Travel Tuesdays: the big expenses
Last week I thought I had found an acceptably affordable one-way ticket to London, but this week, when I went to book it, it was gone. After two hours of concerted searching on Booking Buddy, I turned up an acceptable alternative for just $34 more than the first. Having learned my lesson about not letting these things get away, I jumped on it. I was exceedingly pleased with myself as I claimed my free one-way ticket for the flight home using frequent flyer miles — then somewhat less pleased to discover that “free” does not include $118 in taxes and fees.
Whoops!
Mind you, I’m not complaining. I’m still saving about $250 over any round-trip ticket I’ve seen for the dates I need to travel. Nonetheless, the moral is that it’s best to estimate high when you’re deciding how much you can spend, then look for bargains so you come in under budget.
Airfare will always be one of your top two expenses. Lodging is the other. Don’t stint on cleanliness or safety, of course, but be willing to be adventurous to cut costs here — do you really need to drop $200 or more a night on someplace where you’ll mostly be unconscious and thus unable to enjoy it? Probably not.
While I’m in York, I’ll be staying in a largish house on the University of York campus with several other volunteers. We’ll share a kitchen and bathrooms, but we’ll each have a private bedroom. When I leave there, though, I’m heading to London for three days, and I don’t yet know where I’ll lay my head. Time for more research!
In the past, I’ve stayed in a small hotel near Victoria Station, an historic (built 1851) house which offers a special rate on single rooms tucked up under the eaves. These rooms are tiny, with slanted ceilings, dormer windows, twin beds, and shared bathrooms; they’re also a little shabby and can only be reached by climbing four flights of stairs. They were probably the servants’ quarters when the building was a private home. I find them charming — not least because they’re also ridiculously cheap: if you book online, you get an Internet-only special of about $65 a night at current exchange rates, and paying in full in advance knocks off an additional 10%, bringing the per-night cost down to $58.50. In a city as expensive as London, that’s a bargain indeed.
However, I’ll be at the tail end of my trip, and if past experience is any predictor, I’ll be starting to worry about money, so I want to bring my costs down still further. That’s why I’m planning to book a bed in a hostel. I haven’t shared a bedroom since college, but I’ve found a couple of hostels with small dorms and no reputation for party atmosphere, and I plan to invest in good eyeshades and earplugs. This will let me whittle the cost of my lodging for three nights in London down to $30/night — thus almost balancing out the aforementioned taxes and fees from my “free” ticket. As a bonus, the places I’m considering are near both King’s Cross Station, where my train from York arrives, and a tube station on the Piccadilly line, which will take me directly to Heathrow airport when it’s time for me to leave. Location, location, location.
At this point I refer you to this excellent, detailed post by Audi of Fashion for Nerds about saving money on flights and beds. In future posts, I’ll share some further thoughts on the topic, as well as advice on the smaller expenses, like food, entry fees for attractions, and getting around once you’ve reached your destination.
Questions? Experiences? Thoughts?
