Anyone who has traveled in Europe knows it is expensive. As a study abroad student, it can seem daunting if not impossible to make the most of being in Europe.
If you are already paying for accommodation in Europe in the form of longish term student housing or you have the ability to stay with friends for free, consider taking day trips to defray the cost of traveling. What do I mean?
Say you have 300 pounds that you saved or borrowed from your parents to travel in Europe. You could either blow all of that on
- a weekend in London, Prague or Oslo
OR
- a day trip to a castle 20 miles away
- a day trip to a ruined abbey 30 miles away
- a day trip to a fashion museum in a quaint village 45 miles away
- a day trip to a railway museum and afternoon tea 40 miles away
- a day trip to a royal hunting lodge
- a day trip to a famous lake and beautiful spot
What I am saying is that you can make that 300 pounds go into 6 day trips or 1 weekend away by cutting out the cost of overnighting.
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| behind: Dunnattor Castle, near Stonehaven |
This analysis is based on the idea of a couple - a guy and a girl, or two girls/guys - traveling together and that each day trip would cost no more than 50 pounds - which requires you to take a picnic and use non-1st-class public transport.
Doing solo trips, you might be able to do a day trip for 20 or 25 pounds and even get a cup of coffee.
Cut out the cost of dead time
Doing day trips will almost definitely give you more hours of sightseeing.
A lot of what we spend money on is where we sleep, which is 'dead time' as far as soaking up atmosphere, learning interesting facts and actually seeing Europe is concerned. No matter what hotel booking websites say, your hostel or b&b is not going to be your favorite part of your trip.
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| Traquair House |
European Capitals - the right way to see Europe?
You want to go to London, Prague or Oslo? You've spent your whole life wondering how big 'Big Ben' actually is, or it's your dream to see Prague at midnight, or your grandfather was from Oslo and said it was the wonderful beautiful city in the world? That's fine. If that's really what you want to do, do it!
In my experience, most people think they have to go to European capitals to do Europe properly. If you are going in the summer however, Rome with the heat of crowds might be unbearable, whereas the Scottish Borders would be perfect.
Off the beaten track
A lot of people who travel come away wishing they had actually spoken to more locals, gone to an authentic pub and knew something about the culture they visited.
The best way to do that is to avoid the major tourist traps and do the lesser-known sites. Go for lesser-known cities (Edinburgh rather than London, Bayeux rather than Paris, Bath rather than London) or even better - villages you've maybe never heard of for example Peebles, Berwick-upon-Tweed or Stonehaven! Every village has its own story and you can often find hidden gems nearby.
Some of our best experiences have been exploring ruined castles, fairytale woodland, and rolling countryside that was basically in the middle of nowhere.
You might be surprised at the amazing opportunities within easy shooting distance of your university or study experience.
The other nice thing about day trips is you can wait till the weather is right. Who wants to waste their entire week of holiday in Skye during a week-long deluge? Spread out the fun and choose your timing to commune with nature. Or if you're limited for time, choose places like Edinburgh which have a good mixture of indoor and outdoor activities.
Day Trips with Kids
When I was little I was a phenomenal brat and the situation inevitably exploded epically after 3 hours. My parents came up with the rule that we could never be away from home for more than 3-5 hours. This strategy was labeled 'The Surgical Strike.'
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| Holy Island, Lindisfarne |
My kids aren't nearly the brats I was as a kid and they can do about 6-9 hours without flipping out. I know because that's the point on our international flights that turns.
There's nothing you can do about international travel taking a loooong time but there IS a solution for family holidays. The Family Day trip is our vision of the Surgical Strike.
Pros to the Day Trip model of family holidays:
- never away from home longer than 6-9 hours (though now that my youngest is almost out of the Terrible 2's, we can do 12 hours if there is icecream, naps, play parks, friends, or other distractions)
- saves money that might have been spent on hotels/B+B's/caravans/self-catering cottages
- kids sleep better in their own beds
- you can pack the kids' favorite snacks and a picnic, saving on food spending (without a car, we would never be able to pack enough food for a week's holiday anyway - not unless we took a massive suitcase on the train)
- you can choose good weather - if you book a week's holiday in Skye in a cabin and then the weather report is slated to be terrible, there's nothing you can do; whereas if you are hopping on a train or bus to go 10 or 20 miles away, you can wait till the last minute and check the weather forecast, almost guaranteeing good weather (almost because this is Scotland and it rains here - a lot)
- you can assess kids' moods on the morning
- you can spread out the fun to pace your kids
Cons:
- You are limited to about 3 and a half hours' travel
- It can be a loooong day if the roads or rail lines are unexpectedly closed or delayed on the way home
- You may procrastinate and never get around to doing it as it requires laying out the clothes the night before and checking the weather forecast and then the next day getting up early, making a picnic and getting out the door before 10 am.
I find with the kids, the more adaptable the situation is to their needs, the better. The Surgical Strike Day Trip model for family holidaying works that way for us.
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