How it all started
Like a lot of people, we spent way too much time doomscrolling travel reels and talking about doing a big trip "one day."
Then, during a New Zealand road trip, somewhere between hours of driving, Sam casually said, "Should we travel South America for a year in 2026?"
My (Emma's) first response? "Err... I kind of want to get a promotion at work first." But about two minutes later, I realised a promotion was really just another line on a CV. The opportunity to spend a year exploring Latin America together? That felt a lot harder to replace. So we quit our jobs, packed our backpacks, and booked a one-way ticket to Mexico!
To not go bankrupt after the year, we are challenging ourselves to travel on $9000USD each, ~$25 per day, so trust us when we say we know budget!
Current Stats
6
Countries Explored
4?
items lost
6
Most buses in one day
14hrs
Longest day on the road
6
Most buses in one day
Why we started this blog
A month and a half into our trip, we found ourselves in Guatemala trying to figure out how to get from Lake Atitlán to El Salvador. We searched countless websites, asked three different locals, and still managed to get some of the information wrong.
After a 14-hour travel day, we made it — but it got us thinking about how difficult it can be to find practical travel information online, especially when you're travelling on a budget.
So we decided to create the resource we wished we'd had.Travelling Broke with Sam & Emma is where we share realistic costs, practical tips, honest experiences, and the things we learn along the way.
No luxury resorts. No unrealistic budgets. Just honest travel advice from two people figuring it out as we go.
What You'll Find Here
We share the practical side of travelling that can be surprisingly hard to find online.
- Real costs — What we actually spent on accommodation, food, transport and activities.
- Getting around — How we got from A to B, including buses, border crossings and the routes that aren’t always easy to figure out.
- Where we stayed — Budget accommodation we’ve tried ourselves, including what was actually worth the money.
- What we did — The places and experiences we enjoyed, plus the ones we’d probably skip next time.
- Things we’ve learned — Tips, mistakes and little things we wish we’d known before arriving.