Marchela Since Covid started in Europe and my trips to Portugal and the Philippines were cancelled I was afraid to plan anything until my first baby steps last summer. Started with short Erasmus projects and work trips. As I finally got over the anxious feeling that my flights might get cancelled every time, an idea started developing in my mind and it will be this year’s goal for me. The idea might require some budgeting skills if you want to try it, so it doesn’t backfire (which is probably what might happen with me, but I will go with the flow and see). Since I haven’t had the chance to travel I ended up saving money during the pandemic, so now I decided to quit work and focus on self-improvement and traveling in the next 6 months. Of course the idea is pretty much applicable even if you work, although might be less comfy to travel around with work equipment. My first stop from the 🗺 Roadmap🗺 was Rome as I found super cheap flights with Ryanair, but I will share more about Rome in my next article.
So the mandatory requirements are always
- Cheap flights 💶
- Cheap accommodation 🛏
You can check skyscanner.net to see when the flight prices are cheaper to different destinations + make sure to check what are the requirements for the target countries, as you might need either vaccine, test, or both, oooor both + quarantine. Make sure you check also if masks are required in open spaces too, because I almost got in trouble due to the different Covid measures in my Italy. As for accommodation my best advice is to check for dormitories and maybe airbnbs. If you haven’t heard of Couchsurfing, you can check it out as you can meet locals there and get to go to cheaper restaurants with a better food quality instead of fancy and overrated places. This could be also a good chance to practice the local language too 😊 I, personally, wouldn’t recommend searching for a host in Couchsurfing as it can be risky if they cancel your stay in the last moment and other variables.
I’m giving these suggestions as this is what I’m doing and my first trip actually went fine by doing this. I’m considering to include Turkey, Netherlands, Portugal and Canada in my 🗺 Roadmap 🗺 as next destinations as I also have friends in these places, so they are suitable for my tight budget. If you have friends in other countries, travel mates from previous trips (people you met while you were in a hostel or a touristic tour), you can check with them if they can show you around and/or eventually accommodate you too. Portugal is a usual destination for me already, but this time I’m also going there to attend a conference in Porto. Coincidentally, I found that there are actually direct flights from Porto to Toronto which are pretty affordable too. It never hurts to just check flights to different countries/continents for comparison as it is the first step to know whether or not you can actually afford it or not.
That’s pretty much it about my Roadmap to the unemployed wanderer. Of course, I’m not planning all trips together. I will have little breaks between them for some self-improvement. Like a lot of people I know, I have quite a few courses waiting for me in Udemy, so will focus on them while preparing for the next trip(s).
