How to: Travel cheap
Although some people still find using tourist agencies to travel a better option, that is not the case. Traveling today is much cheaper when you arrange it on your own. Here are my tips on cheap travels!
Cheapest transportation today are airplanes. Ryan air sometimes offers flights from 5 euros one way, and on some days of the year, they surprise customers with great discounts, where tickets can be even 2 euros. Of course, it depends on current offers they have, but if you regularly search for flights, you will always find affordable ones.
Getting to the airport
There is one problem when you live where I live. Most cheap flights are available only a few months of the year or aren't at all. So a better way would be to find transportation to another city and fly from there. To do that, you can either: have someone drive you with a car, take a bus, use BlaBla car, or use GoOpti. Prices depend on where you are going and so does the comfort level.
I.e. if you are flying from Trieste, the best way is to take a Autotrans bus, that costs around 70 kunas (10 eur) both ways from Rijeka. If you are flying from Venice, I find it best to get a friend to drive you, because it's only a 2 hour drive from Rijeka, or use GoOpti, which is a bit more expensive, but they drive you from your house directly to the airport. Flixbus is also a good option if you are using a bus.
Tour guide
To explore a city with a tour guide, there is really no need to overpay. Most places offer Free tours. All you need to do is google Free tours and the name of the place where you are, and you will find information like where is the meeting point, at what time the tour starts and what is the route. Sometimes you need to book your tour a few days before, but on most you just have to show up.
The tour guide will take you on a two/three hour walk around the city, answer your questions, talk about history and some fun facts, and at the end, you leave them a tip. Of course, you can pay them nothing, but don't be THAT person. Usually people tip five to ten euros.
The good thing here is, most tour guides are locals, or have been living in the city for years, so they can really show you the authentic way of life in that city and show you not only the classic tourist locations, but an alternative route, where you can see unusual places. They can also give you real advice about where to eat and party, because they know from first hand.
The tour guide will take you on a two/three hour walk around the city, answer your questions, talk about history and some fun facts, and at the end, you leave them a tip. Of course, you can pay them nothing, but don't be THAT person. Usually people tip five to ten euros.
The good thing here is, most tour guides are locals, or have been living in the city for years, so they can really show you the authentic way of life in that city and show you not only the classic tourist locations, but an alternative route, where you can see unusual places. They can also give you real advice about where to eat and party, because they know from first hand.
How to start
1. Search for flights
Finding a flight is quite easy. To find a cheap one, you can follow the page Putoholičari, they post daily cheap flights from different locations. You can also start by searching cheap flights from your city, or the city closest to you. After that, select the number of passengers and the dates, and pay for the tickets which then arrive to your e-mail address.
I usually look for flights on Ryanair.com, Skyscanner and Vueling, but I recommend searching through as many airlines you can to increase your chances of finding a cheap flight. It's also a good idea to sign up to newsletters from some airlines, to get the best offers directly to your email.
Also, if you want the cheapest price, be prepared to not fly direct. Sometimes the cheapest option is to transfer flights, which can give you a chance to explore another city on the way, depending on how much time you have.
1. Search for flights
Finding a flight is quite easy. To find a cheap one, you can follow the page Putoholičari, they post daily cheap flights from different locations. You can also start by searching cheap flights from your city, or the city closest to you. After that, select the number of passengers and the dates, and pay for the tickets which then arrive to your e-mail address.
I usually look for flights on Ryanair.com, Skyscanner and Vueling, but I recommend searching through as many airlines you can to increase your chances of finding a cheap flight. It's also a good idea to sign up to newsletters from some airlines, to get the best offers directly to your email.
Also, if you want the cheapest price, be prepared to not fly direct. Sometimes the cheapest option is to transfer flights, which can give you a chance to explore another city on the way, depending on how much time you have.
2. Find accommodation
Unless you know someone who has already been to the location you are traveling to, the best is to use Booking.com, which allows you to pay at arrival most of the times (that gives you a chance to cancel if you find a better deal), or use Airbnb.com. Here you can see the real reviews from people who have already been there, which is useful, because the nice pictures of the apartments sometimes don't tell you that the bathroom smells terribly.
If you want to pay next to nothing, try Couchsurfing. It allows you to sleep over at a local's apartment, and they let you crash for free. Of course, it's polite to bring them a bottle of something or at least a souvenir from your country. This is great for people who travel alone, because you can meet someone who could even be your tour guide since they actually live there.
Some hostels offer free accommodation and food in exchange for your help in cleaning the hostel or something similar. These allow you to stay somewhere for a month, more or less.
Unless you know someone who has already been to the location you are traveling to, the best is to use Booking.com, which allows you to pay at arrival most of the times (that gives you a chance to cancel if you find a better deal), or use Airbnb.com. Here you can see the real reviews from people who have already been there, which is useful, because the nice pictures of the apartments sometimes don't tell you that the bathroom smells terribly.
If you want to pay next to nothing, try Couchsurfing. It allows you to sleep over at a local's apartment, and they let you crash for free. Of course, it's polite to bring them a bottle of something or at least a souvenir from your country. This is great for people who travel alone, because you can meet someone who could even be your tour guide since they actually live there.
Some hostels offer free accommodation and food in exchange for your help in cleaning the hostel or something similar. These allow you to stay somewhere for a month, more or less.
3. Itinerary
Except for the Free tour guides, the best way to find out what to see and where to eat good food, are the reviews from real people on the internet. On TripAdvisor, you just write down the location where you are, and you will immediately get a list of best places to see, restaurants, night clubs, hostels etc. These lists are created and updated on real reviews of guests, so they give pretty accurate scores.
Except for the Free tour guides, the best way to find out what to see and where to eat good food, are the reviews from real people on the internet. On TripAdvisor, you just write down the location where you are, and you will immediately get a list of best places to see, restaurants, night clubs, hostels etc. These lists are created and updated on real reviews of guests, so they give pretty accurate scores.
For night life, the best is to join a local Pub crawl. Here you can visit four clubs/bars in one night, with promo drink prices, and meet many people.
Also, when you arrive to the city, it's a good idea to go to the Tourist info center and get some fliers about what to see, the current events, and sometimes they have coupons and discounts for restaurants and shops.
Finally, I leave you with a tip on how I pack my suitcase. When I went on Erasmus, I had to pack 6 months of clothes in under 30 kg, for different weather conditions. So I used this method and since then I use it for every trip. It is really the best way to get the most out of your suitcase.
If you have some tips on cheap traveling, feel free to share them with me! These are just some ways I found work for me to travel smart and not waste money when I don't have to.
Until next time :)
Also, when you arrive to the city, it's a good idea to go to the Tourist info center and get some fliers about what to see, the current events, and sometimes they have coupons and discounts for restaurants and shops.
Finally, I leave you with a tip on how I pack my suitcase. When I went on Erasmus, I had to pack 6 months of clothes in under 30 kg, for different weather conditions. So I used this method and since then I use it for every trip. It is really the best way to get the most out of your suitcase.
If you have some tips on cheap traveling, feel free to share them with me! These are just some ways I found work for me to travel smart and not waste money when I don't have to.
Until next time :)
Great post! I will definitely use your packing method, thanks! :)
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