Travel: Budget Flying

As a high school girl, I wouldn't have dreamed that I would be traveling the world so soon. Never could I ever have imagined that in only 1 year, I have been to 10 countries already. I've met interesting people, made a couple of friends and seen some fabulous places. I have just bought my air ticket for my summer trip and couldn't wait for May!

People might think that I'm born in money to be able to afford traveling to so many places. In fact, I'm just living on my student loans and some small amounts that I've saved up from my past summer job. That's why I am currently holding an immensely tight grasp over my budget for traveling *gasp*

First off in saving some money is planning the trip. I have traveled eastern Europe last summer, hence I will be targeting western Europe this year. I thank airline searching sites such as skyscanner and eDreams to help me find the cheapest air tickets around. Skyscanner allows searches from one destination to anywhere isn't it just great? But I don't depend on them too much, it's just a reference to get the overall idea on where best to go and then check them out on the low fare airlines' sites. Below, I'm going to recommend some airlines which I have travelled with. There are also other companies such as easyJet, Aer Lingus, Air Berlin and so on... (but I have not tried them out so no comments yet)

I tend to travel with Ryanair A LOT. Their prices are usually unbeatable, seriously. Have you ever imagined that you can fly with just 15e? Although I must confess that cheap traveling comes with a price, all the advertising and add-ons they try to sell you every possible moment is no doubt annoying, and you have to pay for food and drinks in the plane, their airports may be further from the city centre and need further transport but these are less of your worries. The main pain is that they only allow 1 free cabin bag per person with max. weight 10kg and dimensions 55cm x 40cm x 20cm. (no handbags, cameras, duty free bags exempted)  But I guess it's just give and take, think about it... they actually need to earn from something don't they? I've had a bit of trouble hiding that extra backpack once and it was quite an experience... Anyway, a bit of patience and some forgiving will lead to a whole new world of not fainting on the sight of the bill. 

I have also found 9e tickets on Wizz Air which is pretty awesome, they are more relaxed on the baggage rule, allowing one handbag on top of the cabin bag, and they didn't charge any credit card fees/ administration fees etc. which is great. Although their prices may not be as low they have routes that covers eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Slovenia, Croatia etc. which other airlines sometimes don't.  

Norwegian do charge a credit card fee but they provide free wi-fi on their flights which is first in the business. They targets the Scandinavian so it sort of makes sense, being the region of technology everybody has to be connected or else they suffocate and drop dead like zombies *thud*. Oh, and I like their flight magazine, no particular reason but I think it kinds of suited my taste. Overall, I can say I'm 100% satisfied. 

If you are going to travel in Asia Air Asia is your choice. One thing to note is that they requires passengers to purchase luggage weight in advance starting from 15kg. It is transferable to different passengers with the same itinerary if they are checking in together. The good thing is that it didn't matter how big your luggage is as long as it's within the weight that you have paid for. (and if you need a few kgs more you can always ask the people in the queue near you to see if they have any extras)

For me I am a very flexible person and am fine as long as I get to my destinations in one piece. I rather save money for going to more places rather than spending on luxurious traveling conditions. Maybe I'll switch to those classy extravagant business classes when I'm older and earning more money. (or having back pains) 

There's a saying, when you're young there is energy and time to travel but not the money; adults have money and the energy but lacks time; when you're old finally there's money and time but no more energy. So always travel when you can, don't make excuses and regret later!!