Blogger Vitaly Klimov writes:

I have prepared a list of my life hacks on the topic of saving money while traveling and improving your life while traveling. No “on Tuesday evening, after the moon sets, low-cost airline tickets are a little cheaper!” Only harsh and merciless practice!

Once again I’m trying to convince you that you don’t need a lot of money to travel around Europe and all you need is desire and a little persistence.

It would seem that there are many expensive countries in Europe, but even in the most expensive of them you can spend almost nothing. The biggest expenses usually go to boring household items that provide absolutely no positive experience. The less you spend on food, travel and accommodation, the more you will be able to travel. Moreover, the more you spend on food and housing, the less time you have for rest, enough words, let’s go.

Housing

1) No hotels!

If I travel alone, I have long abandoned the option of staying in a hotel. Firstly, it's expensive, and secondly, it's terribly boring. It’s better to find a hostel and spend time there with at least some company. Firstly, it’s not so boring, and secondly, the experience of English and international communications is improved, and this is very important.

2) The worse the housing, the less time you will spend in it and the faster you will go to explore the surrounding area. Therefore, feel free to take the cheapest bed with a convenient location.

3) Monitor all possible placement methods. Couchsurfing, warmshowers, Airbnb, friends. Perhaps somewhere you will find an interesting way to place yourself - the more you look, the more you find.

4) No money at all? Stay overnight at the train station or airport. Many people do this and the standard excuse is an early flight. If possible, you can take a compact sleeping bag and sleep anywhere!

5) About spending the night anywhere. I spent the night many times on the coasts, in fields, forests, under bridges. Just the day before yesterday I saw homeless people sleeping on the street in the center of Munich... if they are not bothered, then neither are you :) The main thing is not to disturb anyone and hide your things in a sleeping bag so as not to lose your goods. Of course, this is a super extreme option, but there will be something to tell you upon arrival.

6) No restaurants! A waste of time and money. Wasting an hour to get something you might not like? Ok, once every 2 days you can afford to try local cuisine, but no more. Do the math for yourself: dinner in Munich = 15-20 euros. And 20 euros is a round-trip ticket from Lithuania to Denmark!

7) Go to the nearest discount supermarket (Lidl, Netto, Biedronka), there you buy bread, sanctioned cheese, jamon, yogurt or whatever you like... and you are free from restaurant addiction and hunger. No matter where you are, there is always something to sharpen.

8) You should always have emergency food with you in case of unexpected hunger and, may my excess weight forgive me, Snickers is ideal for this. The fact is that it is not always possible to find a store quickly, but a couple of Snickers will give you the opportunity to stretch out for some more time.

9) Booze. Wine for 2-3 euros tastes like ours for 300-400 rubles. And it’s better to buy at discounters too. Oh yes, it’s much better not to drink.

Water

10) Never buy water! Give yourself a challenge - find water for free.

As a matter of principle, I never buy water in expensive countries (just to get containers). Because It's too easy to get a free one.
11) Carry a cycling bottle with you and refill it every time you see a water source.

12) How to find drinking water in Europe? In many cities, drinking fountains are installed and you can safely drink from them (how to check to be sure: a) in maps.me all drinking sources are marked as drinking water; b) there are no signs with the words “not for drinking” or no glass of water crossed out; c) you can ask the locals if you can drink this water (you can use gestures).

13) In Europe, you can drink tap water everywhere and get it from the nearest toilet. Many people do this and there is no need to be afraid of it.

14) How to carry water on a plane? You empty the bottle of water before going through security and fill up the water in the toilet in the boarding lounge.

Toilet

15) Never pay for the toilet! But this is more difficult, because... sometimes you may not want to be in the most convenient place. Next are the places where you can find a free toilet in Europe.

16) McDonald's, KFC, Burger King and other catering establishments. There are also paid ones, but most often they are freebies. I think you know this yourself).

17) Portable toilets are always installed near construction sites. Ask and they will most likely let you in.

18) Business centers, museums, libraries, supermarkets. All large establishments have a toilet. Don't forget - you are a tourist and they will always give you advice.

19) This option is no longer for big cities (although, why not try it?) - you can ask yourself to come into any house and make Shrek eyes. Europeans are more than hospitable.

20) Hotels. In all more or less large hotels you will find a toilet right in the lobby. There is no need to be afraid, you just look like a tourist :)

Transport

Phew, there are too many different options, I’ll just list what I do:

21) Bicycle for rent. Unfortunately, it is quite an expensive pleasure, but it provides maximum efficiency for exploring the city. Unfortunately, you will have to pay 10-20 euros per day (But you will see 3-4 times more than walking.

22) We need to walk more! Why go 3 stops for 2 euros if you can walk and explore the city? Although I don’t like to walk a lot, it’s cheap and effective.

23) If you travel by car, park a little further from the center for free, and then either walk or use your free transport.

24) By the way, about your transport. I plan to buy a scooter and a skateboard and try to take them on a trip.

25) When buying a cheap ticket from low-cost airlines, make sure that it is not very far from the airport to the city and you will not have to pay 30 euros for a one-way ticket.

26) Airplanes are several times cheaper in winter. And in multiples. Winter is the best time to go to Europe for a couple of days and take photos on Instagram.

Entertainment

But this is not worth saving on! Traveling should be fun and interesting, but who am I kidding, here are a couple of life hacks:

27) Tickets for everything can be purchased in advance on the Internet. Usually 5-10% cheaper. At the same time, you can keep an eye out for stocks, and maybe you’ll come across something interesting.

28) It’s cheaper in the off-season. Look when the high season starts and try to get there a couple of weeks before it starts. This way you can save up to 50%. If we are talking about amusement parks, the bonus is that you will get much shorter queues at all attractions (you may even be able to sit in the first seats in a roller coaster without a queue at all).

29) Find out from the search engine “Free entertainment in the city *****”. Festivals, concerts, open days, excursions - in big cities you can find a lot of interesting things for free.

Baggage

30) I think everyone understands that you only need to take hand luggage with you. Even if we are talking about air travel, the price of which includes normal luggage.

Why? Because you will have to carry all this rubbish with you and store it somewhere. And this is time and nerves. Next are the principles of baggage collection:

31) Shrink everything you can shrink. A hiking toothbrush and paste, a small bottle of shampoo (no need for soap - even in hostels...usually). This way you will reduce the weight of the backpack and your back will be less tired. This is very important for a comfortable stay.

32) Take only what you definitely need. NO “WHAT WILL IT BE USEFUL!” Your task is to get rid of everything altogether and leave half of the backpack empty - the sanctioned cheese needs to be put somewhere.

33) Once you pack your backpack, make a list for your next trips. A couple of years ago I made my list of things - it turned out to be so successful that now I only pack with its help.

And the main life hack: be creative, don’t be afraid to experiment, take advantage of all the possibilities... do what you want and what you like. May you have more travels in the near future :)

You can save on travel in dozens of different ways. The most important thing is to discard all stereotypes and refuse the services of modern travel agencies. In fact, just this one step will allow you to reduce the cost of your trip by an average of 30-40 percent. However, this is far from the only way to reduce costs to a minimum. Read more about how, without sacrificing coziness and comfort, in our new article.

• Plan your trip in advance. This approach will allow you to competently plan each stage of your trip, and also save a lot on tickets, which, like French wine, only become more expensive over time.
• Choose the dates correctly. As a rule, midweek flights are significantly cheaper than flights departing on weekends and holidays. In addition, it is essential save on travel, sometimes it is possible by choosing buses and trains leaving at night or early in the morning. A good confirmation of this is, for example, the Polish carriers Plusbus and Polskibus, which often sell such tickets 2-3 times cheaper than usual. Often the cost of tickets is even reduced to 1 zloty ($0.27).

• Track promotions and discounts. Today on the Internet there are a huge number of different sites, blogs and public pages that generate super offers from a variety of companies in Europe and the CIS. Here are just a few of these blogs: vandrouki.by, lowcostavia.com.ua, www.piratesru.com.

Good options and interesting tips can also be found on the Vinsky Forum. For those who speak at least a basic level of Polish or English, the sites www.fly4free.com and lastminuter.pl are an excellent solution.

Please check these pages periodically and ask: how to save money on travel will decide on its own.

• Replace hotels with apartments.

As a rule, this option is much cheaper. And the level of comfort of hotel rooms is noticeably inferior to modern apartments. You can find suitable solutions on the AIR BNB website. As a nice bonus, you will also receive a small discount on your first booking (if you register using the link provided). Among all the home rental services, the AIR BNB website is definitely the best solution for independent travelers.

• Use metasearch engines.

If you cannot refuse hotel services due to certain stereotypes, before booking, be sure to check the room prices on various housing rental services. Compare prices and also good save on travel allows, for example, the site RoomGuru, as well as some other similar portals.

• Learn to couchsurf (a network of free accommodation for short trips). This option is especially relevant for expensive countries, such as Norway, Iceland or France, where the cost of apartments and (especially) hotel rooms is sometimes simply prohibitive. You can find suitable solutions on the website https://www.couchsurfing.com/. You can read what couchsurfing is, as well as why it is good.

• Fly low-cost airlines.

The prices of low-cost carriers are an order of magnitude lower than the cost of tickets of conventional airlines. In many directions, such transportation costs 10-15 times cheaper! Take this option into account and you will always know how to save money on traveling in Europe and other regions of the earth, while choosing the best options for recreation. The airports closest to Minsk from which low-cost airlines fly are the airports of Lublin, Gdansk, and Kaunas. Special buses regularly go to the last two from the Central Bus Station of Minsk. Ticket prices, as well as baggage requirements, can be found on the websites of low-cost airlines (here are a few examples).

• Choose the right airport.

As a rule, the cheapest way to fly to Europe is from Europe (for example, from Vilnius or Riga). But for long-distance destinations, it is often better to look for options from neighboring Russia (from St. Petersburg or Moscow). The most interesting offers from Ukraine usually include flights to and to Cyprus. Flying to Latin America is usually the cheapest from.

• Use air ticket search systems. Often, on sites such as Buruki or Aviasales, ticket prices are even lower than those that can be found on the airlines’ own websites. In addition, such platforms allow you to simultaneously “see” the prices offered by different carriers, which also helps save on travel. You can also view tickets for the desired destinations. It is better to search for low-cost airlines through this site.

• Don't ignore compound routes.

This option is relevant for traveling both by land and by air. For example, the best way to get to Kyiv is with a transfer in Gomel. And in - with a transfer in Brest. The same principle applies to trips to Poland, Estonia and many other countries. At the same time, you can choose cities from both one and the other side of the border as a transit point. For example, moving Minsk-Warsaw will cost you one and a half times more than moving. The trip Minsk-Bialystok + Bialystok-Warsaw will cost approximately the same amount. The reason for this phenomenon is that domestic flights (especially those operated by local carriers) are usually significantly cheaper than international ones.

• Use Bla Bla Car services.

This service allows you to find drivers in advance who are on your way. The essence of this method is quite simple: register in the system, select the route you need and, among the proposed options, look for a driver who, like you, is going to the specified place. Thus, by “reserving” an empty seat in someone’s car, you can easily travel from one city to another, get to distant attractions, or simply drive from the airport to the center without resorting to a taxi.

• Plan your finances correctly.

I understand that during any trip we tend to spend more than in normal life. However, this does not mean that you should throw money left and right. An extra three dollars here, another five there... This seems like nonsense only at first glance. But by the end of the trip you will have accumulated a very decent amount. You can plan your expenses in different ways. But personally, I use . It has analogues. However, I like this particular program more than all the others. If you need to plan a budget, calculate cost estimates and simply eliminate unnecessary expenses, this is simply an irreplaceable thing.

• Track Groupon promotions.

This platform sells discount coupons, each of which will allow you to save from 30 to 90 percent of the cost of the selected service. Moreover, branches of this system operate in dozens of different countries on our planet. Dinner in a Parisian restaurant, a hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia or a ready-made “package” tour to the Carpathians - all this and much more can be purchased at a good discount. Below are a few links as examples.

https://www.groupon.es/# (Spain)

That's all for now. We hope our article is about how to save money on travel, was useful to you. Don't put off your dreams until later. And remember, travel is the only thing that makes us richer when we buy it.

The rules, which were derived from the experience of thousands of travelers, will allow you not to abandon foreign destinations even with a very modest item in your personal budget allocated for vacation, writes Rockefeller.

Rule 1: Whoever gets up early gets discounts

Planning ahead is one of the main rules of an economical vacation. It makes it possible to catch the best deals from airlines, which usually sell out first - and tickets are one of the most expensive components of a foreign holiday. In addition, many hotels and travel companies offer discounts to those who book a room or tour in advance. It’s easier (and cheaper) to do this via the Internet - using the sites www.all-hotels.com (hotel offers around the world), www.evrocheapo.com (booking cheap accommodation in Europe), www.hostels.com (hostels around the world world) and others. Leading Russian tour operators warn that this year there is no need to wait for the “last minute tours” beloved by Russians, but this does not mean that there will be no cheap tours at all. It makes sense to constantly monitor the news of airlines and travel agencies. For example, on www.avia.Travel.ru you can compare prices for air tickets from different companies, as well as find special offers. Among the specialized unofficial platforms where the hottest information about budget offers appears is https://community.livejournal.com/cheaptrip

Rule 2: Rely on yourself

Those who do not want to overpay for travel, as a rule, organize it themselves. Buying a ready-made tour has its advantages, eliminating certain hassles, but you have to pay for the services of an intermediary. Meanwhile, you can do everything yourself - make a route, get a visa, and use the Internet to book air tickets and a hotel in almost any country in the world. There are many resources on the Internet where travelers share their experiences of independent travel. Read reviews and advice, ask questions - for example, on the popular forum dedicated to independent travel https://forum.awd.ru, in the community https://community.livejournal.com/ru_travel, etc. If you speak English, go to the portals www. virtualtourism.com or www.tripadvisor.com, where travelers from all over the world share their impressions of countries, hotels, and restaurants.

Rule 3: Visa without intermediaries

Applying for a visa on your own is not as scary as many people imagine, and in this matter it is quite possible to do without the intermediary services of agencies - of course, not free ones. First of all, check out the list of countries with visa-free or simplified entry regime for Russians on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs https://www.mid.ru/dks.nsf/mnsdoc /04.04.02 - You may not have to register anything at all. If a visa is required, it is best to find out the conditions for obtaining it on the website of the embassy of the country where you are going - the addresses can be found using any Internet search engine. You can also use the database https://www.nwa.com/services/timatic.html (in English), where this information is brought together. You will need to pay a visa fee, which varies by country (the average is $50, but can be lower or higher), and also prove your ability to pay. The latter can be done by presenting a bank account statement, and in a number of embassies it is enough to show traveler's checks for the required amount. It is also better to find out all the details on the websites of the embassies of specific countries.

Rule 4: At the right time in the right place

If a planned vacation suddenly turns out to be unaffordable, then you can “bring it closer to reality” by changing the time or direction of the trip. Prices in the “high” and “low” seasons differ markedly, and for those who want to visit the country of their dreams at all costs, it is better to choose a month when most tourists do not flock there. For example, at ski resorts the “high” season falls on Christmas and New Year holidays, as well as February-March, and the “low” season begins around January 10 and lasts until the end of the month. The “high” season for holidays in the Mediterranean is from July to September; if you want to save money, try to choose other months if possible: in October-November, the “velvet season” begins in many Mediterranean countries. Study the weather forecast, find out the water temperature. The first can be done on numerous weather sites, for example, www.gismeteo.ru, www.weather.com, www.intellicast.com. Water temperatures are usually published on diving portals, such as www.diveglobal.com. If the country is not so important as a type of vacation, you should prefer cheaper popular routes instead of more expensive exotic ones: as a rule, even if the cost of a vacation turns out to be approximately the same, then a flight to an exotic country will “eat up” the lion’s share of the budget.

Rule 5: The hotel is not the goal!

On any trip abroad, the hotel is the place where you want to spend the least time. So what's the point of paying extra for a room? Many European and American tourists have long preferred hostels over hotels, and Russians are joining this trend. There are a large number of portals on the Internet where you can choose and book a hostel in almost any country in the world. The largest ones are www.hostels.com, www.hihostels.com, as well as links to portals by country are contained in a special section of Wikipedia https://wiki.hostelmanagement.com/wiki/List_of_Hostel_Chains. By the way, hotel prices have also dropped - according to the Russian Union of Travel Industry, discounts on hotels in Paris are currently about 13%, hotels in Prague have fallen in price by 20%, and for a room in a number of London hotels you now have to pay 30% less.

Rule 6: Save on local transport

If you want to see as much as possible during your trip and spend as little as possible, use the most economical means of transport. In some places, local airlines will be more profitable, in others, by train, and in others, you will benefit if you travel by bus. Take a look at www.seat61.com, where you can find links to railway websites in various countries. Take the time to find out from experienced tourists - at least by reading reviews on forums and blogs - how the situation is in a particular country. Consider the option of renting a car - for example, in the USA it will cost about $400 for 2 weeks, which will be much cheaper than public transport, especially if you share the car. The easiest way to rent a car is via the Internet - for example, on the sites www.carrental.com, www.budget.com, www.eurocar.com and others. Just don’t forget that you will need an international license - they will need to be issued in Russia in advance.

Rule 7: Stay informed!

Rule 8: Less cash is better.

The exchange rate of the dollar and euro continues to rise, and its decline is not expected in the near future, so the sooner you can buy currency, the better. You cannot do without the use of financial instruments. Cards are needed at least to pay for tickets and services over the Internet. Traveler's checks will be useful both as a way to save money in foreign currency, and to confirm solvency when applying for a visa, and to protect money. If checks are stolen, damaged or lost, they can be restored in full, free of charge, usually within 24 hours. In addition, while traveling, both the card and checks are useful as a means of paying for purchases or services. You should check with your bank in advance to find out how much it costs to use ATMs in your destination country. As for checks, they can usually be exchanged for local currency with a commission of 0.5 to 3% of the amount, but there are more than 100,000 points around the world where checks are exchanged for local cash without commission. You can find out their addresses using the website www.aetclocator.com, and additional information about traveler's checks can be obtained on the website www.amex.ru.

Rule 9: Save on flights

Air travel is often the most expensive component of a trip, and reducing its cost is not only possible, but also necessary! First, buy your ticket in advance: airlines sell out the best deals first. Secondly, round-trip tickets are more profitable, so it is better to build a route around the country according to the “complete circle” principle, arriving and departing from the same airport on the same flight. Fly with budget airlines, so-called discounters - their offers can be found using specialized sites, for example, www.skyscanner.net, www.flylowcostairlines.org, www.wichbudget.com, www.flylowcost.ru. LiveJournal has a community dedicated to cheap flights - https://community.livejournal.com/low_cost_air/. And finally, instead of two short trips, it is better to arrange one long one - for two to three weeks. And it is not at all necessary to limit yourself to one country - especially if you are going to Europe, where additional visas will not be required to cross borders between states.

Rule 10: Read!

Save money on guides and tour guides. Arm yourself with guidebooks, maps, historical reference books, chat on forums and thoroughly study your destination country. For example, in LiveJournal (www.livejournal.com) there are a large number of thematic communities dedicated to different countries of the world. The easiest way to find information of interest is in Russian using the search engine https://blogs.yandex.ru. If you want “pictures”, study photographs of travelers on www.zooomr.com, www.photobucket.com, www.fliсkr.com and other photo sites. Having chosen the most interesting, create your own route. The degree of freedom will be much higher than when purchasing an excursion tour - adjustments can be made at any time. It is advisable to learn at least the most necessary phrases from a phrasebook in the language of the host country - in case you still go astray, for example, using www.wikitravel.com. If you prefer ready-made routes, then you should visit the following sites: www.roughguides.com, www.frommers.com, where guides are published in electronic form.

There is nothing difficult about making your trip on a budget. A little planning and knowing a few saving secrets is all it takes. Air tickets, hotels, visas, transport, food, communications - on all these points you can reduce costs if you try a little. MAKE-TRIP shares with you a dozen useful tips, how to travel cheap. Hurry up to find out!

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1. Travel on your own!

The first (and most important) law: do not be afraid. It's simple, it's interesting, it's cheap. Some people cannot even imagine that it is possible to travel abroad without the involvement of agencies and other organizations - they believe that this is the only way to guarantee their safety. But in the end, they either get a boring vacation, mostly in a lying position, or spend incredible amounts on a more or less non-standard vacation. Traveling on your own is not only possible, but also necessary! Only an independent trip can be considered a real trip; everything else is a tourist holiday. Anyone can organize a great trip for themselves, you just need to show a little independence. Look at ours in different countries and cities.

In our opinion, it is especially interesting to travel by car (personal or rented) - complete freedom of movement! If you are interested in this option, read our tips about. Traveling is amazing too!

2. Find the cheapest flights

The ability to find and book airline tickets at the lowest price is the most necessary skill for budget travel. The main rule that must always be remembered is that the earlier the purchase is made, the greater the chances of finding an attractively priced option. Ours will help you become a real master of finding the cheapest air tickets. It makes sense to keep track of the current ones on our website and look at ours in a particular country or city.

Also, be sure to read about how - in this material we talked about schemes for budgetary access to European countries bordering Russia. In addition, we advise you to find out about flights that allow you to fly for amounts close to zero (purchasing tickets for 20/30/40 euros will not be a problem).

The best way to look for flights is on the Skyscanner metasearch engine - it will find you the best deals on any route. This is a good assistant for independent travelers, since it searches for tickets among hundreds of airlines and does not take a single ruble of commission from the buyer. The search engine makes it possible to look at the cost of tickets to any country from all cities of Russia (or any other country) at once - a very convenient function for budget travelers, it allows you to find an option at the best price.

(Photo by Rennett Stowe. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

3. Apply for visas yourself

Why resort to the help of an intermediary and pay him double or triple the amount for this? You don’t turn to the help of agents if you want to buy something in a supermarket, so you don’t need to here either. After all, we are going to travel economically, and not to improve the well-being of strangers.

Find information on the Internet about the nearest consulate or visa center of the desired country, collect all the required documents and go to them. Many people believe that it is more reliable to do it through an agency, as it is supposedly less likely to be denied a visa. This is a misconception, since the whole mission of these intermediaries is that they will take the documents to the consulate instead of you. Tips on how to properly collect documents to increase your chances of getting a visa can be easily found on the Internet. Our website also has options for a number of popular destinations.

4. Search and book accommodation correctly

To make travel cheap, you need to find inexpensive accommodation. You can use the excellent metasearch engine Roomguru.ru and choose the right hotel according to your criteria and reasonable price. This resource compares prices among different booking agencies and finds the best deals. Large database of hotels, hostels, guest houses and so on. We recommend reading our tips on how to.

An alternative to hotels is the popular private housing rental service Airbnb.ru. Try to find an apartment or house for your trip. It is much more comfortable and often cheaper (especially if you travel with a group or family). The service has a huge selection of unique accommodation (beautiful apartments, villas and even residential boats and castles!), living in which will make your trip much more enjoyable and memorable.

And for those who generally want to live for free, the resource Couchsurfing is vital, where after registering and creating a personal profile you can find people ready to host travelers. The network reaches millions of users around the world.

(Photo by Phillip Pessar. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

5. Travel light

Take only what you really need - don’t burden yourself with unnecessary baggage. As a result, there are a number of advantages: there is no need to wait a long time for baggage claim, there is no threat of losing it, you don’t have to pay for excess weight (and with low-cost airlines, in general, any baggage is always paid separately and can cost you up to hundreds of euros), and you can also move around the airport and Your destination will be much easier and more enjoyable if you don’t have to lug around huge suitcases and bags. We even fly to Asia for six-month winters with only one backpack per person.

Read also our tips on formation. By the way, we recommend making purchases on Aliexpress (we order camping equipment, equipment, and numerous accessories there) - it turns out to be much more profitable than shopping in regular stores. Pay attention to reviews to choose the best product. Another good store for sporting and travel goods is Decathlon (where we bought a tent, hiking clothes and other equipment for trips to Altai and the Caucasus).

6. Find out about airport transfers in advance

A taxi is always the most expensive way to travel; it is much more profitable to use public transport: bus, metro, train. Read about all the possible options before departure - this way you will save a lot of money.

However, sometimes it is more convenient and cheaper to use an individual transfer - for example, when you are traveling in a large group and order a multi-seater car. For these cases, we can recommend a reliable service. Even better, rent a car straight from the airport (you can find the best deal on Skyscanner Car Hire).

(Photo by martinak15. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

7. Overnight transfer instead of a hotel

Traveling at night on trains and buses will make travel cheaper. This is a good opportunity to save time and money on a hotel at the same time. It’s better to take first class tickets - you’ll have to pay a little extra, but you’ll be comfortable and get a good night’s sleep. Traveling on buses is not so convenient, so it is better not to overdo it and not plan daily night trips - your body will swear. However, in some places there are slipper buses, the peculiarity of which is recumbent soft shelves instead of standard seats (we have made night trips to these cities more than once). This is definitely a great option for budget travel without losing comfort.

It is also convenient to travel around Russia by train for short distances, choosing overnight journeys. For example, we traveled from St. Petersburg to Moscow, from Perm to Kazan - the journey took exactly one night, we slept well. There are many route options. You can find and book a train ticket at.

(Photo by Don McCullough. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

8. Use discounts

Groupon gives you the opportunity to buy coupons with significant discounts on a variety of things and events: restaurants, shops, entertainment, attractions, outdoor activities, etc. If you are a student, a young teacher, or you are simply under 30 years old, then it makes sense to get yourself a card ISIC, ITIC or IYTC. In Europe and North America you can use them to get good discounts in a variety of places - from cafes to museums.

9. Save on communications

Use Skype or Viber to communicate with Russia. Connect to local operators for local calls and 3G Internet. By the way, you can use Skype to call any landline and mobile phone numbers - these calls are paid, but inexpensive (for example, we used this opportunity to call from Vietnam to Russia and unblock a Sberbank card).

10. Use travel tickets

Find out about the city transport ticket system. Typically, there are many types of passes depending on the type of transport, validity period and travel zones. Think about what type of ticket is most suitable for you. If you want to save money and decide to travel like a hare, keep in mind that in many countries (especially in Europe) the fines for free riders are very high.

Also in many popular tourist cities there are special museum cards, which provide discounts on visiting attractions and allow you to skip queues.

11. Organize your own excursions

It is always cheaper to get to the place you are interested in without the participation of agencies and guides, and besides, you create your own visiting program - there is no need to adapt to a given schedule and rhythm.

(Photo by Moyan_Brenn. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

12. Eat at local establishments

Eating while traveling is both cheap and tasty! Restaurants aimed at tourists always raise their prices. And in the places that the residents themselves prefer, you will find real national cuisine, the lowest prices and the most delicious dishes. If you see a lot of local visitors in a restaurant or cafe, it means they have excellent food - feel free to come in too!

Follow these tips, read the site and travel on a budget!

And to instantly find out about promotions on air tickets and the availability of new useful materials for travelers, subscribe to our

Personal experience 08/03/18 132,716 107

When I travel, I spend less than at home

A little about extreme savings when traveling

Sometimes there is not only little money, but no money at all. In my experience, sometimes traveling can be cheaper than spending the winter in Moscow.

Anna Efremova

student, traveled to 25 countries

I am young, healthy and not rich. As a student, I visited Italy, France, Luxembourg, Germany, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Belgium, Holland and other countries that are considered expensive. When I travel, I save on travel, accommodation, food, water and museums.

This article is not a comprehensive source of travel tips. This is a personal experience that will be useful to those who deny themselves travel without understanding how much they can cost. And also for those who are ready to sacrifice comfort for the sake of impressions.

Flight

Now I buy air tickets 2-3 months before departure, I don’t choose a seat for an additional fee, I don’t include insurance during the flight in the price and I don’t take more than 10 kg of checked baggage with me, so it’s budget-friendly.

From Russia I often fly with Pobeda, because it has the cheapest tickets. When flying around Europe, I choose the low-cost airline Rainair. I spend every winter in India, where I fly domestically with the low-cost carrier Indy-Go. India has more than 100 airports and very developed domestic air traffic. A ticket from Chandigarh to Madurai, which is 2800 km across the entire country, cost me about 4000 RUR this winter.

I unfollowed airline stocks because I hadn't gotten any real benefit from them in years. Now I just monitor websites selling air tickets 2-3 months before departure and look for great deals.

Most often I create a complex “bus-plane” or “train-low-cost” route. I wrote about this in detail in the article I like to travel for a long time and make transfers in unfamiliar cities - this embellishes the trip, and sometimes becomes its best part.

For example, once I got from Moscow to Milan for 2650 RUR. I took the train to Vilnius for 1250 RUR, spent the night for free with a young couple of couchsurfers and flew to Italy on a Rainier plane for 1400 RUR. As a result, I also made close friends, whom I now visit sometimes.

Whenever possible, I fly to Europe on Turkish Airlines with two 24-hour layovers in Istanbul. For a ticket to the European capital and back I pay about 14,000 RUR, and as a gift I receive two days in Istanbul. In one day I manage to walk around the historical center, eat the famous “wet” burger on Taksim Square, meet old friends, make new acquaintances, drink tea 4 times, ride a ferry along the Bosphorus Strait, buy home Turkish sweets and rose water and sleep in airport.

Road from the airport

From any airport you usually need to somehow get to the city. I go to the airport website and read what public transport I can use to get to the nearest cities.

Usually, on the website of any airport there is always a map of stops, bus and train schedules, and fares.

In the Stambul From Ataturk Airport you can directly go down to the metro. The token costs 4 liras (about 60 R). To get to the city center, you will have to buy two tokens. For comparison: a taxi will cost 60-70 liras (900-1050 RUR), according to The Istanbul Insider website for 2017.

In Paris Most flights from Russia land at Charles De Gaulle Airport. There I take line B of the RER commuter train and pay 10 € (728 RUR) for a ticket to Gare du Nord. At the station, using the same ticket, I change to the Paris metro and go where I need to go. A bus from the airport to Grand Opera Square costs 12 € (873 RUR), and a taxi costs 50-55 € ( 3639 -4002.9 R).

In Riga There is bus number 22 between the airport and the city center, the ride takes about 15 minutes - the city is very small. I buy a ticket in advance at a newspaper kiosk for 1.15 € (84 RUR), because the driver costs 2 € (146 RUR). If desired, you can get from the airport to the center of Riga on foot, the walk is only 9 km.

In Vilnius I walk to the airport. It is only 6 km from the station. Once I had to take the train - it costs 70 cents and takes 7 minutes.

Moving within the country

By bus. In Europe it is cheap to travel by bus. The Flix-bus company has the most routes. A ticket from Berlin to Munich costs 10 € (728 RUR), from Milan to Rome - 14 € (1019 RUR), from Paris to Bordeaux - 10 € (728 RUR).

I studied in Germany in the small city of Trier. I got there from Russia like this: I flew to Luxembourg and took a Flix-bus bus for 9 € (655 RUR) to the town where my university was located. It turned out cheaper than flying to Frankfurt and taking the bus for 17 € (1237 RUR) or taking the train for 20 € (1456 RUR).

By train. When choosing a mode of transport, I take into account the specifics of the country. Trains in Europe are expensive: a ticket for the Genoa - Milan train (150 km, 2 hours travel time) costs from 13.45 € (979 RUR), and for the Frankfurt - Cologne train (170 km, 2 hours travel time) prices start at 35. 90 € (2613 RUR). In Europe, it is cheaper to travel between cities by bus or Blablacar.

In India, on the contrary, trains are the most economical transport. A seated ticket from Rishikesh to Pathankot costs 145 rupees (Rs 130). The distance between these cities is 450 km, the train takes 11 hours. I traveled from Mumbai to Udaipur (760 km) for 250 rupees (230 R) on a reserved seat carriage. All of India travels by train, so 35 hours on the Gwalior-Goa train introduced me to this country better than pre-studied literature about the local culture.

When I arrive in a country, I always check with the locals on how to get from point A to point B, and I almost always find cheap alternatives.

Two years ago I was on Lake Baikal and decided to travel along the Circum-Baikal Railway (CBZD). In summer, travel agencies offer train tickets from 3,300 RUR to citizens of the Russian Federation and from 4,600 RUR to foreigners. But the little-known train “Matanya” runs along the same route. The ticket costs 100 RUR for the entire 89 km of the Circum-Baikal Railway.

Hitch-hiking. There is only one free way to get around - hitchhiking. There are websites to help hitchhikers, my favorite is Hitchwiki.org. They explain in detail how to choose a suitable place, and the map shows “points” tested by others. Getting out of big cities is the hardest thing, and this site has helped me out many times, telling me where I’m most likely to be picked up.

There is also a smartphone app called Hitchhiking Maps. It lists 18,420 hitchhiking spots in Europe. I study each place in street view mode, it also shows the average waiting time for a car, there are comments from travelers and a comparative rating. There are green, yellow and red dots.

On Blablacar. I often use Blablacar.com. This is usually the cheapest way to get from one city to another, but not the most reliable. The driver may pick up and not arrive at the appointed time.

Sometimes I use groups on VKontakte like “I’ll give you a free ride!” or "Fellow travelers - blah-go-car", where drivers (mostly truckers) lay out their routes and name the number of empty seats in the car. This is a kind of “planned hitchhiking”: everything is free, but no one guarantees the safety of the trip.

Housing

Free on Couchsurfing. The community at Couchsurfing.com is the legend of free overnight stays. Over the course of several years, I stayed with 50 strangers. Many of them became my friends and no one caused harm.

Free, but working part-time. In Europe and Russia, you can look for housing in exchange for work: for example, live in a hostel and in exchange help with cleaning or administrative matters. Hostels in St. Petersburg sometimes offer you to live in an 8-bed room and work at the reception, for example, 2 days a week.