Posts Tagged ‘Paris cheap hotels’

When backpacking around Europe (or any part of the world for that matter) here are a couple of tips that I found quite useful:

1. Figure out everything you’ll need while on your trip then reduce that amount by at least half! A common mistake is travelers taking too much stuff with them. Remember to enjoy your vacation instead of carrying around heavy luggage in areas you don’t know. One key thing to remember is as you travel you will find memorabilia that you will want to purchase, and this takes up precious cargo space.

2. As weird as it sounds, bringing a GOOD towel, such as a camping towel can really make your vacation a lot more tolerable. While traveling Europe for the first time I figured a normal beach towel would suffice, needless to say, it did not. Camping towels can be purchased luckily and are quite similar to the “sham wow”. They are great because they are anti-bacterial, absorb a lot of water and dry quite quickly. This was a major improvement to my second trip to Europe.

3. Take advantage of accommodation deals on websites. If you are the type of personality that can travel around and book your accommodations with short notice (I know some people like to know far in advance they have a place to stay every night), you can really save a lot of money on hotels. The later you book generally the better deal you receive. You don’t want to be stuck at the last minute and suddenly find Paris rooms all booked up.

4. Hostels also over a unique social setting you’re not likely to encounter anywhere else. The really amazing thing about staying in hostels is you have the opportunity to form great friendships from all over the world with people who are traveling like you. Though you may only be friends for a short period of time they help cement that trip into your mind.

5. Using the EU rail pass is a great way to travel throughout Europe. Once you’re aboard you’ll save a quite a bit of money. To top it off using the trains throughout Europe is a great way to travel. Be sure to make sure you purchase your tickets before you leave in order to save even more money. Though it takes some research to figure out what pass best suits your needs, it’s a great buy.

6. A secondary way to travel is to look into discount airliners over in Europe such as Ryan Air or Easy Jet. Because these airlines (and there are others) don’t serve all places in Europe I find that they are a great way to supplement an EU rail Pass for transportation. Often you can find flights for as low as $50 and depending how you plan your trip there a great way to get from one remote location to another and save valuable time those other forms of transportation take.

7. When you’re traveling, especially for long periods of time, it’s very important to register with your embassy to let them know what countries you’ll be in. The reason is just for peace of mind in case of disaster or other events that could leave you stuck in a remote country. By doing so the embassy can account for your and have a rough idea of where you are. Though the odds are quite small that disaster could strike, it’s better to be safe than sorry when traveling abroad and to be prepared just by chance disaster does strike.

Alessandra S. Llewellyn was born in Switzerland and raised in Paris. She has traveled all over the world with her family and loves to explore new places and meet new people. She loves to write about her travels and will sometimes review Paris cheap hotels for various travel magazines and websites.