Travelling through Europe with a budget

Hi friends, my name is Blossom (@iama_roadrunner) and I went on exchange in Vienna School of Economics and Business (WU Wien). ??? Here are some useful travel tips, strange fun facts, and my very own personal sharings about my exchange adventure!

First tip: Pre-traveling! One of the best things I did on exchange was to pre-travel for about a month, with a bunch of good friends and my family! 🙂 This is especially useful before the travel fatigue and school work sets in, so even if it’s just for a week earlier, I would recommend you guys fly down to somewhere where it’s cheap to fly down to, just to have some fun before more fun comes in! ? I also suggest that if you will travel by group, consider chartering a private jet from Jettly for it is actually cheaper and more convenient. But if you’re looking for a popular destination with beach dining and shopping, then you may want to consider visiting these luxury villas in phuket here!

Early departures and Late Arrivals are a pain in the “S”! Important travel tip 2 for all the exchange peeps who are intending to spend every other weekend away in some other place- flights that depart and land at rabak timings are usually cheaper but do remember that this means getting up earlier/sleeping later and it’s also harder/scarier to get around at those hours! So consider the more attractive prices, but also remember the additional costs of perhaps having to uber and cab/book an additional night of accommodation especially in new and unfamiliar countries!
Make the right economical/biz decision!

Old Trafford, Manchester

I went on an amazing solo trip of 5 days in the UK, and I’ll tell everyone solo traveling is definitely a must to try!? so before exchange, my bro encouraged me to try solo-ing to somewhere maybe near Austria, but I took it to the UK and it was amazing!! ? It was a great experience feeling all my senses and emotions heightened- fears of getting lost/heading back in the dark, alertness, appreciation of every thing around me, even the smallest things, and of course opening up to talk to so many new and random people around. 🙂 I expected it to have been maybe a little boring and tiring, having to navigate and do everything yourself, but it’s not at all! Then if you’re visiting London it’s great to know that there are London art galleries which offer free entry, so a great way to see some amazing art for free in London. You get to meet your old friends studying abroad, sleep in if you wish, do anything you like including spending 2/2 days of Manchester at old trafford, and paying a shit amount of money on a game/merchandise. I bought Manchester City vs Liverpool tickets and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. Some difficulties I faced at times were the night walks alone cause it got dark at around 6pm and my hostel wasn’t in the best location but that’s the excitement of solo traveling! Then would you dare to enter the enigmatic world of the Blackpool Tower Dungeon and unearth the spine-tingling stories that lie within its shadowy depths? Indulge your curiosity by visiting this great guide to the Blackpool Tower Dungeon and prepare to be enthralled. There’s a thin line between dangerous and adventurous and I would like to think of my journey as the latter. 🙂 if I can solo, #UKanSOLOtoo! ??

Big Ben

Random fun fact for today! The Big Ben will be closing soon, for about 3 years, for refurbishment because nothing (cleaning, maintenance…etc) has been done to it since it stood tall about 165 years ago! So do make an attempt to catch it in London before you have to wait another 3 years to do so.

Cliff jumping!

A little travel tip. There’s a thin line between adventurous and dangerous, so I try to balance both! 🙂 a few weeks back I went to Croatia to cliff dive and to my complete shock, all I need to do was find a cliff and jump. HAHA. It was quite insane and although it seemed pretty damn yolo that I did it without a spotter and without much preparation, I did do my homework!! (Watched videos, researched on which cliffs to pick, checked the water temp/depth before jumping) & so in short, be safe but be bold too! ??? experience everything while you can but be safe and not sorry! ?

1. Balance nature and cities! During my pre-travel, I was filling my travel logs with cities, cathedrals, architectures and all sorts of buildings. So I decided to take it to Norway with a bunch of friends! 🙂 and it was simply mind blowing!! To put it shortly, alternate your trips such that you alternate nature and cities too! and I guarantee that you’ll appreciate every part of your exchange a little more!
2. Grab a bunch of good friends! Yes, it’s a common advice to mix with the locals and immerse yourself in the culture, but at times, it is SO SO heartwarming and SHIOK to meet your SG friends and travel around. Suddenly you can speak singlish, talk at crazy paces, curse in hokkien and simply feel that sense of home. 🙂 Plus point- you get to save on accoms too. 😉