filled bread boat with an egg on top. It costs about £2.50 and contains enough calories to fuel a small army. One khachapuri can serve as breakfast, lunch, and existential comfort.
Wine: A glass of decent Georgian wine: £1.50. A bottle: £5. A litre of questionable homemade wine from a man selling it out of a plastic petrol can in the market: £2. The latter is an experience, not a recommendation, but it’s an experience.
Activity: The Sulphur Baths in the old town cost about £7 for an hour. You sit in a warm, steamy, subterranean cave and sweat out every bad decision you’ve ever made. Magnificent.
Verdict: Tbilisi is chaos, warmth, wine, and bread. If you don’t enjoy Tbilisi, I worry about you as a person.
4. George Town, Malaysia – Where Your Tastebuds Go to War (and Win)
Penang’s capital is a glorious mess of Chinese shophouses, Indian spice stalls, Malay night markets, and British colonial leftovers. The result is street food so good you’ll genuinely consider crying.
Accommodation: A fan room (that’s “no AC, but windows”) in a backpacker guesthouse: £10. Splurge on AC for £14. Your call. I won’t judge your sweat tolerance.
Food: This is where the magic happens. Char kway teow (fried noodles with prawns and Chinese sausage): £1.20. Assam laksa (sour fish noodle soup): £1. Nasi kandar (rice with curries and mystery meats): £1.50. You can eat five times a day and still stay under £8.
Activity: Free street art walk. George Town is famous for its murals and wrought-iron caricatures. Download a map, wander the heat-soaked lanes, and take photos of yourself pretending to interact with a little boy on a bicycle. It’s silly. It’s free. Do it.
Pro tip: Wear lightweight clothing and carry a handkerchief. You will sweat. Embrace it. Moisture is now your identity.
Verdict: George Town is for travellers who care more about flavour than thread count. If you’re that person, you’ll fall in love.
5. Lviv, Ukraine – Coffee, Chocolate, and Defiant Spirit
Yes, there’s a war on. But Lviv, in western Ukraine, remains open for visitors who want to support a country with more heart than most. It’s also absurdly cheap and dripping with Austro-Hungarian elegance.
Accommodation: A private room in a Soviet-block hostel: £9. Yes, the building looks like a concrete filing cabinet. Yes, the inside is warm, clean, and run by lovely people who will help you with everything.
Food: Ukrainian borscht with sour cream: £1.50. Varenyky (dumplings stuffed with potato, cheese, or cherry): £2 for a plate that would feed two normal humans or one very determined one.
Coffee: Lviv takes coffee seriously. Not in a “single-origin Ethiopian pour-over with tasting notes of marmalade and regret” way. In a “dark, strong, served with a biscuit and a stern look” way. A coffee in a grand café: £1.20. A coffee from a street machine: 50p.
Activity: Walk the old town. It’s free, beautiful, and full of statues of angry-looking Polish and Ukrainian nobles glaring at each other. Then visit the Pharmacy Museum (£2) and marvel at 19th-century cocaine remedies.
Evening: Go to the Lviv Coffee Mining Exhibition (£3). It’s nonsense. You put on a hard hat and pretend to mine coffee beans. It’s ridiculous, charming, and you will love it.
Verdict: Lviv is a city that’s been through hell and still offers you a free smile. Go. Spend money. Drink coffee. Be glad you did.
6. Sucre, Bolivia – White-Washed Beauty and Dinosaur Feet
Bolivia’s constitutional capital (yes, it shares the title with La Paz, don’t ask) is a graceful white city of colonial arches, sunny plazas, and surprisingly affordable Spanish lessons.
Accommodation: A clean, simple hostel private room: £11. Includes breakfast, which in Bolivia means bread, jam, and instant coffee. Manage your expectations. They are not managing theirs.
Food: Lunch menus (soup, main, drink) for £2.50. Street salteñas (baked empanadas with slightly sweet, slightly spicy filling): 80p. Dinner at a local market: £3.
Activity: Free self-guided architectural walk. Sucre is almost entirely whitewashed. Bring sunglasses. You’ll need them to avoid being blinded by the glare of a million honest reflections.
The weird bit: Cal Orcko, a dinosaur footprint site on the edge of town. Entry: £5. You’ll see thousands of dinosaur tracks embedded in a vertical limestone wall. A wall that was once a muddy flat. The earth moved. The wall stayed. The dinosaurs looked very confused. It’s genuinely amazing.
Bonus: Spanish lessons for £5/hour. Learn just enough to order another salteña and compliment someone’s llama jumper.
Verdict: Sucre is calm, classy, and cheap. Bolivia’s best-kept secret. Tell no one. Actually, tell everyone. They need the tourism.
7. Podgorica, Montenegro – Underrated, Unpolished, Utterly Fine
Everyone raves about Montenegro’s coast (Kotor, Budva). And fair enough, it’s stunning. But Podgorica, the capital inland, gets ignored. Which is daft, because it’s cheap, easy, and full of hidden charm if you’re not expecting Venice on a budget.
Accommodation: A basic apartment near the centre: £14. Sometimes including a bewilderingly large television and a shower that changes temperature based on local water pressure. Adventure!
Food: Local bakeries sell burek (flaky pastry filled with meat or cheese) for £1. It’s the size of your head. One burek is breakfast and lunch. Two bureks is a personality disorder. Eat responsibly.
Dinner: A full meal with grilled meat, salad, bread, and wine: £8. Montenegrins love meat. Vegetarians will eat a lot of cheese and salad. You have been warned.
Activity: Free hike up Gorica Hill. It’s right in the city. You’ll get views of the river, the football stadium, and a slightly baffling monument to WWII partisans. Then walk along the Morača River and watch locals fishing for dinner.
Evening drink: A beer in a dive bar: £1.20. A craft beer in a hipster bar: £2.50. A rakija (fruit brandy that strips paint): £.80. Don’t have three rakijas unless you’re prepared to befriend a stray dog and tell it your life story.
Verdict: Podgorica is the quiet cousin at Montenegro’s loud coastal party. But quiet cousins often have the best snacks and the most sensible advice. Give it a day. You’ll be surprised.
The Final Reckoning: Can You Actually Do £40 a Day?
Yes. And here’s the proof – a sample day in Tbilisi:
ItemCost (£)Guesthouse (private room)12.00Khachapuri breakfast2.50Wine tasting (three glasses)4.50Sulphur bath entry7.00Lunch (churchkhela + beer)3.00Market wandering (free).00Dinner at a local spot6.00Two more wines (don’t judge)3.00Total38.00
You’ve got £2 left for an emergency ice cream. You did it. Give yourself a pat on the back. Then immediately spend that £2 on an ice cream because you’ve earned it.
Practical Advice From Someone Who’s Made All the Mistakes
- Avoid hotel booking sites for the final price. Go direct or walk in. Half the fun is the negotiation dance.
- Eat where the old people eat. If you see grey-haired locals queuing for a food stall, abandon your plans and join them. Old people know value.
- Learn three phrases in the local language: “Hello,” “Thank you,” and “One more, please.” The third is optional but frequently useful.
- Carry small bills. Trying to break a large note for a 50p coffee is a global sport, and you will lose every time.
- Travel light. One bag. You don’t need five pairs of shoes. You’re not a centipede on holiday.
Final Word
The £40/day challenge isn’t about suffering. It’s not sleeping in train stations or eating ketchup sandwiches (unless that’s your thing, again, no judgement). It’s about choosing cities where your money hasn’t been devalued by Instagram hype and overpriced avocado toast.
These seven places offer real food, real culture, and real value. You’ll return home not with credit card debt, but with stories. Like the time a Georgian man forced you to drink his homemade vodka at 9am. Or the moment you ate the best noodle dish of your life for less than the price of a London bus ticket.
And frankly, that’s better than any £900 glamping pod.
Now go. Travel. Eat. Spend £40. And if you come back with change, buy yourself a sausage roll. You’ve bloody well earned it.
Horace Chuffnell once spent £38 in a day and used the remaining £2 to buy a questionable hot dog in a Bulgarian petrol station. He regrets nothing.
SORRY FOR THE PRICES IN POUNDS AND NOT DOLLARS Horace IS BRITISH… YOU CAN DO THE MATH.