When I tell people about my trip that I am taking, I almost always get an immediate reaction. One of the most common reactions deals with money issues. Usually I hear one of the following; "How are you going to pay for this", "Your so lucky your parents are doing this for you", or when I mention I have a one way ticket, "How long are you planning to stay there, Europe is so very expensive".
Well there is some truth and some falsehoods to those quotes. Yes, Europe is probably one of the most, if not the most, expensive places to travel in our present day world. Yes, I am very lucky to have the parents that I have, but they are paying little to nothing in the actual costs of my trips. I have absolutely no idea how long my trip will be, your guess is about as good as mine. Most importantly, I am going to pay for this trip with money I have saved, but especially by travelling smart and cheap.
As I am sure you all know, when travelling it is very easy to spend your money very quickly. Before you know it, you have spent way more money than you budgeted. When I travel usually the opposite happens.
Here's How:
The Actual Travel Part of Travelling; I find the cheap ways to get from place to place. For example I found that if I wanted to fly directly to Florence, Italy from New York, it could cost anywhere from $500-$800. However, if I flew from NY to Dublin, Ireland it would cost $221 (which I was able to get for free, due to credit card points). Europe has a plethora of super discounted airlines, and one could easily get to Florence from Dublin for under $100. So therefore before my trip started I have already saved myself a minimum of $200, with little hassle. This goes on for the rest of my trip. I look to see which is the cheapest or most efficient way for me to travel; planes, trains, or automobiles.
Room; I imagine that for most people, this equates to the most expensive part of travelling. This can totally wiped out or at least reduced with some basic changes. Room is going to cost me little to nothing. I am very lucky, because I know people in Florence, Geneva, and Paris. However, my situation would have been very similar had I not known these people. First off there is the obvious of staying in a hostel. They can be very nice and actually fun places to stay. Additionally they are much cheaper than your average hotel, as long as you don't mind sharing a room with multiple people. However, even sharing a room with 15 other strangers can prove to be quite costly in major cities. But, there are even cheaper and maybe even better options. Such as, Couchsurfing.com. A well run system of where people offer up a spare couch in their house or apartment for free. Peer reviews are left, and you are left with a great free option for sleeping. Many times the hosts will, cook food for their guests, will show their guests around town, offer some advice or act as a friend for a lonely traveller, or will simply offer a safe and free place to spend a few nights. I have tried it, and have talked to many people who have also tried it, and I have heard nothing but the best of reviews about it. I highly suggest anyone who is travelling to check it out! If for whatever reason, couchsurfing isn't your thing, then try to stay just outside of major cities. You will find that hotels/hostels will usually be much cheaper, and there is almost always cheap and efficient transportation into the nearest city.
Food; Personally I love to eat, I love to eat a lot. Without being smart about this, I could easily spend most of my money on food. However, as you may have guessed this will not be happening. I highly suggest you don't save money by skipping meals or not eating, that’s just plain stupid. Rather go for the cheaper eats. For example, don't eat at the fancy restaurants, especially the ones that are right next to some exhibit. Rather go to the local street vendor to grab a bite to eat. You will almost always find the vendor's food to be much much cheaper, and many times even better tasting and more authentic than some fancy place. Also, depending on where you are staying, considering buying food at a local supermarket and making your own meals. Of course there is also drinking alcoholic beverages. There is nothing wrong with wanting to grab a drink every once in awhile, but keep it that. If all you want to do is get drunk, save yourself the time and money and stay home. Drinking could easily become the most expensive part of travelling, with the high prices of alcohol. Getting trashed in some bar in London, will not be much different than getting trashed in some bar back home.
Exhibits; There is much money to be saved here! Only pick the exhibits that you truly want to see for a specific reason. Always look to see if there is a similar experience to be had for much less of the cost. For example I even already made this mistake. I paid 10 Euros to go see the statue of David in the Academia. It was beautiful, it was amazing, I was in awe over it, but I did not need to spend 10 Euros to see it. I could have seen it for FREE! Well almost. In a couple of the local parks in Florence, they have exact replicas of the statue for free for your viewing pleasure. In fact it’s almost better to see it here, because, well, the statue was originally supposed to be outside in a park, not in some museum. Plus in the park you will not have some security guard yelling at you in Italian about taking pictures of a statue! Additionally, you may think your getting the best experience to learn about and see a city in some Museum, or listening to some tour guide tell you about the city... but in fact I truly believe the best way to see and learn about a city is to get up and walk around. Its free, its real, and each person will have their own unique experiences.
End Notes:
I know that these tips will not apply to everyone. I am young and very very flexible in how I travel, but some of these tips could still be used to save plenty of your money!
Sometimes it’s not always worth it to go the cheapest way. For example, it’s not worth spending extra hours travelling or staying in some really dumpy place just to save a few bucks. It’s always important to be smart when travelling. There are plenty of places to find reviews about hostels/hotels/couchsurfing.
Lastly, sometimes when travelling its worth it to treat yourself a little. Spend a night in a hotel or go out to a nice dinner. Make sure you don't get burnt out, but don't splurge too often!
Please feel free to ask questions you may have or make any comments, and I will do my best to reply.
