When I was in Europe for a mere three months, I spent a lot of cash on travel. I was so enamored with the whole concept of seeing as much of the continent that I could in such a short time that I hardly ever took into account my purse strings. However, when I opened my first credit card bill upon returning home, I got a rude awakening. This does not stop me from wanting to keep traveling. In a perverse way, it just heightened my desire to keep seeing the world. However, I want to do it cheaper or should I say, more economical the next time around. I was new to the travel game (last time I went somewhere big I was on an all inclusive resort and spend $5.00/day pass for a bus ride into town so I was not out of pocket at all) so I spent crazy and wild.
While away my biggest expense it seemed was accommodations. I stayed in hostels a lot of the time which I thought was the cheapest way to go. Now back home I read travel blogs (my new crack) where people bypass convention and stay in “guest rooms” or with a “host” during their adventures. I didn’t know these options were even available much less out there to be taken advantage of. Yesterday I was reading up some more on bike travel and thought about Germany and what it would be like to do some travel on a bike there. I remember seeing a lot of people, while on trains, peddling on their bikes with back packs across the gorgeous, lush country sides in seemingly the middle of nowhere. I often thought to myself, where are these people going and where do they sleep?
During my search, I came upon an interesting read about a couple who sets out on different occasions and bikes around the country. They will take a train to one part, bike around for a full day (something like 25-40 miles per day), stop off for the evening enjoying the neighborhood, eat inexpensive but German fare, and then spend the night at a ‘room for rent’ - Zimmer mieten. I remember seeing these signs around my town but never knew what they meant. This is why I refuse to live in another country and not know the language. In any case, the writer advised that these rooms were incredibly cheaper than say a hotel or even hostel as they were most times off the beaten path (located in the suburbs in housing/apartment complexes). What a fantastic way to save cash on a trip.
On an aside, I think the concept of planning my own weekend cross-a-certain-part-of-Germany bike tour, is a fantastic idea! I just love the idea of getting a map and planning out a trail path per day to bike along at my own pace, deciding on where to sleep that night (something I would book in advance by zimmer mieten because I am anal like that), seeing all the hidden treasures along the way, while taking a billion pictures, connecting with my thoughts and dreams, totally by myself during the day and socializing with the German folk at night as I retire in a small quaint town for dinner and kuchen dessert, makes me beyond excited. I HAVE to get back there.
So the long and short of this post is, does anyone have any other suggestions on cutting costs when traveling? I usually like seeing the “real” part of a city that I am visiting therefore bypassing the tourist traps but sometimes this can be expensive also. I welcome any suggestions, or tips or advice or anything at all. I would like to set out again, soon, and need as much money saving tips as I can pocket so I can keep money in the bank. Any suggestions out there?
8 hours ago
7 comments:
Some of my friends do Couch Surfing and swear by it -- you can stay at someone's house for FREE -- and they've all had good experiences (ie, no one sketchy, sometimes the host plays guide in a new city). I've always been too afraid to try but it might be worth checking out if you're really on a budget.
My only other tip is pretty obvious: do research ahead of time. There are some rail and bus passes in Asia that can *only* be purchased outside of Asia for cheap; otherwise, they are expensive.
You can also get discounts sometimes through AAA or similar companies that might exist in Canada. Research can be time-consuming but it's usually worth it. :)
In Germany, buying a Bahncard will be worth it if you intend to travel a bit by rail. It costs 220 euro for a Bahncard 50, which gives you (big surprise) a 50% discount on all rail fares. So if you know for sure that you will do two or three journeys costing around 70 euro each then it will have paid for itself and you still have the use of it for the rest of the year. You can also use it to get a 25% discount on travel in other European countries if you have started your journey in Germany (e.g. if I visit my sister I get 50% off the travel through Germany and 25% of the leg of the trip that goes through Switzerland). There is also a Bahncard 25, which gives 25% off journeys in Germany. (Of course, if you're really rich you pay the couple of thousand for a Bahncard 100 and then can basically just travel anywhere you want to in Germany and it's already paid for.)
I travel to Frankfurt and the Hamburg area a few times a year to visit friends and as to get to each of those places from here costs about 80 euro, it's worth it for me to have it. And it means that I can save even on shorter trips like just paying 6 euro to Cologne rather than 12.
I read an article in the travel section of the newspaper, where people stay at places for free, but do work in order to pay for the place.
Then they have the rest of the day to visit the country.
I thought it was an awesome idea. I would love to try my hand at different things, such as working on a farm etc.
Definitely be a way to save.
Could have been WWOOFing (worldwide workers on organic farms) that was mentioned in that article. If you're at all interested in working on a farm it's worth checking out but you do need to be very careful to check in advance exactly what is expected of you. I've only tried it once and didn't really ask any questions before arriving and my hosts were beginners as well and hadn't thought to give much information which would have been relevant (such as that it wasn't actually a farm, it was located on the side of a hill, only accessible by walking up very steep trails (I'm nervous of heights and found these very difficult to navigate)) and after a first day of working for nearly eight hours through I left. I still plan to take a year out as soon as finances allow and WWOOF around the world but I will be asking a lot of questions and clarifying a lot of stuff before I go for it.
Just a few - Couchsurfing, hostels, WWOOFING, housesitting, home exchanges, discounts thru organizations or as a student. I'm covering these in my ebook coming soon.
Couchsurfing is definitely a great way to do it. I would also recommend traveling at a slower pace. That cuts costs tremendously. And my last time is to think like a traveler and not someone on vacation.
Thanks for the advise everyone!
Erin: yes i heard about couchsurfing and i might actually take part of it with a friend when we go to the u.s. in 2010. like you, i am too scared to do it alone. also with the reseaching, i am the queen of research so i did a lot.
Moonwaves: i had a bahncard while i was DE. i got it my first hour of landing. i am a planner by instinct. it did save me lots but i still found the train expensive. it is interesting as none of my friends there had a bc. i am assuming b/c they had cars?
L: i am a bit afraid of working on farms to fund a trip. i fear having to work for 10hrs a day and missing the whole point of travel. Also i have heard some not great things about places like that.
Brian: thanks for the suggestions. and, can't wait for your book. i missed the 1st release.
Sharon: i wish i had the time to travel at a slower pace. once i take my 3-4 months off for travel then i can stay in 1 place longer and make things easier on my purse strings.
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