Pay Least - Experience Most - My travel tips ( part 1)

I am planning my next trip to Singapore, and I realize that every time I go, I use a lot of websites and apps to get my journey with Pay Least - Experience Most. Today I will rewrite the synthesis of experience in the trip with the website and the app for everyone to refer to be online always!

1. Suggests how to go and move

Your trip will be more suitable for long trips or more destinations. In a journey, you can choose from a wide range of vehicles from airplanes, trains to buses ... because not everywhere can fly easily. Therefore, here I give you a website that suggests combinations and offering reference price fluctuations which is extremely useful in shaping travel times and transportation.

=> Rome2rio.com is my coolest choice. Rome2rio (including the app for phones) allows you to plan a cruise through multiple destinations, map them together for easy visualization, suggesting you both the means and route, estimated time to travel to the airport.

=> Goeuro is my second choice as it could only provide me good advice of travelling in Europe.

2. Book air ticket

The process of "hunting" my ticket usually follows the following flow:

skyscanner => airline website => buy directly from the web or call the representative office of the airline

There is one thing that I feel happy about because I am one of the international students who have the opportunity to live in Europe and I have lived in a land of beautiful paradise, Traveling in Europe is too convenient and easy too. How many times cannot help myself try to open the website of Ryanair, see how the price of European domestic a few meals now. Oh, I can not believe my eyes, what tickets are all € 15, € 20 / way (full tax), while the tickets to go in some countries are much cheaper  compared to in the same way in South East Asia , cheap also have to tens of dollars / time. Many of my friends are very jealous, as if I was living in a bar every week to carry it!

Here i will share some of the experience of traveling by plane in Europe more specific, where I could find a ticket from Barcelona to Venice for a fare of around € 20-40 often, and even if Good luck and patience when hunting tickets you can find a € 1 ticket is not too rare, of course I am not lucky like that.  And to talk about cheap ticket hunting in Europe cannot fail to mention Ryan air, the airline "uncomfortable" about the rules but extremely "pleasant" about this cheap ticket! Terrible cheap!!! OMG

Cheap ticket hunting experience in Europe

In terms of experience, I think cheap hunting tips for European domestic flights are quite similar to conventional hunting and other places where you may have seen many hunting articles. Cheap airfare. Here I just re-system some key points as follows, note that the tips in the article can also apply to places other than Europe only:

 1,Choose a cheap ticket hunting time

It is bad if the new flight is booked but it is not smart to order early. For the best bookings, read more here, but usually in Europe, I will find a ticket in about three months. Since then I have to constantly find and wait patiently, cheap tickets can appear at any time. If it is possible to get one or two weeks ahead of time, the chances of getting a cheap ticket are almost nonexistent.

To get tickets early, then you have to schedule, plan early. Roads are marked out, must go to any point, point. Visa applications should also be prepared early in order to complete a visa issue that is convenient for planning and finding cheap airline tickets.

2, Cheap ticket finder

The easiest and fastest way is to go directly to the web site of cheap European airlines, most prominent are the two major carriers Easyjet and Ryanair. Of these two companies, Ryanair is on average cheaper, but flies at airports far from the city, while Easyjet is stationed at major airports. Their interface is very beautiful, intuitive and highlights you can see general routes across Europe at specific fares, viewed directly through their websites: Easyjet and Ryanair. There are also a few other airlines that I know to find tickets if the other two airlines which do not have cheap tickets like Transavia, Vueling, German Wings .. or some cheap airline but sometimes still expensive such as Aegean of Greece.

In addition to the direct web site of the airline, you can go to a web site specializing in comparison fares of airlines such as Skyscanner (Vietnamese interface), Momondo, .. These pages will compare tickets and It lets you know the cheapest ticket at any one time of all airlines, but sometimes it's not as real and not as intuitive as the airline's direct web site.

Tip: Change your ticket location - Some airlines determine your location to offer different rates, for example, if I are in Vienna and look for tickets from Budapest to Berlin, it may be more expensive if I type that I am in Barcelona. So try changing your IP address, clearing your browser history to fake your location, and seeing the rates it offers you.

3, Choose a flexible itinerary

Flexible date and time:

I find this to be quite simple for me because I can sacrifice school absenteeism. However, this may seem difficult if you put it close to the date, but as far as my experience is concerned, it is easier to plan ahead. Normally, I find tickets to be more expensive on weekends and on Sunday, leaving the day to midweek will save me a lot of money.

 For example, if I have Wednesday and Thursday every week, I find Ryanair tickets pretty cheap, even cheaper if I choose "bad times" like early morning or late night. In addition, I advise your guys should avoid Europe in high season such as festive season, summer (extreme winter tourists), ... if you do not want to buy tickets at high prices. As for the festive season, I usually book in advance of 3 months or in the experience of Christmas flight I have booked a flight the day before the two-day Christmas holiday, the ticket is very cheap, then  I have fled from Barcelona to Budapest only 35 euros.

 this ticket is just 35 euros from Barcelona to Budapest

Flexible destination:

In addition, I find it very important to choose a journey, flexible destination. For example I go from Munchen to Italy, in Italy I will go 3 points Bologna, Milan and Rome then I will fly back Barcelona, but the fare to Rome at the time set too high so I changed the schedule to Rome to Torino or Milan first for the cheaper price, then I decided to go to Rome in the Thanksgiving holiday after. Or instead of flying straight I can fly around, flying over a third point if the two are still cheaper than flying straight (this is rather rare because it is simply small Europe, Too much time to waste time is too sinful!). Anyway, I advise you to always check fares to multiple locations at the same time for comparison and decision making.

Moreover, I advise you to choose a large airport, or an international airport, usually airports which are considered major hubs in Europe such as London, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam prices are better than other airports because there are many flights there. You should also check the fares of different airports in the same city, for example Paris CDG, Orly; Rome has Ciampio, Fiumicino, sub airports often have cheap ticket price should be better. Note airports in women because sometimes quite far from the center, such as Paris Beauvais airport, airport in Barelona side, from the center to hundred kilometers are not should go though cheaper.

Sign up for airline emails

I find this is a way to find cheap tickets applicable to all but not Europe. Firms will have terrible cheap promotions, sudden and unexpected tickets that I would not expect, they will often give a few days of email alerts, so be sure to sign up for the potential companies you plan to use. , or like, follow their facebook fanpage always.

For example, yesterday, although I have returned to Vietnam for 3 months, Sky scanner’s website still e-mailed me informing me that there are cheap flights to fly back to Berlin.

Tickets they quote from Barcelona to Berlin only 1,193,253 VNĐ which is equal to 35 euros.

As a person who has flown nearly 20 flights in Europe, I personally think people should be careful when booking I've always had to read the conditions that come with the fare because I do not want to lose wages and add unnecessary costs. Especially, terms of luggage, baggage allowance, portable luggage size and cost per kilogram. When I travel to Europe they do not check too harsh but some of you say they do very tight, so be carefull over.

Often the weight of hand luggage carrier airlines range from 7-10kg, so to save maximum you wear as lightweight as possible. Consignment fees are usually quite high.

My regular ticketing process:

First, I will prepare the plan early, determine the itinerary.

Clear cache, browser history, can change the ip.

I will find cheap RyanAir and EasyJet tickets first; their web routes are extremely intuitive then I will switch to find more options from Skyscanner.

At the same time, I also view tickets from other carriers, especially those from the region of destination such as Vueling in Spain, Transavia in the Netherlands, Aeagen in Greece, German Wings in Germany, SAS and Norwegian in Nordic Europe, or price comparison engine Skyscanner.

Finally, I will compare all the prices of the carriers that I have found the ticket, considering the amount of money, luggage conditions, and the convenience of the airport to make a decision. If all the same expensive, I will consider making change my journey in order to find a more feasible option.

2. Choose accommodation

Accommodation is probably not strange to sites like Airbnb, Booking.com, Hostelworld etc. At the beginning I also sit to check many pages to compare, but then experience the draw to avoid losing time and achieve optimal results I have found out that Booking.com is the most convenient tool to book hostel in Europe, though I prefer using other websites in Asia ..

Honestly, finding a hostel before a trip is always a headache for me or for anybody else, especially where I have no idea or visual in my head. How to choose a hotel worth the money, fit and easy to move, convenient to go to other tourist destinations?

Again, I have to admit that there are a lot of websites booking rooms or online room rates such as Booking.com, Agoda, Hotel.com, .. I always favor Booking.com with Booking.com, I was simply impressed by Nice interface, nice to say but not as monotonous as other websites, not only what I like about Booking is the room price is always full from the start without prepayment (like Agoda is they do not charge tax and Other fees are very uncomfortable when you look at the final payment figure), and especially they always guarantee the best price for you. That is to say, they ensure that their web site prices are the best, whether you are looking for hotel prices on any other booking network, or the hotel website itself, the price is only have equal or higher and never be lower. Of course, unless you try to contact directly and bargain with the hotel room price, but now is the time, what should be transparent, you booked through Booking you enjoy a lot of good services, from Guaranteed on price, guaranteed on payment. You bargain directly at a better price, but when they have high priced customers they cancel your room, so the plan is empty. The details of Booking.com invite you to read my analysis of the website booking here.

This article will share some experience of finding and booking on Booking.com

Booking on Booking.com

Step 1: Find the right hotel

First you need to determine what your expectations and purpose are, whether you prefer a room cheap or aesthetic priority, quality of service. Usually when I make reservations I usually pay attention first to the location of the hotel, where there is something, is crowded, safe, around which to play, the necessary services are not convenient . If you go from that point to the tourist spots like? After locating my new location on Booking.com to find the hotel / hostel.

The criteria I give when choosing a hostel are as follows:

Location is ok, near the train station.

Good rating (> 7 points)

Price < 20 euros ( It depends on the city, for Venice 25 euros, for Athens just 15 euros)

Always have a good deal from hostel to hotel. Flexible time. Free cancellation. Pay after stay.

For example, when I chose a hotel in Barcelona, the area I chose to stay was Barcelona Nord, because I figured in advance that the center was quite crowded, in terms of price, the Barcelona area is not much difference. I go to Booking.com, enter Barcelona Nord into the search field (or you can enter Barcelona, Spain also), Booking will show Barcelona suggestion I click on the suggestion. Then fill in the arrival date and check out date, click search, this time Booking will list all hotels for me to choose.

Step 2: Select the hotel

For those who have tight budgets and want to prioritize cheap rooms first, you can rearrange this list according to low to high cost criteria.

Usually, I will stay the same way of Booking, that is, they will propose their own hotel, the higher rank Booking, the hostel is generally better.

For example, I want to find a good hostel in Barcelona.  The general good price for a nice room depends on the city, such as in Barcelona room is 10 to 20 euros or more, the peak season is over 25 euros. So I click on any hotel and view maps of that hotel's location and nearby hotels.

Look on the map I can see a lot of hotels, and cheap hotels in Barcelona area, I locate the subway station to find the hotel nearby. This train station I just walk from Barcelona Nord is very approachable as I can save a metro ticket by walking about 15 minutes from Barcelona Nord. It would be very convenient from me If I decide to come back to Tarragona, I can just walk for 15 minutes to Barcelona Nord then take alsa bus with a single ticket of 8 euros.

Also, I am very interested in reading the payment terms and conditions of the booking, I will see the rules of the hotel on reservations, conditions when staying and pay. Many guests are not aware that the hotel requires a cancellation or a free cancellation of 100% of the room charge will be charged at the time of cancellation. I can regain any questions, dispute between himself and the hotel, Booking will help, but Booking must also comply with the stated regulations of that hotel. Also, many of the hostels require you to bring a bedspread or you will lose their rent for bed linen. I did not check and paid 5 euros for a thin bed in Vienna.

Step 3: Enter information into the app

If this is your first time booking, you will have to fill out personal information to book rooms, you should register as a member so that you can manage booking items, and help booking operations faster not fill in and fill in multiple times.

After filling in all required personal information, I will usually need to fill out additional information about my credit card or any international payment card I own to guarantee my booking. Card information helps Booking to keep your booking, and they can debit your card if you cancel your booking after the free scheduled cancellation period (even if you do not enter the security code CVC ).

Step 4: Finished

After booking, Booking.com will display the message I have successfully placed, the confirmation email will be sent to your mailbox. From here I can check mail, confirm booking, make any changes to the booking, or request more with the hotel.

** Pro Tips:

It is possible to book a few rooms when a good deal and cancel gradually after careful consideration and decision.

Not every place has a Free Cancellation policy so pay close attention when placing (though most are available).

Booking with Best Price Guarantee: Just like Jetstar, if you find a room where the price is lower than the booking price, you can claim and get a refund for the difference.

Refer Friends Policy of Booking: Just your friend booking through the link that booking give you, you will receive $ 15 and your friend will be refunded 10% upon arrival. This is the link discount your booking, you have the need to travel next time can book and receive 10% refund, then share your link to others

After completing  5 booking, you will be upgraded to Genius Program with extra 10% discount for next booking.

In some cases I have seen Ms. Hien booking a room in Sevilla but have not used the service (not yet in that hotel) that credit card suddenly reported that the room was deducted. I advise everyone not to worry too, all rooms at Booking.com are free of pre-financing, the deduction usually occurs only when you violate the reservation policy. Stay calm and read the terms and conditions of the hotel reservation to see if your deductions are correct. However, Ms. Hien spent nearly a month making paperwork, the hostel in Sevilla they returned the money.

Where else, I usually book a hostel that allows you to cancel your reservation free of charge before a certain date and time has not yet reached that milestone, proving that the hotel has deducted your money. In that case, I will go to that booking on my account, email or directly contact the Booking.com office in Vietnam (mostly email because I have tried many times in Spain. do not), describe your case and ask for Booking intervention and get money back. You are assured that Booking is working very fast and they will respond to you soon.

If you have actually violated the hotel policy, there is not much hope of getting the money back simply because you are not careful and carefully review the terms of that hotel. Normally, the hotel is not deducting your money, as a bloody lesson I experienced when booking in France, I tried to contact them and asked them to look at my case. As a result, not only do they care but also spare their money (they have the right to do so). A lesson that I still remember forever but btw you also should email the hotel with a little hope, there are many hotels they will sympathize with and allow you to cancel at no cost. Where there is no other way to get back the money, you switch to another option, which is to transfer the booking to the website or facebook, it is likely that someone will travel with you and you will take get some money back.

My experience and some more information when booking on Booking:

Some basic tips

You should carefully read the terms in the "Hotel Policies" section, there will be all the things you need to look for such as pay beforehand, how the cancellation policy, conditions when to bring small children, 2-3 persons, .. For individual requirements or reservation management, go to the "My booking" to do.

Booking requires to use a credit card to make reservation without a debit card (debit card), except in the "hotel policies" section.

The cases of money deduction are actually the fact that they lock a certain amount in your credit card to ensure your ability to pay. Once the service and the lease are completed, they will re-open the lock for you. In any case, you see the money deduction unreasonable, then complain directly with Booking.com, they will help you.

You can use the other person's card to book with the permission of the card holder.

When you come to the hotel you should check their rules for check-in check-out, late check-out they will charge more.

3, Couchsurfing:

It is suitedto solo travel, budget travel(because it is a shared community, so most people do not have to pay), want to learn about local culture and make friends.

In case of the hotel except the money or wrongly mistaken for the type of hotel cancellation costs

Some Pro Tips:

Build your profile very carefully (and attractive). Because to agree to have a stranger come home free so all the exchanges on cf rely on Faith and Sensitivity very much. (set yourself the host you want to see when a guest arrives and you will understand: D). If people want to refer to their profile on couchsurfing .

Always review host reviews for problems that do not fit.

Send a message when you really want to come in and write a heartfelt message to show why the host is right for you, or let them see you as an interesting person in their home.

I do not like airbnb very much because I am a changeable plan every time bounce ideas or cough so the payment in advance and not refunded is not ideal for me hehe ┐ ('∀ `) ┌.

However, I have used Airbnb successfully in my trip with my friends to Italy and Greece.

3. Travel in the area

Public transport: Asian countries are not so sure, but most European countries have virtually every country having a road map app as well as a detailed guide to public transport that is clear and easy to navigate. right. For example, the Netherlands is 9292, Hungary is BKK or Austria is OBB .... With this app, just enter your destination and departure time, you can know how to get there (How many stops? bn time? ...)

Paper maps: The first down to the airport or the central station (if taking the train) is to find a city map + traffic map (tram, bus, metro ...) to refer to some places and have overview of the orientation of the city.

Map offline: maps.me is a great choice because I do not always have the internet. In addition, you can download the map of each city so the phone is not much space ^ ^.

Lastly, if you travel, you should buy a public transit ticket 24h / 48h / 72h, it will be much cheaper than paying in person if you have a schedule to move a lot.

4. Note the plan

Often this is what I would do when traveling in groups or traveling to many locations to get an overview of the schedule and initial costs (travel + accommodation) of the trip. Each person will have a plan for his own, but his point of view does not need to detail the day to do anything (because I have a lot of casual games).