給愛旅游的你：窮游歐洲的實用小貼士

I recently embarked on a 16-day adventure through Europe: five nights in Paris, two nights in Milan, two nights in Rome and five nights in London. Sounds expensive, doesn't it? It doesn't have to be. Here are my secrets on how I saved tons of money on this vacation!

我最近剛剛結(jié)束16天的歐洲之旅，在巴黎待了五晚，米蘭羅馬各兩晚，外加倫敦五晚。聽起來花了不少，實際上卻不是這樣哦。下面來給大家說說我是怎么發(fā)揮窮游精神省下一大筆開銷的吧!

Fly Round Trip.

飛往返航班。

I started scoping out flights months in advance, and what I noticed is that round trip flights to Europe were way cheaper than flying to one country and then home from another. So I booked a round trip to London, which only cost about $600 per person (including taxes and fees). The trip started in Paris, which meant getting on another (separately booked) flight from London to Paris once we arrived, but then I ended our trip in London for easy access going home.

我數(shù)月之前就訂好了機票，還發(fā)現(xiàn)往返歐洲的機票遠比到達一個城市再從另一個城市離開要便宜的多。所以我定了倫敦的往返機票，大概一個人600美元(包含了稅和機建費)。旅行從巴黎開始，也就是說我還需要額外定一個從倫敦到巴黎的航班，但我們旅行的終點還是倫敦。

Stay Longer.

待久點。

If you are investing in a $600 flight to Europe, my strategy is to "see it now, while you are here" to get your money's worth. The only catch? The longer you are away from home, the more money you spend on food and other expenses, so it's all about finding a balance between the two. Overall, I wouldn’t opt to fly to Paris for just two nights if you can help it, though – might as well stay longer if you are spending the money to fly across the Atlantic!

如果你花了600美元去歐洲，我的想法是“既來之則安之”，要讓機票錢花的物有所值。唯一的麻煩?你離家越久，花在食物和其他方面的開銷越大，所以需要找到二者之間的平衡點?？偟膩碚f，我不會只在巴黎待兩晚——畢竟你可是花了錢橫渡大西洋!

Visit Fewer Cities.

少觀賞點城市。

Every city I added on to the trip added another major expense. One-way flights and train rides between cities in Europe are often only about $100 per person, but they add up quickly. Looking back, I wish I would have skipped Milan and just gone to three cities on this trip to save even more money.

每個我加進行程的城市都增加了額外一大筆開銷。歐洲城市之間的航班和飛機大概每人一百美元，但算在一起也不得了?，F(xiàn)在回想起來，我希望當初跳過米蘭，只去另外三個城市，能省一大筆錢。

Use Public Transit.

利用公共交通。

Another huge money saver: We took public transportation, not only for sightseeing, but also to and from the airport. This means lugging your own suitcase up and down the stairs on the subway, fighting your way into a hot, crowded subway car with a big suitcase, etc. – but you will save hundreds of dollars this way. (I kind of enjoy the challenge of navigating public transit, so this part was fun for me!)

另一大筆省錢妙招：我們坐公共交通，不僅在城市中觀賞美景，來回去機場都是如此。這意味著你需要把行李在地鐵站搬上搬下，在炎熱擁擠的地鐵站中拖著箱子穿行，等等，但你能省下幾百美元。(我完全享受那種乘坐公共交通帶來的挑戰(zhàn)，這部分對于我還是蠻有意思的!)

Stick to Free Stuff.

堅持免費選擇。

Pretty much every historical attraction has optional fees. You can pay to go inside Westminster Abbey, the Colosseum and Notre Dame, and while all of those places are amazing, at the end of the day you will be spending hundreds of dollars if you go into every single one of them.

很多的歷史景點都有額外的費用。你需要花錢才能進入威斯敏斯特教堂、羅馬大劇場以及巴黎圣母院，盡管這些地方真的超贊，但如果每個都進去觀賞，你最終會發(fā)現(xiàn)花了一大筆錢。

We chose to explore a few, but for the most part there are plenty of free things to do, so paying is really unnecessary. In London, I recommend skipping the huge fees at Westminster Abbey and focusing on the totally free (!) museums throughout the city. In Italy, all churches are free to enter including my favorite, St. Peter's Basilica. In Paris, the Louvre was worth the extra money, but I opted to tour only the free part of Notre Dame.

我們選擇了一些，畢竟光免費的就夠我們玩樂的了，所以花錢真的沒有必要。在倫敦，我推薦跳過威斯敏斯特教堂的付費項目，好好享受城市中其他完全免費的博物館吧;在意大利，所有的教堂包括我最喜歡的圣彼得大教堂都通通免費;在巴黎，盧浮宮絕對值回票價，但我選擇觀賞巴黎圣母院的免費部分。

Get a VAT Refund.

記得退稅。

If you do some shopping in the U.K., save your receipts! You can get a refund on taxes at the airport by showing them the item and the receipt. Look for signs when you get to the airport for the VAT refund office.

如果在英國購物，保留好小票，去機場給他們展示一下東西和小票就能退稅。去機場的時候別忘了找一下機場的退稅口。