I’ve often asked about how much money I had spent abroad. Some assumed that I must be rich to travel to places. But the truth is nope, I am actually quite broke hahaha. In fact, many backpackers I had met on the road were not wealthy themselves. In this post I’ll share some tips on how to save money when you are travelling abroad.
Overview: Generally, I spent less than 12k MYR / 2660 Euros for my 3-months (90 days) trip in Italy (and I managed to travel to Paris and Amsterdam for a bit!). This includes flight tickets, accommodation, and all other expenses.
How to source money?
I used my savings from part-time jobs and also angpao money. It was not difficult to save up because I was lucky to be well-sheltered and not starving. I started taking part-time jobs since 14, so yeah bits by bits I got to accumulate an amount enough for me to travel abroad. The only thing my parents sponsored was my flight ticket. I had to be responsible with all the other expenses – which means I would rather walk 30 minutes instead of spending 1 euro on Subway. Oh and another thing, I seldom buy new clothes and shoes. I often wear second-handed clothes from relatives or neighbors hahaha that’s why I am faaaar from being a fashionable person.
Purchasing the flight tickets
Actually I could have saved more from here. I bought my round-trip tickets with KLM for 3.9k. I bought my tickets less than 2 months prior to the departure date. Plus, I did not travel back from the same city – arrive at Sicily; depart from Venice.
You can try Skyscanner to search for the cheapest flight option. And book earlier to save more. Check out the flight offers from time to time. You can actually get tickets to Europe with less than 2,500 MYR if you do your research well!
Also, you can definitely choose a nice city to transit – get out of the airport and go see around before your connecting flight!
*Be careful with the immigration regulation though. Make sure that you do not need a visa to do so.
Planning your accommodation
- Workaway – Volunteer in exchange for free stay!
If you want to travel for a long time in a country, might as well volunteer and save up on your accommodation! Workaway.info is a website that you can find hosts to volunteer with. You can create an account and browse through the hosts for free but you have to pay for a subscription fee of 36.5 USD (price updated by 15.1.2020) to contact the hosts.
I volunteered with La Controra Hostel in Napoli which was a superb experience and I could not recommend more of it. I worked for 25 hours a week in exchange for accommodation and dinner!
Read more about my workaway experience with La Controra Hostel here.
I had also volunteered with an Italian family teaching their kids English. From my experience, if you are not fond of kids, do not volunteer with families because dealing with the kids 24 hours 7 days a week can drive you crazy.
- Hostelworld.com – Get a bed at the lowest price possible!
Or any other hostel website that you can find. I found lots of good deals on Hostelworld. It is cheaper to stay in a huge mix dorm where I got around 20 – 25 Euros for a bed (depending on the season, room type and location – it is more expensive in the summer). Personally I would choose hostels that are located right in the city center so that I do not have to pay extra for the transportation. I didn’t mind staying in mixed dorm too. One time I stayed in a dorm with 4 other males in Venice but the hostel manager kept the door unlocked at all times for safety reasons.
I also tend to choose hostels that allow cooking. You’ll be surprised how much you could save by cooking at the hostels instead of dining out.
Breakfast is one of my concern too! I loved the hostel that I had stayed in Florence – what a grand breakfast they serve!
I also take the atmosphere into consideration – I seek for hostels that are more sociable. Trust me, your trip could be so much fun when you get to make some awesome friends at the hostels!
- Couchsurfing – Meet the locals!
It is a free platform where you can find local hosts to stay with for a couple of nights.
Honestly, I do not recommend Couchsurfing in Italy because most hosts I’ve found are males and apparently some only prefer females which I find odd. It’s just a lot of dirty stuff going on unless you are up for some fun lol. I have had friends who had horrible experiences in Couchsurfing but some did enjoy their time with their hosts. So yeap, it really depends on your luck. I wouldn’t risk it just to stay for free. But you do you.
I tend to couched in in my friends’ house whom I had met earlier in either Malaysia or United States. I was lucky to have them! They showed me around the cities and I couldn’t be more thankful. ❤
Transportation
- Train
It’s pretty weird that in Europe, the train tickets fluctuate like flight tickets. The earlier you book, the cheaper it is. I booked my round-trip tickets from Torino to Paris (6 hours train) 3 months earlier for 78 Euros. I checked the price again a week before my travel, and it had already increased to 120 Euros. So yes, book earlier.
If you have a student card you might be able to get some discounts.
Personally I had never purchased to EuRail package but I have heard that it is actually not worth the price. However for more details please look up to the website.
- Bus
FlixBus is my favorite way to travel. I often bought the night bus ticket so I could spent the night on the bus and save up on accommodation. I took a bus from Naples to Bologna (10 hours drive) for only 20-ish Euros. Got to see a nice view of the coastline too!
- Flight
If you want to travel within the countries in Europe, you can often find cheap flights with RyanAir or other local airlines. Not gonna elaborate more on this because I did not have experience with flights within the EU.
- Bike-sharing or the Subway
There are many bike-sharing offered in the big cities. I tried it once, it wasn’t a good experience because my legs are too short for European bikes. If you are staying in the same city for more than 3 days you might want to consider getting a weekly pass. I did that in Paris and wow I take their subway all the time, switching form line to line, all for 20-ish Euros.
*Do not get the ‘travel’ package, they are often tourist traps and cost much higher.
Food and Entertainment
- Free Walking Tour
You can find free walking tours online easily. You do not have to register anything, simply show up at the meeting point and voila you’ll get a tour guide for free! However, they expect you to tip at the end of the tour. Usually I tip 3 Euros but if you really like it you can tip 5 Euros or more. It is one of the best ways to meet people too!
- Rick Steves Audio Guide
This is my fav! Go to Rick Steves Audio Tour, download the map, plug in your headphone and listen to the audio guide at your pace! I did it with Pompeii, Rome and a few other cities and I could not recommend more! It is very informative and simple for someone who is not too into history like me hahaha.
- Cook!
Yeah, common sense. You can save a lot from that. But do make some budget to dine out! I mean, you are travelling, and you can’t just miss out the local restaurants!!
- Aperitivo
Okay I think this only applies to Italy? You buy a drink and you will get access to the buffet prepared by the bar for free! They often serve pasta, bread, cheese and so on. All for a price of a drink (perhaps 5 Euros or slightly more). It is something that you must try in Italy, not just to save money but also to blend into the culture!
This guide could only help you so far…
If you are traveling across different countries, you might want to increase your budget. The expenses in southern Italy was cheaper than the north. If you are traveling to countries like Switzerland or Germany, you might need to do some research on their life expenses.
Soooo there you go! All my tips on how to go low-budget on traveling. To be honest, I could save even more if I did not drink and get drunk every single week hahaha but that’s how I rolled! If you have any further question feel free to ask kay x
I hope this is helpful! Have a great day.
The Dancing Wildfire 