Hello beautiful people, I recently went travelling for a month around Europe and it was the best experience I have ever had!
I have had many questions on how I managed money while travelling and the truth is I am a damn cheapskate, but I never allow it to spoil my fun.
Today I will be giving you my top tips on how I saved A LOT of money while travelling and still had an amazing time.
If you have been travelling before you will know this, if not you may not have considered it but its honestly an incredibly cheap option for accommodation, not to mention a great way to meet fellow travellers and potential friends for life from all over the world. Using Hostel World was an absolute lifesaver, you don’t have to book way in advance, in fact, a few times we booked a few hours before! If you worried about the conditions of the hostels there are reviews and pictures, so you know what you’re getting! I paid to range from 6 pounds to 17 pounds per night all depending on the country, the distance from the city centre and the quality of the hostel. Overall that is a huge saving from sleeping in hotels and even air bnb's.
Walk everywhere/ take local transport
This one seems pretty obvious but perhaps time-consuming. Instead of looking at walking as a task look at it as part of your adventure and an opportunity to explore more of the city like a local. I found this was the best way to experience the city and also feel more integrated! If your worried about getting lost, ask people most locals, bus drivers, store owners etc are very friendly and will happily help you if they understand English, also use it as an opportunity to practice your language skills people really appreciate the effort.
Don’t pay for bar crawls!
I really don’t want to sound like a party pooper, but bar crawls are a huge rip off! In case you’re not sure what a bar crawl is, it’s basically a company that charges to take a bunch of people to several bars around the area and you get alcohol there. I see why people go for bar crawls but for the price you pay you can probably go out for another 2 days. I suggest asking locals good bars to go to usually the hostel staff are pretty good with that. If you fancy something, in particular, Google it! I can’t stress how much I love to google! Also, pre-drink before going out (unless you’re in Budapest where alcohol is sooo cheap) this saves you a lot of money and it’s a good way to socialise with people in your hostel. In desperate measures simply find out where the bar crawl is heading and follow behind, everyone is usually too drunk to notice or cares!
Don’t pay for walking/bus tours!
Going off my last point, the same applies for sight-seeing. It’s pretty easy to find out where all the best places to sightsee are, firstly our good friend google, secondly ask around! When you get settled into your hostel ask at reception what are all the best things to see in the area and I guarantee you will leave with a list of things to see and do. If you can’t quite find your way use google maps it is pretty accurate most of the time (keyword most!). Besides the obvious benefit of saving money, exploring the city independently allows you to have more freedom, you don’t have a time limit to each sight nor are you stuck behind a crowd of slow walkers!
Find free/ cheap things to do
If you’re really after a budget backpacker experience Google free things to do for every country you go to. Often you will find some art galleries, parks, festivals and music events that are free or under 5 Euros. Especially in places like Berlin there are lots of art, poetry and music events happening you just have to take a look around. Luckily, I was travelling during the World Cup so watching football and bonding with a pint of beer was a great budget activity. Lastly, take some time in to soak in the atmosphere, find a nice park, lake, beach etc grab yourself a drink a few snacks and lay back! I found this was another great way to meet people.
I hope all these tips help to make your budget backpacking experience amazing!
Happy travels!
