Hey fellow Steemians, for the past month I’ve travelled a lot, had 8 flights to 5 different countries. I was hoping to blog while travelling, but when you travel all, you want is to enjoy yourself and explore; meet new people and be spontaneous. So, now, I have time to tell you about all my discoveries and adventures, give you best tips on how to spare, as I'm a budget tourist and how to make your trips unforgettable. Ready? Fasten your seatbelts and read!
The first county I went to was Portugal, despite the fact that I've been there 4 times this year, I desperately wanted to see it again, even more relaxed and with no plan arranged. Just in my spare time before taking off, I was thinking where I'm going to go the next day as I'm always tempted to go back to places where I had great time and be more passive about places where I haven't been. I try to work hard on myself and challenge my being by leaving my comfort zone or explored zone and go to do something new. After a day in Faro, where I stayed for one night and went further to Albufeira, another south cost city in the Algavre. I was told that it's a nice place to go and without even googling it, I took a bus there.
About buses and trains in Portugal: They have a good discount for young people under 25. Sometimes they ask you about your age themselves, but sometimes not. If you're under 25, prepare your passport to show and if not being asked, tell them yourself and give a passport. So instead of 9 euro, you will pay 5. Good deal! The same applies for regional buses when travelling from one city to another.
Portugal is pretty cheap, but the prices in restaurants on the main streets are still hilariously expensive. My best tip when travelling is to book a hostel with the kitchen and check the photos of the kitchen to make sure it’s a good and an equipped one. When I went to Barcelona I stayed in a hostel which was supposed to have a kitchen, but to my big disappointment there was only a sink, a table, a fridge and two microwaves. There were also just a few plates, no cutlery, no oven, so basically cooking there was impossible. So, check twice the photos! Kitchen in the hostel is not only a place to cook, but to socialise as well. I'd say that the kitchen is better to meet people than the hall off the hostel where people mostly chat with their friends or sit in phones. So, the kitchen right!
Food tips: in Portugal, you will find lots of small shops in the street mostly owned by Indian people, they are a little more expensive than big local supermarkets like Dia and German Aldi. In German Aldi in Portugal you'll find German, English and other country's products, so let's call it international shopping. Dia is more of a local supermarket. Prices can vary, but generally these are the cheapest places to buy food.
What about Albufeira, you'd ask. I will call it a party city, there's not much do apart from parties, which are pretty wild and go after party on a beach. The city is very chilled itself, there are few attractions and museums. One guy from the hostel went to the museum (free entry) and told me later that it was empty. So, people go to Albufeira to lie on the beach in the daylight and party at night. Evenings are pretty crowdy and there's always something like live music or performances are going on the central square.
The main street is covered with shops starting from clothing to toys. They are not very cheap, but you can bargain. The quality as well leaves much to be desired, it's probably the worst quality products I've ever seen, but if you need something ungently for a few days it's okay. The whole economy and business of the city is depending on the summer season, the rest of the year the city is empty as locals say. Of course, there are a few tourists coming over to have a glance, but it's still nothing compare to the summer season.
Thanks for reading!
If you questions, comment below!
Best,
Vxx