About Me

I’m Frank – a 30-something Pole, a university dropout, and a bit of a budget freak.

Since 2020 I’ve been traveling full-time – starting with €2,000 and combining casual jobs with ETF investing until I hit €100,000.

I’ve worked my way across three continents: lifting houses off their foundations and moving them across New Zealand, testing video games in Canada, and helping run stores in remote Aboriginal communities deep in the Australian Outback.

A silver SUV parked on a red dirt road in the Australian Outback next to a hand-painted orange sign pointing to Kata Tjuta. — **On the road to Amata – no other cars for hours.**

The communities were Amata and Maningrida – with permit-controlled access. During heavy rains, supply trucks would stop coming for weeks. The bus ran once every seven days, sometimes not at all. In 18 months there I saved 121,920 Australian dollars.

Before that: over 56,000 km hitchhiked – more than the circumference of the Earth. Mainly in Canada and Europe, some of it in Asia. I spent hundreds of nights in a tent. In late 2024 I island-hopped across the Pacific: Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii.

My Budget Travel System

Every number here comes from a trip I actually took, not an estimate.

A rental car in Europe can cost me €3–€9/day off-season. I sleep in it. Accommodation drops to zero. I’ve done this across Cyprus, Italy (Sicily), Portugal (and the Azores), Spain, France, Malta, Poland and more.

Active lava flow on Mount Etna at twilight, photographed during a hike on the Pista Altomontana trail, Sicily — Etna lava field, Sicily. €3/day rental, €21/day total. Slept in the rental car.

A trip to Sicily cost me €21/day – including the car. São Miguel, Azores: €16/day. Cyprus: €18/day.

Three posts explain how it works:

€3/Day Rental Car Guide – finding cheap rentals, how to handle insurance and what to decline at the counter
European Car Rental Price Comparison – cheapest car rental destinations for my trips
Sleeping in Rental Cars – how to find overnight spots, setup tips, legality, hygiene, cooking on gas stoves in parking lots

The open trunk of a small hatchback car showing a travel sleeping setup with a blue inflatable mattress, pillows, and a sleeping bag for budget camping. — **Škoda Fabia, Cyprus. Inflatable mats, sleeping bags. Two people.**

Where to Start

For the Australia money story – how I found the jobs, what they paid, how to optimize the tax, what life in a remote community actually looks like: How I Saved $122k in 18 Months on a Working Holiday in Australia.

For the rental car sleeping method applied to a real trip – Sicily is a good entry point. €3/day rental – my cheapest ever, receipt included. I also hiked up to an active lava flow. €21/day total: Sicily on €21/Day.

Every trip report has a full cost breakdown with receipts, day by day. Sorted cheapest to most expensive:

Destination	€/Day
São Miguel	€16
Poland Coast	€16
Cyprus	€18
Baltics	€18
Sicily	€21
Moldova	€22
Malta	€24
Poland NE	€24
Terceira	€24
Finland	€29
Faial/Pico/São Jorge	€30
Scandinavia	€32
Naples	€35
Northern Italy	€35
Rome	€37