Taking a break from the weekly city posts to bring some traveling cheap tips!
We travelled cheap on our trip to Europe. Super cheap. Not counting my plane ticket I spent around $2500 for accommodations, food, transportation, and sightseeing. Which is pretty incredible since we were there for a month and went to 7 different countries!
Traveling cheap tips:
1. Stay in hostels or through something like Airbnb.com
I cannot recommend airbnb enough. The best places we stayed in Europe were through them. You rent out a room in someones flat/house or their whole place. We loved each place except maybe when we shared a twin bed in Milan. That was squished. haha Just make sure to always stay with people who have good ratings and that you feel comfortable about.
2. Know what is most important for you to spend you money on. Plan.
Your biggest money saver will truly be planning in advance. Unless you are a super dedicated backpacker who loves spontaneity. Most of our trip was paid off before we left. We booked our trains, flights, and hostels/flats beforehand.
Also, It was worth it to us to spend $30 on a guided tour of the Nazi prison camp near Munich and at the Vatican, but we didn't need a guide at the Louvre. Sightseeing can be a big money eater so plan out whats most important to you. Its good to set a budget and plan beforehand how much everything will cost. Its so easy with the internet! You can check prices to basically everything.
3. Stay with people you know when you can
We were so lucky to have places to stay in England and Switzerland and have a tour guide friend in Berlin. It saved us so much money to stay with people we knew for even just a couple days of our trip! Plus people who live in the places you visit have so much insider information!
4. Travel Light
I consider myself a pro for traveling light, especially on this trip. I took one backpack and a sidestrap purse. For one whole month. Be amazed. I never paid baggage fees, or had to worry about lugging stuff around. It also made it easier to turn down souvenirs, because I didn't have the room to carry them.
5. Be aware
Be aware of exchange fees on your credit cards and at ATM's. I didn't take nearly enough Euro's/Pounds/Francs etc. I kept returning to the ATM or using my credit cards which internationally incurred some extra fees. Next time I'd get more money out beforehand.
i traveled abroad for five months and agree with all of those - i miss those days so much! thank you for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteTraveling light is definitely something I’ve had to learn to do since meeting my husband. He only flies using a carry on and it was very difficult to do the first time, haha. But now that I’ve got it down I can’t wait to travel abroad in a more simpler way. Thanks for sharing! Such good tips :)
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, especially the international ATM fees! Those came as a surprise to me...
ReplyDeleteMe too! It was such a bummer. Had I known I would have taken way more money when I was in the states.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a light packer, I never think its worth it to pay baggage fees! haha
ReplyDeleteIsn't traveling just the best!!!!? I miss them too. I am excited for an adventure to the Philippines in 2 months!
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