Joey and I love to travel. It is always something that we look forward to --- always relaxing, enjoyable and comes with a myriad of interesting finds, discoveries and self-learning. Travelling does not have to break your bank; you can always travel in style and yet be still cheerful with the limited budget you can spend.
I'm sharing some tips on how we plan our travels: Check your passport. Travelling international requires that your passport is valid for at least 6 months at your last day of travel. If your passport is expiring, you should renew it soon before making travel arrangements. When renewing Irish passports, the Department of Foreign Affairs requires at least 4 weeks or 20 working days. For Philippine passports, it can take as long as 10 weeks.
When I moved here in Ireland, I had a 2-hour stopover at London Heathrow (UK) with a connecting flight to Dublin, Ireland. I got stopped at the Immigration and the officer told me: "Do you know that I can send you back to Singapore?" I did not realize that I need a pre-approved VISA for my stopover. After few minutes of talking it through, the officer allowed me to go to a holding area until my flight to Dublin was ready for boarding. It scared me out of my wits that I never made a single trip to the UK until 2014 when I got my Irish passport.
Travelling with a Philippine passport within Europe is somewhat restricted and convoluted. While it's true that Ireland is in Europe, Ireland does not sit in the European mainland and hence not part of the Schengen Agreement. Ireland has separate borders and Immigration Controls. For a non-European citizen to travel to Schengen countries, a Schengen VISA (for the destination) and Irish VISA (when returning) are required. On two occasions, I applied for a Schengen VISA to join a training at our corporate headquarters in Germany. The first time, I got denied since my Irish VISA was expiring in less than 3 months. The second time, I got approved but I had to cut-short my trip to the Philippines because I needed to submit my Philippine passport to the German Embassy. I remembered when Joey and I first travelled to mainland Europe. Our travel dates were still in April (that was 2012), yet we booked the flights as early as December of the previous year, renewed the Irish VISA in January, and processed the Schengen VISA in February. Imagine that! Almost 5 months of preparation for a mere 5 days of travel. We did the same process for our travel to Italy last April 2014. Our Irish VISA was renewed every January, so technically, we could not travel between October to December. It would seem easier to travel to the United States since you have more flexibility on your travel dates and destination. We applied for tourist visa and the US Embassy gave us 10 years' validity up to 2018. Know where you can travel. I came across this Project Visa website which lists the VISA requirements of most of the countries. Check whether you need pre-approved VISA or you're eligible for VISA on arrival. When travelling with Philippine passport, most of the countries in the South East Asian Region are "Visa on Arrival" countries. Be sure to contact the embassy of your destination to ensure you have the latest information.
Spread the map and do the math!
We have a world map pinned in a wall of our house! And I'm not joking :) It just gives us a better view of which cities or countries we want to visit. When you're sorted which city/country you want to go to, do a quick research on that destination. What are the surrounding cities? Is train travel feasible, or an overnight cruise an option?
I use Travel Math to check the distance between two cities. In this case, if your main destination is Bratislava in Slovakia, you can actually plan to visit Vienna in Austria too since it is only just 56km away.
Are you insured?
Before you start buying air tickets, booking accommodations etc., make sure you have a travel insurance. Like any other insurance, when you don't need it, it's OK. But when you need it, you will be more than happy that you have it! Trust me, been there, done that! Our flight from Venice was cancelled due to airport employees strike. So, we were forced to stay another night in Venice (an expensive city to stay!) and made alternate travel arrangements. Luckily, our travel insurance covered our costs. Shop the website for the right coverage for your travel. There are insurance plans that cover both health and travel such as cancelled flights, loss of luggage or personal effects.
Airfare is the game changer.
When it comes to flights, I like Skyscanner because it has the "Multi-City" feature which enables you to depart and return from another city. Ebookers and Expedia started to have this feature as well. It is one way to get the most of your trip. In our first trip to Italy, we arrived in Rome, then travelled by train to Pisa, then onwards to Milan. We flew back from Milan. In our second trip, we flew to Rome and flew back from Venice, breaking our trips into different cities in between: Rome, Verona, Padua, Trieste, and Venice. We also did Paris & Brussels in one trip.
Play around with the flight combinations. Before booking, check the airlines' website so you can compare if you're getting a better deal or not. I notice that it is cheapest to book flights on a Monday; it's probably the day when they have refreshed their system.
I've read on some websites that it is recommended to always search for flights in a private browsing mode or 'incognito' to see the lowest price. Some search engines or airline booking sites have their own "tracker" to monitor the number of searches for specific route. Using the concept of law of supply and demand, when the demand is high, flight fares may increase as the number of clicks and searches increase. I do not have concrete facts to prove it, but there is no harm trying it. In Google Chrome or Safari, incognito is activated by pressing 'Control + Shift + N'. For Internet Explorer, press, 'Control + Shift = P'. The Nook: Splurgy or Ha'penny? When looking for accommodation, it's CDS for me - Clean, Decent and Safe. Occasionally, it's nice to go to 5-star hotels and pay for the experience. But if you're travelling on a budget, who cares? If you can have a good night sleep, it's all that matters. You can always re-visit the fancy-starred hotel on one evening, buy a drink or two and still get the experience. We already tried different accommodations: we stayed in a hostel in Sintra, had a self-catering apartment in Madrid and rented a private flat in Rome. We move around whenever possible, depending on what we want to see and do. When exploring Toledo, we chose a hotel closer to the coach station; then, we transferred to another hotel near the city centre to enjoy the night life.
And oh, I also use Tripadvisor to see actual photos of the hotel and Google Map to view its surroundings. I don't usually go for "Flight + Hotel" deals because I find the hotel choices limited. Also, I find it more expensive. In all our trips, I had always booked flights and hotels separately.
Know your way around.
For train travels, I always book in advance because European Trains mostly offer good deals for advance booking. When lucky, you can get a high-speed train from Paris to Brussels for less than Euro 20. For within the city travels, do you need to use the bus, subway/tubes/metro? Major cities usually have tourist travel cards that you can put money on and then use on any public transport. In London, Oyster is not just an appetizer, it is also a transport card. For Lisbon, it has Siete Colinas & Viva Viagem cards while ACTV card is used in Venice. You can buy them online and have them delivered to your hotel; or a better option is to buy them at the airport arrival hall so you can use them immediately. This is more convenient compared to shelling out coins or queuing at the ticket machines every time you board.
Love the experience!
There are many ways to enjoy your travel destination. Just be resourceful and always on the lookout!
Satisfy your palate.
Skip astronomically-priced boulangeries. Enjoy food/cuisine where locals go. A bread in Paris is still French even if it's baked by a mom & pop or an artisan shop. It's as authentic as you can get. Dine alfresco and enjoy the scenery. Here in Europe, buying takeaway food and eating it while sitting in a park is perfectly normal. Know the staple of the destination you're visiting and immerse yourself. Here are just some of what we have tried:
Finally, blend with the locals.
Understand the etiquette, know the Do's & Don'ts. Keep an open mind and surely you will have an awesome holiday! |
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Dates
October 2018
About MeI am a software engineer based in Ireland; a qualified accountant who made a 360-degree career shift to Information Technology during the Y2K era. Joey (my husband) and I have big appetites for travelling, learning new cultures, and a passion for experiencing varied cuisines. Follow us as we chronicle life's little perks! |