Gawd yes! I concur totally 100% with you. I took many pix inside the very many stores we hit. Discreetly, of course. Fascinating how much cheaper items were in England as opposed to back home. And some items unexplainably 3x more expensive too. Tons of food and clothing were cheaper in the UK than in So-Cal!
I spent 2,000 dollars on a week trip to Japan in November. A trip with a travel agency would cost twice as much. Two weeks in the Philippines cost me $ 1,000. It was a month ago.My advice: don't exchange money at airports; don't use taxis; reserve everything beforehand; use the local marketplaces; always ask the locals, they know better than you; look where you have a hotel and what are the options to get to it: don't go to Europe in July and August because it is the peak of the tourist season and it is terribly hot for visiting monuments .
I have also an explicit tip for you: Look for free walking tours. They are mostly held by locals and they are for free (most of them ask for a tip at the end) and they are really good. Like I was in Cologne, Germany last weekend and did such a tour, and i got to know some insider tips and got to see some attractions, I would probably not have noticed.
I have spent six months in London in the last 2 years and I NEVER paid for a museum or any tourist attractions. I have an old Rough guide to London. I highly recommend London hidden walks by Stephen Millar (Highly recommended and very interesting) Ok, I did not get into London Tower, The Westminster Abbey or some other highlights but who cares, I spent 4 days in the Museum of London and they have 4 daily free tours which will cover all 16 Galleries in the museum...NOT TO BE MISSED
Thx for the books tip! I loved London Walks tours, a bit up front, but no tip requests & v entertaining. We did the mudlarking one (on my bucket list for years) and it was fab. Their book is fun. I’ll look up the Millar ones tho.
Everything you say is spot on. We were in Europe for 4 months this last fall. First Ireland, then London then Spain for 3 months. We used Airbnb for all of them since there are 4 of us and like you said in many hotels you can only have 2 people per room so it was less expensive for us and we had a kitchen so we could eat breakfast, lunch or dinner and snacks at home. We at out on occasion but often in Spain for example we could bring home empanadas, chorrizos, cheese, baguettes, lunch meat and more for dirt cheap compared to eating out. When we did eat out like you said as well...we would eat early, which we prefer anyway and have the special of they day which was often a great deal. The last time I was in Spain was 19 years before this and what I love that has changed is I can bring my leftovers home without getting strange looks. Before it was not customary to take leftovers home. Now, they ask if I would like to take him home. I hate to have food go to waste and our kids are always willing to eat leftovers lol :) Excellent video as always :)
Love the tips! I love eating out in new cities and going to coffee shops and pubs and the like. I usually eat and drink at home, and only get 1 drink or a small/cheap side dish or split dishes when I go out. That way I can try the food and enjoy the atmosphere and experience without paying for multiple big meals and drinks every day.
Great tips, especially about the food! I bought some cheese, a baguette and some chicken from a market and had a picnic on the river Seine. It was great eating great food while seeing Notre Dame. Your videos are excellent!
Not gonna lie, I am actually one of those people who enjoys cooking while I'm on vacation. Its interesting to see what ingredients you can get when you travel different places, try to imitate local dishes, and it gives you more of a feel of what its like to live there, because in a lot of countries, eating out is a big deal and is relatively infrequent (although this is starting change due to globalization). My family went to Italy a few years ago and we did this. As an American, I found it interesting how most of the grocery stores in Italy are really small compared to the ones in the US. We ate out quite a bit on our trip, but a good portion of our meals were homemade. We saved around a few hundred euros by doing this.
Hey Mark, my son and I are planning a trip to England then Scotland to trace or ancestry during the summer after he graduates high school. I happened upon one of your videos. Your content was informative, enlightening and engaging. So much so that I ended up watching 5 more of your videos packed with great travel tips. Here's the thing, were not even going on this trip till summer, 2019. It's months till we have to prepaid. You're good, you. Thanks so much for all the great info. This is our first trip abroad so what you are doing is invaluable and so appreciated. Keep up the great work and God bless.
Thank you so much. I'm glad I can help out. Sounds like you will have a good time. My mom and I have gone searching for ancestry in Scotland and met some amazing people along the way. You will have a great time.
One thing I love about the UK is there are campsites absolutely everywhere! I landed in Glasgow on a nonstop flight from Las Vegas, NV and I knew I wanted to save money on hotels so I bought a tent when I got there and I camped all over Great Britain for 3 weeks. I saved lots of money and it really was the best trip of my life.
I've only just come across this video. Some very handy tips here. I always find your videos very useful. London is an amazing city and so easy to get around on the underground.
Staying in a nearby town to save money on lodging also cost your time traveling too and from to place you want to see. Yes, staying in Vicenza will save money over staying in Venice, but you also become a "day traveler" in that instance and lose to spontaneous opportunities afforded by staying RIGHT THERE. When I travel to Italy, I always expect to pay the most for lodging in Venice. I bite the bullet and pay, usually staying at a mom & pop inn. This way I can stay out until midnight or later walking through the quite city. Or get to St Mark's Square early in the morning when there are ten other people, not ten thousand. You just have to decide what your purpose is. I travel on a tight budget but have decided I want to stay close and I pay accordingly. the cost is not always that outrageous. Of course, I'm not looking for or expecting luxury accommodations. Look around before you buy. you might be surprised what you can find at a better than reasonable price (50 meters from Duomo in Florence, two double beds, GREAT air con and last year, just 65 euro per night in the height of summer)
Mark, love your videos. You are truly doing a service for all current and aspiring travelers. Just wanted to comment, my wife and I had an awesome experience with public transportation in Rome. We stayed a little outside the city center, however our place was right next to a tram station that connected to Termini. It was a breeze to use (once I understood how). A one way trip (includes tram, metro, bus transfers) is only 1.50 euro! Can't beat that! Mini rant - It feels like I am being ripped off here in the states, I live in the Washington D.C. area. For example, a one way trip from the suburbs to the Smithsonian costs $6.00 one way during peak hours. Not to mention it takes forever (fewer trains and 10+ stops). At the time of this writing it would take 44 minutes to go 18 miles on Metrorail according to their official trip planner tool (Shady Grove to Smithsonian). Mass transit tip for Rome: Most tram stations/buses do not have ticket machines. However, tickets are readily available for purchase at any tobacco shop (about just as common as Starbucks in the us) without markup. You MUST buy this in advance before getting on the tram! What I did, after getting into the groove of things, was purchase an extra set of BIT passes while on the return trip at Termini for the next day. The clock does not start until they are validated for the first time (100 minutes from validation).
Taking public transportation also gives you a more local feel than being in the bubble of a taxi. You get to hang out with the locals and see their system.
The railway pass is good advice. I was going to use a railway pass but it would have ended up costing almost three times as much as buying the tickets individually. Don't automatically assume a pass is going to save money.
9:58 -- very nice picture of you wife. Great tips overall. Especially of England. I have been to England before and you are so right. It is very expensive IF, you don't plan right.
Great stuff as always. Some of the things that I have learned along the way... Find public markets where the locals shop for your meals. An excellent experience, cheap, well prepared food and a great way to learn about the local culture for nothing. Buy high quality, incredibly comfortable walking shoes. Pre-order vegetarian meals if you're being served on a flight. Especially on the Chinese airlines. They're usually a lot better than the regular meals and you always get your food first.
You can also save extra money by using digital banks. They offer 0% fee for transactions and cash withdrawals up to a limit(which is usually more than enough).
When I was an exchange student, I was among a group of 40 people who used Schoneswochenendes Tickets to go to Oktoberfest from Cologne. 13 hours down, 12 hours back. For only 8 euro per person per direction (40 euro per 5 person ticket).
I rarely eat out at restaurants because of expense -- I just go to grocery stores. Also when I was in nice, I took a city bus to Monaco which was only two euros. Lastly, in Rome for example, we would got a room that had a good breakfast, and you can take some of that food with you for throughout the day ( bread, cheese, fruit Etc ).
Took Virgin east coast train from London to Edinburgh - party of 4 was $50 apiece, our own table, with padded leather seats in first class, breakfast and lunch and snacks and drinks included. 120 mph, 5 1/2 hours, free WiFi and all the beautiful English countryside you could ask for. Was way better than cramming onto a Ryanair for the same ticket price, getting charged extra for our bags, and doing our best sardine impression.
Re Gatwick Express: don't buy a ticket if you have a contactless bank card. It will be significantly cheaper to tap in and out at the stations, perhaps even half the price depending on where you go and at what time you go.
One other way we have found to save money In Europe is by having the kids bring their student IDs. A huge amount of places give a significant discount to students with a student ID. Lots of places are even completely free for students. But they do typically require the school ID, even if they are obviously school age.
9:25 If you do travel, check to see if your travels take you NEAR a international border, but you have no plans to enter that country. I worked a site near the Canadian border and we had people getting notifications that they had entered Canada despite them being 5 miles from the line.
When we went to Paris, we paid in advance for shuttle transportation to and from our hotel from the airport. It wasn't a perfect experience but it was tons cheaper than the alternatives.
The advice that you gave was really helpful. I remember I travelled to the UK and I used my debit card to pay for a lot of things. But later when I checked my bank account and I noticed that they charged me for more than just the price adjusted by the exchange rate. Since I study aboard in Europe and I often travel alone, the videos really help me better plan my trips and save me money :D
I can really verify the tip on eating your main meal at lunchtime when visiting Sweden. The restaurants can be expensive in the evenings but at lunchtime you normally get a full meal, with something to drink, sallad and coffee afterwards for around $10-12. Also, in Sweden, look for a tourist card. In Stockholm you can get one valid for 2, 3 or 5 days which not only is your ticket on all public transport but also grants you free entrance to a multitude of museums. I am sure many other cities, in many countries, offer the same.
One tip I have for Italy, France, Portugal, etc. is to buy supplies (i.e. bottled water, cheese, ham, etc.) from the *chain* grocery stores. Your Carrefour Express or LIDL or Monop' will almost always be cheaper than an independent grocery store or corner shop (i.e. €0.30 for 1.5L bottle of water in France from the chain grocery store on the corner versus €2 from the independent shop).
*_#8 Multi-City air travel_* - Love them. And always remember to look up the pricing using the reverse itinerary. Sometimes there's a significant difference. As with your advice, this is from real experience...not Internet travel hack nonsense. Looked up flights arriving Budapest, departing Vienna and was happy with the fare. Reversed the itin and to my surprise saved a couple of hundred USD even though one hotel was slightly more expensive. Mark's general tips videos are realistic. Never says things like eat instant oatmeal every morning and peanut butter sandwiches every lunch to save gobs of money. Why would you do that? Stay on a work farm for a free room or look for dog sitting opportunities. Sure. 😂😂
haha thank god - i was wondering what you were doing :) and how did u fly back from a different destination (budapbest)? dont they charge you more for that? --- did u have a good time? what did you like/surprise you about the cities? (like mark´s love and hate list )
+Mathias Fiedler Just saw this. As Mark mentions @ #8, sometimes Multi-City tickets do not cost that much more than a single destination return ticket. I always look up different arrival and departure airports if I’m visiting a region but it doesn’t always work out and I end up just doing a train loop.
Hey thanks for this lovely video on Savin money while traveling, I would like to add one point to your video and it is to get up as early as possible as it helps getting the breakfast early, easy to see more in a day. rising early will help save a lot of money and you will be able to see more of that place.
Tobias Kirsch when you rise early you get ready early and have free breakfast as your steed, you get more time to talk to local people around and find out how much things cost and you don't end up getting scammed. The more time on your hands helps you explore more and find cheaper alternatives in that region first hand. Thus you end up saving money which you can spend on the nightlife there. Over doing the night life will always make you spend more and save less. There is an age ol saying that the early bird get to pick the best from the field and early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy wealth y and wise.
So what you wana say is make use of a pottential free breakfast (when i travel i nearly never book something with a breakfast included) and the other part is just a matter of you shifting your time scale from earlier to later. I dont think people will give you worse tips or information the later the day is. Its just personal preffernce.
Tobias Kirsch all I'm saying is make the most out of your travel and I completely agree with you about the personal preference stuff. Cheers have fun n enjoy.
Can i just add about the mobile phones data plan. If you have a mobile phone contract from a EU country you can use your mobile phone plan in any other EU country plus Liechtenstein and Norway who are in the EEC without a charge. Please bare in mind this will exclude the UK from 2019 onwards since the UK is leaving the EU.
Love your advices, if I may add an advice about public transportation in Europe: try to allways book for a hall week or manage to plan your mooves in town ( and the use of of public transportations) from monday to friday in order to use a week card. It may save a looooot of money.
Super ideas Wolter x enjoying your videos x Berlin was a great place .The transport system here is great 👍 Good to buy a ticket for the week so you can use trains and buses to get around easily to see more around Berlin.save your cash this way . Research the bus timetables and train links very easily
Hey Mark greetings from London. My tip for London is be careful as u may get ripped off. One time I saw tourists pay £10 on a ice cream. My tip is venture out or go to McDonald's and have ice cream. It's only 99p which is worth it in my opinion.
Reina Cedeno that's the only downside to McDonalds in London. But if u venture out of central London and touristy areas then sometimes you can be lucky
I was in London a year and half ago. My hotel was near Oxford street. decided to skip the hotel breakfast and I wanted to try McDonald's. I saw that they had those pre-order kiosk. as I was looking at the menu a homeless woman jumped in front of me ! She scared the Bejesus out of me ! In a gravely voice said : Could you get me something to eat ! I went into my Pocket , took out a couple of coins, gave it to her and high tailed it out of there !
juan monge ooh that annoys me - genuine homeless don't even have the energy to ask - they are laying in crumpled heaps - so sad. My freind had a baby plonked on her while the woman were asking for money - i said i saw you last week - how about YOU paying for my coffee - she high tailed it - my freind called after her - take the baby too! They work in gangs
When I was in London, Tesco and Sainsbury were my best friends. There also were some nice little shops in Shoreditch (even if I only spent a few hours in this part of the town) where I could get some stuff for a good price.
If you want to cook your own food and you're staying somewhere a while. I think buying fresh (preferrably in season) food from markets and if you can buying from shops that allow you to take your own containers and fill up. They call those zero waste shops in the UK because the supermarkets don't have a bulk section. I hear they like the bulk sections in a lot of supermarkets in the US.
Hi Mark, I love your videos and your family is beautiful. Thank you for all the useful information. I’m planning on taking a family trip to London and I was wondering your thoughts on the London pass.
Also: Check out some of the discount cards/city cards/velcome cards where you get free public transportation and dicount on sites and so on. Sometimes they are good and you can save a lot of money on them. Welcome Berlin is good. However in London my exsperience is that they are too exspensive. Just check out what you want to visit and the price.
So true. We stay with friends as often as we can. It's cheaper and you get to spend real time with them. Visiting my friends when we travel is my favorite part of traveling.
Through HomeExchange.com we've done 15 swaps all over Europe and New Zealand. We simply live in a family's home, drive their car, and they come live in our home, and drive our car for 2-3 weeks. Many day trips, combined with hotel stays in other cities we may want to visit further away. Obviously, have to plan carefully. Get to know the family you're trading with before anyone buys a ticket. I'm a sailor and on one occasion, we traded boats and got to sail Holland and he, the Chesapeake Bay. No money changes hands except subscription to the service to list you home and places you want to go. Combined with all the other suggestions you made in your video, you can travel very well.
So true about eating at restaurant. But you can also eat at a fast food kitchen or street food. One of my best and cheapest meals in Berlin one time was a chiliwurst fast food kitchen. I was tired and didn't want to eat at a fancy restaurant. Payed 7 euro for a chiliwurst with fries and a beer. And had great service as well, included wifi.
Yeah I don't know how i forgot to throw in the stands and stuff. I was editing this and had pictures for it but didn't talk about it so I didn't addbthem. But you are so right. Thank yoibfor adding this. I have it in our how to eat cheap while traveling video
#10: YES!!!! I have to submit copies of public transport itineraries repeatedly to the travel agency contracted by my employer to prove the lack of public transit connections for the budget airline flight they want to put me on and why I have to take the full-service airline connection, when it is my employer that simultaneously has a policy that I must use public transit to travel to and from the airport.
Here is a LONDON tip for travellers , the county of HERTFORDSHIRE ( pronounced Heart-ford-shah ) just borders London and the rail fares are cheap and often and normally run past midnight from Kings Cross Station ( Yes Harry Potter Kings Cross , on timetables shows as Kings X ) . Hertfordshire has many market towns with nice hotels and bed and breakfast guest houses or AIR B&B properties . There are also good links to the North and Scotland railways . In Hertfordshire there are many historical sites , Roman sites that have been uncovered in St .Albans , also the historical homes where Henry VIII sent his wives before executions , Tudor houses , buildings etc .
Hey Mark, I love love love museums. I am the one that stops to read every note on the wall. I can spend hours at museums. I have never paid to go to a museum because they are free in NZ. Do you have to pay to go into museums in Europe? I love art also but I expect they cost money to get into in Europe, but I don't know. I have heard the public gardens in France are amazing, probably from your vids. How much is it to visit museums and art galleries in France?
Most of the tikes you do have to pay but some cities have a mix of pay and free museums like in london. In Germany there is usually a free day once a month. But in general you have you pay.
In France, one Sunday a month is free at the museums, and all museums are half price the other Sundays. If you have any sort of student ID you’ll usually get a discounted or free ticket.
Have been watching your videos for a few years and love your tips for our own travels. But why don’t you visit Africa? Here in South Africa you can have an amazing holiday for very little money. Best budget tip in my opinion is go to countries that are great value for money.
During our great 2 week UK vacation last September I feel we have to respectfully disagree about not taking the train from London to Edinburgh but rather flying. We took the Virgin high speed train and had a great time taking in all of the beautiful UK scenery, admiring the old railway stations, towns and local differing architecture. It was more expensive, yes but we feel it was well worth it. Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local are your very best friends in the UK! And seriously, I was astonished at the lower prices for products in London, York and Edinburgh as opposed to convenience stores in So-Cal.
I am talking about price only. It's a budget video but I understand what you mean. I've taken the train a few times up to Edinburgh and I agree it's nice.
Great tips, and I actually use many of these myself already during our regular breaks into Europe.Further to your comment about flying between cities; definitely try to have an idea of your itinerary a few months in advance and I use Skyscanner to find the best prices and flight times.
In my experience museums in Europe usually aren't all that expensive. Some are free for everybody (e.g. British Museum, National Gallery, Tate and many others in London), others have discounts for students, families, young people (often free for children or EU citizens under 26) and/or senior citizens. In some cities/countries museums are free on a specific day of the month so check ahead and plan your trip accordingly. Students should also check if they need a specific international student ID (like ISIC) to get discounts or if their regular student ID will do and also note that sometimes admission is free for students with specific majors like art, history or archaeology (and your student ID usually won't state your major so it's possible to fib ;-)) But generally I agree that you should pick museums/attractions that genuinely interest you. If you don't care about art at all it's probably not worth it to go to the Louvre just to take selfies with the Mona Lisa ;-) For people visiting multiple cities/countries in one trip a good way to save money and still have a good time is to always try to alternate cheap and expensive places (e.g. capitals vs smaller towns) and adjust day schedules and spending habits accordingly. For the expensive cities plan out your days ahead of time so you can fit a lot of sights and activities into fewer days. Eat street food or supermarket food to save money and time. Then when you get to the cheaper place you can spoil yourself a little to recharge your batteries. Get the hotel room with the view (that's still cheaper than the basic one in the expensive city...) and have a nice meal at a restaurant. Have a lazy day where you sleep in, spent a few hours at a park enjoying the sun, walk around with no plan and see where it takes you . You're not spending a fortune each day just to be there so it's fine to relax... This way you'll be ready for a packed schedule when you get to to your next more expensive destinations. With this method you can see a lot on a budget without burning yourself out :)
Yep... rent an apartment... there's nothing quite like buying groceries in a foreign country to immerse you in the local culture... and yes... pick up a cheap "pay as you go" phone, particularly if you're in Europe.
In Spain, there is a train pass for women over 60 (?) that is like 40% discount so using it and traveling first class....SCORE! PLUS they have first class lounges at the train stations. The first ticket I bought the agent didn’t tell me about it but my 2nd long ride, she did.
Never book any package holidays. Use skyscanner to get the cheapest flights then compare hotels and apartments on airbnb, booking.com and trivago. I always book apartments now on all my trips, they are generally cheaper and you get things like a kitchen and living room. If hiring a car, don't buy the full insurance it's a RIP off. Unless you are a terrible driver.
Search for Airbnb. Since you are asking, I assume you don't have a profile there. It takes some time to make one, but as soon as you have done it, you have access to apartments all over the world. Good luck!
Going to grocery stores and markets (and even convenience stores) in different countries is one of the most fun things to do!
Kimberly H definitely one of my favorites too! The boys are finally embracing these visits also.
Gawd yes! I concur totally 100% with you. I took many pix inside the very many stores we hit. Discreetly, of course. Fascinating how much cheaper items were in England as opposed to back home. And some items unexplainably 3x more expensive too. Tons of food and clothing were cheaper in the UK than in So-Cal!
Especially in Japan. You can live off eating at convenience stores. I was in Tokyo for 8 days. 1 meal a day were from konbinis.
Yep its fun and when you don't speak the languages playing charades looking like I do its fun for onlookers to
Yess!!!
I spent 2,000 dollars on a week trip to Japan in November. A trip with a travel agency would cost twice as much. Two weeks in the Philippines cost me $ 1,000. It was a month ago.My advice: don't exchange money at airports; don't use taxis; reserve everything beforehand; use the local marketplaces; always ask the locals, they know better than you; look where you have a hotel and what are the options to get to it: don't go to Europe in July and August because it is the peak of the tourist season and it is terribly hot for visiting monuments .
Dude 2000 has to include the flights right? If not that is terrible. Where were you staying and wth were you eating?
I have also an explicit tip for you: Look for free walking tours.
They are mostly held by locals and they are for free (most of them ask for a tip at the end) and they are really good.
Like I was in Cologne, Germany last weekend and did such a tour, and i got to know some insider tips and got to see some attractions, I would probably not have noticed.
Agreed!! I'm in love with these walking tours!!!
I love the very practical, common sense advice Wolter's World shares.
Thank you Leslie. We hope it helps
Top tip if visiting London: don't go to Madame Tussauds; it's expensive, has long queues and you'll be massively underwhelmed.
1000000% agree
Also London Dungeon
I have spent six months in London in the last 2 years and I NEVER paid for a museum or any tourist attractions. I have an old Rough guide to London. I highly recommend London hidden walks by Stephen Millar (Highly recommended and very interesting)
Ok, I did not get into London Tower, The Westminster Abbey or some other highlights but who cares, I spent 4 days in the Museum of London and they have 4 daily free tours which will cover all 16 Galleries in the museum...NOT TO BE MISSED
Yeah, London's free museums are just amazing.
Thx for the books tip! I loved London Walks tours, a bit up front, but no tip requests & v entertaining. We did the mudlarking one (on my bucket list for years) and it was fab. Their book is fun. I’ll look up the Millar ones tho.
Everything you say is spot on. We were in Europe for 4 months this last fall. First Ireland, then London then Spain for 3 months. We used Airbnb for all of them since there are 4 of us and like you said in many hotels you can only have 2 people per room so it was less expensive for us and we had a kitchen so we could eat breakfast, lunch or dinner and snacks at home. We at out on occasion but often in Spain for example we could bring home empanadas, chorrizos, cheese, baguettes, lunch meat and more for dirt cheap compared to eating out. When we did eat out like you said as well...we would eat early, which we prefer anyway and have the special of they day which was often a great deal. The last time I was in Spain was 19 years before this and what I love that has changed is I can bring my leftovers home without getting strange looks. Before it was not customary to take leftovers home. Now, they ask if I would like to take him home. I hate to have food go to waste and our kids are always willing to eat leftovers lol :) Excellent video as always :)
Awesome. I know what you mean by now having doggy bags. It was good to be able to bring the extras home so we had some snacks back at the apartment.
Love the tips! I love eating out in new cities and going to coffee shops and pubs and the like. I usually eat and drink at home, and only get 1 drink or a small/cheap side dish or split dishes when I go out. That way I can try the food and enjoy the atmosphere and experience without paying for multiple big meals and drinks every day.
Thanks for the budget tips, Mark... as always, informative, inspiring & served with a SMILE.
Glad I can do something good :)
Great tips, especially about the food! I bought some cheese, a baguette and some chicken from a market and had a picnic on the river Seine. It was great eating great food while seeing Notre Dame. Your videos are excellent!
Not gonna lie, I am actually one of those people who enjoys cooking while I'm on vacation. Its interesting to see what ingredients you can get when you travel different places, try to imitate local dishes, and it gives you more of a feel of what its like to live there, because in a lot of countries, eating out is a big deal and is relatively infrequent (although this is starting change due to globalization). My family went to Italy a few years ago and we did this. As an American, I found it interesting how most of the grocery stores in Italy are really small compared to the ones in the US. We ate out quite a bit on our trip, but a good portion of our meals were homemade. We saved around a few hundred euros by doing this.
So excited for our trip to Europe in 2024. Ive been watching all Wolters World episode. Thank you.
Hey Mark, my son and I are planning a trip to England then Scotland to trace or ancestry during the summer after he graduates high school. I happened upon one of your videos. Your content was informative, enlightening and engaging. So much so that I ended up watching 5 more of your videos packed with great travel tips. Here's the thing, were not even going on this trip till summer, 2019. It's months till we have to prepaid. You're good, you.
Thanks so much for all the great info. This is our first trip abroad so what you are doing is invaluable and so appreciated.
Keep up the great work and God bless.
Thank you so much. I'm glad I can help out. Sounds like you will have a good time. My mom and I have gone searching for ancestry in Scotland and met some amazing people along the way. You will have a great time.
One thing I love about the UK is there are campsites absolutely everywhere! I landed in Glasgow on a nonstop flight from Las Vegas, NV and I knew I wanted to save money on hotels so I bought a tent when I got there and I camped all over Great Britain for 3 weeks. I saved lots of money and it really was the best trip of my life.
I've only just come across this video. Some very handy tips here. I always find your videos very useful. London is an amazing city and so easy to get around on the underground.
I like Wolter. I don't know why I am only finding this channel now, but this is gold! thanks for the tips, and you get a new subbie.
The Bayernticket is absolutely a great tip, saves a ton. You see locals who are strangers teaming up to buy the ticket all the time
I have asked people if they needed to join up with us before :)
Staying in a nearby town to save money on lodging also cost your time traveling too and from to place you want to see. Yes, staying in Vicenza will save money over staying in Venice, but you also become a "day traveler" in that instance and lose to spontaneous opportunities afforded by staying RIGHT THERE.
When I travel to Italy, I always expect to pay the most for lodging in Venice. I bite the bullet and pay, usually staying at a mom & pop inn. This way I can stay out until midnight or later walking through the quite city. Or get to St Mark's Square early in the morning when there are ten other people, not ten thousand.
You just have to decide what your purpose is. I travel on a tight budget but have decided I want to stay close and I pay accordingly. the cost is not always that outrageous. Of course, I'm not looking for or expecting luxury accommodations.
Look around before you buy. you might be surprised what you can find at a better than reasonable price (50 meters from Duomo in Florence, two double beds, GREAT air con and last year, just 65 euro per night in the height of summer)
Great Video. Thank you for posting. For some reasons, I keep coming back to this video to remind myself of the tips.
Mark, love your videos. You are truly doing a service for all current and aspiring travelers.
Just wanted to comment, my wife and I had an awesome experience with public transportation in Rome. We stayed a little outside the city center, however our place was right next to a tram station that connected to Termini. It was a breeze to use (once I understood how). A one way trip (includes tram, metro, bus transfers) is only 1.50 euro! Can't beat that!
Mini rant - It feels like I am being ripped off here in the states, I live in the Washington D.C. area. For example, a one way trip from the suburbs to the Smithsonian costs $6.00 one way during peak hours. Not to mention it takes forever (fewer trains and 10+ stops). At the time of this writing it would take 44 minutes to go 18 miles on Metrorail according to their official trip planner tool (Shady Grove to Smithsonian).
Mass transit tip for Rome: Most tram stations/buses do not have ticket machines. However, tickets are readily available for purchase at any tobacco shop (about just as common as Starbucks in the us) without markup. You MUST buy this in advance before getting on the tram! What I did, after getting into the groove of things, was purchase an extra set of BIT passes while on the return trip at Termini for the next day. The clock does not start until they are validated for the first time (100 minutes from validation).
Awesome practical advice... Thank you Mark! 👍
What you said made lots of sense. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks again 😊 for such great information . What a blessing for you & your family to travel together such a Awesome learning experience.😊
Hostels are also good if you are travelling on a budget, that's what I usually do when I go somewhere.
Taking public transportation also gives you a more local feel than being in the bubble of a taxi. You get to hang out with the locals and see their system.
I absolutely agree. I like the concept on using the taxi like being in a bubble, nice thought!
Just remember that the longer away from the bigger cities in Europe you are, the bigger the language barrier is
Agree. Not only because they tend to know less English (or your at-hand language) but also they might have thicker or local accents.
Hell yea! More reason to learn the local language
In terms of booking ahead, in the UK a lot of places and attractions have discounts for booking online as opposed to paying admission on the day.
Oh and look out for restaurants that offer “kids eat free”! Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurants occasionally have these deals
Thanks Amber!
That is a nice one. Thank you!
The railway pass is good advice. I was going to use a railway pass but it would have ended up costing almost three times as much as buying the tickets individually. Don't automatically assume a pass is going to save money.
Thanks so much for the very helpful info. Your boys are so cute too by the way! 😊
9:58 -- very nice picture of you wife.
Great tips overall. Especially of England. I have been to England before and you are so right. It is very expensive IF, you don't plan right.
Great stuff as always. Some of the things that I have learned along the way...
Find public markets where the locals shop for your meals. An excellent experience, cheap, well prepared food and a great way to learn about the local culture for nothing.
Buy high quality, incredibly comfortable walking shoes.
Pre-order vegetarian meals if you're being served on a flight. Especially on the Chinese airlines. They're usually a lot better than the regular meals and you always get your food first.
These types of vids along with the good vs bad ones are invaluable. I should have been a family travel writer!
You still can be!
I appreciate this great budget travel tips!
Going to the USA for the first time later this year. Thank you Mark for you very awesome travel tips videos :D
Awesome. Have a great trip!!!
Thanks for these tips. Great video
finally got my passport and headed abroad first trip is mexico to meet my wife's family and see where she was born!
What city? You probably already went, how was it?
she and her family are from and or live in the state of sinaloa nearest major city was angostura
Cool! Just looked it up on the map.
:) looking forward to many more mexico adventures
@@jd-py5nm bald and bankrupt had a cool journey to Sinaloa if you want to watch thay
You can also save extra money by using digital banks. They offer 0% fee for transactions and cash withdrawals up to a limit(which is usually more than enough).
When I was an exchange student, I was among a group of 40 people who used Schoneswochenendes Tickets to go to Oktoberfest from Cologne. 13 hours down, 12 hours back. For only 8 euro per person per direction (40 euro per 5 person ticket).
That's awesome!
I rarely eat out at restaurants because of expense -- I just go to grocery stores. Also when I was in nice, I took a city bus to Monaco which was only two euros. Lastly, in Rome for example, we would got a room that had a good breakfast, and you can take some of that food with you for throughout the day ( bread, cheese, fruit Etc ).
Amsterdam has the febu machines. Saved me a lot of money this past year while I was there vs going to a restaurant
Took Virgin east coast train from London to Edinburgh - party of 4 was $50 apiece, our own table, with padded leather seats in first class, breakfast and lunch and snacks and drinks included. 120 mph, 5 1/2 hours, free WiFi and all the beautiful English countryside you could ask for. Was way better than cramming onto a Ryanair for the same ticket price, getting charged extra for our bags, and doing our best sardine impression.
Also many European cities have a tourist card which gives free or reduced access to many sights and museums
Thank you for the advice, my wife and I used almost everyone of these tips on on our travels through Germany and Ireland. We love your videos. :)
Great to hear!
Re Gatwick Express: don't buy a ticket if you have a contactless bank card. It will be significantly cheaper to tap in and out at the stations, perhaps even half the price depending on where you go and at what time you go.
Cool. Thanks
Great Video. Thank you for posting.
Man I been watching your video all night long, thank you ❤
Yes, book your trains in England and France way ahead of time. I got nice first-class trips for less than a regular ticket on the day of travel.
Thanks!!! I'm going to London this summer and I gonna use these tips
Another cool video. Love this channel! Inspires me to travel more :)
Thank you!
Thank you Diana
One other way we have found to save money In Europe is by having the kids bring their student IDs. A huge amount of places give a significant discount to students with a student ID. Lots of places are even completely free for students. But they do typically require the school ID, even if they are obviously school age.
Great video like always 🙏🙏🙏
9:25 If you do travel, check to see if your travels take you NEAR a international border, but you have no plans to enter that country. I worked a site near the Canadian border and we had people getting notifications that they had entered Canada despite them being 5 miles from the line.
When we went to Paris, we paid in advance for shuttle transportation to and from our hotel from the airport. It wasn't a perfect experience but it was tons cheaper than the alternatives.
You are doing really good job.. Helping fellow travellers, appreciate it.. Love from India 🇮🇳
The advice that you gave was really helpful. I remember I travelled to the UK and I used my debit card to pay for a lot of things. But later when I checked my bank account and I noticed that they charged me for more than just the price adjusted by the exchange rate. Since I study aboard in Europe and I often travel alone, the videos really help me better plan my trips and save me money :D
I hope they can help. Have a great time traveling! You probably got a 3% foreign exchange fee :(
I'm really glad we can help
Your vids are interesting. Thanks. Ever been to Panama? I am going for two weeks next January with a side weekend in Costa Rica.
We have been to Costa Rica and Nicaragua, but not Panama. That is a goal for early next year
I used to live there. But lastly changed now. It's on my bucket list to go back.
I can really verify the tip on eating your main meal at lunchtime when visiting Sweden. The restaurants can be expensive in the evenings but at lunchtime you normally get a full meal, with something to drink, sallad and coffee afterwards for around $10-12.
Also, in Sweden, look for a tourist card. In Stockholm you can get one valid for 2, 3 or 5 days which not only is your ticket on all public transport but also grants you free entrance to a multitude of museums. I am sure many other cities, in many countries, offer the same.
One tip I have for Italy, France, Portugal, etc. is to buy supplies (i.e. bottled water, cheese, ham, etc.) from the *chain* grocery stores. Your Carrefour Express or LIDL or Monop' will almost always be cheaper than an independent grocery store or corner shop (i.e. €0.30 for 1.5L bottle of water in France from the chain grocery store on the corner versus €2 from the independent shop).
That is a good one. And so true!
Tap water is drinkable all over Europe and the UK. Buy one plastic bottle and refill it. Good for the environment too
*_#8 Multi-City air travel_* - Love them. And always remember to look up the pricing using the reverse itinerary. Sometimes there's a significant difference. As with your advice, this is from real experience...not Internet travel hack nonsense. Looked up flights arriving Budapest, departing Vienna and was happy with the fare. Reversed the itin and to my surprise saved a couple of hundred USD even though one hotel was slightly more expensive.
Mark's general tips videos are realistic. Never says things like eat instant oatmeal every morning and peanut butter sandwiches every lunch to save gobs of money. Why would you do that? Stay on a work farm for a free room or look for dog sitting opportunities. Sure. 😂😂
No kidding. The travel the world for free stuff drives me nuts. See the world but see no sights or museums or eat... not sure that is worth it :)
you flew to budapest? why did you not just take the train?
+Mathias Fiedler 😂 Flight U.S. to Vienna, train Vienna to Bratislava, train Bratislava to Budapest, flight Budapest to U.S.
haha thank god - i was wondering what you were doing :) and how did u fly back from a different destination (budapbest)? dont they charge you more for that? --- did u have a good time? what did you like/surprise you about the cities? (like mark´s love and hate list
)
+Mathias Fiedler Just saw this. As Mark mentions @ #8, sometimes Multi-City tickets do not cost that much more than a single destination return ticket. I always look up different arrival and departure airports if I’m visiting a region but it doesn’t always work out and I end up just doing a train loop.
Thanks, very useful video and imformative:)!!! I love this
Thank you
Hey thanks for this lovely video on Savin money while traveling, I would like to add one point to your video and it is to get up as early as possible as it helps getting the breakfast early, easy to see more in a day. rising early will help save a lot of money and you will be able to see more of that place.
I dont see how getting up early is saving you money? yeah you can see more of the place you are at day but you quite likely miss out on the nightlife
Tobias Kirsch when you rise early you get ready early and have free breakfast as your steed, you get more time to talk to local people around and find out how much things cost and you don't end up getting scammed. The more time on your hands helps you explore more and find cheaper alternatives in that region first hand. Thus you end up saving money which you can spend on the nightlife there. Over doing the night life will always make you spend more and save less. There is an age ol saying that the early bird get to pick the best from the field and early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy wealth y and wise.
So what you wana say is make use of a pottential free breakfast (when i travel i nearly never book something with a breakfast included) and the other part is just a matter of you shifting your time scale from earlier to later. I dont think people will give you worse tips or information the later the day is. Its just personal preffernce.
Tobias Kirsch all I'm saying is make the most out of your travel and I completely agree with you about the personal preference stuff. Cheers have fun n enjoy.
Can i just add about the mobile phones data plan. If you have a mobile phone contract from a EU country you can use your mobile phone plan in any other EU country plus Liechtenstein and Norway who are in the EEC without a charge. Please bare in mind this will exclude the UK from 2019 onwards since the UK is leaving the EU.
Love your advices, if I may add an advice about public transportation in Europe: try to allways book for a hall week or manage to plan your mooves in town ( and the use of of public transportations) from monday to friday in order to use a week card. It may save a looooot of money.
Yeah. Those week cards can save some big money and itsvwayvmore convenient then buying a new ticket every trip
Great tips, thank you)
Thanks, Mark...Always informative! 🍸
Super ideas Wolter x enjoying your videos x Berlin was a great place .The transport system here is great 👍 Good to buy a ticket for the week so you can use trains and buses to get around easily to see more around Berlin.save your cash this way . Research the bus timetables and train links very easily
Thanks Mark,it's informative
You are very welcome
I love Wolters World videos!
Hey Mark greetings from London. My tip for London is be careful as u may get ripped off. One time I saw tourists pay £10 on a ice cream. My tip is venture out or go to McDonald's and have ice cream. It's only 99p which is worth it in my opinion.
Liam Bleasdale good tip on the ice cream. I wish mc donalds wasnt so packed.
Reina Cedeno that's the only downside to McDonalds in London. But if u venture out of central London and touristy areas then sometimes you can be lucky
I was in London a year and half ago. My hotel was near Oxford street. decided to skip the hotel breakfast and I wanted to try McDonald's. I saw that they had those pre-order kiosk. as I was looking at the menu a homeless woman jumped in front of me ! She scared the Bejesus out of me ! In a gravely voice said : Could you get me something to eat ! I went into my Pocket , took out a couple of coins, gave it to her and high tailed it out of there !
juan monge ooh that annoys me - genuine homeless don't even have the energy to ask - they are laying in crumpled heaps - so sad. My freind had a baby plonked on her while the woman were asking for money - i said i saw you last week - how about YOU paying for my coffee - she high tailed it - my freind called after her - take the baby too! They work in gangs
When I was in London, Tesco and Sainsbury were my best friends. There also were some nice little shops in Shoreditch (even if I only spent a few hours in this part of the town) where I could get some stuff for a good price.
If you want to cook your own food and you're staying somewhere a while. I think buying fresh (preferrably in season) food from markets and if you can buying from shops that allow you to take your own containers and fill up. They call those zero waste shops in the UK because the supermarkets don't have a bulk section. I hear they like the bulk sections in a lot of supermarkets in the US.
Awesome tips! Thank you :)
Thank you
I spend four to five weeks a year in Normandie at a cost of on the average of $3,500.00 including RT airfare.
Hi Mark, I love your videos and your family is beautiful. Thank you for all the useful information. I’m planning on taking a family trip to London and I was wondering your thoughts on the London pass.
Also: Check out some of the discount cards/city cards/velcome cards where you get free public transportation and dicount on sites and so on. Sometimes they are good and you can save a lot of money on them. Welcome Berlin is good. However in London my exsperience is that they are too exspensive. Just check out what you want to visit and the price.
If possible we try to travel through out the night. Maybe the long plane ride or the long bus ride can serve as the hotel for the night.
I use to do that a lot when ideas a solo traveler. It did make a difference for sure
This is a cool vid one thing I’d like to add make shore you make lots of friends so you don’t have to pay for hotels
So true. We stay with friends as often as we can. It's cheaper and you get to spend real time with them. Visiting my friends when we travel is my favorite part of traveling.
Through HomeExchange.com we've done 15 swaps all over Europe and New Zealand. We simply live in a family's home, drive their car, and they come live in our home, and drive our car for 2-3 weeks. Many day trips, combined with hotel stays in other cities we may want to visit further away. Obviously, have to plan carefully. Get to know the family you're trading with before anyone buys a ticket. I'm a sailor and on one occasion, we traded boats and got to sail Holland and he, the Chesapeake Bay. No money changes hands except subscription to the service to list you home and places you want to go. Combined with all the other suggestions you made in your video, you can travel very well.
That's a lot of really good free museums and galleries in London try and get a free copy of time out magazine to advise you.
So true about eating at restaurant. But you can also eat at a fast food kitchen or street food. One of my best and cheapest meals in Berlin one time was a chiliwurst fast food kitchen. I was tired and didn't want to eat at a fancy restaurant. Payed 7 euro for a chiliwurst with fries and a beer. And had great service as well, included wifi.
Yeah I don't know how i forgot to throw in the stands and stuff. I was editing this and had pictures for it but didn't talk about it so I didn't addbthem. But you are so right. Thank yoibfor adding this. I have it in our how to eat cheap while traveling video
9:16 Flip phones can't send emails, web browsing, or use apps 😂 . But yes, eithere fly with an unlock smartphone or buy one there+ a local Sim card.
#10: YES!!!! I have to submit copies of public transport itineraries repeatedly to the travel agency contracted by my employer to prove the lack of public transit connections for the budget airline flight they want to put me on and why I have to take the full-service airline connection, when it is my employer that simultaneously has a policy that I must use public transit to travel to and from the airport.
Thank you and really appreciated your tips
Excellent advice! Thank you!
Here is a LONDON tip for travellers , the county of HERTFORDSHIRE ( pronounced Heart-ford-shah ) just borders London and the rail fares are cheap and often and normally run past midnight from Kings Cross Station ( Yes Harry Potter Kings Cross , on timetables shows as Kings X ) . Hertfordshire has many market towns with nice hotels and bed and breakfast guest houses or AIR B&B properties . There are also good links to the North and Scotland railways . In Hertfordshire there are many historical sites , Roman sites that have been uncovered in St .Albans , also the historical homes where Henry VIII sent his wives before executions , Tudor houses , buildings etc .
Hey Mark, I love love love museums. I am the one that stops to read every note on the wall. I can spend hours at museums. I have never paid to go to a museum because they are free in NZ. Do you have to pay to go into museums in Europe? I love art also but I expect they cost money to get into in Europe, but I don't know. I have heard the public gardens in France are amazing, probably from your vids. How much is it to visit museums and art galleries in France?
Pam it varies according to each museum. You can get multiple museum passes ahead of time online, think bulk pass, and get a discount.
Thanks Jocelyn - you guys are awesome.
Most of the tikes you do have to pay but some cities have a mix of pay and free museums like in london. In Germany there is usually a free day once a month. But in general you have you pay.
In France, one Sunday a month is free at the museums, and all museums are half price the other Sundays. If you have any sort of student ID you’ll usually get a discounted or free ticket.
Give me a heart, i watch you from Mexico i want to travel as you someday
un corazon enorme para ti!
From Mexico? Travel as Mark someday? Great deal of wishful thinking here...
Whats up with your shitty attitude
@@VasilyKiryanov What crawled up your butt?
Have been watching your videos for a few years and love your tips for our own travels. But why don’t you visit Africa? Here in South Africa you can have an amazing holiday for very little money. Best budget tip in my opinion is go to countries that are great value for money.
During our great 2 week UK vacation last September I feel we have to respectfully disagree about not taking the train from London to Edinburgh but rather flying. We took the Virgin high speed train and had a great time taking in all of the beautiful UK scenery, admiring the old railway stations, towns and local differing architecture. It was more expensive, yes but we feel it was well worth it. Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local are your very best friends in the UK! And seriously, I was astonished at the lower prices for products in London, York and Edinburgh as opposed to convenience stores in So-Cal.
I am talking about price only. It's a budget video but I understand what you mean. I've taken the train a few times up to Edinburgh and I agree it's nice.
You are quite right Mr. Wolters. You mentioned price as the main topic.
I'm staying in London for a week but I balanced it out by going to Poland first and then cheeper places in the UK like York and Scotland.
How would I rent an apartment in Paris for two months..April and May 2021? For 4 people
Great tips, and I actually use many of these myself already during our regular breaks into Europe.Further to your comment about flying between cities; definitely try to have an idea of your itinerary a few months in advance and I use Skyscanner to find the best prices and flight times.
Seriously can save hundreds. You are so right.
In my experience museums in Europe usually aren't all that expensive. Some are free for everybody (e.g. British Museum, National Gallery, Tate and many others in London), others have discounts for students, families, young people (often free for children or EU citizens under 26) and/or senior citizens. In some cities/countries museums are free on a specific day of the month so check ahead and plan your trip accordingly. Students should also check if they need a specific international student ID (like ISIC) to get discounts or if their regular student ID will do and also note that sometimes admission is free for students with specific majors like art, history or archaeology (and your student ID usually won't state your major so it's possible to fib ;-))
But generally I agree that you should pick museums/attractions that genuinely interest you. If you don't care about art at all it's probably not worth it to go to the Louvre just to take selfies with the Mona Lisa ;-)
For people visiting multiple cities/countries in one trip a good way to save money and still have a good time is to always try to alternate cheap and expensive places (e.g. capitals vs smaller towns) and adjust day schedules and spending habits accordingly. For the expensive cities plan out your days ahead of time so you can fit a lot of sights and activities into fewer days. Eat street food or supermarket food to save money and time. Then when you get to the cheaper place you can spoil yourself a little to recharge your batteries. Get the hotel room with the view (that's still cheaper than the basic one in the expensive city...) and have a nice meal at a restaurant. Have a lazy day where you sleep in, spent a few hours at a park enjoying the sun, walk around with no plan and see where it takes you . You're not spending a fortune each day just to be there so it's fine to relax... This way you'll be ready for a packed schedule when you get to to your next more expensive destinations.
With this method you can see a lot on a budget without burning yourself out :)
Sat watching this while wearing my wolters world shirt !
You rock Carl!
Yep... rent an apartment... there's nothing quite like buying groceries in a foreign country to immerse you in the local culture... and yes... pick up a cheap "pay as you go" phone, particularly if you're in Europe.
We love going to the local grocery stores too. It's like a tourist sight :)
On the traintickets you have to watchout. These cheap traintickets are usually on a fixed time.
Yep I agree. You must be careful about that
Are you coming to Argentina this year? Cheers!
In Spain, there is a train pass for women over 60 (?) that is like 40% discount so using it and traveling first class....SCORE! PLUS they have first class lounges at the train stations. The first ticket I bought the agent didn’t tell me about it but my 2nd long ride, she did.
Never book any package holidays. Use skyscanner to get the cheapest flights then compare hotels and apartments on airbnb, booking.com and trivago. I always book apartments now on all my trips, they are generally cheaper and you get things like a kitchen and living room. If hiring a car, don't buy the full insurance it's a RIP off. Unless you are a terrible driver.
How do i go about renting an apartment? Are there specific sights?
Search for Airbnb. Since you are asking, I assume you don't have a profile there. It takes some time to make one, but as soon as you have done it, you have access to apartments all over the world. Good luck!
I'm leaving for Vienna next week!!!!!!!!!!!!