One Hundred Dollars a Month

Reader, Rosaleen, sent an email the other day looking for some travel advice. I’ve been across the pond a time or two, so I thought I could offer up some tips and then turn it over to you since I know some of you are seasoned travelers with great advice. I included the full email below so you know exactly what advice she’s seeking:

Hi, Mavis! You seem to have made some changes to your site, so I can no longer find a tab marked “Travel.” {The travel category is tucked away at the bottom of the site now since I felt there were a few more pressing categories to include up top!} IIRC, you have mentioned traveling to London, as well as other places. Hubby generally HATES travel, but has expressed some interest in visiting Ireland (our heritage) after he retires, probably late this year. I’m thinking since neither of us has to rush back to a job, once we are there, we may want to consider a longer and more extensive trip including some time in Scotland and England.

What advice can you and your readers share on the subjects? I’m looking at ways to save on lodging and food, as well as ideas on what to visit. Hubby has diabetes, mostly controlled with diet and some exercise, to the point that we eat no sugar, white flour and only small amounts of potatoes, etc. I’m one who has brought food and some cookware to prepare food as I travel, but this may not work so well considering import or customs issues. For example, I cooked and dehydrated low carb meals to take to Hawaii, but Ireland’s Customs laws dictate no imported meat or milk products, with some few exceptions.

I would be OK with camping, but probably he would veto that plan. I’m also good with the idea of using AirBnB, but he is less interested in this. I can happily eat tuna and sardines for lunch over multiple days, but checking Aldi in Ireland, it seems these are not sold there. There are listings for packaged smoked mackeral and salmon, at least. I have some recollection of hearing that friends and family send tuna and peanut butter overseas because it is not available in many countries. We should be able to pick up salad items, cheese, and some cooked meats, so we won’t starve, of course.

If we use a B&B, assuming breakfast isn’t too high carb, we might have dinner out, and save some of the protein to put on a salad for another meal, but I’m not expecting American restaurant-sized meat or fish portions. With lots of time to plan, I will be checking Trip Advisor, etc., but figure you and your readers will also be on top of this.

Cheers! Rosaleen

First, I’m sooo excited that you’re thinking of traveling abroad. I highly recommend it to everyone. It can be a life-changing trip if you do your research {which it looks like you are!} and have a solid plan in place! My first tip doesn’t come from me at all but from someone else. I was a loyal viewer of Rick Steves PBS Series Europe Through the Back Door and was able to glean a great deal on how to save money while traveling abroad from that show. We’ve been to Ireland 3 times and Scotland once and each time I scoured the Rick Steves website for ideas. I cannot recommend his site enough. That would be the first place I’d start because he offers tips on saving money, beating the lines, and even acclimating to the culture!

As far as lodging, I have not tried an Airbnb yet because I too like the predictability of hotels and bed and breakfasts. 😉 But if I was planning on staying some place for more than a few days, it’s definitely something I would look into. I have had friends who have had amazing experiences with Airbnb. I’d definitely look at the ratings of the owner and the past reviews of the place you’re looking to rent out. I think you can probably get a good feel for a place that way.

I almost always use Trip Advisor to look up hotels and B&Bs, so we’re on the same page there!  I’ve found their reviewers are pretty spot on.  It really is a great place to start if you decide not to do the Airbnb thing. B&Bs in Europe are typically VERY affordable, as compared to the “trendy” B&B’s in America, so that might be a great hotel alternative! I usually choose a hotel based on location.  I want it to be centrally located to the activities I want, OR, I want it to be close to a subway.

When it comes to foods, your restrictions make it a little tougher, but certainly not impossible. I have never had a problem finding fresh fruits and vegetables or any kind of food for that matter at a local grocery store. And I love to hit the outdoor markets when I travel {so many cities in Europe have great ones!}.  They even have prepared foods that are much cheaper than sit-down restaurants if you don’t feel like cooking, and visiting the markets is pretty much a fun activity in itself.

Since you’re going to be there for awhile, I’d suggest you get to know public transport, even if you plan on renting a vehicle for all or part of your trip {although if you get a place centrally located, I don’t personally think a rental would even be necessary!}.  Europe makes public transport a walk in the park–a very inexpensive walk in the park.  Subways, buses, trains, etc. are a great way to save.

I’d suggest you also look into savings passes for public transport.  Cities want tourists to use their transport system, and more often than not, they offer great discounts, if you look.  If weather permits, you can also look into cheap bike rentals.  You will be able to experience a lot more of the city than just walking. For more specifics, see how I get around London.

On one of our trips we flew into London, toured the city for a few days then took the Caledonian Sleeper train to Inverness Scotland {Urquhart Castle is a must!}. The kids LOVED it. After a few days in Inverness and the Glencoe area, we then went on to Edinburgh, spent a few days there and then hopped a cheap Ryan Air flight to Dublin. Really, I think the key to a trip like this is research, research, research. Find everything you’d like to see and then whittle those things down to the time frame you have.

As far as activities, I’d only suggest tour packages, IF you wanted to do everything in the package anyway.  If you only wanted to do 2-3 tours on the list, you may find it’s cheaper to price them out separately anyway. And because you’ll have so much time, I’d probably space your activities out anyway. Sometimes I cram so much in a day I’m simply exhausted, but I wouldn’t take that approach if I had weeks to explore!

I also recommend taking the time to read their daily newspaper.  You will seriously learn so much, and the headlines alone might amuse you. So there you have a few simple tips from me.

Do you guys have any more tips for Rosaleen?

~Mavis