Don’t let money worries squash the wanderlust in you.
Traveling on a budget is not as tough as it sounds and with some quick and easy tips you can easily learn how to do so.
It will be far more exciting to see and travel more on the budget you have instead of just going to one place and staying put because you can’t rough it out – instead you could have an adventure in Europe.
Observe these tips, and you will soon find yourself to be the master of low budget travel around Europe.
Decide where you want to go and Research
Even the hottest destinations can turn out to be budget travel destinations if you do thorough research and look beyond the glitz and glamor of advertising. For every sight and location look for alternate options and very soon you will have an exciting itinerary before you.
Book Ahead
Once you have garnered all the necessary information about the place, plan your trip down to the last detail. Leaving things to chance is equivalent to opening yourself up for unforeseen expenses. Book ahead – with airlines, railways, hotels, local sightseeing tours, or camps. Everywhere you will get huge discounts for advance booking.
Travel with a friend
If you can find a likeminded person to travel with, then you can do a lot more on a small budget. Traveling with a friend means half your travel expenses can be shared. You can have fun with company as well as get the maximum advantage of a low budget travel.
Resist Impulse Buying
It’s usually not hard to get carried away when you are on holiday. Eating out, shopping, day trips all take a huge toll on your budget, beyond what you had planned. Try not to give into impulse buying, or too much of food and drink experiments. Avoid cabs and take public transport. You will save money and get to know the new place better.
Live like a Local
Mix with the locals.Taking taxis and organized tourist buses can be very pricey to do every day. Instead, do what the locals do and take a train, bus or tram to get to various locations around Europe. It’s a great way to save and experience how the locals live.
Look out for Coupons…
Get your coup-on! Don’t underestimate the value of coupons. Travel guides and hostels usually have a range of coupons for discounts on tourist attractions, like local museums or the aquarium. As well as this you could consider using coupons for Jet2 Holidays to make any flights cheaper you might take.
Play outside
Not all tourist attractions have to have a big price tag! Consider Mother Nature as a beautiful (and free) alternative. Local parks and nature reserves can be very relaxing and a lot of fun, so pack a lunch and enjoy the sights.
CouchSurfing – stay with Locals
There are lots of great websites now which put you in touch with people who like to travel themselves, and when at home they like to host travelers.
Camping
If you’re traveling around, a great way to get by and to get in touch with nature is to simply pack a tent or rent a campervan. Most tourist spots will have cheap camping grounds or free places to plant yourself for the night.
Get networking…
This is a great method to save money on accommodation .surfing the internet for quirky and unique places to stay.
Remember that a lot of costs can be avoided by doing research on local prices, making a budget and sticking to it.
Another idea is to look into confernece/retreat centers for lodging. Some are delighted to have people when they are not full. Not for everyone, but can be a great environment as we found in Luzern recently, and much easier on the budget than, in that case Swiss, hotels.
Best, MEHunt
Quite right mary – I have friends who joined the team at Iona for a season 🙂