WHEN it comes to travelling, Bobby Bolton dived in headfirst with nothing but £600 to his name, his dog, and a truck.
Now, he’s been through 41 countries, gained a fiancée and has written a book called Truck It!.
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Talking to Sun Travel, Bobby revealed all about his adventures, from his favourite islands, to affordable stops and the best way to travel on a budget.
Bobby Bolton set off to see the world two years ago, explaining: “Before leaving, I was pretty much broke, at one point I couldn’t even buy a coffee on my way to work.
“I got the idea to travel in the pub after seeing an old Land Rover pull up and four pints later I told my friends ‘I’m going to drive to Mongolia‘.
“And I literally sold my life to be able to afford it.”
When Bobby left his hometown of Wigan, he had just £600 and a huge truck, which he converted, being a builder by trade.
In his very first destination, France, Bobby met Marie – and they travel together with their two dogs in the kitted out truck.
By travelling on four-wheels, the pair can see a lot for not a lot of money.
They spend cash on necessities, like food and fuel, rather than forking out on all-inclusive hotels and restaurants.
Bobby told us: “What we do is a cheap way of travelling because, roughly, we can do it for £35pp per day.”
The couple have seen a lot of countries, but when it comes to Europe, there’s one place that really stood out: Slovenia.
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He told us: “Slovenia is definitely an up-and-coming place, and I couldn’t recommend it more to anyone who’s outdoorsy.
“If you love hiking, white water rafting and climbing, it’s beautiful. There’s a National Park there called Triglav.
“Triglav has been described as being in a ‘time capsule’ because lots of a lot of buildings are preserved in time – it’s beautiful. It’s a bit more expensive because it’s very near Lake Bled which is relatively famous.”
For any winter sport enthusiasts who love to ski, Bobby has uncovered one country that you might want to consider for your next trip.
“Slovakia was fantastic, especially for winter sports, and in the Tatra mountains, we got ski lift passes for just around £10 a day.”
As for affordability, Bobby narrowed down five countries that stood out for being especially cheap.
He said: “The first is Albania which is affordable and has some underdeveloped coastlines that are amazing.
“In Georgia, we had the best bread which we bought for 50p from a woman on the side of the road.
“I have to mention Kyrgyzstan too and our favourite was Laos in South East Asia – two people can eat all day there for £10.
“And a place I actually haven’t been to yet, is Morocco. It has so much history, and I know it’s very affordable there.”
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The couple have also touched on a few tourist-y spots too.
Bobby told us: “We fell in love with the Greek islands. I know they’re well-known, but they’re beautiful, especially off-season.
“We were there in April a few years ago and managed to park on white sandy beaches.
“We went spear fishing and cooked them on a barbecue at sunset with some tasty Greek wine. It was a romantic couple of weeks we had island hopping. I think we hit five of the islands in the end, Chios, Leros, Kos, Samos.
Another destination that Bobby raved about was Kyrgyzstan – a landlocked country in Central Asia with huge mountain ranges and crystal clear lakes.
Bobby told us: “I would describe Kyrgyzstan as being Switzerland 200 years ago, there’s not a lot of development there but the scenery is fantastic.
“You can hike up the mountains, swim in the Alpine lakes – it’s the best place and it’s really not touristy because there’s no infrastructure.
“It’s raw beauty, and it’s really cheap. It’s a third of the price in the UK in terms of food and fuel, which is what we spend our money on.”
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Bobby and Marie have been driving around the world for almost two years – and they love it so much that they are converting another truck to continue their travels.
Bobby spoke very highly of driving rather than flying or exploring by boat and would encourage others to give it a go too.
He said: “By renting out a four-wheel drive with a roof tent, or a campervan, you save a massive amount on hotels and you get the ability to mingle with the locals too.
“Generally, it’s easy to park up anywhere too, and there are apps and maps that help with that. But for example in Kyrgyzstan you could park almost anywhere, by beautiful lake, at the foot of mountains.
One place that Bobby revealed is especially suited for travellers on the road is Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.
He explains that the country itself is very set up for driving and that you can even do a DIY safari.
“You can hire a pick-up truck with roof tent and camping equipment and explore the most beautiful places with wild ostrich, giraffe, rhino, to the Skeleton Coast.
“It’s actually called a self-drive safari and I’d definitely recommend it. My dad isn’t very well-travelled but he came to Namibia, hired a four-wheel drive and the week he was there he kept saying ‘I’m going to come back here’.”
Bobby is back in the UK but only for a short while as he and Marie are heading back on the road.
“We’re doing up another truck, then we’re going to the Arctic Circle, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, then Africa on the other side.
“Then we’ll probably do the Americas, and then Australia to finish – potentially.”
To find out more about Bobby’s book Truck It! head to Amazon.
And to keep up with his travels check out his social media account one.life.truck.it.
And these are Europe’s cheapest places for family holidays this summer – package breaks in stunning locations from £282.
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