10 Tips for Travelling the Underrated Countries

3. It’s harder to find cheap accommodation

This may sound surprising. Let me explain… When a country has a lot of tourists, there’s plenty of hotels, hostels, that have to keep competitive prices, in order to stay in business. Would you believe me it’s impossible to get accommodation in Niamey, Niger for less than $40/night? Here’s the theory behind it: People that visit Niamey, are the ones that have to, because of work or getting something done. So, they’ll pay for accommodation regardless if the price is $20 or $40. They have to be here and they have no choice. Unlike tourists, if the price is too high for them, they’ll just choose a different destination.

Advice

In lesser-known countries, the majority of cheaper guesthouses are not listed online. Sometimes, I book and accommodation online for 1 or 2 nights, then once I get there, I look for a cheaper option. Many times I am trying to time my trip, so I can arrive at day time when it’s easier to find a cheap guesthouse. There a few ways to do it:

• When your bus enters town, look through the window and see if you can spot a guesthouse. Then try to memorize the location or pinpoint it on your navigation app (google maps, maps me).
• Asking a taxi to get you to the cheap guesthouse – this is a gamble. It could be super helpful. He could also trick you and bring you to a not the cheapest guesthouse outside of town, just so he can charge more for the ride.
• Walk around and ask random people on the street – walking around with your belongings could be a great challenge, of course. Also asking random people is a more useful strategy in small towns. In big cities, people usually have no clue about the guesthouses, cause they never need it.
• This is what I like to do: Once I arrive, I get into the first small shop that serves cheap food. After a meal, I ask them if I could leave my stuff with them and offer a few dollars. Then, I can walk around freely. The strategy sounds risky, but it worked for me every time!
• You could also rely on Airbnb and Couchsurfing. Those two websites have members literally all over the world.

On the bright side

• Niger, the country from my example is a non-touristy country, which is more complicated to visit than a less touristy country. No need to go that extreme.

5. Language barrier

Even if you do speak the official language of the country you are in, you could still struggle with communicating. The majority of developing countries in the world have a western language as official, but people use more frequently a local language. Some people, that never went to school are unable to speak the official language.

Advice

• Use phone apps! I recommend google translator. You can pre-download the language you need, so no need for wifi afterwords. These apps don’t work perfectly, but If you’re very worried about the language barrier, use 2-3 apps.

On the Bright side

• In developing countries, other than the official language, the majority of people speak one, two, or more local languages. The people you are unable to communicate with effectively likely speak more languages then you do, so be respectful and patient and with them.

5. Touristy activities are expensive and usually guided

I’ll share my experience from Gabon, as an example. It’s a small country full of national parks. I wanted to visit one of them, but I couldn’t find a better deal than $300. It was an afternoon activity only. Sounds extremely pricey for a park in a tropical rain forest with birds and monkeys, doesn’t it? Here are the reasons why:

• Since there’s not much tourism in Gabon, there is no group tour option. You would need to book a private tour.
• Since nobody goes to a remote park, the road is not paved. That’s why the agency has to rely on a pricy 4×4 vehicle, in order to manage a very bumpy dirt road.
• There are only 1 or 2 agencies providing this service – they don’t have to keep prices low in order to stay in business. It’s the minimum amount of agencies operating and their existence is covered with government support.

Advice

• Do some less exclusive activities (this tip is also very useful when visiting touristy countries)
• Ask locals for recommendations. This could be risky though. I described it bellow under No.7. Be very specific about what you are interested in.
• Instead of hiking a trail in a pricey national park, just hike farm trails. (I do this a lot!)

On the bright side

• Underrated countries could be so interesting, you don’t need a site or activity to have a great time. Doing simple things could be incredibly fun and exciting.

6. People could drive you crazy

I wrote in my last week’s article, people in less touristy countries are more friendly and more helpful, mainly because they rarely see westerners. That is a good thing for the most part, but not always. Locals could also drive you crazy. I wrote a few examples below…

Advice

• When they wanna take a selfie with me – I tell them selfies are very lame, or they are not cool anymore
• While they’re telling me boring stories or things I already know – I like to interrupt them by asking them something I am actually interested in.
• When they ask me too many questions – I ironically ask them: “Are you police? Who do you work for?” It works great every time because they take it as a joke, and they understand the message.

On the bright side

• It’s always better to deal with an annoying but friendly person, rather than with an unfriendly person, or with some hustler that wants to trick you.

7. Misunderstanding and miscommunication

This is very different than the language barrier. It is usually related to cultural differences. Let me explain through some of my experiences:

In Monrovia, Liberia I have been hanging out with a local that worked at a small general store, in front of my guesthouse. When I asked him about the local beach, he recommended one that’s 10 km outside of the city. Since he’s been a great friend during my stay, I trusted his recommendation, and without research, or follow up questions, I just decided to go there.

Once I arrived, there was a fancy parking lot and a gate. $10 entrance! It was a very basic beach with beach chairs and umbrellas. The only reason for the fee is so locals don’t come here and do laundry, dump trash, etc. Also, wealthier locals like to separate themselves from the general public, and be seen at the exclusive location. In other words, the beach provides a shitty fancy atmosphere I wasn’t interested in experiencing. But, since I am from Europe, my buddy was automatically assuming that it is the right beach for me. I did remember mentioning I’d like to go to a fun local beach, though.

Here’s another example from Maseru, Lesotho

I wanted to hike a hill at the end of the city. It can be accessed through a neighborhood. While walking towards the trailhead, locals were asking me where am I going and what was I doing here. I would just point the hill behind the neighborhood. They would still look at me confused.

Here’s the reason why: in many developing countries, people don’t hike for fun. They hike only in order to get somewhere, where they have to be. So they would ask me followup questions like why do you wanna go up? They couldn’t believe I am hiking uphill just for fun. Some of them would even feel scared I am some sort of a spy that’s gonna set a bomb at the top of the hill. (That could happen a lot in less touristy countries. People might be afraid of you, just because they are not used to westerners. It’s just the fear of the unknown.)

Advice

• Make sure you communicate well, explain your thoughts and desires in a few different ways.
• Do not rely on locals’ advice entirely. Take them into consideration, but don’t take their suggestions for granted.

On the Bright Side

• Any misunderstanding is gonna be a great learning experience about the lifestyle and mentality.

8. Internet is less accessible

Wifi could be hard to find and once you do find it, the connection could be a disaster.

Advice

• With a few useful apps (Maps Me, Google Maps, Google translator), you can manage your entire stay without the internet. Download the data in advance and you should be good to go.
• And then, when you really need to go online, find an internet cafe. Make sure the neighborhood you are hoping to find one is supplied with electricity.
• If you are staying in a country for a longer time, get a local sim card. Make sure your phone is unlocked. Check that before your journey.

On the Bright Side

• Once you spend some time offline, you might enjoy it. I know I do… It feels like freedom!

9. Credit cards, money exchange etc.

Here are the potential problems I could think of:

• You may not be able to exchange your bills cause they look too old – this one is very common.
• They won’t change euros; dollars only (or another way around)
• Credit cards are not accepted almost anywhere
• The ATM swallows your card – this one happens rarely though

Advice

• Use Visa cards – they are the most universal
• Diversify your funds! I travel with 3 ATM cards (3 different bank accounts), 2 different credit cards, a few hundreds of cash in euros, and a few hundreds of cash in dollars (all different bills)

On the bright side

• Once you’re prepared and organized, none of this is gonna be an issue

10. The trip doesn’t feel like a vacation

This pretty much combines and summarizes everything from this article. I remember my trip to Kenya: I was walking on the beach with some backpackers. As we were passing by a resort, with tourists drinking their cocktails by the pool, one of the backpackers commented: What they do is a vacation. Backpacking is not a vacation.

On the bright side

• The way I see it: backpacking is an active vacation, and sitting by the pool is a nightmare and a waste of money. Well, the reality is, you can’t get a unique priceless experience without a bit of a hustle!