EUROPE
Thread started by
hatehills at 07.27.09 - 1:48 am
I want to go. Probably end of Oct/early Nov. I don't want to spend an assload of money. So I thought I'd ask the sexiest cheapskates I know. Any tips?
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Hostels, travel light. Since most of your money will be spent on lodging and food consider hostels. If travelling with a friend find a cheap hotel room that serves breakfast as part of the fee. Load up on breakfast, eat the breakfast as late as you can ( most places will serve until 10am). This will eliminate a meal.
Travel light, just the essentials a couple of jeans, good shoes and a jacket. I usually just bring a backpack with these items and buy cheap T shirts from Walmart when I get there. I discard the shirts as they get worn.
If taking the train in Germany, consider staying at the hotel at the station ran by DB. The hotel fee includes breakfast and free local light rail/subway fees.
sc_nomad07.27.09 - 8:05 am
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for food sometimes its cheaper to buy the street vendor food... espeicallly in Paris and England.. or if you want for about the same price go to a local grocery story and get some bread and make sandwiches. Mind you when you go out to eat ask for a glass or pitcher of water without fuzz (or bubbles) because if you ask for water (which you have to know) without specifing it.. they will give you a bottle of water and that costs $$$. Some restaraunts have a three course meal for around 8-12 bucks... incluing salad/soup, the meal, and dessert.. but these portions are somewhat smaller its nice to have a variety.
for hotels some still have AAA discounts or walk-up discounts.. sometimes theyll charge you more for just waltzing in... so sometimes it helps to look up a lil about the place before hand.
if you're currently a student you can get student discounts at hostels and for the rail system.
what countries were you thinking of visitin? i can give you advice on where/what to visit in those places
Thegirlinglass07.27.09 - 8:14 am
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Thanks guys, this is all helpful stuff. Keep it coming. Where's PC? I know he's a traveler who would have some good info.
I've been pricing tickets. Sweet Jesus tickets are expensive. Not to mention the "September 11th tax" that adds about $150 to total. Maybe I should just buy a one-way ticket ;)
hatehills responding to a
comment by sc_nomad
07.27.09 - 12:35 pm
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It helps to know where you're going, if you want good info.
User1 responding to a
comment by hatehills
07.27.09 - 12:39 pm
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http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
Log in as guest, play around with the dates (the search shows you the full ticket price, including all taxes). You'll need to book the tickets yourself, but usually you can just do it through the airline's website. If not, take the itinerary to a travel agent and they should be able to book it. I've had it give me one itinerary for a really good price that even the TA couldn't book, but then I ended up finding it on orbitz or something.
vladster responding to a
comment by hatehills
07.27.09 - 12:40 pm
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What do you mean, Allan? Is the entire continent of Europe to vague of a destination?
I'm thinking England/France/Italy. Yeah.
hatehills responding to a
comment by User1
07.27.09 - 12:51 pm
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Thats a lot of ground to cover? How many days?
sc_nomad responding to a
comment by hatehills
07.27.09 - 1:26 pm
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sign up for travelzoo.com. My girlfriend and I are going to Bathelona (Barcelona) in September and we got our roundtrip tix for $550 a person which already includes tax and surcharges. i've heard of cheaper deals, but $550 roundtrip from LA ain't too shabby.
also, don't forget to have an updated passport that doesn't expire for another 6 months or so. mine expires 2 months after my trip, so i needed a new one, and had to get it expedited.
sciencefriction07.27.09 - 1:51 pm
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What the deuce?! $550 round trip? That's what I pay every time I go to Toronto! I feel jipped...
How do you dudes manage to score 2-3 weeks of vacation anyway? I want to travel so badleee...
canadienne responding to a
comment by sciencefriction
07.27.09 - 2:29 pm
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Spend less time in England and more in France and Italy. If you travel at night, matters where you're going, but you can get creative and avoid having to spend a night in the hostel or pension and sleep on the train. You could also use your CA id as a student body card. No one really knows what a student id looks like. Speaking of students, you can get surprisingly good and cheap meals at universities. I traveled by backpack last time there. Got off the train in the evenings and always found places to setup camp. Best to stop at small towns for this, but have done this in larger towns too. Travel lite so you can setup and take down your stuff easily. You pitch your tent as the sun is going down, and be up and ready to rock when the sun comes up. I've slept in Roman ruins, castle grounds, and tops of hills doing this. Get good at meeting people and you'll have invites to stay with them. http://www.couchsurfing.org/ is a great source. For eats, supermarkets, bread shops and butcher shops works great. Ask the locals where to go eat if you want to go out. It's a great way to meet the people. Don't ask the tourist info place unless you just want an opinion. Look into countries offers on train travel and bus travel. Sometimes they offer some pretty good specials. If you're going by Euro-rail pass, I can give you some tips. Not really interested in letting those tips out to god and everyone. allanalessio yahoo dog con
User107.27.09 - 2:30 pm
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yeah, i paid something like that visiting my parents in DC last Christmas, so I thought it was a good deal.
i get 3 weeks, 4 days vacation a year, so i guess I just use it when I can. Never been to Europe, so I'm super stoked. Looking forward to renting bikes, eating tapas and drinking gallons of wine.
sciencefriction responding to a
comment by canadienne
07.27.09 - 3:33 pm
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sainsbury's has canned spaghetti for 9 pence a can. just in case it comes to that.
stevestevesteve07.27.09 - 5:01 pm
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