The Adventure Begins: Buying Airfare and Hotels

On September 1st, 2009, I will begin my 4 and 1/2 long trip as a poor student in one of the most expensive cities in the world: Paris, France. Though the exchange rate is most definitely not on my side, being a student has its advantages: namely, cheap airfare. Although I searched many discount travel websites, the cheapest airfare came from studentuniverse, a website that caters to student travel. I snagged a round trip ticket to Paris (CDG) for a mere 650 dollars.


While studying in Paris, I have the opportunity to explore neighboring European countries. With my boyfriend coming to visit me for my first week-long break at the end of October, I decided to go for a romantic city that I've always wanted to visit: Venice. Through Kayak.com, I was able to find round trip flights from Paris as low as 186 dollars (the flights to Rome were actually more expensive).



Even in the off season, finding a reasonably priced hostel or hotel in Venice was difficult. Most of the hotels in my budget were located quite far from the city center, but I was determined to find something within walking distance of all of the landmarks. We ultimately settled on a quaint little family owned hotel for it's great location, authentic European look, and complementary breakfast. We got a room with a queen sized bed for roughly 75 dollars/ night (plus taxes and fees). We were able to get this great rate since the room we chose has an adjoining bathroom between our room and the neighboring one, as opposed to private bathrooms per room. We agreed that we would be willing to share for the 100 dollar+ discount per night (and since each room contains a safe, we would not have to worry about theft). We also realized that one of the benefits of going to Venice during the fall was that we would not need air conditioning (the only amenity who's lack gave this hotel a less than 4 star rating). The 24hour check-in also made this hotel a great deal.

For Christmas, I wanted to visit Munich, Germany, where my mother lived for 3 years as little girl. Castles, locals beers, and an enormous Christmas market made Munich the ideal city for a Christmas vacation (and at a fraction of the price for a vacation to Berlin). Flights to Munich, Germany ran us about 136 total per person on Lufthansa. We were even lucky enough to find a flight that arrived in Munich early in the afternoon, and left in the evening.

Cheap hotels were not hard to find in Munich, so we got to be a bit more choosy. We ended up opting for the Best Western, a 4 star hotel located 1.3 miles from the city center and boasting a a sauna and large breakfast buffet. At 89 dollars/night (plus taxes and fees), our six night stay turned out to be a big steal.

Total Damage thus far: $960 per person for a 7 day vacation to Venice, Italy and a 7 day vacation to Munich, Germany

Stay tuned for more updates on the trip!