Planning Trips & Traveling on a Budget

We sat down with senior Adriano (Andy) Backes Pilla to discuss how he was able to afford and plan several exciting weekend trips during his exchange semester last spring to Vienna, Austria. Andy gave us some superb tips on having the most fun possible while sticking to a budget. We took notes and synthesized the conversation into the following tips:

• Use and compare several different flight search engines when booking flights. My favorites were Google Flights, Skyscanner, and CheapOAir. These websites all have unique features I enjoyed using.
  • Skyscanner allows you to search for specific dates and a starting location and then filters the results by the cheapest locations to travel to during those dates
  • Google Flights allows you to pick a destination and dates and then displays a price matrix for nearby dates with varying prices
• Similar to the last tip, take advantage of different websites when booking hotels/accommodation. Websites like Airbnb and Booking.com were especially helpful to me. Additionally, if you are comfortable with staying in hostels, these are a great, cheap way to meet new people from all over the world while on your trip.
  • Be sure to thoroughly read reviews on the places you are booking. Sometimes, if a deal is too good to be true, it very might well be. Make sure you fully understand the amenities your choice of accommodation comes with.
• Choose the people you are travelling with wisely; travel with people who have a similar budget and interests as yourself. This will avoid issues dealing with overspending or spending money on activities you are uninterested in.
• Pack light. A lot of times you will have to walk long distances with your luggage or will not have much room for your items when traveling. That is why it is important to only take the essentials (bring universal clothing and minimize the electronics you bring.)
• Contact other Smith students that may be studying in the cities that you are visiting. They probably have some great recommendations on where to stay/what to do while you’re abroad.
• Do not overwhelm yourself with planning trips every weekend! Sometimes it is nice to spend a weekend in your host city instead of traveling elsewhere. These weekends were great for exploring lesser-known areas of where I was staying and allowed me to feel more like an actual citizen rather than a tourist.
• Do not try to plan every single second of your trip and be open to change. Sometimes things just do not go the way as planned. There will be travel delays and sometimes the weather will interfere with your plans. Just try to stay calm and be flexible.