Who doesn't love holiday?
The best time to visit Paris is when the Autumn comes! Because you could feel the breeze of the city and all the ambiances. Also, it will not be too hot for traveling! As a tips, spend around one to two days in Brussels, Belgium before you depart for Paris! It's on the same way~
Here the travel tips:
First of all, you need to check the tickets fares from Enschede (or any other city in Netherlands) to your destinations. For some days, it will be more expensive. Of course, as a student you would like to make it a cheap traveling yet interesting and entertaining. So the best choice is have the FlixBus application and check the fares regularly! Based on my experience, the fares were as listed as below:
- FlixBus Enschede - Brussels: €23
- FlixBus Brussels - Paris: €15
- FlixBus Paris - Enschede: €40
Beware to order the right tickets! Because if you bought the wrong ticket and you need to buy the tickets again, it will cost you higher price and FlixBus can't do the refund. Also, it is not a guarantee that you could get the tickets again.
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| Living Room in Brussel's Accomodation. |
Secondly, accommodation is one of the concern too. As a tip, use AirBnB and search for cheap house that meets your criteria (especially in terms of people). You don't necessarily have to book the closest one, because basically, you could stay one hour away from the center of the city, yet have a good quality of house with a cheap price. In my experience, I book a house with the capacity of four people but I used it for 5 people. It is cheap tho, so why not?
- Accommodation Brussels: €77.4/pax for three nights.
- Accommodation Paris: €64.80/pax for four nights.
Actually accommodation in Paris is way more expensive compared to Brussels, but because we rented a smaller house in Paris, we could get it way cheaper (since we only used it for taking bath, sleep, and cook some breakfast tho.)
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| Sint Michiels Goedelekathedreaal Brussels, Belgium. |
Third, transportation fees. It is necessary to plan and consider several options. You could use day ticket to travel in Brussels, because it only costs you €7.5/day unlimited by train and €2.1/pax by train for one way ticket. While in Paris, it is better to purchase a week unlimited transportation card, and you could use it for Metro, Train, and Bus, unlimited! It only costs you €27.80/pax.
Forth, foods and drinks! The best way to save up this part is to always eat breakfast at home! This could be done by bringing some breads, some spices, or rice cooker! For instance, me and my friends bought some garlic, instant spices, spaghetti, ketchup, soysauce, nutella, and bread for the travel. Also, we went for an extreme way: rice cooker and rice! So, we have our breakfast ready every morning (could be bread, fried rice, or spaghetti) and in some days in Brussels, we have our dinner at home (since Brussels does not have much place to visit at night). It saves a lot! Trust me! Nah, here is the important tips! Don't miss the Belgium Waffle (Maison Dandoy!) and Belgium Chocolate (Godiva!), you won't regret it at all! While you definitely should try the macaroons in Paris (La Duree!)
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| Eiffel Tower at Noon. @vividarmalim on instagram. |
Fifth, plan your destinations clearly and be punctual! Since you are going on budget traveling, you need to make sure that you could visit many places as well as enjoying the views and ambiances. You need to put some slacks in between the activities since you will be using public transportation (it might have delays, or you might get confused how to get on it, so you might miss the train or else.) In my experience, I spent 10 days in total for both Brussels and Paris because I would like to enjoy the church ambiances and experienced the Sunday Services in both countries. But if you don't want to, you could spend three days and two nights in Brussels and four days three nights in Paris (not including going to Disneyland Paris). If you planned to go to Disneyland Paris, it is better to add one more day because it spends the entire days (even until midnight) there! Disneyland Paris costs you €73/pax. In total this travel plan costs you around €500 including Disneyland Paris and it depends on how you spend on shopping and trying the culinary foods. And of course, the most important tips! Check out about the event on the city, if you are lucky, you get to see some free events that are held in town but you need to register in advance! In my case, I got to see the light festival of Notre Dame Church in Paris for free! and it was an enchanted night for me! Also, I got to see free orchestra in Brussels! So, make sure you check and plan everything in advance and before you depart!
Lastly, please do really take care of your safety, your belongings, as well as your friends' belongings! All of you that travel together need to remind each other and take care of each other because it was not that safe, many people try to steal your stuffs when you're not really paying attention. Also, they use some tricks. So, don't recon bunch of people who try to get your attention and suddenly approaching you asking for money for disable and stuffs. It's all lies! They try to steal your money, and other things! So, happy traveling!
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| Disneyland Paris: Sleeping Beauty Castle. Judith & Vivi. |
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| Notre Dame Church, Paris. |
