Save on Airfare

Although I just talked about the benefits of traveling by train, nothing gets you to your destination faster than an airplane. Train tickets generally don't exceed $500, (excluding first-class tickets) but plane tickets can cost thousands of dollars.

The faster you're able to get to your destination, the more time you'll have available for sightseeing, or even enough time to squeeze in a visit to another country. In order to purchase the plane tickets I needed at a price that wasn't going to empty my wallet, I booked flights months in advance on Ryanair. 

Tip #6

Book flights in advance on Ryanair

Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline which offers flights to destinations all across Europe. If you book your flights in advance on Ryanair, you can pay as little as $20 for your plane ticket. When I say in advance  however, I don't mean a few weeks, I'm talking about months, preferably 6 months. On Ryanair.com, the company advertises upcoming flights at cheap prices. Although it can be difficult to plan so far ahead, the money you'll save on your ticket is worth it. I booked all of my Ryanair tickets for my backpacking trips about 6 months in advance and never paid more than $30 for a ticket. If you book a Ryanair flight last minute, however, the prices can increase to thousands of euros. 

Ryanair is able to sell their tickets at such low prices because they are a "no-frill" airline. There are absolutely NO EXTRAS on Ryanair flights and they charge you fees for everything they possible can. Ryanair has been a very controversial airline because the airline generates so much money in ancillary revenue, money from sources other than tickets. 

One thing Ryanair is notorious for is charging extremely expensive fees for baggage that is over-sized or overweight. On one of my first Ryanair flights, my carry-on bag would not fit at the gate-check and I was forced to pay 30 euro (about $40). From then on, in order to get around the outrageous fees without have to sacrifice any of the items in my bags, I used to wear as many items of clothing as possible. Although it was extremely uncomfortable to fly wearing 6 or more shirts, 3 pairs of jeans or shorts, all my bras, and all my underwear, I was determined not to pay any fees. 

Although I was extremely sweaty and uncomfortable during 90% of my flights, I was able to purchase the plane tickets I needed for a fraction of what they usually cost. If you plan your trips in advance, and weasel your way out of Ryanair's extra fees, you can use this airline to save both time and money. 

Traveling by Train

Europe has widely used railways which span across the entire continent. Whether you're traveling short or long distances, European trains are frequent, fast, and most importantly, reliable. Most of the railway networks offer high-speed trains which allow you to reach your destination quickly.

European railways are extremely user friendly. Train stations can be found in even the smallest towns across Europe, so no matter where you may be heading, there's a train that'll take you there.

Traveling by train also allows you to see more of the countries you are visiting. A window seat on a European train provides you with an incredible view of countryside, big cities, small villages, and much more.

The only con I found about traveling by train was the cost of tickets. If you book in advance, you are usually able to purchase a cheaper ticket, otherwise, tickets can be extremely expensive. In order to travel by train without having to pay for expensive tickets, I bought a Eurail pass. 

Tip # 5

Buy a Eurail Pass

Eurail.com is a subsidiary of the Eurail Group, a cooperation of 30 European Railway companies and shipping lines. Eurail offers train passes to travelers all over the world that help to cut the cost of train tickets. 

Eurail offers 4 types of passes:

The Global Pass

The Select Pass

The Regional Pass

The One Country Pass

Although the Global Pass is the most expensive, I chose it because it's actually cheaper in the long run. The Global pass allows you to select how many times you'd like to use the pass within a certain amount of time, or an endless amount of uses within a certain amount of time. The Global Pass also allows you to use the pass in 23 countries, whereas the other passes only work in certain countries. 

After I had mapped out my entire backpacking plan, I decided to go with the 15 day pass use in the course of 2 months; this pass costed $725. The amount I paid for the pass may seem like a lot, however, I made sure to get the most out of my money. 

After I purchased my pass, I started utilizing the railway when I reached Germany. Germany is Europe's most central country, and its railway system offers high-speed trains to almost every country. By using Germany as a central location, I was able to travel to all the surrounding countries during that 2 months. Since the train rides from Germany are so fast, I would sometimes only spend the day in expensive countries so I could take the train back to Germany and sleep there for a lot less money (Switzerland and Austria). 

At the end of my first backpacking trip I was leaving Germany and heading to Brussels, Belgium. I had one use left on my Eurail pass which I used for the train. As I was waiting to board, I was standing by the ticket counter and overhead a man purchasing a ticket on the same train I was about to take; his ticket was 300 euro, which was over $400 at the time I was traveling! 

Instead of paying $400 for one ticket, I bought a Eurail pass which got me 15 tickets for $725. It might seem like a lot of money to pay up front, but you're definitely going to save a ton of money with a Eurail pass. 

Talk Can Be Cheap

When I first moved to Ireland, I registered with an international phone company that catered to students studying abroad. Because I was a student, this plan offered me discounted rates on international phone calls. The first month  I was away I sent 4 texts to America and made about 4 or 5 phone calls to my family; none of which lasted more than 10 minutes. When I received my invoice for that month, it was a staggering $350. Needless to say, I never called from that phone again!

Since I had to communicate with my family somehow, I started to try and find less expensive ways to do so. I did have Skype on my computer, but lugging a laptop everywhere you go isn't very convenient. Once again I decided to turn to the app store for help and I wasn't disappointed!

Tip #4

Do not buy calling cards or international cell phones

Download the TextNow app or Skype app

                          

The TextNow app allows you to text and call your friends or family in the United States for free. When you register with TextNow, you are assigned an American phone number. I know it sounds like there should be some sort of catch, but there really isn't! When I first started using this app, I was petrified that when my family and friends received their phone bills they'd be sky high. To my relief, no one was charged extra for my texts or calls.

The only disappointing thing about this app is that it only works if there is wifi connection so it can't really be used as a typical phone. Despite that minor flaw, I was so grateful to have discovered TextNow.  It's very rare to find a place that does not offer wifi nowadays so I was able to save so much money by finding hotspots and calling from my iTouch.

I also downloaded Skype on my iTouch and would occasionally use that to make phone calls. When you buy Skype phone credit, you can make international calls for about $0.002 a minute. My ex-boyfriend lived in Egypt and I was able to call him from my Skype app on my iPhone for the same price I was paying to talk to local friends. Unfortunately, Skype is another app that won't run without a network connection or wifi.

I know a lot of people think that it is a good idea to have cell phones for emergencies but I'd rather save money and just call collect!

Because I was traveling with an iTouch, I did not have a speaker so at first I couldn't make phone calls. My Irish roommate, however, solved that problem when he bought himself a pair of headphones that included a speaker. I bought a pair for myself for $20 and never had a problem using my iTouch as a phone again. 

Time is Money

Time management is one of the most important skills to obtain if you wish to backpack. Since the schedule of a backpacker is usually very tight, it’s essential to learn how use your time wisely.

After my first backpacking trip, I realized that a significant amount of my time had been wasted on transportation. When you arrive in another country and have no idea how to speak their language, getting around can be very difficult.

Getting lost while abroad is one of the toughest parts about traveling. It can be extremely frustrating when you're searching for an attraction but only succeeds in getting lost.   It’s times like these when the thoughts tour buses and taxi become irresistible.

When planning my second trip, I was determined to find a way to save not only more money, but more time as well.

I had my iTouch with me while I was abroad so I decided to start looking for apps that would assist me in my travels.   When looking through the travel category in the app store, I stumbled upon one of my traveling saviors.

 Tip #3

Download Kinevia's 

FREE MetrO app

The European metro system is very well-organized, easy to use, and affordable. If you are relying on just a metro map, however, you're guaranteed to run into problems. Although trains and trams are able to get you where you need to go quickly, they can also quickly take you far away from where you want to go if you take the wrong one. I once got on the wrong high-speed train and ended up in southern Germany when I was supposed to be in Belgium.

The MetrO app allows you to download the transportation systems of over 400 cities around the world. The best feature of MetrO is that once you have installed the cities you need, no internet or network connection is needed.

If you type in the stop that you're at, and then select the stop you need to go to, MetrO will provide you with a detailed description of how to get to your end location. Once you have selected both your locations, MetrO provides you with all the alternative routes and tells you which are the shortest and which have the most or least transfers.


I used this app in every city that I traveled to.When I was setting up my planner, (the one I wrote about in my previous post) I wrote down the nearest metro station to each location I planned on visiting. Having this app, and looking up the metro stops I needed ahead of time allowed me to save tons of time. It also helped save money since I was no longer tempted to pay for the ease that a tour bus or taxi provides. MetrO app allowed me to always get where I needed to go!

It's also a huge plus not to have to carry around a huge map. By using MetrO, you won't look as touristy.

Travel Guide

Aside from backpacks, one thing that travelers all seem to have are travel books. One of the most well-known travel guides is The Lonely Planet. Although these books provide some useful tips and advice, they cost about $10 per book.  

Tip #2

DO NOT BUY A TRAVEL GUIDE

MAKE YOUR OWN GUIDE

Instead of spending money on pre-made travel guides, I decided to make one myself. To do so I used one of my old weekly planners. If you do not have an old one to use, you can buy one for about $10-$15. I chose the 3 x 6 inch planner so it would be easier to carry.

In the planner, I designated a few pages to each country I was going to.

Lonelyplanet.com offers free tips and destination information for almost every country in the world. Instead of buying the books, all you have to do is visit the website, pick out the information you'd like, and then cut and paste it into your planner.

This way, you're not only saving money, but you're also only gathering the information you'll need. Once you start carrying 50 pounds on your back you will be desperate to throw away anything that is not absolutely necessary; especially the weight of travel guides.

I set up my planner so that it was in the order I was traveling in. I would include flight information, hostel information, embassy locations, key phrases in the native language, sites  I wanted to visit, a map of the metro, and the whatever information from Lonely Planet  I thought would be useful.

While I was traveling I referred to the planner I had made as my "Bible". Being able to have all the information I needed in one place made traveling a lot easier. Although it did take a lot of work to prepare my planner, it was completely worth it. 

I loved my planner so much that I actually still have it! Here are some pictures:

The picture is blurry but these pages of my planner were dedicated to France. On the left side, I printed out all of my hostel information.

On the right side, I included my hostel reservation info, French laws on service charges, where I can find an ATM/what it's called, and the US Embassy address and phone number. 

This part of the planner was for my trip to Hungary. The left side of the page includes key Hungarian phrases. 

The right side of the page has some of the sights that I wanted to go to.

These pages were also for my trip to Hungary. Both pages include information I got for FREE from lonelyplanet.com such as tram information, tipping  customs, and unsafe areas. 

On this page I also included my hostel information and the US Embassy information.

You can see some of my budgeting on the right side! 

Home is Where Your Bag is

I’d like to start off with backpack tips since this is going to be your most prized possession while traveling.

Because I was constantly moving around, my backpack became a close companion as well as my “home”. No matter where I was, my home was wherever my bag was, whether it was a hostel, a train bench, or an airport floor. Not only did my bag carry all my belongings, it also acted as my pillow on my occasions!

Before my first trip, I spent tons of time trying to find cheap backpacking backpacks.  Unfortunately, these bags range from $100 to $400. The bags that are in the $100 -$150 range generally hold less than 60 liters, which would be way too small if you were traveling for more than a month (I was traveling for 3 months). I was absolutely determined not to waste so much money on a bag, so I put my thinking cap on and ending up coming up with a brilliant solution.

Tip #1

DO NOT BUY A BACKPACKING BACKPACK!

           

   

BUY A DUFFLE BAG INSTEAD!

Instead of purchasing a backpacking backpack, I bought a duffle bag. Duffle bags cost about a 1/3 less than backpacks!

The backpacking backpack shown above costs $189.

The duffle bag shown above costs $54. 

This duffle is able to hold more than the backpack and also has wheels.

Not only did my duffle bag save me about $100, it also made my life SO much easier while traveling. If you’re using a backpack to hold all your belongings, you have to strategically pack and unpack constantly. You need to make sure that all the items you use the most are towards the top, if you need something towards the bottom, you have to unload your entire bag. Because I used a duffle bag, I never experienced this problem; everything in my bag was easily accessible.

I chose to buy a duffle bag with wheels so that I would be able to take some of the stress off of my back. I also chose a duffle bag with wheels since this is the only type of duffle that has a sturdy bottom. Carrying around 50-60 pounds on your back for hours on end is exhausting. Whenever my back would start to get sore, or if I was traveling uphill, I would take my bag off and use the wheels instead. I loved having this option.

The only downside to using a duffle bag is that they do not have the adjustable shoulder harness for comfort or the hip belt that helps to distribute the load of your bag.  Typically duffle bags do have comfort straps on the handles but they are not as thick as ones found on backpacks. These comfort straps do provide some relief on your shoulders but it is a good idea to add extra padding.

A great idea for extra padding is to buy a pool noodle and cut it into pieces. You can place the noodle on the duffle straps and secure it with Velcro. This way, the noodle can move up and down the straps to provide relief exactly where you need it. The noodle is also thick enough to prevent the straps from digging into your shoulder. Instead of paying the extra money for a backpack with shoulder straps, you can make your own straps with a $1 noodle!

Introduction

Ever since I was little I knew I wanted to travel the world. When I studied abroad in Ireland during my junior year of college, the world was at my fingertips. The only problem was that my dreams were big and my wallet was small.

Despite the fact that I did not have very much money, I was able to travel to 19 countries while abroad. I was able to travel so much because of my budgeting abilities.

The first time I backpacked I made every mistake possible. When I backpacked the second time, however, I had learned from my mistakes and had a very successful trip. In my blog I will be sharing with you all the ways to save money while traveling.

Before my backpacking trip I searched all over the internet for ways to save money while traveling but did not find anything very useful. I will be sharing with you all of the money saving trips I picked up during my experience as a backpacking. I hope you will find these tips and tricks as useful and successful as I did!