and this is..
A GUIDE FOR A BUDGET TRIP TO PORTUGAL!
(for those money saver students, especially in Europe )
based on my 5 days trip there last september..
firstly to visit Portugal, Malaysian doesn't need Visa and that is brilliant!
alright, for me, i always check the prices of accommodation in the cities that i want to visit first before i book the flight. and i suggest student like us to save money by staying at hostel, its not too bad and some even give free breakfast. and u might find new friends too! for me i visit a certain city to visit their attractions rather to stay in my room, so spending the least on accommodation makes sense for me. in Portugal i spent around 10 pounds for each night and that is really cheap! but Wait! DON'T BOOK your accommodation yet..i know it might be exciting with all those pictures on the websites..
but
you'll need a flight to get u there of course and as the title says, i would suggest u to check flights from either Ryanair or Easy jet. depends on the promotions, etc. i bought mine like 2weeks lebih sket before the departure date and it cost me around 60pounds (return ticket). inclusive everything like tax and online charges.
alright, now book the accommodation that u have searched for.
next is the transportation to airport, i suggest u to book it earlier as it will always be cheaper and there are ranges of transportation to choose, my favourite is Easybus! cost me like 10 pounds for two way journey.
for this one make sure you allocate few hours extra especially the return time from airport to city center, as there might be delays in flight arrival so u don't want to miss your bus back to city center after your tiring flight back from your destination.!
alrite after all that, it seem like you got everything right??
hmm..i suggest that u go and check on the public transport in the city that u are going and how are u going to move from a city to another. based on my trip i booked an express bus from porto to lisboa, it took me like 4hours and if not mistaken by train its 3hours. and it only cost 32euro return and the train was 60 euro return.
one thing that is great i think about Porto and Lisbon is its public transport within the city..i suggest u to buy the day travel card(something like oyster) but way cheaper compared to London and much more comfortable yet as efficient!
in Porto, a day travel card cost 5 euro and u can use the metro, bus, train, electric tram, tram, cable car. and to all zones. the same goes to Lisbon but the price is 4.70 euro if i'm not mistaken, but not more than 5 euro that is for sure.
so all together, based on my trip, i spent:
(p/s rough estimation, cz i could not really remember the details)
flight-60pounds
bus to airport-10 pounds
transportation within Portugal-50 pounds
accommodation-50pounds
foods-50pounds
etc n souvenirs-30pounds
TOTAL=250pounds
so what do u think?? was it a budget trip?? i think so..
p/s any questions? just leave a comment and pictures coming up soon...