Money-saving tips for shopping and sight-seeing

As I mentioned in one of my first posts on the blog, and of course as we all know, money is a crucial aspect of traveling - both in the planning and while we are actually at our destinations. Here are some money-saving tips I discovered for sight-seeing and shopping along my European trip. With the dollar getting worse by the day, those of us who like to travel on a controlled budget need all the help we can get! Some of these are more common sense than anything else, but I'll just mention all the ones I can think of and hopefully something might help you save a little money on your next trip!

Before You Go:

• Sometimes you can book trains in advance to get discounts. Some of the national rail companies offer discounts if you book in advance. For example, Trenitalia, the Italian rail company, offers Amica fares if you book in advance. You can save 20%! Also, ÖBB, the Austrian rail company, offers deals on tickets to other countries. I picked up my ticket from Vienna to Venice for 29 euros by booking online in advance - a savings of nearly HALF!

• Sometimes flying on the cheap Airlines is actually CHEAPER than the train - and of course faster! Check out all the possible deals at Kayak or SkyScanner. We flew from Lisbon to Barcelona for about 30 euros including tax/fees, and it took 2 hours instead of overnight and probably 3 times the cost to take a train!
  

• Packing light can help curb shopping and in turn, spending. I traveled for 6 weeks with a chock-full carry-on sized suitcase. Quite simply, I didn't have the space to shop like crazy. And since mailing one relatively small package home from the Netherlands cost over 30 euros, I just toned down the shopping.

• Fly open-jaw (as in, fly into one city and out of another). I got a ticket flying into London and out of Rome for just over $1,000, which is not bad considering I was flying at peak travel times into and out of peak summer travel cities. The best thing is that flying open-jaw not only saves the time and hassle of going back to a place you don't need to go back to, but also the money it costs to get there!
  

• Bring whatever you can. I know there are many opinions on this issue. the die hard light packers say, buy the basics when you arrive. If money's no object, or if you are going to one destination and perhaps renting an apartment or staying in one place for an extended amount of time, of course, this is probably a wise idea. However, if you will be moving around a lot or if your budget takes precedence over a little suitcase room, you can save money by packing what you need at home. The basics - toiletries, first aid items, over-the-counter medication, and the like, are all significantly cheaper in the US than, for example, in Europe.
  

• Look for hotel deals. Some hotels offer deals if you stay a certain number of nights (my hotel in Florence offered a free lunch at a glorious little trattoria if I stayed more than 4 nights), like meals or admission into sights. Also, if you think about booking with Expedia or Hotels.com or one of the similar booking discount sites, try contacting the hotel and seeing if they will give you that deal or even a little less - they might be willing because they get to avoid paying the hefty commission to the middle-man! Also, book far in advance. I was able to get a couple of deals on hotels booking about 6-7 months before my trip where the price went up - in a couple of cases a LOT - not long after I booked. And of course if you book early, you are more likely to find vacancies at those "hidden gems" - less expensive places that tend to fill up early.
  

• Get a CapitalOne Visa credit card. They are the only major card (that I could find anyway) that charges NO foreign conversion fees (many charge at least 1%, some 2 or 3%). Think about it, saving 1-3% on EVERYTHING you charge can really add up at the end of a long trip (especially considering hotel costs). Plus, it seemed like everyone took Visa in Europe. Not always the case with Amex, and Discover is basically nonexistent overseas.
  

• Use ATMs to get cash. When you use your ATM, you can save money over travelers checks or exchanging cash beforehand or in the airport (never ever use airport exchange desks!). ATMs use the rate on the day plus a small conversion fee (usually 1% of whatever you withdraw). Some banks charge a fee when you use an out of network ATM, but it's still less than the other exchanging methods.
  

While you're there:

• Take Public Transportation - taxis are nice, and sometimes necessary, but most of the time you can get by on public transport. Combo and multi-day cards can be an especially big money-saver. Especially to and from the airport, taxis and private transfers can be outrageously pricey, and many cities have excellent, cheap, frequent, and comfortable public transportation to and from their airports. Of course, if you are traveling in a group, sometimes a taxi can be cheaper, so check it out and do the math! And sometimes it's fun - like these trolleys in Lisbon. They're cheap and a great way to see less-traveled parts of the city (see picture, click for larger)!

• Check and see if there are buses that go between cities. Sometimes, especially in Italy where the train stations can sometimes be outside the city centers, the buses are actually a more convenient option, and they are usually less expensive. For example, between Florence and Siena, the buses leave right next to the Florence train station but take you right into the middle of Siena. If you take the train to Siena, you then have a long walk or cab/bus ride into town, and the train might be more expensive too. So check it out! Also, for your day trips, check and see if there's a discount for buying a round-trip (aka "return") train or bus ticket. Sometimes you can save money that way in countries that offer.
  

• Look into City Cards. Depending on what you want to see and how much the cards cost in a particular city, these cards can be a great deal. For example, I bought the Roma Pass for 20 euros, which got me into two sites (including the 11 euro Colosseum, AND it allows you to skip the line!) for free and provided 3 days of public transport. I figure I saved about 10 euros in the 3 days I used the card, since I used the bus and metro so much in Rome. In some cities, such as Lisbon and Copenhagen, their city cards include local trains within a certain area, so your transportation for some of the popular day trips is even covered; this makes these cards a particularly good deal. Some cards are not a big money-saver or they require you go to a LOT of sites to make it worth it. Look at each card for the cities you're going, think about the sights you want to see, and figure out if it'll save you money. Sometimes it will, sometimes it probably won't. Some cities also have combo cards which combine admission to several museums or sights.
  

• Prioritize your souvenir-shopping. I knew I wanted to buy jewelry in Florence and handmade masks in Venice. In the cities where there was no expensive souvenir I wanted, all I bought was a little commemorative souvenir magnet. This allowed me to have something from each stop on my trip but also let me save money for the more expensive things I really really wanted.

• Learn where it's appropriate to haggle/bargain over prices.

• Do self-guided instead of private tours. Sometimes you need to splurge, if there's a place that is particularly interesting to you, etc. But there are several places to find and print your own self-guided walking tours, which can help save money and also give you more freedom to tailor the tours to your own personality and energy level. Some of my favorites include Frommers (search for a city and check out the walking, and sometimes biking and driving tours) and the walking tours in the Rick Steves guidebooks. You can photocopy or tear out the pages before you go, so you can take the tours with you and toss them along the way!

• Look for sites that offer free entries. For example, some of Florence's main museums add free night hours during the year. Rome's Vatican museum is free some Sundays. Washington DC's fantastic museums are always free, as are some in London. During some of the summer, Brussels's Royal Palace is open and free to the public. Just be in mind that for popular museums that have one free day per week or month, these may be the busiest times. But if the budget requires, it's a great way to see stuff we might not otherwise be able to afford!

• Check out age-based discounts. For example, in Venice, the Rolling Venice Card costs 4 euros for people under 29, and that allows you to buy the 72 hour vaporetto pass for 18 euros instead of the normal 30, for a savings of 8 valuable euros. The Rolling Card is valid for a year and offers other discounts around the city, too. There are also often discounts for seniors, children are often admitted into sights for free, and some countries' train systems offer family rates.
  

• Get your VAT refund. Some guidebooks I read said that getting the VAT refund is too much of a pain. But if you are going to bother spending a lot of money (in Europe, anywhere from about $50 to hundreds of dollars depending on the country), you might as well get back the exorbitant taxes, which can be as high as 25% of the purchase price (in Denmark)! Check out the windows in stores for signs that say "Tax Refund" or "Tax Free Shopping," learn the minimums for each country you're going to, and if you spend over that minimum in one store in one day, ask the shopkeeper for the forms. You just have to make sure you don't use the items you buy before you leave. Stop at the Tax refund desk in your last airport, and get your money in your own currency! On my jewelry in Florence, I got about $40 USD back, and I barely spent over the minimum in Italy. So if you do spend enough money, it's probably worth your while to get your refund!

• This one may seem obvious - but get off the beaten track. Souvenirs cost a lot less - and are often better quality and more authentic - if you go where the locals go. Ask the people at your hotel for tips on places that offer good quality at good value - they live there and are in the tourism business, so they often have great tips and suggestions for places to shop or maybe even some undiscovered sights.