Planning my city trips

Everyone who knows me, knows how much I love to be out in the world. I always want to go away, escape my everyday life and explore things, meet foreign people and listen to their stories. I am so ambitious to get to know as many places as possible. This blog post is about some things I do to keep my travelling costs at their minimum.

As a students, we all face the problem of limited financial means. I chose to rather spend my money on short city trips in Europe than going out every weekend or having shopping sprees here in Copenhagen. For me the memories I make, while exploring a different city or country with my boyfriend are worth more than any material things. Of course, I can’t go and travel around every other week, that would be too good to be true. Still, I decide to take a cheap flight to Bremen at least once a month, to visit my family and get out of Copenhagen and get my mind off university, chinese characters and exam stress. Every now and then, I go for a short trip to a metropolis in Europe.
Saving up is one part to pay for travelling, but as a student, it is a struggle to have money to save it in the first place. A study program is really time consuming and the best we can do is having a part-time job.
But it doesn’t cost a fortune to travel within Europe, at least not when you are living in a city with an international airport. To be honest, that was one of the main reasons, why I decided to move to Copenhagen. The airport functions as hub and junctions for many airlines and of course, it is the biggest in Denmark.

 

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Ryanair-
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I will admit here and now: I am a huge fan of cheap airlines like Ryanair, easyjet and co. Many people may have a negative opinion about these airlines. To quote a friend of mine: ?Ryanair from the inside looks like a McDonalds. It’s a McPlane.? I totally agree, the interior and colours of the planes are pretty awful, there is a lack in service and the board menu is overpriced, the cabin baggage has strict rules and they charge you for extra luggage. You basically get only what you pay for ? the flight. But I am happy to put up with these and endure one or two hours of low quality service on board, because I know I will have a great few days ahead at my destination. For what it’s worth, I set low standards for the flight, because that is still better than staying at home.

Another thing I recommend to do during short trips is couchsurfing. I like the concept of it and so far, I always made great experiences with super nice and funny hosts. Not paying for the accommodation is only a small benefit of couchsurfing. You will meet local people, who are the best on giving you advices about the place. I always had one or two evenings, where my host and me arranged to have dinner together and exchange about our lives and experiences. Its just about having a nice time and get to know the other person. It might seem strange in the beginning to stay at some strangers place, but it’s just as safe as a hostel. Once you did it, you will love it.
If you still feel insecure and uncomfortable about staying at someone else’s home, you could stay at a hostel. Same same, but different. You share a dorm room with others and it is easier to start a conversation and get in touch with other travellers, when you share the same room or stay at the same hostel. Smaller hostels tend to be more personal and everyone is more open minded, but maybe it’s just my experience.

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Côte d’Azur
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Since I started to travel with my boyfriend, we decided to check into a hotel during our trips. We prefer to have the extra space and privacy. To be honest, for me a short weekend trip became more holidays than actually travelling, therefore I prefer the feeling of having a bit luxury. I like to spoil myself, that is why I chose to stay at hotels.
I subscribe to websites like hrs.com/deals or secretescapes.com to get the newest hotel deals on daily basis. Usually, I stumble upon good hotels for a cheaper price on these pages. A nice side effect is that I like to wake up and see the potential places I might go soon in my emails.

 

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The Money Jar !
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But how do I finance it ?
No matter how cheap the tickets and accommodation are, you still need a bit of savings to go away for a few days. My boyfriend and I are renting out our apartment via airbnb.com, during the time we are not home. It has the advantage that someone is in the apartment, while we are gone and we earn money. Every arrangement and rental over the website is insured. Therefore you dont have to worry about your apartment getting trashed or that the guests wont pay you in the end. Every user on airbnb have to be certified and must upload a copy of their passport or other identity card. People will text you, when they are interested in your place. Again, the bigger and popular your city is, the easier it is to find guests for your apartment.

You could be on the other line and find a nice place to stay via airbnb aswell.

These are the main things I consider, when I decide to go on a short city trip. It might be important to mention that it is mostly cheaper to fly on Thursdays instead of Fridays and come back sunday night, but other than that, you should be good to go for your city trip 🙂

 

Tuni
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