Rome on a Budget

One of my favourite cities to visit is Rome. I love the food, the culture and the history. I'ts definitely a city I'll continue to return to.  Flights from Dublin can be really cheap if you go off - peak and Hotels/Air bnb's are a lot cheaper too. It's 3 hours from Dublin, making it the perfect weekend break!

Rome is notoriously expensive, but it doesn't have to be! The Eternal City can be as cheap as you'd like it to be. You just have to be a bit clever with your spending... 

Keep reading to see my Top Tips for Rome on a Budget

1: Getting There

As always, Skyscanner is your friend. Book in advance and you'll get a good deal. Depending on the time of year you're going; you can get flights for under €90.

They are 2 airports in Rome; Fiumicino and Ciampino. We flew Ryanair into Ciampino and our lovely Air BnB Host collected us, but you can get into the centre for as little as €4 so it's a really handy option. 

2: Accomodation

We choose Air BnB and had such a lovely experience! We were about 20-25 minutes outside of Rome but really accessible via public transport. I think it cost €400 for 4 nights for the 2 of us which was one of the cheaper options for Rome for the June Bank Holiday Weekend.

BOOK LUIGI'S PLACE

 Luigi went above and beyond and to date it's been my best Air BnB experience. He offered to take us about 30 minutes outside Rome to Braccino where we explored the castle and then had lunch by the lake (Still the best Gnocchi I've ever had) and then we went to the beach and hung out with his friends - to me it's what traveling is all about! 

He also has an apartment close to the Colosseum if you're looking to be a bit closer! 

If Air BnB ain't your thang, Booking.com is what I always use to find the cheapest accommodation in any city I go to. I find them reliable too with a lot of properties allowing you to pay on arrival too!

3: Getting Around

The Metro/Bus is the quickest and cheapest way to get around. Depending on the length of your stay it might be worth getting a multi-day pass. It worked out cheaper for us to get individual day passes. 

It's quick and easy to navigate! 

A lot of the Rome attractions are actually within walking distance, so keep that in mind! Walking is by way the best way to see Rome. Bring your comfiest shoes as you'll be walking miles and miles. 

4: Food

Rule #1 don't eat at the first place you see, and from experience if they're asking for you to come in AVOID. Whenever I'm in a new city I always look up "Best Cheap Eats" on Trip Advisor and it's never veered me wrong. Our favourite meals in Rome we're : 

Cajo Cajo: Cheap and cheerful and they do a delish anti pasti board to share!

Ristourante Baccano: (Cheap Pizza a coins throw from the Trevi Fountain) they also do a fabulous selection of desserts! 

Meridonate: You're presented with a free Prosecco on arrival and they do amazing Carbonara & Tiramisu! 

There's so many options in Rome for eats - but for the most part steer clear of the tourist traps. Trastevere is a great spot for food with plenty of choice with varying budgets! There's also plenty of bakeries and gelato stands all around the city if you feel your energy waning - I'd recommend trying them all! 

5: Attractons

There's quite a lot of attractions in Rome that are FREE, here's a few of my favourite!

• Trevi Fountain
• Spanish Steps
• St Peter's Basilica 
• Explore Villa Borghese 
• Peek through the keyhole of the Priorato dei Cavalieri di Malta and you'll see St Peter's Dome through the keyhole perfectly shaped by trees
• Wander the gorgeous Guiardino Degli Aranci - perfect to chill and take in the views of Rome.
• Piazza Navona
• Monumento Vittorio Emmanuelle
• Bocca Della Verita - Mouth of truth - find out if you're a liar! 

I usually like doing a Hop on Hop off Tour, but in Rome I don't think it's neccessary as walking is honestly the best way to see it - you can miss an awful lot when you're on a bus. 

For the Vatican 100% book a ticket to "skip the line" it's well worth it as the que is so long all year round from early morning! It costs about €35. 

I'm giving the opposite advice for the Colosseum! They'll be people offering tickets to skip the line everywhere you turn. I politely declined one and the ticket tout said "Good luck waiting in a 3 hour line". The line moved really quickly and we were in within 35-40 minutes! - so don't panic if you see a really long line - it moves!

Enjoy your time in Rome ~ have any questions? Leave 'em below and I'll get back to you asap! 

Ghent & Bruges Day Trip | Viator

Viator has fast become my go to place to check out the tours available in a particular destination! It's easy to navigate, their twitter team are great at answering queries and I find more often than not it's great bang for your buck. This was the first tour I'd ever booked with them and I found it stress free and I really enjoyed it. I had to call them to change the pick up point the day before and they were so friendly and accommodating so we were off to a great start! 

We had a 3 days in Brussels and we had Bruges on our list for so long. We questioned whether or not we should get the train down and do it ourselves, but we obviously choose the latter. We chose the Ghent and Bruges Full-Day Trip and I still can't get over the value! For €46 it's exceptional value. It's a full day trip, starting at 9.30 am and coming back at 7 pm. The meeting point is in their office in the centre of Brussels or you can opt for a hotel pick up from a selection of hotels.

GHENT

First stop the UNESCO Historic City that is Ghent. Ghent is a small city in the Flemish part of Belgium an hour away from the capital Brussels. Surrounded by gorgeous canals. It's so picturesque, extremely walk-able and should be added to your list pronto! 

 We walked into the main square with our guide who was so friendly, informative and most importantly approachable where he delved into the history of Ghent. Questions were encouraged and answered well! 

Ghent is absolutely gorgeous with a Medieval flair throughout the city, and It's honestly somewhere I'd love to visit again as we had just over an hour to take in the city, of course not enough, but nonetheless it gives you a great taste of this small quaint medieval city.

I absolutely loved wandering Ghent. I could have honestly wandered all day! It's so quaint, very chilled and because it was a Sunday it was nice and quiet. We grabbed a bite to eat we shared a breakfast and both got Hot Chocolates as it was absolutely freezing, and it came to €35, which was expensive for what we got - it was tasty and filled a gap mind.

I found Belgium on a whole, quite reasonable in terms of eating out, but maybe we just got caught out. Honestly it really wasn't long enough, but just long enough to leave a taste in your mouth. I fully plan on coming back to Belgium, just bypassing Brussels next time! (want to read my Brussels guide?, see HERE)

After our quick pitt-stop it was off exploring for the rest of our time. We came across a cute little Sunday Market. A lot of places were closed, so do keep that in mind if you're coming on a Sunday! We wandered back to meet the group in the arranged meeting point and off we went back to the warmth of the bus. It was an absolutely freezing day - my phone died multiple times due to my phone getting so cold! 

BRUGES

So after our short and sweet stop in Ghent is was on to Bruges. I've been wanting to go to Bruges for the longest time mainly after seeing "In Bruges" and it's somewhere I'd happily go back to! From Ghent to Bruges it was another hour, but the time flew in with our guides great commentary. Coaches/Buses aren't allowed in Bruges so it's about a 5-10 minute walk into the city of Bruges, but it's absolutely stunning.

We had an hour for lunch and there was a recommended restaurant where you could eat with the guide, at reasonable prices too. We weren't too hungry, so we opted to spend our hour wandering the vicinity and getting a Liege waffle, and another hot chocolate, which came in at about €3 each - an absolute bargain!

Our guide walked us to the main square, while giving us an in-dept tour on route. It's a small city, but it's got so much character too. Our guide talked to us all individually at one point or another, took a real interest in us and was fantastic! After wandering to the main square, we were given some more free time to explore Bruges!

We were lucky enough to witness the one day of the year that people can kayak and paddle board through the canals of Bruges! I didn't envy them as it was absolutely freezing cold! If you're looking to see Bruges from the canals you can always opt for an easy and (drier) way and do a canal tour. We opted to wander more as we didn't want to be too rushed.

Bruges is really easy to get around, it's easily walked but if you were staying for a few days I'd suggest hiring some bikes as it would be wonderful to cycle around!

Like I mentioned it was a Sunday so a lot of the big shops were closed but the little boutique shops and the chocolate shops were all open - so we weren't too disappointed!

We made our way to one of the most famous chocolate shops in Bruge - "The Chocolate Line". In here you'll find an array of chocolate in many different flavours and infusions. It's a chocolate lovers heaven, and while there are cheaper chocolate shops in town,  I'd highly recommend checking this one out, even if it's just for the experience. It's not crazy overpriced, but it does tend to get busy!

 After we ate our weight in chocolate we went back to the main square we we met with the group and walked the 15 minutes back to the warm coach. Now I would have personally like more time in Bruges, but what I find good with these tour is that if gives you a sense of a plane and a sense of a city.

 It was a quick taste, but more than enough to get a sense of the city. I'll definitely be back! I fully plan on coming back when it's warmer, renting out a cute Air BnB and cycle the city!

Belgium | Brussels

Brussels on a Budget is quite doable. 

Patricks Day Weekend, my friend and I got cheap enough flights for €118 and we decided to hit up Belgium. Neither of us had been to Belgium before, and have both always really wanted to see Bruges! We arrived early on Saturday, and left on Monday evening so it was a short and sweet trip! 

Brussels can be an expensive city, but keep reading if you want some tips and tricks to make it as affordable as possible. 

Getting There:

From Dublin, you can fly either Aer Lingus or Ryanair. My friend and I actually flew separately and the difference in the flights between airlines was €20 or so, so have a look and see why times suit you the best! Brussels Airport is big, but it's easy to navigate and the train station is so close too. 

The flight time is 1h45 and they're an hour ahead of us! Getting to the City Centre is really easy. It's €12.70 one way into the centre and it takes 18 minutes. The train station is right in the centre, so you don't have to worry about the cost of a taxi when you arrive. 

Accommodation: 

While researching places to stay, I automatically looked at Airbnb first. While prices were good, I actually stumbled across the 5 Star Hotel "Hotel Metropole" for an excellent price! While I wouldn't classify it as being a 5-star hotel being totally honest but for the 2 nights each it was €126 and the room was fit for two queens! The bed was ridiculously big and so comfortable. The only complaint was the floorboards above us were quite creaky but it didn't bother us too much. It was only a 5-minute walk from the main square so it's in an ideal location. It was just unfortunate they're making that street pedestrianised and they had quite a lot of building work going on! 

Food:

Being a big foodie, and a lover of  waffles, chips and of course chocolate - Belgium seemed like my ideal destination. The food was generally the same price as Dublin. Frites and Waffles were everywhere you looked! We got some fries for €2.50 in what was probably the least appetising hut, and I'm still thinking about those chips! So it's definitely cheap to snack in Belgium! You'll find them on every street corner with so many different types of Mayo dips. 

Waffles are always a winner! I had my first savoury kind in Peck47 (see below) and we had our fair share of sweet ones too! The Leige waffle originally served on it's own with sugar was a nice pick me up, while my Nutella doused one was definitely one for the chocoholics! Like fries you can't walk a few yards without finding ample places selling waffles. I'd suggest trying them all ;) 

We had so many recommendations for Brussels for eats, but we actually just stumbled on a few places. I generally prefer to be a bit spontaneous while travelling as for me, it's part of the fun! 

Best for Brunch: Peck47 


We met the loveliest couple in the queue; Kelsey & Brandon from Atlanta and it was so lovely to chat and we ended up having brunch together. 

It's what I love about Traveling, everyone is so open and it was a thoroughly lovely morning! I got the waffle with chorizo and poached eggs, and I'll tell you it was delicious - for €14 it was worth every penny! We added a mimosa for €7 that also went down a treat. 

Best for Lunch: H & K Burger

My friend got this recommendation, and we were not disappointed. We're burger fans and H&K was very good! Not groundbreaking or anything, but it was nice and tasty, and it definitely filled a gap! You got to choose your bun, your meat, your fillings and sauce and for a burger and fries, it came to around €15 and it's a 10-minute walk to the square too.

Best for Dinner: Toukoul 

Amazing Ethiopian Food. It's definitely different, and the waiter will show you how to eat it properly. He'll literally feed you and will assure you is "hands are clean!" - friendly atmosphere, great staff and something a little bit different. 

If you're a fussy eater, this place isn't for you. It's got a cool, chilled African decor and it was buzzing on a Saturday night. Have an open mind - we went for one of the sharing platters and we were both impressed - and were absolutely stuffed! 

We, of course, had room for dessert and a cocktail mind. For a sharing platter, a desert, a carafe of wine and 2 cocktails it came to just under €100, a little pricey - but well worth it for the experience! 

Things to do: 

• Grand Palace
• Manneken Pis
• Atomium 

Although the best thing we did is do the Bruges and Ghent Day Trip - but I'll do more on that in another post! Here's the tour but 10/10 would recommend our guide was excellent, we had sufficient time in both places and the coach was comfortable. 

All in all my only advice for Brussels really is Wander. While I'm actually not Brussels biggest fan (I much preferred Bruges and Gent) It was nice in parts. The square is magnificent, especially at night. It's such a walkable city too. 

Maybe, we didn't give it a chance, but being entirely honest it was probably my least favourite European City so far. I didn't really particularly safe walking at night (and I generally have absolutely NO fear). I'd like to give it another chance perhaps in Summertime. 

Long Haul Travel Tips

8 or more hours in one position on a stuffy airplane isn't exactly anybody's idea of fun. As someone who finds long haul flights rather stressful,yet loves to travel frequently, I've come up with ways to make that journey a little easier - Enjoy!

1: Reserve a good seat. 

Book early and see if you're able to book a seat there and then. Some Airlines don't allow you to book seats a few weeks in advance, only a few days before but as soon as you're able to book, be quick!

For me on Long Haul flights there's nothing I hate more than being in the middle of the 4 seats in the middle of the plane. I much prefer to be on the 2 seats either side. If that's not possible at all, the aisle of the 4 isn't too bad, and you might strike lucky and have no one beside you so you can spread out! 

Take a Hike!

Glendalough

 With the weather getting warmer (I live in hope!), I thought I'd give options for those that are looking for Hiking routes in the Dublin /Wicklow Area. While I do like the gym, I absolutely love being out in the great outdoors! Hiking for me is the perfect way to spend a Saturday or Sunday. Working a busy 9-5 job stuck in front of a laptop for most of the week, I look forward to getting out and about on the weekends. While I know there are loads of beautiful Hiking Trails around, I've chosen the 3 I enjoy the most!