These
ideas may not work on people who have a different take on their travels. In my
case, it’s a shoestring backpacking trip. Hence, cheapest possible or the value
for money.
1.
Book
your tickets in advance / Schedule your transfers
Aside from accommodation,
plane tickets and train transfers are the biggest part of a trip. I suggest you
decide on your route and how long you plan to stay in a city or country then
book your airplane or train tickets in advance. Also, decide whether to take
the plane or train. In my case, I decided on my country transfers even if I
didn’t have my detailed itinerary per city yet. Yes, there may be instances
that I wish I could’ve stayed longer or shorter but marking these dates is very
important to get the cheapest ticket possible. I tell you, you can save a lot!
You can even save time not queuing up for tickets! Just make sure you are not
left by your train.
I regularly check tickets
online to see if the flight tickets already changed. In my case, I got the
cheapest deal for Lisbon – Paris (Beauvais) ticket from Ryanair. I booked my
Ryanair ticket more than 2months in advance and it was worth it. I only paid
55Euros (Php 3,135) per person included the 20kg baggage allowance. Had I book
it just a month earlier, I’m sure I would have paid more!
I got the best deals on
our train rides. Since train fares are like plane tickets already, the earlier
you book the flight, the cheaper you can get it. I booked all our trains online
on the first day it was available online. Haha! I made sure to be the on the
queue. Lol.
Just to give you an
example, normally the bus ride from Madrid – Lisbon is cheaper than the
overnight-sleeper train but since I booked it early, I got a cheaper ticket on
the train. And yes, we were able to lie down on a full-flat bed. Yay!
In Italy, I got our
Frecciarossa high-speed train tickets for only 29Euros (Php 1,653) per person
for our Milano – Firenze and Firenze – Roma trip. By the way, it was business
class! Haha! Had I gotten the ordinary seats, it would have just cost me
19Euros (Php 1,102). Like I said, I book it early. If I got my tickets on the
travel day itself, the tickets were already 43Euros for ordinary and
63Euros for the business class. I saved
a lot! Now, you see what I mean for the value for money -- I paid 29Eu for
business class rather than buying it on the spot for 43Euros and it’s just the
ordinary seat.
2.
Get
good hotel deals / Airbnb / Couchsurf / Overnight trains
The other major expense in a trip – a place to stay. It would
be a big saving if you have a good friend to stay or find a couch. But if none,
better plan this as well before your trip because it’s a big
consideration. Try checking out Airbnb
or hotel website for good deals. Consider taking an overnight train as well to
save on hotel costs, sleep on the train and once you arrive, you are already in
a new country. Yay!
