Student life: Travel on a budget

Over the past 2 years I have been able to travel to many new places and experience a variety of new cultures. I take pride in saying that I have been able to do this despite being a student and despite the 'financial embarrassment' that comes with being a student. I have chosen 3 places that I visited last year just to show just how easy it is to plan city breaks on a budget. Its doable, trust me.

London

Length of trip: 3 days

Flights: Ryanair flights from Dublin airport to Gatwick were just £20.

Accommodation: I was lucky enough to be visiting a friend who lived just south of London so I was able to stay with her which obviously saved quite a bit on a hotel.

Spending money: London was probably one of the most expensive places I visited in 2017. I think I spent around £200 but this was including buying a few things in the Missguided shop in the Westfield shopping centre (it was amazing), going ice skating at Somerset house and seeing Mamma Mia on the West End! Everywhere in London was easy to get to via the underground tube system and this really wasn’t that expensive in comparison to getting taxis at home.

Mamma Mia on the West End

Somerset house SKATE

Berlin

Length of trip: 2 nights, 3 days.

Flights: Return flights from Belfast International airport to Berlin Schonefeld airport were just £25 (Ryanair). 

Accommodation: £35 - we were able to get a 4 bed dorm which was perfect as there was 4 of us. The hostel was called St Christopher's hostel, you can find out more about it here https://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/St-Christopher-s-Berlin/Berlin/17515 .

Spending money: I spent very little in Berlin as a lot of the World War related tourist sites were free of charge which was great. I probably spent around £150 . I would also recommend the free walking tour, it was very interesting well worth the small donation of 10 euro between us. We also managed to squeeze in a night out and we noticed that the drink prices were roughly the same prices as back at home so certainly not breaking the bank.

The Berlin wall - the murals stretch the whole way along the wall.

The Brandenburg gate

Half planned, half candid - plandid?

Brussels / Bruges

Length of trip: 3 nights, 4 days.

Flights: £20 return from Dublin to Brussels International airport with no other than Ryanair (shocker).

Accomodation: We stayed in quite a boutique hostel,which I had never experienced in a hostel before. The place was called 2go4 hostel and it was just a 10ish minute walk from the Grand Place (main square) which allowed for a pitstop to get a waffle each morning before we enjoyed our days actitivies. This hostel again was quite a steal at just £30ish. You can find out more about this hostel at https://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Brussels-2GO4-Quality-Hostel-City-Centre/Brussels/14418?dateFrom=2018-06-12&dateTo=2018-06-15&number_of_guests=2&origin=microsite

Spending money: Belgium wasn't cheap but it wasn't exactly expensive either. I would reckon I spent around £200. The most expensive part of my visit to Brussels was paying for the train over to Bruges but I would definitely recommend doing this!

Boat trip in Bruges - massive tick off bucket list.

I would go back to Belgium for the waffles alone.

Can't go on a trip without taking multiple Polaroids?

I hope I have opened your mind to the world of travelling on a budget as a student, it is possible and it is so worth it.

My top tips:

• Ryanair flash sales - Every so often Ryanair have special 'flash sales' were they slash their flight prices by ridiculous amounts, theres normally one in October and one around April time so keep an eye on your emails.

• Mid week flights - I have found that mid-week flights are usually significantly cheaper than weekends.As a university student I found it easier to head away mid-week anyway as I had a part time job at the weekends that I often struggled to get time off from.  This maybe meant missing 1 or 2 days of uni but in the long term this didn't really mean anything. So just do it!

• Skyscanner - I would recommend using Skycanner as you can explore and see what places are cheap to fly to, for example, I found Brussels by this method and probably wouldn't have went if I hadn't found the cheap flights on Skyscanner (Brussels was probably my favourite trip of 2017 so it is definitely worth checking out Skyscanner).

• Cabin bag only - You DO NOT need a full size suitcase for a city break. With Ryanair it would cost you £50 if you book an extra bag online or £80 if you do it at the airport. You do not need it, I swear.

• Free walking tours - I cannot recommend free walking tours enough. I didn't know what to expect with these as they were technically 'free' but since going on my first I have went on one in every city I have visited after. Although they say its free it is actually donation based, I would roughly have donated £5-10 depending on how informative the tour was. The walking tours can save you alot of money and allow you to learn as much as positive about the city even on a budget. 

• Hostel world - Who even stays in hotels anymore? Hostels are were it's at. I find the app 'Hostel World' very useful when researching hostels to stay in. It is important to weigh up the price, location and past reviews to help you choose where is best to stay. You should aim to stay somewhere close to the city centre or to a metro.underground tube station as this will mean you would be relying on extortionate train and taxi fares that are very evident in many European cities.

• And finally, my most important tip would be to remember that life is for living so book the flights now and worry about the rest closer to the time, it will be worth it.

I really haven't went into much detail on any of these places but if you would like to ask me any questions please get in touch!

I don't mean to sound pure cringe but I couldn't recommend travelling enough. Over the past two years I have been able to mark so many places off my bucket list but there are many still to go.

I'm heading to Thailand at the end of the Summer (eek) and would love to get some tips from anyone who has been before, especially in terms of packing, weather, activities, safety and the full moon party (so if there is anything you can think of please DM me). 

Thanks for reading (if you're still here). 

ND x