The British Berliner
A lifestyle expat travel blog about culture, history, Brexit, the Royal Family, travels around the world, Europe, and being British in Berlin!
How I can afford to travel around the world. Live the life you want!
I travel the world.
And I squeeze it all in.
In fact, I did extremely well in 2015!
My blog became two (2) years old in the middle of October. Yay! You can read all about it right here.
© Pascale Scerbo Sarro
I became the media darling of the German press and made a documentary for the largest TV station in the region of Berlin & Brandenburg which was also picked up by other national German TV stations! I also went on LIVE TV and had to speak in German. Gulp!
I was interviewed in a radio production broadcast about British expats living in Berlin called Briten in Berlin or Brits in Berlin, I did a [VIDEO] interview as a rep. of the Berlin Travel Massive Blogger Community at the ITB Berlin and, I was asked to participate in a short silent independent movie made for a film school application called: “Wer will noch mal, wer hat noch nicht.” Very, very short!
I was interviewed by one of Europe’s largest online newspapers – The Local in Germany – and for the British press via The Independent (coming out in February), as well as in the Huffington Post, Travel Massive and by other well-established bloggers. There’s way too much for me to put on this post but you can read more about it here.
I
TRAVEL
THE WORLD!
Remember when I wrote a post about how to be smart if you want to travel. That hasn’t changed so I’ll say it again:
I’m not a multi-millionaire.
Neither is my husband!
I didn’t win the lottery.
I didn’t quit my job.
I didn’t change my lifestyle.
I didn’t throw my one and only child into boarding school.
I didn’t re-locate to a warmer (cheaper) climate.
I didn’t sell my stuff!
BUT HOW DID I DO IT?
I’m married, I have a husband, a tween child and a very nice corporate job, as an inter-cultural life coach, educational English language trainer and teacher in Berlin, so if you need help with anything, just let me know lol!
And I have this wonderful lifestyle, travel, expat blog!
In short, I live a normal life. Just like you.
I’m married, in a relationship with someone, or have been single. Just like you.
I have family responsibilities. Just like you.
I have a full-time job. Just like you.
And I have to count my pennies and pounds just like you, as money doesn’t grow on trees!
But I travelled to 11 countries last year and I’m telling you, if I can do it, so can you!
I live in Berlin. In Germany. And Germany is right in the center of Europe. It has airports, train stations, bus stations, bicycle stations, cars and every possible means of transport.
I’m betting that wherever you live, it’s similar.
I’m betting that your village, town, city or country has exactly the same thing. You might even have more possibilities such as horses and camels. Whatever!
If you want to take a front seat you can.
Yes, times are hard, money is low, you’ve got kids and you have to take grandpa with you. And the dog! No worries, go ahead and read my tips:
Take the bus. I did! We took a coach bus from Germany to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It took 26 hours and we were knackered and exhausted, but we didn’t die!
If you’re travelling miles apart, book ahead and take a plane.
Check out websites such as skyscanner and then go on the airline’s own website. It pays to be a little flexible if you can. You don’t have to limit yourself. You don’t even have to make up your mind. Use your home-base as a starting point and then go for “anywhere” and just keep trying out different destinations until you’re happy with it or the location is within your budget.
If money is an issue, there are plenty of no-frills, low budgets airlines available to you such as Easyjet and the like. If you book ahead, fares can be as little as €4.99, sometimes less!
You can also go by boat and sail away onto the sea which is exactly what we did when we went to Finland!
In many cases, trains are cheaper than planes if you book ahead, and certainly in Germany, children under 15 years old are completely and utterly free! We travelled to Budapest from Berlin which was a thirteen (13) hour train journey and it only cost €69.00 for myself and my boy. First class! For train travel all around the world check out the website of The Man in Seat Sixty-One . . . or Deutsche Bahn.
©Daniel Duart
In short, distance shouldn’t be an issue. You can fly, take the car, share a car, travel by train, bus, sail, or even cycle! Europe is great for the bicycle. If cash is extremely short, camping is available all over Europe, as well as bunkhouses, hostels and couchsurfing for absolutely free!
If you’ve got the cash. Go for it and drink champagne wherever you go. There are a bevy of fabulous places just waiting for your custom, and it’ll be their absolute pleasure to have you, whether it’s in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia or the Americas. Right now, you’ll be treated like royalty!!
Just because you have a fixed job, doesn’t mean that you can’t travel.
Go to Eastern Europe instead of Western Europe.
Go to South America instead of North America.
Go to Wales instead of England.
If you feel more comfortable staying in your own country, don’t worry about it. Each and every country has something to recommend it, and is bound to be as lovely as paradise! I’m not here to guilt trip you. It’s your holiday.
If you feel more comfortable, going on a package tour. Go for it.
If you feel more comfortable travelling with the whole family. It’s your call.
Or not.
Don’t choose. Go where you want to go.
Make it fun.
Keep things light.
Live the life you want!
And now for what you’ve all been waiting for…..
WHERE IS VICTORIA aka THE BRITISH BERLINER GOING IN 2016?
Drum roll pleeeeease!
Travel plans this year are:
Belgium.
Spain.
© Dr.G.Schmitz
Portugal.
Sweden for TBEX (the Travel Bloggers Exchange Conference).
©NordicFoodFestival.
Denmark.
The Czech Republic.
Slovenia.
Luxembourg.
@picture-alliance/dpa
England.
The country of my birth and the Holy of Holies. The Mother Country. That beautiful land of Hope & Glory otherwise known as Blighty!
Germany.
And of course, I’m going to try to do a bit more of Geeeermany as I only managed to go to one other German city in 2015!
I travel a lot for leisure and pleasure. I live in Germany which many consider to be an expensive Western nation. I can afford a life of travel and a comfortable Berlin lifestyle. I live the life I want.
In Wales!
This post is not sponsored and all opinions are my very own!
If you have any questions about Berlin, Germany or anywhere in Europe, don’t be shy, I’m an expert! Go ahead and ask me!
I have so much to share with you so next week you can read what I did in the city of Bath!
It’s January. Well, hello there!
Berlin Fashion Week is coming up and will take place between January 19th and January 23rd, 2016. Save the Date!
The Conference on the Future of Fashion will take place at #FASHIONTECH BERLIN on January 20th. Tickets are free!
The British Shorts Short Film Festival will take place between January 21st and January 25th. It’s going to be really cool. I went last year & enjoyed it very much plus, there’s a festival workshop & a 48 hour film project absolutely free of charge, but you have to hurry!
If you’re not in Berlin in January, you’re missing out.
January is going to be full of wind & snow!
Watch this space!
Where are you going to travel to in 2016? Are you living the life you want?
39 Comments on “How I can afford to travel around the world. Live the life you want!”
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You have to also admit it’s much easier for you to travel to these countries as you live in Europe where many are closer together and some are also a train ride away. Much harder for us Westerners here in the States to do this as it becomes an ordeal to travel that much.
Yes, I’m a bit jealous. 😉
Thanks so much Phil! You’re right! It’s a little easier in Europe as countries are much closer together however, travel doesn’t have to mean leaving your region. Being a regular reader of your blog, I know well how frequently you travel around your own nation – ‘Merica! And that’s perfectly OK as Texas is totally different from Alaska. Oh, and Canada is just next door. As is Mexico! But to be perfectly honest, if you’re in New York, you’re in clover, as a non-stop flight from New York is just 6.5 hours from Portugal!
You’re welcome! 🙂
Cool destinations you have lined up this year..I hope to get to Luxembourg as well..so close as there is a direct train from Brussels and as well from the southern parts of Germany..I hope to come to Germany as well..even if it’s just Dusseldorf or Cologne which are pretty close to the dutch border..I hope to do Poland, Slovakia, a little of Austria and then Prague, Czech..those are my plans for early this year…I’m hoping for no cancellations..:-)
Thank you so much africanagirl! Yep! Luxembourg isn’t on most people’s map so I hope to discover why, and as for Belgium? Who doesn’t like chocolate-boxed houses. Not chocolate itself of course, (yuck!), just the houses lol!
p.s. If you need any help with Poland and the Czech Republic, just let me know.
p.p.s. Take your daughter with you and install in her the love and excitement of travel. Just ‘cos you have children doesn’t mean you have to travel less, but rather, you ought to travel more! 🙂
Wow, girl. You achieved so much in 2015! I’m so proud of you. You totally deserve to travel and explore this beautiful world! 🙂 You are my little celebrity traveler XxX
Thank you so much Agness! You’re so sweet! 🙂 🙂
p.s. ‘Looking forward to your India travels as I’m vry much thinking about going back there again, with family in tow, in 2017 so I’ll be watching closely for updates as the last time I went to India was 11 years ago lol!
Yay! You’re going to Denmark! And what an impressive 2015 you’ve had! Congrats on all the good things coming your way:)
I’ve actually been working on a similar post, because it really doesn’t have to be expensive to travel. I’ve travelled all my life, even when I was a student and really low on cash. It’s just a question of prioritizing and choosing the destinations, means of transportation and accommodation within your budget.
Yay! And Happy New Year to you my sweet!
Thanks so much for your lovely comments. Indeed, 2015 was everything I hoped it would be and more. I’m awfully pleased! 🙂 🙂 I’m so glad to be coming to Denmark. I’ve been many, many times but it’s been a while since I last went…! And yes, I used to do the same as yourself. As a student, I used to take the bus-coach overnight and go to other European destinations or other British cities. I would go the whole weekend and not bother to book a hostel or anything, as I would sleep on the bus and then arrive back to England in the wee hours of the morning, pop home for a shower, and then go to class lol! ‘Hopefully, I’ve ingrained that travel bug in our son too who is such a travel-happy-sleep-anywhere-flexible-as-long-as-there-is-WIFI-and-food boy! 🙂 🙂
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Yeah I do agree there are many ways that you can travel. Even resources. Thanks for the tips.
You’re very welcome Danielle! Thanks so much. 🙂 In my opinion, travel is for everyone. Regardless of the circulmstances. Smartness is the key to living the life you want!
What an awesome year you had, and 2016 doesn’t sound too bad either! 🙂 I was also thinking about TBEX in Stockholm. I’ve never been to one, actually I only heard about TBEX for the first time a couple months ago. Happy travels, keep on living the dream! 😉
Thanks so much Saana. You’re awfully sweet! 2015 was amazing and 2016 is looking exciting too! TBEX was really good and last year was the first time that I had been lol! I’ve kept some slots open for TBEX in Sweden but my time is booking up with other activities already, so we’ll just have to see lol. Whatever the case, I’ll be going to Denmark with the family later on in the year, and we’ll pop into Sweden either way lol!
p.s. TBEX would be like MATKA in Finland but bigger, and ITB in Berlin is the largest internatonal trade fair of them all, but more for the industry really rather than for the press so there are no pre or post trips. I mean, it’s Berlin. The city is a destination in itself! However, it’s a great way to make future contacts and network etc. As before the ITB in 2014, I had never actually met a blogger in real life until then lol! 🙂
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Extremely well written article. The detailed description shows that you thoroughly enjoyed 2015 exploring different places. Thanks for the tips on how one can travel across the world on limited resources. I’m many of your readers would love to have these tips for their next travel plans.
Thanks so much Savar! Honestly speaking, save some money, look at your own region first, get smart! If you live in India, India as a country is a fantastic travelling region and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Turkey are all just next door! Not to talk of the South-East-Asian (SEA) countries. You have plenty of places to travel to lol! 🙂
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Lovely post, I have picked a thing or two from your experience as I am in a transition stage in my life right now. Can I pm about your job as a life coach?
Thanks in advance
Thanks very much Kareemah! I hope I can be of some inspiration to you and many others. Of course, feel free to ask me a question about my experience as a life coach and mentor. If you require personal coaching, let me know. My Email address is: victoria@thebritishberliner.com
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Thanks for the great post. This info will surely help me to plan my upcoming vacation to Sri Lanka. Being prepared early and knowing what to expect can help save both time & money. During my research I found a local travel blog called http://www.clicklanka.com which uncover lot of info like places to visit, things to do, hotels to stay, where to shop, travel tips and many more. I would recommend this blog anyone who is visiting Sri Lanka and it’s well worth it. I am bookmarking this page and will surely come back for more updates. Keep up the good work!!!
You’re very welcome Ravi!
Sri Lanka sounds like a dream! And yes, the key to a successful happy trip is preparation, saving up, and being smart with your time. Have a great time on your vacation. 🙂
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