Wanderlust

Hi all,

I hadn’t posted in a while because I went to Morocco and Spain for 9 days and so it was definitely complicated to post while traveling. However, I need to say that these past 9 days were some of the best ever. I went to Marrakesh, a city in Morocco, with some friends and then went to Valencia, Spain for a week. It was an amazing break and most importantly, an amazing experience to get to know both cities and countries even better. I crossed off another continent off my list which was pretty amazing as well. I came back to Germany and I couldn’t wait to put the footage of my trip to Morocco together and share the video I prepared of this amazing trip. Here is the a sneak peak of the video in case you want to watch:

As I shared this video on social media, my friends and relatives started asking me (and probably who didn’t ask, wondered): “How can she travel so much? What’s the secret?” Honestly? There is no secret. I knew I wanted to travel as much as I could this year so I prepared myself and organized everything in order to do so. Traveling around Europe can be incredibly cheap as well if you know where to look and research well where to stay etc. 

By the end of my experience abroad (by the end of December) I will have traveled to 18 different cities, 12 different countries and 2 continents in 3 and half months. Here is a list:

Munich, Prague, Paris, Hamburg, Lund (Sweden), Denmark, Valencia, Marrakesh, Barcelona, Venice, Milan, Rome, Naples, Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Hanover and Lisbon.

Pretty crazy right? And I can’t wait for Bali and New Zealand coming up next year… I wanted to share with you a few ways in which you could save some money and travel as much as you want to when you work or study abroad!

Transportation

In Europe, flights, trains and buses are incredibly cheap in comparison to those in the United States. This definitely facilitates moving around from country to country without spending a lot of money. In my case, I am the type of person that really doesn’t care how to get there as long as I do. There are several ways to do so.

For instance, we have one of the most common: trains. There are several “discount cards” you can buy if you know you will be traveling very often so you can save money every time you purchase a ticket. I bought the “Bahn Card” (offered by the German transportation system) which saves you 25% off every ticket you purchase of a train leaving from Germany. It is a convenient way to travel around Germany in my case and to save money on the ticket if I want to take a train to another country departing from Germany.

Then we have buses…A lot of people hate them. I honestly don’t mind them because taking a bus that has wi-fi and in which you can probably sleep (even if it’s not the most comfortable thing) is not the worst thing in the world. I have taken buses of up to 11 hours which may seem horrible, but it wasn't. I slept most of the way and it’s also a nice way to meet people who are stuck with you (and you’re stuck with them) for that period of time. A good bus company in Europe is FlixBus. Sometimes they might not be the cheapest. But so far, they have been the most reliable and some of their buses even have wi-fi which is very convenient if you are meeting with some friend in another country and need to communicate with them.

Then we have airplanes. Yes. The most comfortable way of traveling. But at the same time it can end up being the most complicated one. I have had really good experiences with all my flights in Europe. However, it is definitely a process to find the most affordable and convenient tickets (especially because I am on co-op so I have to leave after a certain time and make sure I still make it). Most flights from Hanover are incredibly expensive, but from Hamburg (which is about two hours from Hanover) they are incredibly cheap (about 15 euros roundtrip sometimes). Which brings me to my first suggestion: look for other airports. Many of us only look at one airport and sometimes there are other options that are way cheaper (although probably more complicated and harder to get to sometimes). Nevertheless, if the difference in price is so big then I am the type of person that goes for it and just balances out what I am saving in time and losing in money versus what I am saving in money and losing in time. You have to play the game. 

Every time I have to go to Hamburg it is free with my student ID card (yay!). Then the train to the airport is only 3.20 euros. Although the entire trip takes about 3 hours total; the price difference is kind of crazy. Leaving from Hamburg to Dublin was only 20 euros and my next trip to Portugal was only 40 euros (roundtrip!). So yes, always look out for every possible option that might get you the cheapest and most efficient way to get to where you want to go. This is how I have saved so much.

Another suggestion I have for flights is to use Google Flights and other websites (like Just Fly) to book them. These sites give you the best prices and you can track the flights (and have alerts) so you can buy them when they are cheapest. It is a well-known fact that, most of the time, flights are cheapest when bought on a Tuesday or a Wednesday so I always look at them, track them, and just pay attention to buy them when it’s most convenient. Have in mind that most of these flights do not allow you to check your bag for free which is why you also have to learn how to travel and pack light. This has been one of the things I have learned incredibly well this semester; especially if you are only going to be traveling for a weekend. So always look into the policies and restrictions of each airline because there are some airlines that also require you to check-in with time or print your boarding pass (if not they can charge you a certain amount of money). Some airlines I have used to book flights that are good and cheap have been: Eurowings, Ryan Air and Vueling. Even Iberia had a pretty decent flight to Morocco that wasn’t incredibly expensive considering I was going to Africa. 

For those of you that are spontaneous travelers (like me), there is website called Skyscanner. It allows you to check the cheapest places to travel each weekend. You select a weekend and then, as a destination, you type in “Everywhere.” It shows you the best options for that weekend and this can also give you an idea as to what is the best time to travel to where in Europe. It definitely helped me plan out and organize my trips.

Accommodation

This is where you can save a lot of money, but it also depends on the type of person you are. Some people prefer to spend more money on where they stay rather than have more spending money (for food or whatever),and then there are people that can sleep literally anywhere if you let them, and then have more cash to spend that weekend. I am more of the second type mentioned. I am a heavy sleeper (those who know me know this for a fact) so I can sleep anywhere and it doesn’t really matter to me. Of course, you always want to stay in a place that is safe which is why looking in the right places is essential. I have stayed in both hotels and hostels throughout my experience and to be honest, many times, the hostels have been better than the hotels. I have also stayed at Airbnb’s which most of the times have really good prices too and are a nice way to meet locals and get good suggestions as to what to do in each country. 

For those of you a bit scared of hostels, they are really not bad at all. There is a website called Hostel World in which you can find some of the best hostels in each country (and prices are really good compared to hotels if you do it with time!). Yes, you sometimes share a room with a lot of people. In my case, I shared a room with 12 people in Amsterdam, but you can also stay in a private room (in which case you have to pay more). I did this when I visited Hamburg, Germany.

For those of you wondering how I could share a room with 12 people: well, first of all they give you locks (and many hostels also have lockers) in which you can put all your stuff and store it away (safely). When I’m traveling, I only go to the hostel, hotel or Airbnb to sleep because I have only a weekend to explore so I don’t really spend a lot of time there. Regarding bathrooms and showers, it is pretty much like college. You share a bathroom and showers with the people in your floor so it is an experience most of you have already had if you study in the United States (or anywhere like this for that matter). So in the end, you end up paying way less and saving more. However, in case you prefer to stay in hotels (which can surprisingly sometimes be cheaper too), I use the website Booking.com which shows you the best deals and discount offers. It is also pretty convenient because some hotels let you reserve the booking and cancel without charging any fees (not every hotel does this though, so make sure they say you can). In the end, I chose to travel to the countries where I also had friends I could visit and stay with so in my case this was another reason why I didn’t end up spending so much money.

Save up!

For those of you thinking of going abroad, save some money!  I applied for scholarships and worked during the summer in order to be able to fund all of these trips. My parents also help me with a monthly allowance, but I use that more for my living expenses in Germany. Being able to have your own money and be independent economically feels pretty good. Always have a budget for your weekend and make sure you don’t exceed it unless there is some circumstance in which you have to do so. Here are some other tips on how to save money when you travel:

• ·        Look for free and cheap stuff to do: free walking tours, free museum exhibitions, etc. Try to talk with locals and ask them which places are nice to go (and free!). This is why I recommended the app “Like a Local” because it truly gives you the best (and cheapest!) options of what to do once you are in the country.
• ·        Eat in authentic places: Part of the experience is trying the food each country has to offer and many times, the best food can be found in the most authentic, warm places. The people that cook the best are the ones that are truly passionate about the gastronomy their country has to offer. I may not know that much about food and I am honestly not that picky, but some of the best places I have eaten at have been sort of hidden and suggested by locals. The owners make sure you have the best culinary experience and I have even ended up befriending some of them!
• ·        Public transportation: This one is a must. Public transportation in Europe is pretty good and cheap in most countries. There are many ways to explore a new city and if it’s big, public transportation is always the way to go. Alternatively, I love to walk everywhere so walking for me is not a problem at all (and it is also a great way to explore better the new places you visit!). But taking taxis every time you want to go somewhere can definitely become the reason why you spend so much money.

These are only some ways and suggestions in which you can travel and afford to do so as much as you want. Traveling and getting to know another place in an authentic, genuine way is my passion which is why I love I have been able to discover so many new ways in which I can continue to do so. If you are only traveling once and you save up for only that one trip, then you don’t really have to worry about all of this. However, since I knew I wanted to travel as much as I could around Europe; I did my research regarding every possible way in which I could save some money and travel more and more. I hope this helps and encourages you to travel and see more. I must say it has been an amazing experience so far and being able to live and do my co-op in Europe is what has allowed me to do all of this.