'It cost me less to travel full-time with my daughter than to live in Sydney. Here's how I did it.'

I love reminiscing about my years travelling full time with my daughter. And whenever I share our adventures I'm always asked: 'But how did you afford it?' 

While I’m definitely not wealthy, affording the three years Emmie and I spent traveling together with just a backpack was not a problem.

While it may seem that finances would be the biggest barrier to travelling long-term, it was actually cheaper for us to travel overseas in Asia than to live at home in Sydney. 

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Of course, to do this you have to have some kind of savings or income — like renting your house out (I rented our house and also used my savings) or working remotely — to travel full time. 

It would be very hard to just pack up and go without having any money coming in, but with a small income or savings you can really make it work and you can explore, eat well and most importantly have the most incredible family adventures.

When you travel full time, you get to spend every hour with your family, sharing new experiences and showing them things you’ve never imagined. For us, it was camping on the Great Wall of China, swimming in waterfalls in the Philippines, riding the blue train in Sri Lanka and taking a six-hour boat trip along the Tonle Sap from Siem Reap to Battambang. 

These are the moments, the hours, the days that I remember as the best in my life, and I wish I could do it all over again.

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The contrast between home life — with its seemingly never-ending bills, expensive grocery shopping and massive mental load, plus having to do the cooking, cleaning, washing, gardening and everything else — and the ease of full-time travel is striking. These days I find I'm pining more and more for those years of being carefree, living cheap and really enjoying life.

Even in the cheapest guesthouses in Asia, your room will be cleaned daily and breakfast will be included. 

You'll be eating out for a few dollars, so there’s no need to cook, and you'll take your clothes to the laundry and pay only $2 a kilo to have them washed, dried and folded. You won't have bills you were getting at home, you won't be dragging yourself to work each day, upkeeping the house or racing the kids to sports and activities while you’re trying to cook dinner, do homework and schedule the week ahead. 

That alone is worth it.

Emmie and I spent most of our time in South East Asia, and it was magic. The diversity of countries and culture meant we were always learning, and exploring ancient cities and temples, beaches and jungles, small villages and sparkling cities that kept us very busy. 

I've always found Asia very safe, the food is generally fresh and delicious (especially in Vietnam and Thailand) and there is still a strong sense of community and family, making it very easy to travel there. Most South East Asian countries are also very affordable. 

In Siem Reap in Cambodia for example, a family of four can stay in a lovely hotel with a pool and breakfast from $25 AUD a night — and you can always negotiate for long stays. Eating cheap is easy, and simple meals of Khmer curry can cost as little as a few dollars, and you can find street food for very little too. While you will need to lash out to visit the temples of Angkor, there are many other activities that are relatively cheap or free like visiting waterfalls, strolling the night markets and exploring the countryside. 

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Similarly, in Kuala Lumpur you can stay in centrally located apartments with swimming pools and concierge for around $50 to $60 AUD a night with two bedrooms and a kitchen. Kuala Lumpur has many amazing night markets and the family can feast for as little as $40. Take cheap public transport and explore China Town, visit temples and mosques, museums, huge shopping malls and free parks and pools. Movie tickets here are so cheap, and you can watch a new release in a Gold Class equivalent theatre for $3 AUD for kids and $6 for adults. You will never be bored in Kuala Lumpur, and its cheap network of trains and buses can easily and cheaply take you all over the country, including beautiful tropical islands and jungles. 

I've always found that being by the water is the cheapest way to travel because days are spent swimming, playing and collecting shells — and this is where I would have the most success with teaching Emmie. Being outside with the ocean was calming, and I could apply her learning to nature, like using shells to count in maths. Applying learning to what we were doing in our daily life was way more successful than attempts at formal schooling.

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We loved Sri Lanka for its beaches and travelled on less than $100 a day for accommodation, transport and food. Tropical beachside hotels here with a pool will cost you around $60 a night, and local villages still retain the charm of olden days with little tuk tuks, small shops selling cheap ‘short eats’ like vegetarian samosas, and a bread man who makes the rounds in his Mr Whippy van each evening. 

The Philippines is just incredible with easy island hopping on cheap ferries, basic but nice beachfront accommodation, and again cheap food. These are the days that kids remember.

Travelling cheaply in Asia doesn’t mean you have a difficult life. In fact, travelling to a budget of around $100AUD a day is very doable and you can live very well on this amount.

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Sometimes though you might need a break, and if you travel extra cheaply for a few weeks you can then upgrade to a fancy hotel with Kids Club — or, my personal favourite, you can rent the lifestyle by buying a day pass to a hotel. I love the Shangri La in Chiang Mai, Thailand where it will only cost you $35 for a family of four to spend a whole day in this fancy hotel with its incredible palm lined pool and waterslide — and you get a $15 food voucher too. Renting the lifestyle is so great — you get all the perks and can then high five yourself for not spending all the money.

I reckon everything we do in life can be ground down into two essentials: experiences and memories. The real riches of travelling full time are the uninterrupted family time, giving your children a once in a lifetime experience, and the joy of living life well — and they will never forget what you show them, and how extended time together made them feel.

And when it's cheaper to travel than to live at home, it might just be time for you to set off on that big family adventure. 

Evie Farrell and her now 14-year-old daughter Emmie are still traveling as much as they can, and Evie now runs group trips for women and solo mums with kids. You can follow her here.