Budget Travel Tips
 

I'm putting together a workshop on how to travel on the cheap and would love to hear people's ideas/info on all aspects of the topic. Thanks for sharing what you've learned along the way!

Well....lol flexibility is key to budget travel I think, but one of my favourite ways to save money is to picnic. I think that even once I am no longer a student and can afford more expensive meals in europe I will still do this because it's such a great experience.!!
Good luck with your workshop!

Layla :)

Stay at 3-star hotels (or less).

Pick central hotel locations where you can walk everywhere without paying for taxis or transportation.

Supplement drinks in cafes or restaurants with wine or liquor in your hotel room.

Shop at the grocery store.

Find free local events to participate in (church bazaar, school pageant, town fetes, parades, outdoor music).

Spend time in parks and gardens, which are normally free.

Find free museums or free days at museums that have an entrance fee.

Travel on the off season for less expensive airfare and hotel rates.

Rent an apartment or condo using a site like www.vrbo.com. Apartments or condos are often cheaper than hotel rooms and help save on the food bill as one can eat breakfast "at home" as well as prepare/cook meals on occassion.

Resist the urge to buy souvenirs for everyone you know back home. Those cute little statues of the Tower of Pisa don't mean much if YOU aren't the one seeing it in person.

When you do buy special things to take home check out the grocery stores. You can find nice things like wonderful bottles of olive oil, lavender honey, milk soaps, good chocolates for much less than the price at tourist shops.

I agree with the other responses. Picnic. We have really become addicted to staying in apartments for less than the rate of a hotel room. Much homier and you'll have a kitchen (and sometimes a clothes washer).

Get your travel guide books from your local library rather than buying them. Most libraries stock the most recent version of several major series. Resist the urge to try to save money by using outdated travel guidebooks.

Specific ideas for Italy:
Stand at the coffee bar, don't sit at a table which triples the price. Skip the restaurant dessert and go for gelato. Order a carafe of the house wine rather than a bottled wine. Don't order bottled water.

pip - It may be obvious but for me the secret is to plan where you want to skimp and save and where you want to splurge. This will vary.
For us we book flights through air miles.
We choose moderate hotels.
So that we can splurge on the meals and sight seeing.
Sure it's basic but it lets you travel and feel good about what it costs you.

I second the suggestion to resist the urge to buy everyone souvenirs...I did that on my last trip and regretted the amount of money I spent because a lot of people didn't truly appreciate what I took the time/money to choose for them, sad but true. I would have enjoyed spending the money on myself much more!! :)

Layla :)

Tell the people who come to your workshop to log unto Fodors.

If you are forced to economise because you have little money, choose destinations where costs are lower.

For example, Central Europe offers great tourism experiences for considerably less than you would pay to holiday in Scandinavia.

In general, smaller cities or rural areas are cheaper to visit than major cities -- but they offer quite a different experience, so we are not comparing like with like.

If somebody wants to visit, say, Paris or Rome as cheaply as possible, then different considerations apply. I agree with most of the advice given by other contributors to this discussion.

Unless you absolutely have your heart set on only one place in Europe you must visit, choose on area to visit based on the price of the airfare.

Visit smaller, more rural areas. they are cheaper.

Avoid renting a car and taking taxis whenever possible. Public transportation in Europe is a dream compared to the U.S., and a good budget saver.

Hi

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MY TIPs: Don't forget your Swiss Army knife. A sarong has other uses other than as a garment. It can also be used as a tablecloth (for picnics), blanket or as picnic rug. In general travel in the style you live at home i.e you do most of your cooking at home, you buy your liquor, cigarettes, soda, groceries, batteries, bottled water etc. from the supermarket. What will bite into your daily budget is the incidentals i.e things you don't plan for. Like 2 or 3 bottles of water. Or a bag of crisps. Or a chocolate bar. And a roll of film. And batteries. A can of Coke - "American champagne" - is €3 for a 330ml can. Bought from "road side stalls" you'll pay top euro for them.

Two good sources i always recommend:

www.ricksteves.com - lots of such tips, especially on transport and www.budgeteuropetravel.com to get their free European Planning & Rail Guide, a primer on train travel but also has a lot of budget travel tips on other subjects.

My favorite advice: take twice as mucn money and twice as few clothes as you first think.

But the best money-saving tip is no doubt travel off-season when hotels are much cheaper and more available and airfares can be ridiculously low.

In Januaru i got a nice hotel opposite the Florence train station, en-suite (bathroom, toilet in room), very clean and unlimited buffet breakfast included on the glassed in terrace with views over Florence. I paid 35 euros for that but in spring the manager said such a room cost 70 euros and in summer 65 euros.

Same in Rome, etc. got hotels for 30-35 euros that would cost much more and perhaps be full in peak season.

Stay in inexpensive/budget hotels. You rarely spend much time in the hotel room because you are out wandering and exploring the town.

Get meals from local markets or grocery stores. Enjoy them at a nearby park or in your hotel room.

RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH in advanced before your trip. You can find out the best days and times when to go to museums/attractions, along when they offer their "free" or "reduced rates". You can also find out what local, free events are happening during your visit.

Use local transportation, sometimes a rental car is not necessary.

Travel during off/low season - airfares are less, along with hotel prices.

Befriend locals, they know the best/affordable places to eat, shop, and explore!

Supermarkets... eating in great restaurants is nice but so so expensive in Europe...something everyone should do but to save money you can

also picnic as many Europeans do - supermarkets are practically everywhere and have fresh baked breads, cheese, etc to make a cheap picnic. Many also have delis where you can buy prepared foods - salads, etc.

As hotels often serve breakfasts where you can eat as much as you like and often included in the price - eat a hearty breakfast - but i do not agree with Rick Steves purported advice to stock up from the breakfast bar to take with you for the rest of the day!

- Visit the Tourist Information Office wherever you are - they often have leaflets with 2 for 1 deals, or know of free concerts, etc.

- Eat bigger lunches, which are usually cheaper than dinner. That way you have the rest of the day to walk it off, and then buy simple things from a local supermarket or shops for dinner on your balcony, along a canal, etc.

- Don't phone home, unless you have to. Use the Internet at local libraries, write a letter (I wrote letters to my mom as my journal every day, mailed them once a week, and had a 'novel' when I got home).

- Take a digital camera, you can erase those bad shots instead of paying to have them developed; and two sets of rechargeable batteries and your charger.

- In places like England, use the Park 'n Ride system. Saves a lot of money of expensive inner city parking.

- In a popular tourist destination, the price of your meal will decrease and the quality increase the further away you are from the 'must see' monument, church, etc. Explore the back streets - that's where the deals are.

Fill your lungs and senses with all the things that are free: great air, people-watching, free museums, quirky exhibits, churches, window-shopping, and incredible views. Sometimes, people are in such a rush to get to the next expensive 'must see' they forget to absorb all the things around them that cost nothing.

Shouldn't someone who is giving a workshop on budget travel be sharing tips with us? Each time I see this come up I wonder what the OP is charging for his "expertise".

I don't advocate this but, The 'Budget Column' editor of our newspaper recommends that you travel to wherever the airfare bargains go.

Annually, he takes his entire staff on a trip that he personally pays for. He would be a fine man to work for.

Do as much research up front as possible. There are free or almost free activities (concerts in churches etc) almost everywhere - that are very typical of the city/country. But - if you wait til the last moment you may not have time to find them or fit them in your schedule

Also - as soon as you arrive any town or city head to the official tourist office. They have all sorts of info it's hard to get except on the on spot - and often have special discounts/package deals etc.

Shouldn't someone who is giving a workshop on budget travel be sharing tips with us? Each time I see this come up I wonder what the OP is charging for his "expertise".

!!! what do you think piptech?

In addition to travelling off-season, find the non-touristy sites that may be just as beautiful or incredible as the tourist areas, but just not as well-developed.

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.

Figure out how much you are spending each day to be in Europe. Then make sure you get your money's worth out of each day. I'll never forget the fellow I met at a hostel in Visp, Switzerland. He stayed around the hostel all day rather than spend the few extra bucks to go to Zermatt.

One thing to remember about traveling off-season is to weigh the savings against the number of daylight hours you will have at the time of year that is off-season -- also the weather! These items make a huge difference in how much enjoyment you may get from your trip. JMHO

I just spent half of January and February in Europe and as this was the rare winter trip for me very surprised that the weather was fairly nice - in 50s most days and hardly any rain.

Was in Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Paris and London. Days are short, however but it was nice to breeze thru museums, etc.

I would rather go in summer but situation dictated winter and i also paid a lot less for hotels than i would have in summer.

Here is another (older) thread that deals with tips to budget travel.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34758216

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Discretionary expenses can make a big dent in your budget. And while i'm not saying to forego pleasures like nice restaurants and cafe sitting prices for these pleasures in Europe are perhaps twice as much as in the U.S. across the board - more in places like Switzerland perhaps.

So instead of restauranting it every day go to a supermarket and get a picnic and find a nice perch for a dinner with a view. Supermarkets not only have the proverbial picnic fixings - bread, cheese and wine but many now have delis for take-out salads and prepared food so you really also sample the real local foods.

Coffee in cafes can easily cost $5 a cup or so - nice once in a while but if get in the habit can end up costing the price of a full meal.

Anyway you can economize if you have to.

Sincere thanks to all of you out there who were so generous in sharing your budget travel tips. I really appreciate the time and thought you put into your answers.

My DH and I usually eat two dinners at restaurants and then the third made up of tomato, cheese, fruit and bread with a bottle of wine. It cuts down on the costs gradually.

By a card for long distance calls. Buy mineral water from a local store or supermarket, never from the hotel.
In Spain ask for Menu del Dia

Find out the local customs on tipping. In general, expectations in Europe are lower (and in some situations tips are not expected at all). Do not feel obliged to tip at American levels.

Wow! We need budget tips for sure now that the dollar is sinking even more-$1.34 for 1€

And what countries you go to make a difference - Switzerland and Scandinavia top the most outrageously expensive list to me and large cities like London are much more expensive than smaller cities.

Greece, Portugal and Eastern Europe are still rather bargain basement areas.

In the French countryside we found B&Bs to be a better deal than equivalent hotels in nearby towns. We used Gites de France: http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng/index.htm

Professional associations and their connections abroad can often provide home stay arrangements and insights into the local culture that no 'tourist' will ever experience. There are many USA companies with branches abroad; do you work for one? American Universities have foreign campuses to visit. Get outside the 'box'.

Even in cities like Florence, Rome, etc B&Bs are proliferating and as well as like living with the locals they can be much cheaper than hotels. I just loved the one i had in Florence - really great room and huge breakfast at half the price of a hotel and quite close to the train station to boot.

Another vote for public transportation. This requires research and traveling light. It's surprisingly fun.

always could to bring budget tips back up!