5 Travel Tips (For Those Living On A Budget)

I’ve been in Europe for almost two months now, while trying to get my Yachtmaster. I came here with nothing booked other than a transatlantic flight and the plan of spending under 1000$/month. When you take the cost of hostels, food, drink, sightseeing and traveling halfway across a continent into account, that’s not much… I haven’t been the most successful, but I wanted to spend this post breaking down some of tips & tricks I used to save money over the last few weeks. Bear in mind, I haven’t followed my own advice nearly as diligently as I should’ve! It’s hard to be disciplined about this kind of thing 24/7, especially when you want to feel like you’re on vacation. But I’m going to steal a page from the book of hypocritical, liberal parents everywhere and tell you to “do as I say, not as I do.”

Without further ado, here are my Travel Tips (for the cheap, broke or economically-inclined):

1. Transportation – Review All The Options

Photo by Ho-Yeol Ryu, taken at Hannover Airport: http://www.homato.com/

This is one Travel Tip that I’ve definitely broken more often than not. Canvassing all the options available can be a crazy, time-consuming endeavor, but it can also be seriously worth it! If you’re flying, almost everyone knows the Golden Rule: the cheapest time to find flights is six weeks in advance. Book earlier and you’ll get overcharged. Book later and the prices will have been driven up by demand. Aside from that, it’s all about whether you’re flying to/from a big city or not. If you are, install yourself somewhere comfy and put in an hour (or five) on Fare Compare, Sky Scanner or a similar site. If you’re going to a smaller place, there are some shortcuts. Check out the airport website and figure out what airlines run flights there. Then check the airline websites directly. I’ve been using this method to find RyanAir and EasyJet flights in Europe, and it’s often cheaper (and wayyy easier) than taking an overnight bus. Don’t forget to take transportation to the airport into account! Usually airport shuttles/taxis cost 10-15 €, when the bus or train station would’ve been walking distance from your hostel. Ya dummy.

If you don’t have to fly, then more options are available to you. Do some research and figure out what’s recommended in the country where you’re traveling… This is the first step. For example, in Italy local trains are the way to go. They’re cheap and they run regularly. On the other hand, in Spain you’re better off taking the bus, but it depends on the route. Earlier this week I went from Zaragoza to Valencia and discovered that the bus route was 5 € more (and 3 hours longer) than the train. Glad I checked both!

Also, don’t forget about that most-overlooked transportation option: the ferry! Long ferry rides definitely suck and they’re a horrible money-spending trap but if you’re well-provisioned and can deal with sleeping on a row of seats, you should be fine! Book a “deck space” ticket available and steer clear of the cafeteria and – gods save you – the bar… Finally, remember that even though an overnight bus or ferry guarantees a poor night of sleep, you’re essentially saving 10-20 € because you’re not booking a hostel. Tricky, tricky!

Of course, the backpacker’s ideal form of transportation is the ride share. I haven’t been doing this because I don’t speak the local languages and I’m also traveling solo, with lots of expensive gear. I like my computer and DSLR camera. I would like them to remain in my possession. Nevertheless, a ride share is BY FAR the cheapest transportation option. So if you have a travel buddy and speak the local tongue, check out Craigslist and/or ask the locals what they use! I hear BlaBlaCar is good (even outside of the UK).

2. Accommodation – The Internet Is Your Best Friend

There are a ton of website out there that make it easy to find budget accommodation and I know only a fraction of them. I find TripAdvisor to be next to useless, but I really like HostelWorld. If you want a nice place, stick to hostels with aggregate reviews that are 80% or above and look for the little green ‘thumbs up’! These are the not-so-hidden gems. If you’re trying to go extra cheap, I would drop as low as 70% but never under that. There are a lot of shitty hostels out there and saving a few dollars usually isn’t worth it if you’re going to get bedbugs. When in doubt, read the reviews! These will often give you the best indication if a place is right for you.

If you’re looking to hole up somewhere for a week or a weekend with some buddies (or just one “buddy”), it’s also worth checking out AirBnB. Almost everyone has heard of this site by now – and almost no one uses it enough! There are ridiculous deals here. You can rent private fucking islands! Private islands! I think I’ve said enough for this one.

Couchsurfer in action: http://espanamber.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/couch-surfing-a-utopian-way-of-travel/

The best accommodation trick is to set up a CouchSurfing profile and use this service (there is a one-time cost). Again, this is an option I haven’t explored enough to give good advice, similar to ride shares. I have heard that the problem with couch surfing is that you need a big network to have much success. In other words, you need to have hosted people or used the service before, so people who will write nice things on your CouchSurfing profile. That being said, I did meet two Canadian girls in Florence who were total newcomers to CouchSurfing and apparently having great success using it to make their way across Europe. I think this is a case of gender bias, but it makes sense; pretty much any sane human being (regardless of gender) would rather host two pretty girls instead of some dude with a scraggly beard and a dirty backpack. In general, I think this is a better option if you’re with a buddy (or a girlfriend). You can never be quite sure what you’re going to get…

3. Food – Never Eat Out

Restaurants are the bane of your existence. Even though you will want to splurge occasionally on a nice meal, you should avoid restaurants like the plague. As a tourist, staying in hostels in touristy areas of the city, you are going to have a hard time finding cheap eats. Most restaurants are going to be horrendously overpriced. In my general experience, it’s always possible to make more food than a restaurant will serve you, for less money.  Sure, you might stumble across the odd budget diner or kebab shop, but otherwise you’ll probably be out of luck. Don’t be tempted by fast food either. What you cook is likely to be more satisfying( and healthier too)!

Mmmm fooood…

Figure out 3-4 meals you can make easily for one person, then simply rinse and repeat. Most hostels don’t have ovens, so your meal-making options are limited in this regard. If you’re traveling a lot, you will also need to remember to buy non-perishables or be forced to throw everything out when you change locations. I find canned tuna or dried salami are good buys in this regard. Most places in Europe, it’s also easy to find good bread for under 1 €, so I make a lot of sandwiches. It’s not the most glamorous way to feed yourself, but it’ll get the job done.

Also, remember to shop in local markets (instead of supermarkets) – if you can find them and speak enough to communicate with the vendors. Small shops like butchers and fishmongers can be good too, if they’re not the gourmet variety. These places are perfect if you ever feel like you need to treat yourself. Buy a nice steak for dinner! So long as you don’t mind frying it on the stovetop…

4. Water – All Drinks Should Be Free

Tap water is drinkable in most of Europe. Don’t buy bottled water unless you get strong advice to the contrary (parts of Eastern Europe might be unsanitary, I don’t know…). Bring a Nalgene or some other 1 liter bottle with you and fill it up at every available opportunity. I’m slightly ashamed to say I’ve filled my Nalgene from taps in some very unsanitary train station bathrooms, however, I’ve never gotten sick from any of the water I’ve drunk and I can’t remember the last time I bought bottled water. You will save a ton of money this way.

As for other drinks (pop, juice, etc.), I would say to just steer clear of them. Buying tea or coffee is probably unnecessary, as most hostels will offer it for free – either with breakfast or you’ll just find it lying around. If you feel like something more interesting than water at the end of the day, just drink beer! Which brings me to my next point…

That’s more like it!

Bars are the bane of your existence. I estimate that for every euro I’ve gone over budget, about 75% or more can be blamed on going to a bar. Going out is a great way to meet people and often strangers you encounter will want to go to a bar and will convince you to join them. Most of the time, they’ll probably succeed. Once you get to the bar and start drinking, every successive drink is going to be harder to resist buying. The next thing you know, you’re waking up the next morning with a headache and a hole in your wallet.

Here’s my advice: alcohol is stupidly cheap in Europe. Buy it at a supermarket or corner store, and drink it in your hostel. Get people to join you. It’s usually not hard. You can find bottles of wine or 2 liter bottles of beer for under 2€. Take advantage of this! You should be able to get drunk for under 5 € anywhere in Europe (which is the price of a drink in most bars). Also, I don’t usually buy liquor because it’s annoying to lug around a bottle, but some of the tax havens in Europe (Monaco, Gibraltar, etc.) sell duty-free booze for stupidly low prices. In Gibraltar, I was unable to resist a handle of Havana Club rum that cost me a measly 5£! Keep an eye out for deals and remember to check (or calculate) price per liter for comparison.

5. Tourism – Do The Free Stuff First

When sightseeing, there are going to be a lot of places that try to charge you admission. If it’s a really awesome (or really famous) spot, you will be tempted to pay the 10 € admission – just to say you’ve sat in the same chair as the Pope, or whatever. My advice: do some research online or ask at your hostel. I guarantee that there will be enough free stuff to keep you busy for the duration of your stay. Most cities offer some kind of free walking tour. Find these. You will be expected to tip the guide afterwards, but only a couple of euros. Lots of museums offer free admission on certain days or after a certain time. Again, figure this out and plan accordingly. With the right amount of foresight, you shouldn’t have to pay for anything in the tourism department.

Don’t be these guys.

When getting wandering around a city, you will (again) be tempted to rent bikes or a Vespa, or some other form of transportation to accessorize your sightseeing. If you want to be that guy on the Segue then, by all means, waste your money on it. Personally, I walk everywhere. Walking is free and it’s a great way to see a city. The number of random little shops or churches I’ve found just by walking around is astronomical. It’s also good exercise and a nice way to work off a hangover from all the cheap beer you drank the night before… So bring a good pair of shoes!

To conclude, I need to make an admission. I would be lying to you if I didn’t mention that you will break some (or all) of these guidelines on occasion. You will go over budget, you will spend 10 € on a stupid t-shirt, you will buy strangers drinks because you’re already drunk, but you’re traveling! Fuck it. As long as you follow these tips the majority of the time, you will save a ton of money –  thereby allowing you to cheat every now and then. At the end of the day, that’s the real goal: save money 90% of the time, so you can blow it the other 10%. Good luck with it, and happy trails!

Oh, and thanks for reading! Hope these tips have been helpful or at least amusing…