Allie går till Sverige

Travel Tips: cheap deals

If you’re studying abroad in Europe then you are most probably looking to travel and doing so cheaply. No doubt you’ve heard of budget airlines like Ryanair and possibly Wizzair. But there are other, better ways to travel!

Sure Ryanair flies all over Europe for 30Euros roundtrip BUT the trip will end up costing more like 100Euros. They advertise as flying to big cities but they actually fly to teensy airports an hour away from the advertised city. For example, they advertise as Flying our of Stockholm Skavsta but Skavsta is ninety minutes outside of Stockholm and it costs 27Euro to get there and back from Stockholm. Add another 20Euro to get from the next airport and back (about how much I paid from Charleroi airport to Brussels and back.) You also have to print your own boarding pass or pay 40Euro at check in. You are only allowed one 10 kilo carry on bag (which must contain your purse, remember ONLY ONE carry on item.) Sometimes they weigh it too. At check in, security, prior to boarding. And if it exceeds the allowed dimensions, that’s another 40Euro (my friend was over by 2cm…) or 35Euro to check in an extra bag up to 15 kilos. So you might as well pay 100Euro upfront to fly out of Arlanda (if you live near Stockholm) and save yourself the hassle.

The other budget airline is Wizzair which flies to Hungary, Romania, and the likes but neither my friends nor I have any experience with it. But it flies out of the same airports as Ryanair so….plus it just sounds sketchy. On the bright side, fly with these two enough times and you’ll become a pro at layering and hiding as much as you can in shoes and jackets and you’ll know exactly how much 10 kilos is!

Best bet for a budget airline is Norwegian Air. Flies out of Arlanda and other major airports, has free wi-fi onboard, sends you free confirmation SMS with flight info, and looks much classier. Checking in an extra bag is only 7Euro but carry ons up to 15 kilos are ok although since it’s at major airports they don’t weigh them. Book in advance and you can find really good deals or you might get lucky. I just booked a flight to Amsterdam and back for 134Euro for June 8, not too shabby.

And one of my favorite websites to book is StudentUniverse.com. It’s super easy to navigate and offers hostels/hotels/apartments as well. Sometimes they have good deals, coupons, student discounts, and sometimes you’re better off using Expedia but it’s a great site to search for hostels. I booked my flight to Sweden two months prior to departure and paid 455Euro oneway. Here’s a few other sites:

Skyscanner

Edreams

HostelWorld

Pressure. It’s over.

Yesterday I booked my trip to Amsterdam, today or tomorrow I will probably book my trip to Gotland, and my trip to Åland is taken care of. That means that I have 10 days left in Uppsala. Six days with pojken (and then I’m spending 10 in Åland with him.) That is fucking crazy.

So I have 10 days to pack. Big suitcase not to be touched again. Smaller suitcase for Åland. Duffel bag for my traveling time back home and things too valuable to check in. Weekend bag for Amsterdam and Gotland. Backpack for personal item on the way home. Things to give away. Things to throw away. Things to leave behind in this room for the next person. Things to leave in his room that he can bring to me or I can get when I come visit. 

It’s almost like August again. Trying to figure out what to pack and what to leave out. Might as well pack everything and just live out of a suitcase. I just needed to write this and clear my head. It’s actually 2:40am but I’m setting this to publish later. I also don’t think it’s actually been dark tonight. 

Time to live it up! (Even more)