So I got inspired to do this post after I read this article by a Traveller from Smart Local (read here).

I'm a pretty competitive person, I love a new challenge, and after reading articles from various different travellers, local and non-local, my friend and I embarked on a European Trip for 50 days, and ended up spending a mere S$2.3K on everything! (Food, Accommo, Drinks, Transport, Shopping), beating most of the travellers who wrote their articles :D

In your face! :P

One of the segments that I'm really very proud of is Accommodation!
I'm extremely proud and (very) shocked to how we've spent less than S$100 on accommodation in Europe, where the exchange rate is almost twice compared to Singapore's.

Yes, less than S$100 :D


So now how did we do it?


1. Couchsurfing!!!!!
This site is a life saviour!
It's basically a platform for like-minded travellers to meet locals in the countries they are planning to visit, and if you're lucky enough, the locals can offer you a place to crash for the night or nightS. It's a really wonderful opportunity to learn to live like a local and to explore and learn different cultures and practices from a more personal point of view.

and, the best part of it all, and not to be hypocritical, you get to save money in the process.

BUT,
you have to remember that people are opening their homes to you. The least you can do is so some respect to them and to show that you are grateful for their hospitality.
Do something nice for them!
Like cook a meal, or bring them out shopping, or bring a souvenir from the country you are from.
Anything small and thoughtful is better than nothing.

But I have to warn you, this is only for bold, open minded travellers or for those who are seeking a totally different way of travelling.
If you are not comfortable hanging out with a stranger than I suggest you stick to airbnb or hotels, because the host may not be someone they've described themselves to be in their profile.

Also, another bad side to it, I cannot guarantee that you wil have a host in every single city.
You have to sent requests at least a month prior to secure yourselves or you'll get stranded.
We are truly super fortunate to have angels who could host us last minute.

List of Cities I've couchsurfed and the awesome hosts:

Amsterdam, The Netherlands






Ronald: (Sadly I couldn't find his profile)


Cybele:
Cybele was actually my very first couchsurfer when I started solo travelling back in 2014. She's the reason why I continued to grow my love for travelling and she constantly gave me a positive outlook on life.
This time, I didn't get to stay with her but I managed to visit her for awhile to relive old times together :)

Gutersloh, Germany


Christine:
Christine actually stayed in my place for 10 nights, and I thought, why not pay a visit :)


Dortmund, Germany




Christian:
He is by far one the most amazing hosts I've ever had the opportunity to be hosted by. and he was our angel in disguise! He accepted us last minute, and gave us so many opportunities like letting us experience the Dortmund game, and a bbq with his friends :)
He's super understanding and accommodating and very open to everything. I'm truly so honoured to have met him,

Prague, Czech Republic






Jakub and his 6 boys.
Jakub was one of the highlights of my Prague trip! He's intensely funny and don't get me started with his housemates! He lives with 6 of his bestfriends, each of them have their own individual creative personality. There was a guy that looks like Avicii, and putting him and the a pic of Avicii side by side, boy! they were like twins!
There's not a night where Talya and I were not drunk or high from _!
Really, if you need a host in Prague, he's the one to turn to.

Vienna, Austria
Thomas
Very considered and friendly guy! He's immensely obsessed and intrigue by the universe and physics, and even has the periodic table for curtains! We learnt alot from him about the universe and sciences and walking out, I felt a ton smarter! :p We got along very well and ended up smoking shit on the roof top!


Budapest, Hungary



Akos
We went to Europe on a pree bad timing for most of the Europeans because most of them were studying for their finals and doing their thesis. One of them was Akos. He was pree tied up with school assignments and work, but he still took the effort and time to host us, and sat down with us every night to talk about how our day went, despite the fact that it was really evident that he was so exhausted. Overall, a truly pleasant guy, and someone you should definitely meet!


Munich, Germany



Andreas
Our Munich lifesaver!!
We were stranded for a good 14 hours in Munich because we had no host! and hostels were a little too expensive for us, but this angel, pops out of nowhere and offers his place that's situated in the most beautiful suburban neighbourhood! He was sick throughout our stay during the weekend so we couldn't really hang out. Instead we brought some berries and fruits to him and chilled over a nice horror movie! One of the special moments - Just chillin over a horror movie.

Groningen, The Netherlands

Wouter
What can I say? He's my bestfriend and he's obliged to help me out :p Haha totes kidding, If you need a cool dude to hang out with in Groningen, he's definitely someone to go to!


2. Hostels in the super cheap cities
You gotta be smart with your money!
If you know certain things are more pricier than usual, then duh! Don't spend on it!
In our case, we REFUSED to spent any money on Hostels UNLESS, it was the last resort.

Berlin, Germany - Singer 109


Berlin is not exactly that expensive, nor is it THAT cheap, but we managed to score a deal in an 8-bedded room for only 8 Euro!
Not too bad aye?
And we got to meet this guy called Ben, who introduced us to this interesting concept, "Anti-Pubcrawl", and ended up going together and meeting ammaaaaaaaaazing characters along the way!


Budapest, Hungary - The Hive

Initially, before Akos opened his place to us, we were stranded as well, but managed to score a deal in  a hostel, in Budapest, called 'The Hive', for only $5 Euro!
One of the best decisions ever!
The first night we partied with drunk brits! :D


Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Hans Brinker Hostel
We were there for Kingsday!
We were to supposedly stay with our Ronald but he had other plans, hence, we indirectly were stood up, and completely stranded! We still has friends in Amsterdam, but they were too busy to help us out (rolls Eyes).
It was not until our last night in Amsterdam, did we get a place to stay in.
A bed costs 30 euro!!!!!!!!!!! RIDICULOUS!
So we decided to sneak one of us in and split the cost of the bed. Hence, we ended up paying 15 Euro for (half) the bed :/
But it was alright, our roommates were pree awesome and alright with it!


3. Crashed into Hostels
Note: This is up to your own risk!!!

As i mentioned earlier, in Amsterdam, we were stranded for a good 4 nights.
However, we had angels who didn't mind crashing into their room, and I think we would have been completely messed up if it wasn't for them.
Here's to you!



-

Now to the calculators:
Couchsurfing  + Hostels + Sneaking in
= 0 + 28 + 0
= 28 Euro
= SGD 41.98
= SGD 42

So yes, that is how we spent less that SGD 100 on accommodation.
Pree awesome ayeee?
* Pats on my shoulder *

If you have any questions to how Couchsurfing works, or if you need any recommendations to where to go, what to see or eat, feel free to drop me an email :)

Other than that, thanks for taking you time to read this post, and well, I hope you've enjoyed reading, as much as we have (not) enjoyed being stranded :p.

P.s. I don't care about your opinions.