Hi everyone
Hello again!
Your budget seems very tight for the planned period.
Some tips how you can estimate costs:
1) accommodation:
- cheapest places to stay are dormitory beds in hostels. you can search online and check rates. It is always advisable to book online as walk-in rate is typically higher. And try to book one or two weeks before - if possible to get ok rates. Weekends are usually more expensive, prices can double/triple. Hostel beds will be between EUR 10-20 / night, depending on destination, hostel quality and availability.
- other way to save money: couchsurfing - which is free (now, i am sure your family is getting really worried... see this recent thread: http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=77885
2) food: to keep budget low, you will have to eat bread and jam.. like an ang moh...!
however, there are cheap eateries as well: kebab, chinese restaurants, etc.
even if you keep your budget tight: you may spend another EUR 10 / day.
if the hostel has kitchen, then you can save some money cooking your own meal.
3) public transport in cities: in most large cities it makes sense to buy 1, 3 or a weekly pass. The price varies largely, in some places you will be EUR 15 for a week only, but in London or Paris it may be EUR 35 for a week.
4) admissions: top attractions are quite pricey. however, there is always an alternative, and you don't have to visit every single museum. some attractions or museums can be free too.
5) getting around: plane, bus
a) europe is full of low cost airlines. the biggest ones: ryanair, easyjet and wizzair. but, there are many more. see more complete list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_low-cost_airlines
note: the advertised prices are always a bit tricky, as they will charge extra for luggage, payment by card, check-in, etc. so, if possible try to go through the whole booking process before you actually pay, so you can see the real price.
try booking in advance (few weeks or a month) as prices generally go up in time.
b) long distances buses also exist: every country has its network plus international bus operators. largest international bus company is eurolines. but there are many others too. it can be cheaper than flying, but not always. especially on longer routes.
c) train is usually much more expensive than plane/bus. i would rather take it only on shorter routes.
however, if you buy a regional or global rail pass for let's say a month, you may save a lot of money.
see more: http://wikitravel.org/en/Rail_travel_in_Europe
hope this will help you look around and estimate budget. let me know if you have any more questions.
Hey kichikacha!! hi again.. :D
1) I'm thinking on couchsurfing..!! :D
i have question for item 3. How about if i rent a bicycle? Is it a good idea??
as for traveling around, I might opt for Euro Global Pass unless if you have another suggestion..
Carmen
mark
Studying too!
Mark
LOL... ROFL
Carmen
Over the past 2 years, I have circled the globe twice, lived in Europe and Asia. I travel between the US and Europe at least twice a year (to make the parental units happy) and i have never paid more than 1000 for a round trip flight taxes included. With the right combination of timing and technique, you too can be a frugal traveller. Here are a few examples of what I have done to keep my journey under 1000.
1. Sometime if you are trying to book a flight with a necessary layover, all in one price, the cost can be higher. So, here is what I did. For example, I wanted to book a flight from San Antonio, TX to Amsterdam, The Netherlands but I have to stop over in Houston, TX before the direct flight to Amsterdam. When booking it all together the cost was somewhere around $1180. So I decided to book a flight to Houston from San Antonio, as they were having discounted flights within Texas on the same airline. THEN, I booked a flight a few hours later directly to Amsterdam. The grand total for my ticket then? ....$720! Be careful to book the first flight into the SAME airport you plan on flying out of and give yourself a few hours to make the next leg of your journey. Trust me, it will pay off in the end and besides a few hours in the airport these days is barely enough time to go through security so the wait time will fly by and you have a bit extra money to play with.
2. Another option is to look into nearby airports for better travel deals, I have even gone so far as to calculate the cost of gas getting to the nearby airport into my overall cost. For example, when I took my first trip to Bangkok in 2009 I decided to fly out of Austin, TX on southwest airlines on my first leg to Los Angeles (about an hour and a half away from where I live). If you plan the timing right you can get that first leg of your journey over quicker and so much cheaper then booking multiple legs with a single carrier. I flew to asia on Thai Airways and the all inclusive flight would have cost me somewhere around $1800...one way! BUT, by driving to Austin and having lunch with a friend before my first leg and spending about 4 hours in LAX, my ticket came out to be $1000 AND I flew premium economy (think unlimited booze and shrimp for your in-flight meal)
3. Also, Chase and Continental airlines have teamed up to offer 30,000 miles if you sign up for a credit card OR a checking account with $25 in it. A few weeks later you should get 30,000 onepass miles in your miles account. its about 50,000 miles for a international roundtrip, 25,000 miles for roundtrip domestic flight….so you do the math. I once used my miles to fly roundtrip from Europe back to Texas and with the 50.00 booking fee and taxes it cost me a 60 bucks AND they overbooked and I got ungraded to Business class. Talk about an amazing deal!
I have created a blog detailing some other money saving tips along with links to companies I have booked through in the past.
-snip-
Everyone's advice is really great up there, but there is one last thing I would suggest: pick your battleground. By this I mean choose your cities and countries wisely. Some places are just wayyyy too expensive to bother if you are on a budget.
Germany is a great in between, I think, to visit if you are on a budget. Berlin is cheap and so are the other northern cities. If you head south you can entertain yourself (for free) with the magnificent landscape of Baden-Württemberg or Bavaria. Outside of Paris, France is gorgeous; Prague is awesome, Krakow, Warsaw and Slovenia/Croatia are beautiful and cheap as well.
Use www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de as well. You can bum rides all around Austria, Switzerland and Germany (very safe, everyone uses it) and combined with couchsurfing.com you can safe tons of money. The only downside is the amount of time you have to spend online planning all this.
Good luck
Hi :-)
im trying to find some info obout Poland, you see im going to gdansk in may for 4 days alone and with a smal budget,after i have payed the tattoo artist and the Hostell i only have like 1011 PLN . Can i manage with this amount for 4 days do you think?
Hope hearing from you,thanks annyways:-)
Blesses ALL BOMBOKLAADS!
REGARDS Dreaddy
0 Response to "Travel in Budget"
Post a Comment