Budget culture vacations

The essence of experiencing culture on a budget is to find out more about the people, the languages, the food, the cultural identity of a destination – or several destinations – without cutting corners on safety and without missing out on all the fun bits. Budget culture vacations are a style unto themselves and a uniquely authentic traveling experience. Traveling overland, perhaps by train or public bus, is one way to get closer to the lives, the conversations, the smiles, of local people as landscapes seamlessly morph from urban sprawl to countryside to coastline. Being invited to stay overnight in a family home is another great option for travelers seeking real life without the Photoshopped, glossy brochure imagery. Cutting costs can be as easy as traveling either side of peak seasons and school summer vacations or steering away from expensive city center hotels so you can budget for something a bit more interesting. A cooking course in Indonesia, for example, or how about a hot air balloon flight over Marrakech, or a hand-carved souvenir from Costa Rica?

The buzz, the melody, the sights, the smells; this is what makes life on the streets of Marrakech, Cusco and Ubud such exciting prospects for cultural travelers. Outdoor markets, street food stands and daily life will appear before your very eyes, just as it always has, as it always will. Chat to your guide and find out who sells the tastiest momo (Nepalese dumplings) in Kathmandu, the best banh khoai (pan fried crepe) in Hue or just pull up a plastic pew and trust your senses.

Traveling on a budget will often allow you to become part of a local community as you're invited to stay a night or two at a family home aka: a homestay. In Kerala, you'll eat like royalty and in Japan you'll bathe like royalty. In Cuba music fills the home and in Jordan, the desert envelops Bedouin camps under the stars.

When people open their doors to tourists traveling on a budget, you know that welcoming strangers is an innate part of their culture. There's nothing like moving in with a family for a couple of days to really get to grips with the culture of a place. Community spirit, traditional customs and just having fun or relaxing are part and parcel of a homestay experience and certain to say more about a country's cultural identity than any five-star hotel where everything comes at a price – sometimes even the smiles. Learn how to cook in Cambodia, converse in Cuba and live like a local in India by building a homestay into your next budget culture vacation.

It’s not all archaeology and history on cultural vacations. They are simply the linchpins that keep you rolling from one heritage highlight to another. It’s the way in which you roll that really makes a journey special. Taking a sleeper train with local people through Vietnam, or a bullet train alongside trails where Samurai warriors once wandered in Japan. Traveling in a small group with expert local guides in India who know where to find the best temple to watch the sun rise - as well as the best local chai stop enroute. These are the sweetest moments of cultural engagement.

Most of us are searching for meaning and often that search has led to the creation of some incredible architectural designs, palatial properties and places of worship. From crumbling Mayan pyramids in Tikal National Park in Guatemala to Cambodia's Angkor Wat and the Hindu temples and Mughal mosques of India's Golden Triangle, ecclesiastical architecture and spiritual sites offer an incredible example of a country's ideology as well as a thought provoking back story to accompany art, symbolism and religious iconography.

Joining a small group is a great way to embark on a budget culture vacation as you share costs with likeminded travelers. You’ll also have the benefit of a tour leader and local guides to point you in the direction of affordable places to eat that only the locals know about. Small group and tailor made tours include optional activities so that you can choose how to spend your vacation savings, with plenty of free time to explore under your own steam. Organised vacations put your mind at rest in terms of safety as well as cutting down on time consuming processes, like queuing for tickets or visas and booking accommodation as well as alleviating any surprise costs that you hadn't budgeted for.

Sharing costs on local tour guides, accommodation, transport and entrance fees, and feeling secure about safety, thanks, in part, to a tour leader, is what makes joining a small group a really sensible idea for cultural travelers on a budget. Optional activities and plenty of free time conjure up the best of both worlds, with the added benefit of trusted local recommendations much more up-to-date than any guide book. For solo travelers, small group tours are perfect for finding folk to share the experience. Splash out on a single supplement when it comes to sleeping or be brave and share a room with someone of the same gender to cut costs even further. Knowing which places to avoid is just as important as knowing where to head to and if you’re not interested in wandering aimlessly in search of a local bar, restaurant or store to buy authentic souvenirs then it's really useful to have a tour leader to hand who can point you in the right direction.