One question I get asked sometimes is how do you afford to travel? Well the answer is to prioritize your outgoings and to make some clever decisions when travelling.
I recently travelled to Italy for a week, I stayed in hostels mainly with shared rooms. The total cost was 160€. I know people that can spend this on 2-3 nights out on the town.
Moving on from the point of booking cheap accomodation, I often find the best deals on booking.com but it’s also worth checking sites Agoda and hotels.com sometimes they have offers. With booking.com often you have free cancellation if your plans change. In Italy I was paying around 20€ a night for a dorm room and this included breakfast.
I booked my train journeys to the next destination so they fell over lunch time mainly. By doing this I bought a box of protein bars in advance and had this on the train. This saved me sitting down in a restaurant and spending 10-15€ on a lunch.
Buying water…you can save so much money by jumping on Google maps and finding a local supermarket to buy water. In Pisa I bought water for 22c if you went to a local shop you would pay 1.50€ – 2€. If you buy 4 bottles a day then over a week this saves you up to 50€!
Train tickets, at the moment trains are getting booked at around 50% to ensure social distancing. I used the app train line to compare and book my trains during a week in Italy. Train prices can really varie according to how long they take and how busy they are! For my journey from Milan- Bologna my train was nearly 40€ cheaper than one of the other options. It may take a bit longer but this money can be 2 nights accommodation!
I walk as much as I can. This is for a few reasons, firstly I know that when I travel I eat differently from when I am at home, secondly you get to see more of a place and thirdly you save money. In Milan alone I walked 20 minutes past the amazing cathedral instead of taking the metro to the overground station saving 3€. This can be 2 coffees in Italy.
When dining out check for special menus sometimes labelled tourist menus. In Pisa I ate 5 minutes from the leaning tower and had 2 courses with a glass of wine for 12€!
Flights! This is where the big money can be saved and for me the app Skyscanner is king! One of the ways I even choose where my next destination is going to be is by typing in my home airport and the dates then selecting everywhere. Then it shows you the cheapest flights! Often carriers such as Ryanair you can do a similar search. To fly to Milan I paid 9.99€ on the way!
Again you save money by packing light. Why carry a big bag that half the stuff you won’t wear or use. I took a small under the seat back away for one week and again saved money by not checking in a bag.
Attractions. This can be expensive but depending on what you decide. A lot of the attractions in Italy you can actually see without spending a penny. For example the leaning tower you can practically stand next to it and it doesn’t cost you anything. It costs 18€ to climb up the 7 floors. Do you really need to do it? This is the same for many other attractions. In Pisa my hostel was on the top floor so actually I already saw an epic view of the city.
I honestly believe travelling can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. In the past I went to Iceland which I knew in advance was an expensive country to visit. Therefore I took some food with me and self catered. Yes I would have liked to dine out every evening but I am so happy I went and saw the stunning waterfalls and soaked up the culture rather than sitting at home and missing out.
Travelling places like Asia obviously for hostels and food you can save alot of money. Getting a meal for 1€ or a hostel for 3€ but you also have the out lay of a long haul flight if you come from Europe. During these post covid19 times it’s a great chance to explore Europe with less tourists.
To travel is to live… 