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(tīng)起來(lái)花了不少，實(shí)際上卻不是這樣哦。下面來(lái)給大家說(shuō)說(shuō)我是怎么發(fā)揮窮游精神省下一大筆開(kāi)銷(xiāo)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(jī)票，還發(fā)現(xiàn)往返歐洲的機(jī)票遠(yuǎn)比到達(dá)一個(gè)城市再?gòu)牧硪粋€(gè)城市離開(kāi)要便宜的多。所以我定了倫敦的往返機(jī)票，大概一個(gè)人600美元（包含了稅和機(jī)建費(fèi)）。旅行從巴黎開(kāi)始，也就是說(shuō)我還需要額外定一個(gè)從倫敦到巴黎的航班，但我們旅行的終點(diǎn)還是倫敦。

Stay Longer.
待久點(diǎn)。

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(lái)之則安之”，要讓機(jī)票錢(qián)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(kāi)銷(xiāo)越大，所以需要找到二者之間的平衡點(diǎn)。總的來(lái)說(shuō)，我不會(huì)只在巴黎待兩晚——畢竟你可是花了錢(qián)橫渡大西洋！

Visit Fewer Cities.
少觀賞點(diǎn)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(gè)我加進(jìn)行程的城市都增加了額外一大筆開(kāi)銷(xiāo)。歐洲城市之間的航班和飛機(jī)大概每人一百美元，但算在一起也不得了?，F(xiàn)在回想起來(lái)，我希望當(dāng)初跳過(guò)米蘭，只去另外三個(gè)城市，能省一大筆錢(qián)。

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(qián)妙招：我們坐公共交通，不僅在城市中觀賞美景，來(lái)回去機(jī)場(chǎng)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(lái)的挑戰(zhàn)，這部分對(duì)于我還是蠻有意思的?。?/div>

Stick to Free Stuff.
堅(jiān)持免費(fèi)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(diǎn)都有額外的費(fèi)用。你需要花錢(qián)才能進(jìn)入威斯敏斯特教堂、羅馬大劇場(chǎng)以及巴黎圣母院，盡管這些地方真的超贊，但如果每個(gè)都進(jìn)去觀賞，你最終會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)花了一大筆錢(qián)。

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(fèi)的就夠我們玩樂(lè)的了，所以花錢(qián)真的沒(méi)有必要。在倫敦，我推薦跳過(guò)威斯敏斯特教堂的付費(fèi)項(xiàng)目，好好享受城市中其他完全免費(fèi)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(fèi)；在巴黎，盧浮宮絕對(duì)值回票價(jià)，但我選擇觀賞巴黎圣母院的免費(fèi)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(guó)購(gòu)物，保留好小票，去機(jī)場(chǎng)給他們展示一下東西和小票就能退稅。去機(jī)場(chǎng)的時(shí)候別忘了找一下機(jī)場(chǎng)的退稅口。