The travellers Guide
Introduction
I am Andreas and
I 've been travelling a bit last years. I have faced a lot of
experiences and I made lot of mistakes as well which gave me good
travelling lessons :)
What I will
write will be on traveller's view and not in a tourist view.
I am sure there
are more to add and what I will write reflecting my self and they may
be wrong for you but they could be source of ideas...
Before Travel
Always minimize the Cost
I believe that a
trip is always a source of education even if is for entertaining
purposes, so for me the most I save during a travel the earlier I will be
able to travel again.
Flights:
The obvious
think here is to book the ticket as early as possible but to be
honest with me it does not work all the time as my daily circumstances
are changing all the time.Usually I go for late deals. For example
in big tourist agents web sites like Thomson or Thomas Cook you can
find very attractive last minute deals.
One very
important think to mention here is the other costs of the flights.
For example if
you planning to travel from Barcelona to London and you have the
option of British Airways Vs Ryan Air you should be able to choose
the overall cheapest and convenient airline.
RyanAir
British Airways
Girona (Barcelona) – Barcelona –
London Stansted
London Heathrow
| Flight Tickets : |
90 Euros Return |
4 hours return |
160 Euros Return |
4 hours return
|
| Tickets to airport : |
20 Euros in Spain
30 in UK
|
6 hours total |
8 euros in Spain
10 euros in UK |
2 hours total |
| Extra Luggage
|
30 Euros |
Optional |
Free |
|
| Meals and Drinks |
10 Euros Average total
|
|
Free |
|
| Total : |
180 Euros with luggage
150 Only Hand Luggage |
10 hours total travel
time |
178 Euros total |
6 hours total travel time |
* I included 10
euros meals and drink charge because even if you decide not to have
anything in the plane, if you travel with a non low cost airline and
you have a meal and a drink in the plane, that will save you money
for a coffee or a meal after travel :)
To transit or not to transit
???
Ok you are in
the travel search engine and you found a direct flight at 200 euros
and a transit flight at 220 euros with 15 hours waiting time at the
airport of a city you have never been. The obvious choice would be
the direct flight which involves no unnecessary waiting time at an
unknown airport... or maybe not???
In this case with 20 euros you
have the chance to visit a city you never been, remember you are a
traveller and not a tourist!!!
Think about alternative
Travelling means
An overnight
coach that needs 8 hours to go from London to Paris is better option
than a plane that arrives in Paris airport at midnight. You dont need
to pay a hostel for a full day while you will sleep for only 8 hours or a taxi because
there is no public transportation at midnight. Plus you dont want to
walk around in the city carrying your luggages late hours :)
Travelmates !!!
The quality of
your trip is depended in a big extend from people who travel with
you. You don't have to have the same interests with people who will
join you but is good always to agree that you can separate from each
other when you want to do different staff :)
No offence, but
be extremely careful when you are travelling with girl/girls/women/ladies. You
want a beer in the square she want to shop! Agree before the travel
to avoid the bla bla bla bla !!! :)
Also the smaller
the group the better. I would say that a group of more than three
people is going to be in constant conflict because not everybody is
the same!
Also if you stick in the group then you will miss what the
journey has to offer you!
Accommodation
The ideal is to
live to a local friend's house. Not because it saves money but
because you can take the most from the country your visiting as you
see daily life with the eyes of a local person. I always appreciate
that and I take gifts to the extend I can afford.
However this is
not always the case as we dont have friends in every country :)
I still didn't
try couchsurfing :)
Hostel Vs Hotel
Usually prefer
hostels because first is cheaper and then I can meet people with the
same travelling attitude, again remember traveller not a tourist :)
Comparison
Table
Hostel
Vs Hotel
| Cost |
Cheaper |
|
| Average Services |
Shared rooms and toilets, basic breakfast, internet |
Private Rooms, en suite toilets, good breakfast, swim. pool etc |
| Can I meet people |
Super Easy! |
Hard! |
How to find best
accommodation
All you are
looking for is VALUE for MONEY. In other words not only economical
solution but in the same time convenient :)
So you went in
your search engine, lets say hostelworld.com. You are looking for
hostel in Liverpool. You will get 200 results, which one is for you?
What I usually
do is:
1. Filter the
results according to the overall rate from customer reviews. In other
words the first in the list should be the best.
2. Then choose 3-5
hostels which are available and I can afford them
3. Then make the
comparison. The best should be the one which combines good location,
good atmosphere and is reasonable clean. If something from these
three is missing then there is a risk not to be satisfied.
Just before trip
Check the
weather for the full week so you will know what to wear.
Take some
currency with you just to be on the safe side. I know is cheaper and
more flexible to get the currency from Cash machine but what happens
if for one or other reason your card is unable to withdraw money?
When I arrived to Mexico I was surprised to see that I couldn't
withdraw any money. I called to my local bank but it was Saturday
night and I had to wait until Monday morning to know why I couldn’t
get any money. I was lucky to have few pounds with me to arrive to my
final destination where some friends borrowed me some money. To make
the long story short my bank needed previous notification of half
hour every time I wanted to visit atm (!). Not bringing currency with
me back costed me 80 pounds calls (yes, that what I had to pay until
I found out the reason) and another 50 pounds western union charges
:)
Prepare
Your Luggage
In every single
time, I have to travel I always write a list! ALWAYS!
You have to
remember that the less you put in your luggage, the less you have to
curry!
When I write my
list I start from my bottom (i.e. foot with socks,sandals and shoes
to head with shampoo and lenses)
Put dark
trousers so the dust etc is not shown and you can were them more than
once!
Put the
electricity converter so you can charge your phone and camera.
Remember to put
your camera or smart phone to capture the moments :)
When you arrive in the Country
If you are
intending to stay there more than 3-4 days and you are not on pay as
you go then it would be wise to buy a local sim card.
When I visited
Israel, I didn't want to spend 40 euros for local sim card as I
thought that I would be ok without it. I got some call that I
couldn't reject, I opened my E-Mail few time and I am here with a
bill 120 pounds :-()
Where to eat
I personally
hate Mcdonalds but even when it comes to other decent affordable
international food franchises like subway or nandos, I avoid them on
my travels.
I always believe
that is good to taste literally the country you are visiting.
So I walk away
from central or touristic places as I want to pay for the value of
the food and not for the location.
If you see a
restaurant that is packed in an area where the restaurants are semi
empty then you probably found your place.
People
It is good
always to try to speak the local language even if you just know few
words or phrases as this is a sign of respect.
Hostel usually
is a good place to meet new and interesting people. Try to join other
groups for the night or invite people to come out without friends.
Try to keep
contacts as you may visit their country or they may pass from yours.
Travellers
should not be allergic to people.
Go Away from the usual
Ok you went in
Athens for a week and you saw 70% on the fifth day. Will you spend
another 2 days try to see the other 30%. You got an idea of the city
:)
Why not taking
the bus and go to another city or a village?
Again if you go
away from tourists you will be treated more as guest and less like a
tourist.
How to move in the city?
Usually the
easiest is with taxi but in majority of the cases is expensive, Metro
or Underground is good option and is value for money but you can't
see anything during the travel.
The best is to
walk or cycle the city :)
You stop where
you like and you breath and feel the city.
Ask Locals
NEVER NEVER
NEVER ASK THE TAXI DRIVER!!!
You dont want
taxi driver's commission to be included in your bill.
Examples:
After you make a
big smile in the street
''Hola seniore,
where is the best taco's restaurant?''
''Excuse me mate
which is the best local pub?''
From the peoples
dressing code you create a profile in your mind and you judge who to
ask :)
A guy in costume
in city center could probably know where is the best fancy
restaurant.
The rasta guy
would know where they sell green gifts ;)
This guy who
hold the guitar knows where there is a good rock bar :)
Go out of your waters
I dont mean take
drugs or do illegal staff. But when you are away is always a chance
for you to escape from your reality. Imagine that when you are in
your country you are like a swimmer in a river. You can swim where
ever you want but the flow will always affect you :)
Now you are
away, you are swimming the sea. There is still a flow but is less.
Examples:
You slept by the
beach, you got drunk with people you didn't know 2 hours before, you had sunbath in a nude beach...
