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Cheap weekend getaway

18th March 2017 - 6 min read

Since I am living in Europe, I aim to maximize Europe travel opportunity. Last year I (or now we, with my husband) did not really go in a weekend getaway that often as we were tight in a budget after wedding and homecoming. However this year, we want to start doing it for EU trip again (and some more).

I feel kind of privileged to be living in this continent as it is more accessible and cheaper to go to a lot of the ‘IT’ destinations. One does not have to be rich or working in order to travel, this is also for students. I regret a bit that I did not put travelling in one of my priorities when I was still a student.

That is one of the luxury of of living in the Netherlands is that I am at the heart of Europe.

Paris is just three hours and 20 minutes down the road on the Thalys. London is a 45 minute flight via Easyjet and Koln is also less than three hours away by ICE train.

Cheap weekend getaway should be earned by keeping eyes to the low carrier. Also by checking out what kind of destination options that you want to visit.

There are different low carriers in Europe that can take you to different countries. One of those that I recently used to Krakow, Poland is Ryan Air. The down side for me is, Ryan Air only flies from Eindhoven airport instead of Schiphol. The trip duration from where I live (Amsterdam) is around 1.5 hours which is not bad, but the train ticket is around 25 euro one way (without % discount). At the end, it is not that cheap anymore with extra 50 euros train going back and forth. But, don’t be sad! These days there are options to ride a train cheaply. That is through NS group ticket. Check out in here   And only with that, your time consuming journey will only be worth it.

The Netherlands has five major airports, so pick the one that is most convenient for you when you book your flight.

  1. Eindhoven
  2. Schiphol-Amsterdam
  3. Den Haag-Rotterdam
  4. Groningen
  5. Maastricht

Cheap weekend getaway Netherlands map airportSource: http://www.europe-airports.com/netherlands/

Some of the cheap ticket besides Ryan Air is easy jet, Transavia, Wow air,  Arke, Corendon, Smartwings. You can check out the skyscanner of low carrier, check it out here

Sometimes you can have a specific goal of destination, but sometimes just randomly browse around. Give no dates and no destinations.

I always check the national holiday far in advance to maximize the usage of my work days off. It can be one of the ways to anticipate the holiday. Travelling comes first!

Cheap weekend getaway does not necessarily mean a trip with airplane, but also a trip by bus or train. In the first years of living in Europe, first destination will be Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and France. These destinations are better to be reached by train or bus (for Germany and France it depends on which cities you want to go of course).

 

Cheap Weekend Getaway Europe Map

Source: youreuropemap.com

From my student time, I know it is rather difficult to match your schedule with your friends. And based on my experience, travel with too many people are annoying as opposed to pleasant. And I guess you want to get something from your stay and enjoy your short getaway. In that case, once you have a travel buddy, stick with him/her or if necessary, travel solo. Of course it depends on the security and situation of the places you want to go. When the country is expensive, you can also travel with more people because the sharing cost for car, petrol, or food will be cheaper than travelling solo. But make sure you travel with people who are easy and have same holiday style with you!! You do not want to end up spending unnecessary just because your friend insists to go for fancy dinner whilst casual is okay for you.

There is no reason not to travel when the destinations are in distance. Even some people who live far away make it to Europe, for us who have the privilege, it’s no excuse anymore.

‘Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” – Unknown

Selamat jalan-jalan!
Be courageous! And have a low budget adventure!!!

xxx

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