Take advantage of a credit card. Travel cheap - money

Today I will tell you about how my husband and I manage to fly to Europe so often. We travel four times a year. We do not have a lot of money, but this does not stop us: we are masters of budget travel.

To begin with, I will tell you what inspired us to such a mode of travel. And then I'll tell you about our ways to travel inexpensively. One hundred percent, our experience will be useful to someone.

Here we are – masters of budget travel! 🙂

Anyone who read an article about my triathlon knows that a year ago I was almost. While the disease developed in me, I did not realize the danger. And then she suddenly lost consciousness and woke up a week later, when the doctors took me out of the coma.

Why am I writing this? “Walking the Edge” helped me realize that I, like all people, am mortal, “and SUDDENLY mortal” (remember Woland's words from The Master and Margarita?).

Especially, I remember, I was shocked that a beautiful dress, bought by me a month before my illness, would have remained undressed if I had died. I still couldn’t find an occasion to put it on, everything was twisted with my nose ... So it would have remained in the branded bag in the closet. I wonder what his fate would be?

Realizing that death to me, as well as to each of us, can come suddenly, I changed my attitude to life. In particular, I began to enjoy every day. I thought about what I want and do I work a lot? Do I have enough time for what I work for?

After delving into myself, I realized that most of all I like to travel. I saw very few countries (except for the former Soviet republics, I was only in Hungary, Turkey and the Czech Republic, and I also studied Israel well, in which) and I would like to catch up.

Once upon a time, I had a dream to ride a mountain bike. Acquaintances were seriously fond of this, they went on bicycle trips in a group. But I just envied them...

Having recovered from the illness, I began to live in a new way, actively realizing my dreams.

Alena, you have very good results. Proper technique is very important in running. To set it up, you need to work with a competent coach. I don't know where to find it yet. You are great, you eat right and you are actively jogging. Do you also run regularly in winter, in any weather?

Vika, yes, I run all year round on the street in any weather))

Alena, this is cool! Well done! I also dream of a half marathon, but now after the injury, I start everything from the beginning, with small distances

Hello Alena!
Yes, this is a cool, beautiful and very motivating idea for a healthy lifestyle! She also visited me several times. But one “but” is holding back: to participate in any sports events, you need to arrive at the place on clearly defined dates. And plane tickets, unfortunately, are expensive (already checked five times). My way to save money is to fly on the dates when the price of the flight is minimal. Of course, wherever I fly, I always check if there is a marathon or something like that. But so far it has never happened...

Tanya, I completely agree with you: it doesn’t always work out on a budget! This way I combine two types of rest;))

Hi, Tanya! thanks for interesting article! As always informative! I envy you better. I want to travel, but I'm afraid to fly on planes. While traveling by car and bike. I would like to go on a long bike trip, with good company. But it will be possible when the son grows up. You and your husband are great! Don't stop there. I wish you as much as possible, new, interesting trips and wonderful experiences. Have you been to Lithuania yet?

About fear.
In fact, I am also afraid of flying. I would prefer a different mode of transport, but you won’t get to Europe from us otherwise. The statistics console me, according to which unpleasant incidents with airplanes happen incomparably less often than with cars. I also always look at the stewards and stewardesses: they fly every day, their faces always have calmness both on takeoff, and during landing, and in any turbulence. It seems to me (uninitiated) with fear that the plane is about to fall apart (that's why I don't like to sit near the wings and see through the window how they vibrate all the time). And the stewards laugh, drink coffee, tell jokes to each other. It means everything is OK. 🙂
The second thought, which consoles, is that if we break, then together with my husband. We hold hands on takeoff and landing - it’s not scary together.
And the last. Once, an elderly woman taught me to always pronounce the words: “Lord Almighty, save, save and have mercy on us sinners!” when setting off on a journey. It seems to me that this is a universal appeal to a powerful and kind higher power, independent of religion. I have taken her advice for many years. The realization that someone is protecting you calms down specifically.
So, my way: buy tickets for places where you can not see the wings; take the hand of a loved one and give yourself to God.
1. Tanya, thank you for your kind advice! But I have aerophobia at some very deep level. I'm not relieved by the fact that the plane is the most safe view transport, that my husband will hold my hand, that stewardesses fly every day and smile during the flight. I envy them wildly. And I envy everyone who quietly flies around the world, I turned to several psychologists for help, paid them a lot of money, but they did not help me. If you find cheap tickets to Palanga, come to Lithuania. We will meet you and provide you with accommodation 🙂 We have a very beautiful nature. Edge of rivers, lakes. Good bike paths in the forest. In summer everything is covered in greenery. We live in Klaipeda, near the sea. And zeppelins, this is the main thing National dish in Lithuania. They are made from potatoes with starch, the main filling is meat or cottage cheese, and they are eaten with fatty cracklings and sour cream. Lithuanians love them, but I don't understand how you can eat them 🙂 I can't believe that your son is 25 years old!!! You don't look like a mother of an adult son, but like his sister 🙂
  1. Victoria, thank you for your kind words and invitation! I will keep tickets to Lithuania in mind. I'm serious.
    As for the phobia, I understand. Indeed, there are such fears that are very difficult to overcome. I have one friend who is terrified of dogs, even tiny ones. The pocket dog barks, and a wave of fear covers it ...
    It's good that you live in Europe: there are many opportunities to travel by land and water.
    By the way, about fears and water. For example, I am afraid of the depth of natural reservoirs. I swim well, but somehow I don’t trust the inhabitants of the depths. I really don't like it when something touches my leg underwater...
    1. And I'm serious, if you have the opportunity, come to Lithuania 🙂 We'll ride bikes along the Kurshka Spit and to Palanga. Lithuania is good from May to October, then we have a very windy and rainy weather. The most annoying thing about aerophobia is that psychologists promised to free me from it, took a lot of money from me, but there is no result. With the money I paid them, I could fly on more than one trip. Tanya, aren't you afraid of snakes and spiders? If you were vacationing in Thailand and a scorpion crawled over you at night, would you be scared? 🙂 And besides Israel, in which countries would you like to live? What a fine fellow you are that you gave birth to a child early. Now the son is already big, you and your husband are still young, full of energy and can travel as much as you want. Our son is 7 years old, he is very active, he cannot sit still. You won't even get far in a car with him. Constantly whining - I'm tired when we arrive? And he fell out of love with walking, all the way the question is - When will we go home? And I really like long walks, and if on a bike, then drive at least 30 km, my favorite distance is 50 km
      
      I am not afraid of spiders, snakes, insects, all kinds of cockroaches and mice (what people are usually afraid of). I am afraid, of course, understanding their potential danger, but I do not feel horror. Even at work, we have an unspoken tradition to call me if someone crawls into the room (flies in). The children immediately run to me, and then the whole group watches how I carefully catch the poor fellow and let him out. I teach my kids not to kill anyone.
      I even have a proprietary method (I came up with it myself): roll a sheet of paper into a bag (as for seeds) and scoop up an insect with it and quickly take it out into the street without harming it.
      Scorpions have never crawled over me, so I still don’t know my reaction to them. 🙂 But what I don’t like is ticks that have dug into the skin and sucked, swollen - their appearance disgusts me. Apparently, my philanthropy is no longer enough for ticks. 🙂
      Why are you asking?
      Victoria, about the cycling distance - you're doing great!!! I still have to grow and grow to this level. I usually travel no more than 15-20 km per workout. Truth in the mountains. Probably, on flat terrain I could have done more ...
      About countries. Life in Israel is very good, a really cool country, “for the people”. It's not about moving somewhere in search of a better life. But purely out of curiosity, I would like to travel, study languages, all over the world. Of the nearest are Spain, Portugal, Holland. I would like, of course, to all sorts of Peru and Australia, but flying is expensive and far away. Don't go for the weekend...
      Of the shortcomings: real estate in Israel is very expensive, it is not realistic for us to buy. Therefore, many Israelis buy apartments in Bulgaria and the surrounding area and live there in retirement. With an Israeli pension in Bulgaria, you can live like a king. So who knows - there is a chance that sooner or later we will live in Europe. 🙂
      In general, as they say: “Ainane is in the blood to lead a sedentary life.” If tomorrow we get an opportunity to charter somewhere far away for something romantic (to save whales there or “Build BAM”), there is a chance that we will break away. 🙂

In Lithuania, I was once a long time ago (probably 15 years ago) at a seminar on work. We studied for several days in Vilnius and after our studies we were taken on excursions. I don't remember well. It seems that they visited some kind of Vytautas castle. Is there one?
I remember that I liked Lithuania. Only zeppelins somehow didn’t go very well. 🙂

I ask about spiders and snakes because I'm afraid of them 🙂 My son scares me, takes a spider in his hands and brings it to my face, I start squealing, and he laughs 🙂 Tanya, please tell us about your work in kindergarten. I heard that Israeli children are very spoiled, they are allowed a lot, pampered, not punished, that they behave badly. This is true? By the way, I also work in children. gardens by a coach 🙂 It seems to me that if you drive 15-20 km in the mountains, it is more difficult than driving 40-50 km on a smooth, even path! Bicycle is my favorite mode of transport. I ride it everywhere in the city. Very convenient, and no problems with parking 🙂 In Lithuania, the opposite is true - real estate is affordable. Most residents have their own apartments and even several. But our pensions are scanty (the minimum is 100 euros, 300 euros is already good pension), you can't live on them. Retirees continue to work. Men are mostly watchmen, women are nannies. You and your husband are such good fellows that you decided to move to another country. It is difficult for me to leave my comfort zone, I lack determination. My husband dreams of living in Spain, he loves warmth very much. And I have no idea how to decide to move to another country. After all, no one is waiting for us there. You need to learn the language, learn the laws of this country. Look for a new social circle. Child adapt to school. I'm a coward. When you live in the country in which you were born, everything is so clear, familiar and familiar. But I admire the brave and resolute, ready to break away from their homes and dive into something new and unknown! It's cool that you moved from Ukraine to Israel! Managed to find work there, new friends, fell in love with the country!
1. Are you a kindergarten teacher? Cool! At first I wanted to ask what kind of sports coach, and then I thought that it was probably something like our “movement lessons” (which are held in our gardens), where it is something between physical education and a game. So?
  About salaries and housing: everything is much higher in our country, since the economy in our country is at a higher level, as I understand it. I'm not an expert in that. But there are countries with a high standard of living, and with a lower one. Israel is the 11th largest economy in the world. How many countries are there in the world? I forgot. 200 pieces, probably. In short, Israel is 11 out of 200. Hence the level of salaries and the level of spending, high prices for all.
  About moving to another country. All limitations are in our heads. You have to think positively - and then everything adds up by itself. There are far fewer problems than you think. And living in a country with a high economy is, by definition, better than living in a country with a low economy. 🙂
  1. I work as a Karate coach, we rent sports in kindergartens. halls and conduct training for children. On the one hand, living in a country with a high economy is better, on the other, not always 🙂 In the country where you were born, there are relatives and friends, it is difficult to part with them. When there is a child in the family, it is difficult for him to adapt to school in another country, to study in a foreign language. And you should also like the country, it’s good where you feel comfortable, where you feel at home. A lot of people from Lithuania moved to live in England and Ireland. They make good money, but still they miss their homeland. I am happy for you that you are in Israel, well, interesting and comfortable!
    
    Karate coach is awesome! Well done! I respect!
    And it’s just easier for children to adapt to a new country than adults. They pick up language on the fly. They instantly make friends. Soak up the culture. So don’t worry about your son in this regard, it will be much easier for him than for you.
    
    And yet, since the topic of immigration has been hooked. It seems to me that it is much easier to move to “countries of immigrants” (USA, Israel, Canada, Australia, maybe some others) or at least to those where the society is not closed, where people warmly treat visitors. For example, I would not want to move to Germany, because there, IMHO, you will be a stranger all your life (and your children born there will be strangers, and grandchildren). The Germans seem closed to me. Although - this is just my subjective opinion. There Elena Anufrieva (from my article about the circumnavigation) married a German, moved to Germany and is happy.
    I really like Italy. In it people are open, warm, similar to the Israelis. The society of such a country, in my opinion, is more inclined to receive and assimilate foreigners ...
    I think it is necessary to take into account the attitude of the locals, and the assistance of the state to immigrants, and the conditions for obtaining citizenship. To go not at random, but to look for a country configured to receive new people.
    
    Thank you! I like to work as a coach, but the salary is small. Children are constantly sick, they don’t pay for missed workouts. My salary does not depend on how many trainings I have, but on attendance. Karate is a very dynamic sport. Over the years, I began to like callanetics and yoga. There was a dream to become a yoga coach, but I don’t know yet where to find my teacher. Tanya, isn't Israel for the Jews? It always seemed to me that this is a special country and only for its own. Of all the countries, I like Finland, Croatia, Slovenia and Switzerland the most. But it's cold in Finland and you can't get a job without knowing the Finnish language, and their language is some kind of abracadabra 🙂 Slovenia and Croatia have very beautiful nature, wonderful climate. It is warm there, but at the same time there is no sweltering heat, but it is difficult to work there. And Switzerland is for the elite, for the rich 🙂 In principle, we would be fine in Lithuania if it were not for the climate. It has changed a lot, it has become more rainy and windy. Previously, there were frosts and snow in winter, but now it rains almost all winter. And in the summer it got colder.
    
    There are many non-Jews in Israel. A Jew is a nationality, an Israeli is a citizenship. Among the citizens there are a lot of non-Jews (like my husband, for example) or descendants of Jews from marriages with people of other nationalities (like me). Here we have a very mixed society - a real cocktail of nationalities, religions, skin colors, types of appearance. I like!
    If you are an Israeli citizen, then your nationality does not play any role - you are an equal member of society. But about who has the right to citizenship, sorry, I would not like to write in this blog - this is a separate and extensive topic, you should not slide into it. The information is on the Internet.
    If you're interested, Victoria, check out The Law of Return. We moved right through it.

Victoria, when I catch myself thinking that I'm starting to be afraid of an upcoming flight, I look on one site (I score in the search: real-time aircraft flights) how at that moment, probably thousands of aircraft are flying around the world. And none of them falls))) It's sobering)))

Natasha, thanks for the advice 🙂

Tanya, it doesn’t fit your weekend format a bit, but maybe. and somehow carve out a week)
It is very budgetary to go along the Way of St. James: accommodation for the night - from a “donation” to 6 euros. Kitchen with utensils, there may even be food in the fridge. There may be a vegetable garden at the albergue (hostel for pilgrims) where you can pick greenery or a tomato. Along the way, wild fruit trees - grapes, apple trees, nuts, chestnuts - a snack under your feet)) And everything as you like - go as much as you want - 10-20-30 km a day, along country paths and paths, close to nature, to life local population, in the company of like-minded people. Well, yes - an overnight stay in the same company of like-minded people))) Maybe someone snores, maybe goes to bed later or gets up earlier). We walked along portuguese way from Porto. I recommend!)

Thanks, Irina! Very interesting. I even looked at Wikipedia what kind of Way this is.
Do you even have a certificate? Or did you not receive it?
Is it suitable for general tourists? Or just for pilgrims?
1. There is a certificate) - all sins are forgiven !!!))) At that time there were ...
  Suitable for everyone. Mostly tourists go. But there was a line for indulgence in Santiago))

Great way rest! And now I'm traveling cruise ships. In 8 days - 3 countries, 5 cities and complete enjoyment. I spend time in ports as you are on your travels, and on the liner there are wonderful evenings of dancing, master classes, sports entertainment, karaoke, musicals and of course delicious food! The flight to the port is also cheap airlines!

Thank you, Svetlana, for an interesting idea! We'll have to give it a try sometime. The only concern: if the ship has “all inclusive” and a lot of tasty food, then it will be difficult to control yourself. 🙂

Tatiana, great article! I support you a lot. I also love travel. It seems that Mark Twain said that people at the end of their lives regret only that they loved little and traveled little. This is probably the slogan of my life))) I also dream of visiting many countries with a backpack on my back. By the way, about cheap chips. You can take a compact tent and foam in your backpack and spend the night in campsites. In Europe, as far as I know, campsites are common. There is also such a community, although she herself, however, did not use it, couchsurfing. There, on the site you can register and “beg to visit” to those who are ready to receive guests absolutely free. You, in turn, can receive the same travelers.
And while our children are small, you won’t travel much. Only on quieter trips. And then this winter we were in Adygea, walked in the mountains, the children all wore out. So for now I just dream and dream about hiking))) While looking for other options. For example, these May holidays spent in a tent in the forest. opened bathing season at the Black Sea)))

Natalie, thank you so much for your feedback and support!
I have not tried couchsurfing, but I have a very positive experience with camping. And you don't even need your own tent. IN last trip in Italy we lived in a campsite in a great little comfortable house. It had everything, even a brazier in a clearing near the entrance. And on the camping site and Wi-Fi, and a shop, and a restaurant, and a pool ... Just super - and very cheap. We will definitely be back camping!
Yes, I agree with you: traveling with small children is more difficult. We are so free because our son has long grown up and lives separately. He is 25 years old.
1. Tatyana, good afternoon! Could you give a link to a campsite in Italy where you lived in a cabin? Thank you in advance. Elena.
  1. Elena, the campsite is called Camping Village Weekend. City of San Felice del Benaco. Street Vallone Della Selva, 2.
    It's on Lake Garda.

Tanya, I agree with your every phrase! Life is very short trip And you need to cherish every day of it! No other “money investment” can give such a charge of emotions as from trips. Novelty, knowledge of the world, that's what attracts like a drug! 🙂
I am especially attracted to travel natural places. I get emotions from the action, and from the fact that a non-human hand has created! Museums can be visited virtually, but crawl into karst cave and swim with a dolphin in the sea or go down the river on a raft, alas, no. Due to the remoteness from the cities, such trips cannot be classified as budget ones. We always tried to buy tickets, so to speak, from the "first hand", it is firstly cheaper, and secondly more informative. I love traveling by train. But it certainly lengthens the vacation time. But for the sake of meeting new natural wonder I'm ready to wait and whole year! 🙂

Yes, I am also more impressed by the creations of nature.
I really want to see the ocean. I think that in it the strength and power should be felt colossal ...

Hi Tanya, I also love to travel, but I just prefer to relax on the all-inclusive system, because it’s still a vacation and bothering with going to the store and cooking with washing dishes is not at all a hunt. Going to a cafe is also not an option, because. all dishes mostly come with meat or fish, I don’t eat it, but come and order conditionally grated carrots, well, they won’t understand, I think)). That's why Buffet allows you to always choose what you like, there are always all kinds of vegetables both raw and cooked, there is always both vegetarian and vegan food, etc. plus, my salad portions are not small, and the number of approaches is not limited, it is very convenient, you also don’t have to worry and carry bottles of water with you, I wanted to drink, you are always welcome, but I really drink a lot. As for overeating, yes, it is possible, but I know when to stop, and I stopped overeating on vacation a long time ago) I enjoy delicious food, but I stop in time. So the all-inclusive system for those who like to wrap vegetables is very convenient, I recommend it. If for some reason you have to skip lunch (a tour there or something), well, it’s not scary, you can take something with you, although there are people who are really afraid to leave the hotel, so as not to be left without lunch, because it’s paid, I don’t understand this)) And with regard to museums, our tastes coincide, I’m also not a fan of staring at the dust, I like to walk around the city or go to nature, and I have enough museums in the city, they were overfed in childhood. And they generally make me sad. Vacation for me is more relaxing, I prefer to get up early, do exercises in the air, swim a lot, walk, eat delicious food and just enjoy the silence and nature, I really miss this in the city.

Hi Julia! Thanks for the comment.
You are a model of the right user of the “all inclusive” system! All would be your endurance and the right approach! In such an option, as you describe, it is indeed logical to use this rest system. Well done!

Hello
Thanks for the interesting story.
If it doesn't bother you, please write the sites where you buy plane tickets for 20 euros.
In hot pursuit and your experience, I looked for flights by low-cost airlines to Europe and did not find anything on average cheaper + - 20,000 rubles, even close.
Tell us in more detail where you can get info and a picture of the cost of travel for the whole year and choose the cheapest one.
Thank you in advance.
With good wishes
Irina

Irina, hello!
I will answer your question in the next article. I was wondering if anyone is interested? Should I write about finding cheap flights? Now I understand that yes.
Thanks for the question! ❤

Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thanks for that
for discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
Join us at Facebook And In contact with

This summer, I ventured on the most adventurous trip of my life: my friend and I decided to repeat the Alpine travels of various travel bloggers from Instagram. We armed ourselves with leaflets and a marker for hitchhiking, contacted the inhabitants of the Alpine cities on the CouchSurfing website (for those who don’t know: this service allows you to spend the night with people abroad for free and also receive foreigners at home for free), loaded backpacks and rushed to conquer the mountains. It was my first such experience. And, I must admit, the last one.

Today I will tell readers website what to expect from such free entertainment, as well as debunk or confirm some myths about couchsurfing and hitchhiking. So, go!

Brief clarification: our 5-day itinerary ran through the Eastern Alps, starting from Munich and ending with Graz (Austria). Every day we spent the night at the coaches, overcame short and difficult distances on buses, long ones - by hitchhiking.

Myth #1: Couchsurfing is the obvious equivalent of a dating site. And sometimes it's dangerous

This is quite a popular rumor among those who have never used the service. I admit, I thought the same, but in the end we were guests of the most well-mannered people in turn: a German BMW engineer, an Italian architect, an Austrian graduate student of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and a French engine designer. All these guys were over 30, single, intelligent, traveled a lot, knew many languages and continued to explore the world through couchsurfing. At the same time, no strange hints and frank moments - everything was perfect until we reached our last host in the Austrian city of Graz. It was there that my most skeptical suspicions came true, and my friend and I still ran into a pervert, ee-ee!

Everything was in his favor: a large number of positive feedback in the profile, messages with promises to show us the city and have a party, despite the weekday, etc. But when we arrived, this couch, imposingly reclining in front of us in shorts and with a cigarette, sharply told us that he was too lazy and we we won't go anywhere. Well, after my friend and I found out that there was nothing to talk about with him, except about clubs, we saw his plan not only “in our hands”, but also in our head. And then, as if reading our thoughts, he moved on to the 10-minute most awkward and unpleasant dialogue in my life in order to share pleasure with us. In general, this dude with a raging fantasy and testosterone was barely able to calm down. In response, he got angry and stopped talking to us - a gentleman of the XXI century, nothing to say.

After such emotions, I was left with a bad impression of couchsurfing and of Austria in general. Although in fairness it’s worth saying that my friend, whose couchsurfing experience is calculated in dozens of hosts (these are those who receive guests), this happened for the first time, therefore, we can say that the service is 98% safe. We did not write a review to our Austrian, because we thought that such a person, in retaliation, could also write something bad in our profile, thereby lowering the page rating (so in many cases negative reviews are simply not left on the site, mind you).

In order not to end the paragraph on a negative note, here is a snugly sleeping cat of the most intelligent Cauchy from Innsbruck.

Myth #2: Through couchsurfing you will get to know the country from the inside

Yes, the locals will tell you much more than you can read in guidebooks and find on tourist forums. But! Here I will make a small private clarification: if you stay at the couch for only one day (and usually they do), most likely you will not have time to see anything: you will only be able to listen to unique places, no more.

Because you need to understand that couchsurfing is not just a free overnight stay, but a cultural exchange. If you come to visit a foreigner, he perceives you as a person who should occupy him, entertain him, tell him something new, and not just use his free room. Therefore, on the one hand, it's cool, but on the other hand, you may well pay for it by spending more time getting to know the hosts than getting to know the city itself. But everyone has their own interests, so I don’t presume to judge which is better.

As for me, I suggest just looking at this collage.

On the left is the place where I really wanted to go in Munich, and on the right is where I spent most of the time in this city. I don't think I need to say how upset I was.

Myth #3: Guys "host" only girls, girls - guys.

This is partly true. When my friend announced to me that all our hosts would be guys, I got a little excited and went to Google to look for something about gender theory of couchsurfing. There wasn’t one, so, relying on the Reddit forum and the experience of my friends, I decided to bring it out myself: boys are hosting(receive) mostly girls or mixed companies, since they are generally more pleasant and comfortable in a female or mixed society than in a purely male one. Girls, in principle, “host” less and choose rather not by gender, but by reviews and first impressions.

Myth #4: With couchsurfing and hitchhiking, you don't spend any money at all.

There are professional bloggers who write the name of their profession through 2 letters "g". Okay, this is a joke, I'm talking about something else. There are bloggers who claim that money is not needed for traveling, only desire is enough, and in general, all the limits are only in our head. Here I categorically disagree: without money it’s still nowhere.

Couchsurfing - yes, it's budget, but for 5 days of my "homeless tour" I spent almost 200 euros. And that's where they went.

For food. Despite the fact that we lived with the couchs, we bought food ourselves, even for a joint dinner.
For cocktails and other drinks in bars and on walks, which we paid not only for ourselves, but also for our couchs (we are guests after all). Although, to be more insolent, you can not offer this.
For souvenirs our hosts. After all, you won’t come to visit without a gift either. By the way, an interesting observation: it turned out that only Russians and Poles adhere to this “philosophy of guests”, judging by the stories of our hosts. The rest usually come empty-handed.
On the road. As I wrote above, for short distances, where it was inexpensive to take a bus, and you risk standing at the side of the road with your hand up for quite a long time, we spared no expense.

And a little more about bloggers: I will compare their photos with the reality that we saw.

Castelrotto, Italy.

Ortisei, Italy.

Lake Braies, Italy.

It’s clear that you can’t do without Photoshop, but still I want to emphasize the idea that they “process” not only photos, but in general all the behind the scenes of trips: adventure stories, tips and parting words about how easy everything is . So do not blindly believe and envy the profiles of travelers in social networks.

Myth #5: Couchsurfing makes you a lot of new friends around the world.

If you are an extrovert, then this is true: you will have many friends abroad. Go straight to the next item.

If you are an introvert, then everything is harder. I would even say this: couchsurfing is not for us guys at all. Imagine: a hard day, flights, transfers, a lot of impressions ... And then in the evening you come to the host, and you need - oh horror! - talk to him all evening. And morning. And maybe even a day... In fact, this is a serious emotional problem for many people. It's not funny at all.

I am very lucky: my girlfriend is a pure extrovert. She was happy and completely relaxed to share her energy with new people. I actively supported the conversation only for the sake of helping my friend, because sometimes the conversation was reduced to silence with the sounds of crickets due to the lack of common topics with the cauchs (besides cultural ones, of course). In the meantime, I just wanted to lie down in an embrace with the phone and be silent after a hard day. With our schedule - all 5 days we were at different coaches - this need for emotional respite increased simply to unrealistic proportions, blocking the need for new friends.

Myth #6: Hitchhiking is Russian Roulette

When we were drawing signs with destinations in some alpine village toilet, suspecting that in the Alps, in general, they didn’t hitchhike, I was scared.

A touch of extreme to all this was added by the fact that it was unbearably hot and therefore we were in the same short skirts / shorts. In short, on the side of the track, we looked like some long-distance call girls. But a gamble is a gamble - you can't back down.

As a result, we were driven by completely unexpected characters: an Italian girl with her mother, an Austrian grandfather, a Slovenian hippie grandmother and two adult Georgians. Everyone was extremely kind. interesting people, the latter generally had to pass by our final destination, Budapest (this no longer applies to our Alpine route), but in the end they took us all the way to the apartment itself, where we had to stop, although before that we had to stand in a 40-minute traffic jam in the center cities. It was very embarrassing for such kindness, but they insisted that a real gentleman could not do otherwise.

And the Italian girl told us that hitchhiking is very rare in the Alps, because now it is not very popular, because there are all sorts of services like, as our Georgians called it (seriously!) “bla-bla-bla-car”, carsharing or car rental. The Slovenian grandmother, who, as it turned out, hitchhiked a lot in her youth and took us in solidarity, also confirmed the fact that such a phenomenon is rare today. It’s funny that, as she said goodbye, she shouted to us: “Remember, we are doing this for all of us!” - and looked mysteriously, with some strange gleam in her eyes. We decided that she was a little crazy, but we were immensely grateful to her.

In general, hitchhiking exceeded our expectations! This is unpopular, which is why "specialized maniacs" do not operate in this area, at least in Europe. You can use. Plus, it's beautiful and does not leave the feeling that you are driving yourself.

But let me remind you that before that you need to stand for an incomprehensible amount of time at the track with a feeling of complete helplessness.

So, is it worth repeating my experience

As I said, if you are an introvert and are not ready, figuratively speaking, to give part of yourself for the sake of cultural exchange, think carefully about all these ways to travel a hundred times. Or at least alternate - coach, hotel, coach, apartment - so that you can periodically relax emotionally.
If you want to save money, then yes, it's worth it. But you still won’t be able to reduce spending to zero: do not trust the constantly motivating travelers from the Internet.
Well, in general, now there will be a hyper-subjective point: despite the fact that this trip turned out to be incredible, nevertheless, during it, I realized that for me personally, all these ways to travel, live, eat and generally exist, to be honest, “for free” are quite humiliating. Perhaps many will not agree with me, but I would rather spend more money, travel much less, and maybe because of these principles I won’t see half the planet, but I’d rather travel at my own measured pace, with my own program and only in a close one to me. companies. This is a pleasure trip for me.

If you have your own thoughts and similar stories (especially about couchsurfing), tell them in the comments!

Article writing idea Traveling cheap: how to see a lot and spend little first appeared to me in November 2014, when, being in South America and reading Russian news about the precipitous depreciation of the ruble, I decided to systematize my experience of economical travel - in the hope that it will help someone to travel a lot and at the same time “not fly into the pipe” and not get into debt. Please note that all of the suggestions below apply specifically to independent travel”- an interesting, but also very tiring and not cheap event, and not for a “mattress vacation abroad” - these are very different things. I hope that this article will be useful to those who want to see as much as possible on our planet, but whose opportunities (like mine) depend on the "health" of the Russian currency.

So, if you do not want to postpone your travels until better times, and you feel sorry for wasting time waiting for an improvement in the economic situation, which may not come in the foreseeable future, then the only way out is to master science travel cheap which is what this text is about.

Traveling cheap - before the trip

Adequate choice of travel destinations is a very important part of the cost minimization process. At the route planning stage, determine whether you can afford the price level in a particular country - for example, Switzerland or Norway, for all their beauties, are very expensive countries, and in a week in Switzerland it will take as much money as in a month in or in. Of course, a trip to Switzerland can be a dream of a lifetime, but in the current economic realities, the question may be: go to Switzerland and then not go anywhere else, patching a hole in the personal / family budget for a year or for the price of one day in Switzerland, spend ten days in economical travel through Vietnam, gaining exotic impressions and hardly noticing any prices due to their extreme baseness. And after a couple of months, go on an independent trip again with the money saved.

When planning a complex long independent trip, I recommend purchasing a large and detailed map of the region and drawing a preliminary route on it with a marker (if you are friends with google maps, you can draw the travel route there as well). It is highly likely that such a “visualization” will help you optimize the logistics of the trip and correct some mistakes that were not noticed before. For example, in some area you planned to fly by plane, and looking at the map, you will understand that it is easier and cheaper to go by bus or train, or you will see that you don’t need to go there at all, but you need to go somewhere else. By the way, from my experience, if the distance between the points is not more than 700 km, you can not contact the plane, it will be cheaper by bus / train and almost the same in time (since when using the plane, you will first have to go to the airport, and at least 2 hours before departure, then time for the flight - provided that the flight is not delayed, then about half an hour for baggage claim and some to get from the airport to the city). As an illustration, it is easier and in most cases cheaper to get from Moscow to St. Petersburg by train than by plane. It also makes sense to take into account that when departing at 9 am, you will have to wake up at the latest at 5 am and urgently get blown up at the airport, and when traveling by bus, you can sleep up to 7 hours.

It is undesirable to plan a long independent trip to very different places. climatic zones. Let me explain with a recent personal example: I traveled for a month and a half in Argentine and Chile, and then went to the tropics. As a result, I had to travel around Brazil with a suitcase more than half full of warm clothes, necessary in Patagonia, but useless in Brazil. Things are good, solid, it was a pity to throw them away - so I dragged them everywhere.

It is very useful in advance, before buying tickets, to clarify the cost of living and moving along the route, so that it doesn’t work out like I did in the Chilean national park, where a bed in a hostel cost $ 74 per night plus a ticket for access to national park, products and more. There, of course, it is very beautiful - but since we decided to save, then we save.

The situation will be approximately the same with Cuban island Cayo Largo or the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha: due to their "exclusivity", housing prices and other expenses will be significantly above average. For example, a 4-star hotel in Cayo Largo costs about 80 euros / night - there is simply nothing else there. Conclusion: if you decide to travel cheaply, we try to avoid "exclusive", "fashionable" and generally over-hyped places. I will make a reservation: the same Cayo Largo is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, I personally love it very much - but this article is devoted to the topic reasonable economy, which, unfortunately, is not very compatible with trips to such paradises.

Travel cheap - money

When traveling on a tablet or smartphone, get yourself a file where you reflect your daily expenses - separately for travel, housing and food. This will allow you to understand whether you fit into your budget or not, and if on any of the days you happen to spend more than planned, you will know exactly how much you need to “shrink” later. I first started using this technique during my first wintering in Thailand and, strictly observing the budget, I managed to clearly meet the amount allocated for the winter and even save a little.

It is highly undesirable to use credit cards with a ruble account when traveling (“cheap” or not - it does not matter). Let's say you withdrew a certain amount of reais from such a card in Brazil. Firstly, the bank will transfer these reals to you in dollars, and then dollars into rubles - and you will pay him this double conversion. Secondly, you will pay a double fee for cash withdrawal: to the host bank of the ATM and to the bank that issued your card. Of course, situations sometimes happen that you have to use such a card - for example, you are with a heavy suitcase, the nearest exchange office is five blocks away or does not work at all, and the local ATM does not recognize your debit card of a Russian bank with a dollar account as a card and requires you to insert something into it. something more solid. And you take out a good old ruble credit card from the bins, for example, Raiffeisen or City, and, shedding tears, take reals from it. But without extreme necessity, it is better not to do this, banks will charge you an additional 15-20 percent of the amount.

Spending money in your independent travel, you should calculate expenses in such a way that you do not run out of cash on Saturday or Sunday - for example, on Latin America Finding a working exchanger these days is almost impossible. Of course, it is very difficult to calculate in advance on which particular day the money will run out and you will have to change more - but in any case, it is better to spend 10 minutes on Friday than to run around the city on Saturday / Sunday without a guarantee of achieving the desired result. For example, on Saturday I could not change money ANYWHERE. I had to withdraw them from the ruble card, and then change them a little more at the airport at a predatory rate with a commission. By the way, when exchanging money, always specify the exchange rate IN ADVANCE - it can vary depending on the amount - as well as the availability and size of the commission. For example, in Prague, the most adequate exchangers are held by Arabs, and almost all exchangers in tourist places they indicate one rate, but in fact it turns out to be much less profitable - they say, the rate on the sign is from 10,000 dollars / euros and more. And yet - in the same Brazil, only one ATM out of five accepted my Sberbank card, and the CITY card was accepted everywhere, so it makes sense to get a debit card with a dollar account of some decent international bank, cards of Russian issuers may be useless abroad.

Travel cheap - flights

Pros: often much lower prices.

Minuses: more stringent requirements for the size and weight of baggage, less convenient airports, lack of food on board, attempts to charge a fee for choosing a seat in the cabin and other optional excesses, attempts to impose all sorts of additional services such as insurance. There may also be individual troubles, as, for example, with the Irish Ryanair: the client is obliged to check in for the flight on their website and print it out himself boarding pass. If you come without a coupon, they will print it out for you, but for a hefty amount in euros, it is often more expensive than the ticket cost. The philosophy of low-cost airlines is as follows: to attract customers with super low prices, and then try to dilute them into a bunch of different surcharges - for example, Ryanair, Airbaltic or AirAsia do it. Our task is to find the cheapest fare and buy a ticket for it, resolutely suppressing all attempts to sell us something unnecessary for additional fee. I agree, there are a lot of minuses and comfort at times leaves much to be desired, but on the other hand, the same AirAsia, with very distant flights along South-East Asia I have repeatedly happened to buy air tickets for 20-30 dollars. In the search for tickets for flights of low-cost airlines it can be very useful Momondo flight search engine– unlike most other similar services, Momondo in its search results, it very often takes into account not only the offers of traditional airlines, but also low-cost airlines operating in this direction.

Baggage: for independent travel with the help of low-cost airlines and saving on flights, I recommend purchasing a small suitcase on wheels, but with backpack straps - these are sold both on the Internet and in specialized stores.

The presence of wheels allows you not to carry everything on yourself (for example, I really don’t like this), and the presence of backpack straps allows you to turn a “suitcase” into “hand luggage”, which makes it possible to significantly save on the cost of tickets from low-cost airlines. For example, an itinerary ticket Bangkok—Singapore AirAsia airline cost me $50 on the condition that I fly without checked baggage - only hand luggage measuring 56x36x23 cm and weighing no more than 7 kg. If you buy a regular ticket with checked baggage, the price can rise significantly, often at times; on long solo trips big amount flights, the total savings "on luggage" can be comparable to the cost of meals along the route. How to travel with the aforementioned suitcase backpack: make sure that the total weight (including the suitcase itself) does not exceed 7-8 kg; during normal movements, we naturally roll it on wheels, we only need straps during check-in for a flight at the airport. We close the wheels with a cover, put a “backpack” on our shoulders and answer all the questions of airline employees (and they most likely will not be in this situation) that this is our hand luggage. With such a “luggage” I traveled around and around and around a bunch of different places: it’s difficult, but possible. Only once did an overzealous lady at the New York airport La Guardia get to the bottom of me, stating that "hand luggage cannot have wheels." But there I myself was to blame, I relaxed and approached the reception desk not with a "backpack on my shoulders", but calmly I like a suitcase on wheels. With proper observance of the entire procedure, questions never arose.

If, nevertheless, your things do not fit into this small suitcase or exceed allowable weight(which is not surprising on long independent trips), I can offer this life hack: go to a motorcycle-biker ammunition store and buy a waist belt with several large pockets there (I bought one in Sicily), stuff everything small, but heavy, into your pockets ( usually these are photo and video equipment, GPS navigators and other electronic gadgets and their charging device) and during check-in for the flight you make a friendly face and answer that “I don’t know anything, these are my pockets.”

The same motorcycle belt on the beach of Larnaca

In this way, I stuffed 8-10 kg into the “pockets” of the waist belt, sometimes this raises questions, but rarely; there’s nothing to get to the bottom of here, according to the rules of air transportation, this really cannot be considered luggage or hand luggage. Well, the obvious: we put on outerwear, filling pockets with things to the maximum.

An important point: when buying air tickets, you should be extremely careful when purchasing tickets with a departure time before 8 am - usually the most tempting prices are for such flights. Let's say if the departure time is at 7:45, then you need to be at the airport at 5:45, and leave the hotel at 4:30 (if you go far) or a little later. To travel to the airport, you will have to order a transfer or a taxi, because buses usually do not run at such an early hour. Both a taxi and a transfer will cost significantly more than during the day - a night rate. Thus, savings on the price of an air ticket will be negated by the cost of a trip to the airport. For example, an Airbaltic Moscow-Stockholm flight ticket with a transfer in Riga for Momondo can cost about 5,000 rubles, but with a return flight from Stockholm at 7 am; at this time, you can only get to the airport by taxi, which will cost about 100 euros - that is, about the same as a round-trip ticket! As a result, the cost of air tickets, taking into account a taxi ride to Stockholm airport, is even more expensive than regular airline tickets (not low-cost airlines) at regular prices. In addition, in the described case, you will have to wake up at 4 am or earlier, which may adversely affect your further well-being during the day, especially if the night before was spent in a hostel, where it can be problematic to go to bed early.

And one more thing: before connecting flights, it makes sense to go to a supermarket and buy food for the day - because if you have to spend it all at airports, you will have to buy food there (they don’t feed you on low-cost flights) and overpay relative to prices in city supermarkets. For example, in Brazil, away from hiking trails conditional food will cost about three times cheaper than at the airports of Rio de Janeiro or. IN Thailand the difference in prices will not be so noticeable, but it will be there too. Eating at airports is extremely unreasonable from all points of view - both price and quality. And if there are a lot of flights (for example, I have up to 20 flights in one trip), then the cost of food at airports becomes tangible. By the way, the recommendation to buy food in advance is also appropriate for long bus journeys. Buses, as a rule, stop for lunch in places where prices are again higher than average, since the price already includes commissions for drivers who regularly deliver hungry customers to establishments.

Traveling cheap - accommodation

Important point: when staying in hostels, it is still desirable to be able to communicate in English, albeit at a certain minimum level, as you will have to establish, albeit fleeting, but no less important relationships with staff and roommates. It's quite easy, hostel guests are almost always reasonable and friendly people. In addition, there can be practical benefits from such acquaintances: for example, a roommate invited me with him to the Chicago Museum of Art for free - he, as a member of some American museum association, had a two-person pass. And another recommendation: it seems to me reasonable in my independent trip not to get carried away with hostels too much and dilute them regular hotels in the proportion of "3 nights in a hostel - 1 night in a hotel" - this will allow you to reduce the accumulated fatigue from living in unfamiliar groups and with very limited personal space.

In general, the dilemma between hostels and hotels is similar to the choice of “how to go to work - by private car or by public transport". For some, it is unthinkable to "jostle" in the subway, and for some, the height of idiocy is to spend hours standing in traffic jams, while paying for a car, insurance, gasoline, parking, and so on. I, once an avid motorist, have been in Moscow for several years now without a car and quietly ride the metro and scooter - I made the same choice in the case of hostels. To select and book places in hostels or rooms in hotels, you can use specialized portals such as hostels.com or Booking.com.

Travel cheap - rent a car

Personally, I love to travel by car, but consider the situation in light of the need to minimize costs. Avoid renting a car unless clearly necessary. For example, in Cuba or Norway, a car is definitely needed, but in Chile it is quite possible to do without it (if you do not plan trips to remote places). national parks) - traveling by bus there will be much cheaper, and in cities in general, a car is often more problems than good. Renting a car with all related expenses cost me $ 533 for 5 days - for this amount you can live in Thailand for a month. Moreover, it was the most cheap car at Hertz, and even at a discount. Renting a car becomes more or less economically justified if you are traveling with a group of three or more people - it is definitely cheaper to use buses / trains alone.

Travel cheap - insurance:

As for a good working insurance, it was not easy to find it before, but now it has become even more difficult due to the constant fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate against world currencies. For the past few years, I have been taking out insurance for my travels through an online service - here you can compare the products of different insurers and choose exactly what suits you best in terms of price and insurance coverage:

Traveling Cheap - Epilogue

In my experience, refusing the services of travel agencies in organizing a trip allows you to save from 10 (on mass destinations) to 50 percent (on destinations that are not very popular with "package" tourists). And the one-time compliance with all the above conditions, of course, will not allow you to travel the world for free, but it will make it possible to reduce costs by another 30-40%, which will help compensate for the devaluation of your native “wooden” currency and make it possible to travel a lot and interesting.

We armed ourselves with leaflets and a marker for hitchhiking, contacted residents of the Alpine cities on the CouchSurfing website (for those who don’t know: this service allows you to spend the night with people abroad for free and also host foreigners at home for free), loaded backpacks and rushed to conquer the mountains. It was my first such experience. And, I must admit, the last one.

Today I will tell you what to expect from such free entertainment, as well as debunk or confirm some myths about couchsurfing and hitchhiking. So, go!

Myth #1: Couchsurfing is the obvious equivalent of a dating site. And sometimes it's dangerous
This is quite a popular rumor among those who have never used the service. I admit, I thought the same, but in the end we were guests of the most well-mannered people in turn: a German BMW engineer, an Italian architect, an Austrian graduate student of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and a French engine designer. All these guys were over 30, single, intelligent, traveled a lot, knew many languages and continued to explore the world through couchsurfing. At the same time, no strange hints and frank moments - everything was perfect until we reached our last host in the Austrian city of Graz. It was there that my most skeptical suspicions came true, and my friend and I still ran into a pervert, ee-ee!

Initially, everything was in his favor: a large number of positive reviews in the profile, messages promising to show us the city and have a party, despite the weekday, etc. But when we arrived, this couch, imposingly laying down in front of us in shorts and rolled his own, abruptly told us that he was too lazy and we were not going anywhere. Well, after my friend and I found out that there was nothing to talk about with him, except about clubs, we saw his plan not only “in our hands”, but also in our head. And then, as if reading our thoughts, he moved on to the 10-minute most awkward and unpleasant dialogue in my life in order to share pleasure with us. In general, this dude with a raging fantasy and testosterone was barely able to calm down. In response, he got angry and stopped talking to us - a gentleman of the XXI century, nothing to say.

After such emotions, I was left with a bad impression of couchsurfing and of Austria in general. Although in fairness it’s worth saying that my friend, whose couchsurfing experience is calculated in dozens of hosts (these are those who receive guests), this happened for the first time, therefore, we can say that the service is 98% safe. We did not write a review to our Austrian, because we thought that such a person could also write something bad in our profile in retaliation, thereby lowering the page rating (so in many cases negative reviews are simply not left on the site, keep in mind).
In order not to end the paragraph on a negative note, here is a snugly sleeping cat of the most intelligent Cauchy from Innsbruck.

Most likely, you have already learned basic words such as "hello", "bye" and "thank you", it is also very important to learn words and expressions that will help you communicate with local residents V emergency. Whether you need to find out how to get to the nearest hospital or call the police, key phrases will greatly expand your ability to ask for help.

Getting to know the locals during your trip can make it much more colorful and memorable, but if their questions make you feel uncomfortable, you can safely twist the truth for your own safety. You may be asked if you are single or married, where you are staying, whether you are traveling alone. You can communicate with someone who is genuinely interested in your life, but it can also be people who are trying to get information from you, which they can then use against you. If a person looks nice and pleasant, this does not mean that he has good intentions. If you lie a little, saying that you are traveling with your family or just going to meet friends, this will allow you to avoid potentially embarrassing situations.

Try not to wear clothes that don't fit the place you're visiting and literally scream about what you don't know local traditions and cultural norms. Of course, this may sound like just a small cultural mistake, but this mistake can seriously affect your relationship with the locals, especially if you need help. If you are dressed in clothes that the locals consider unpleasant, you are unlikely to evoke sympathy or compassion in them, which could lead to someone helping you. You should dress as if you have been traveling the world for years and are aware of all the cultural peculiarities, and not an easy target, even if you have to wear not the most comfortable clothes.

Talking to the locals is one of the best ways to learn more about the local culture and life in general, but you should beware of specific topics that can offend or anger your interlocutors, which can put you in an unpleasant situation. You should know what topics are not worth discussing. For example, in Cuba you can't talk about communism, and in Thailand you don't talk about the royal family. Not all countries are as liberal as the countries of the West. You should know not only what you should talk about with the locals, but also what you should not talk about with them.

You should always send someone close with information about your flight, hotel, tour and plans in general. Also try to get in touch every day so that this person can immediately know if something happens to you. It's especially important to let you know if you'll be without Internet access or even phone service for some time, so that your loved ones know when to expect your next contact. You can also take advantage of one of the security programs to have your travel information at the embassy of your home country in the country you are visiting, as well as to ensure that you always receive important information about the security conditions in your home country.

Many people look at travel as a way to remove barriers because they can do whatever they want without being judged by family or friends. Sexually transmitted diseases, serious injuries, robbery, and involvement in activities that may have legal consequences are all often self-inflicted by travelers, and it is these aspects that are most dangerous when it comes to traveling alone. This is not to say that you should miss out on every once in a lifetime opportunity, but rather that you just need to approach them responsibly to ensure your safe return home.

The first things pickpockets notice are the expensive cameras you hang around your neck and the smartphones you see out of your pocket. You should always have a special bag with you in which you can put all your valuables and which you can securely close and control. It's important not to let fear ruin your trip, but you should still try to get expensive equipment only when you really need it. This rule also applies to luxurious jewelry and fashion items, which can also signal that you are worthy prey.

You should always stay in touch, and you can do this using your phone, in which you can change the SIM card by purchasing a temporary one on the spot. You can also find out if your phone operator offers good plans for traveling abroad. If you have access to the Internet in a foreign country, this can help you out more than once, when, for example, you will not understand where you are. You can also always call your friends when you return to the hotel, which will give you a greater sense of comfort and security. Also remember to always take a portable charger with you.

Many travelers believe that ordering famous and familiar dishes such as pizza or a burger is safer than buying food from local vendors and establishments. However, in reality, there is a high probability that the employees of the establishment do not know how to handle foreign products, do not know how to properly store and prepare them, which can lead to negative consequences. Food safety is key when traveling alone because serious food poisoning is not something you want to face alone in a foreign country.

If you completely block one of the most important organs hearing, you become an easy target for pickpockets and other villains. It's nice to put on your headphones and immerse yourself in your own world when you're on the bus or walking around the city, but it's more important to stay focused and pay close attention to what's going on around you. You should especially refrain from wearing expensive headphones, as they can attract additional attention from thieves to you.

If a situation seems strange or uncomfortable to you, you should move away from it as quickly as you can. This may seem trivial, but it's important not to waste time deciding if your intuition is right. If something doesn't feel right to you, it probably is. Therefore, if you find yourself in front of a potentially negative consequences, you should act immediately and get to safe place where you can notify the police.