“I’m labeling the bus from Antwerp to Luxembourg! I can’t look at the hostel reservations right now!” I frantically said to my mom. We were in the kitchen, papers strewn across the table, reviewing the itinerary. Over the course of a week, I coordinated everything from planes, trains, and hostels for a three week Europe trip, visiting 6 cities. But here’s the kicker, I did it all for under 1,800 dollars per person including direct airfare and accommodations. That’s 600 dollars per week or 300 dollars per city.
If you’re itching to know how I did it, you’re in luck. Before I explain some of the tips and tricks I used, you should know that we stayed in hostels for most nights and flew discount airlines. In fact, we each had to pack for our entire trip in two carry-ons weighing less than 22 pounds combined, due to flight restrictions. Despite this, I learned a remarkable amount through planning the trip, so without further ado let’s get started!
First, when traveling on a budget always check hostels in the area before checking hotels or Airbnbs. Hostels often get a bad reputation for being grimy and crowded with noisy students, but that was the exact opposite of my experience. The hostels I stayed at had a multitude of benefits, often times including free breakfast, a game room or common room, free toiletries, and a 24/7 receptionist. Not only that, but what I found was that Airbnbs can be unreliable and cancel your accommodations even 24 hours before your stay. Hostels are reliable and affordable which is why we stayed at three different hostels throughout the trip.
Second, this seems simple, but anything you can do to remove stress from your travels, even if that’s printing your tickets ahead of time, will benefit you in the long run. I carried a yellow transparent plastic folder with me at all times that included print-outs of all of the travel information for the entire trip. I ordered them chronologically with colored sticky notes marking each paper, so I was confident when it came time to travel again that I had everything sorted. Even if you’re a techie I recommend printing all of your documents before you leave. I’ve seen travelers fumble around their emails looking for their tickets or be unable to scan their electronic tickets. Don’t let that be you!
Third, when it comes to experiencing the city itself make sure that you research landmarks ahead of time, but also allow yourself to spontaneously enjoy the moment. I researched a variety of outlook points, landmarks, museums, and restaurants to visit in each city. Having these locations saved on Google maps was helpful when we didn’t know where to spend the afternoon. Speaking of Google maps, one of its lesser known features is called offline maps. I would recommend that every traveller download the offline map when visiting a new city. The map allows users to save locations of establishments and landmarks and gives accurate location readings without using any wifi or cellular data. While relying on a map is a good way to see everything you planned, some of the best experiences came from “off roading”.
Overall, if you’re even thinking about planning a trip to Europe I would highly recommend it! Don’t let a tight budget stop you from having an incredible trip! I am extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to plan and partake in a once in a lifetime trip that opened my eyes to the world and to my own skills as a travel manager.
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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
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It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
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The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Wow, what a nice article. Makes you feel like you should pack up and go immediately. It seems Linblad runs a good operation and trips are kid friendly. Is there a list of particular dates that are family friendly or are there kid activities year round on board the boats. Any other advice on travling with kids to Ecuador and Galapagos would be really welcome.
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
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very informative article Travel forums provide first hand experience and advice to travelers and are a great source of information and travel tips.
As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
Thanks for Sharing
Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
[http://www.wanahaka.co.nz]