I’ve been to seven countries in six weeks including the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan – my flights cost under £250
- Justin Walley, 52, from Leicestershire, went travelling for six weeks on budget
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From the Maldives to Latvia to Saudi Arabia, one globe trotting couple have ticked off some impressive places, managing to visit seven countries in six weeks for just under £250.
Football press officer Justin Walley, 52, from Leicestershire who now resides in Riga, Latvia, with his girlfriend Victoria, 47, from Latvia, set out on their travels in January 2023 and returned to the UK in March.
Travelling over 13,500 miles, with 30 years of travel and backpacking experience on their side, the pair purchased nine flights in six weeks, spending no more than £40 a day on accommodation, food and travel.
The pair of savvy backpackers visited eight countries on their travels starting in Latvia and made trips to places all over the world visiting Austria, United Arab Emirates, The Maldives, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Romania and the UK.
Justin said: ‘Last year wasn’t the best for us, we both got stuck in a rut due to health scares, our flat getting flooded, jobs falling through etc.’
Football press officer Justin Walley, 52, from Leicestershire who now resides in Riga, Latvia, with his girlfriend Victoria, 47, from Latvia, managed to visit seven countries in six weeks for just under £250 (pictured, in the Maldives)
From the Maldives to Latvia to Saudi Arabia (pictured), the globe trotting couple have ticked off some impressive places
Travelling over 13,500 miles, the pair spent no more than £40 a day on accommodation, food and travel (pictured, Victoria in Jordan)
Justin explained: ‘We decided to try and get ourselves back out into the world for some fresh positive energy and just get new jobs once we’re back.
‘I’m an old school backpacker I’ve been travelling around the world for the last 30 years.
‘I’ve visited 128 countries and through these experiences I’ve picked up a few savvy tricks to keep costs down.
‘I was having a look through for cheap flights and spotted that Wizz airlines were having a flight sale and that Saudi Arabia had recently opened up their borders to tourists.
‘I started seeing all these really cheap flights to and from Saudi Arabia and I almost didn’t even click on the Maldives as I thought it would be way too expensive.’
He said: ‘I was shocked when I saw the price and instantly started shouting for Victoria to come and have a look.
‘After that we just started planning out the routes and how we’d get to each place, and just kept adding to the trip.
‘We kept track of our money by writing down what we’ve spent. When we went to the Maldives we stayed at bed and breakfasts on the islands the locals lived on, which cost us about £30 a night.
The pair of savvy backpackers visited eight countries on their travels starting in Latvia and made trips to places all over the world
The couple used over 30 years of travel and backpacking experience to navigate the globe during their adventure
‘You still got to see the beauty of the Maldives by paying a fraction of the price.
‘We went snorkelling with huge manta rays, saw reef sharks chasing fish and got to meet the real people of the Maldives.’
Meanwhile he also revealed the highlights of their trip, saying: ‘Jordan was very special and Wadi Rum is one of the most beautiful places on earth however, Saudi Arabia exceeded expectations.
‘Everyone there was so welcoming and there were no rules that affected Victoria’s experience. We were treated so nicely and saw so many amazing sights.
‘The only issue we faced during the entire trip is we needed to get a bus from one side of Saudi Arabia to the other to board our flight.
‘Once we arrived, the bus driver refused to take as the route went through a holy city, where non-Muslims are unable to enter.
The couple used their savvy travel knowledge to book cheap flights taking them from one destination to another
The couple decided to set off on the adventure around the world to find some fresh positive energy (pictured, flying over Saudi Arabia)
Justin confessed Saudi Arabia ‘exceeded expectations’ where ‘everyone was so welcoming’ and there were ‘amazing sights’
During their time in the country, Justin managed to catch Cristiano Ronaldo’s new team Al-Nassr playing
During their time, the couple said they had managed to see ‘ parts of the world some people would never get the chance to’ (pictured, Saudi Arabia)
Meanwhile they said there were ‘no rules’ that affected Victoria’s experience during their time in Saudi Arabia
During their trip around the world, the couple took nine different flights (left) to reach a number of different destinations, including the Maldives (right), which they did on a shoestring budget
The couple insisted they had ‘still got to see the beauty of the Maldives by paying a fraction of the price’
Jordan was among the couple’s favourite destinations, with Justin confessing it was ‘very special’
‘We managed to convince a taxi driver to take us on an 11 hour drive through the mountains to get us to our destination, we offered him 100 euros.
‘He was an amazing guy and we ended up seeing parts of the world some people would never get the chance to.’
Meanwhile Justin added: ‘Being a football man, I decided to have a little google for the fixtures in the Saudi League and the city we were in at the time was actually hosting Cristiano Ronaldo’s new team Al-Nassr.
‘I’ve seen him play before but it was amazing to see such admiration for one player who was still showing his incredible hunger and ability.’
How the couple managed to take nine different flights for less than £250
Justin and Victoria set off on January 23 2023 and returned to the UK on March 2 2023 visiting these places in their six week trip:
Latvia to Austria £17
Austria to UAE £33
UAE to Maldives £75
Maldives to UAE £80
UAE to Jordan £7
Jordan to UAE £7
UAE to Saudi Arabia £9
Saudi Arabia to Romania £11
Romania to UK £8
Total flight cost: £247
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