Nomadic Matt is a pioneering travel blogger. One day, we'll call him the grandfather of travel blogging during the Golden Era of travel blogs.

He's not known for his travel feats but rather for the extensive tips he's provided on his popular website, which focuses on budget travel.

Watch the video interview

The book's budget used to be $50/day, but inflation and a post-COVID world forced Matt to update his book.

In 2025, he refreshed his bestselling book, which is now called How to Travel the World on $75 a Day. 

As part of his book tour, he's appearing on the WanderLearn Show twice!

Nomadic Matt discusses:

00:00 Splitting between Austin and NYC

02:40 Couchsurfing

05:15 Stupidly cheap

07:00 EatWith and Traveling Spoon 

His book is packed with tips. Here are my favorite ones. 

Pay your rent and get frequent flyer points with Bilt Rewards

My favorite airline website is Kiwi, and use this link to get $10 off. He doesn't mention Kiwi in his book.

Instead, his favorite flight booking sites are:

Anytime Mailbox starts at $6 and has several locations.

Matt is a foodie. I am not. Here are some of his favorite sites:

Search for "ride-sharing" and the name of the region/country where you are traveling. You'll usually find options. I've used BlaBlaCar in Europe, for example.

Nomadic Matt sold me on the tourism cards that give you access to popular sites and public transportation. Although that can save you nearly half the price, it's only suitable for those doing a whirlwind, fast, and comprehensive tour. If you want to see the British Museum, don't get the London Pass. But it makes sense if you're going to see most of the significant sites.

The first half of the book offers general, practical advice. The second provides specific guidance to various regions. For example, he has a section about Australia.

You'd think a book that helps travelers live on $75 a day would encourage tourists to visit Africa. Like Southeast Asia, parts of Africa have a low cost of living.

For example, in 2013, in Benin, I rented a two-room place with a shower (but a shared outhouse for a toilet) for $10 per month! Ten years later, maybe the price has doubled to $20 a month!  

Still, Nomadic Matt confesses, "I had to make trade-offs and omit the lesser-visited countries and regions..." (Kindle Location 1434).

I won't quibble with his decision or logic.

When I got an advanced copy of Nomadic Matt's book, I expected to be bored out of my mind. I figured it was a book for beginners or intermediate travelers, not hyper-experienced travel studs like me. 

As usual, I was wrong.

Nomadic Matt pumped me with many ideas I was oblivious to. Although I shared my favorite ones on this page, buy How to Travel the World on $75 a Day to get all his excellent advice.

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