How To Protect Your Backpack On Trains

A great way to save some money is by sleeping on trains overnight, but it's hard to sleep when you're constantly thinking someone might walk off with your bag. Keeping your bag in the seat next to you so you can monitor it may seem like the best way to keep your backpack safe, but trains are often crowded to the point where every seat is taken.

Securing your bag to the overhead rack is the next best option, but some are too small so the racks near the doors must be used. This makes it convenient for someone to grab your backpack and run just before the train leaves a station unless your backpack is hard to move from the rack. Therefore, the best method to ward off thieves is to lock your backpack to the luggage rack with a simple bike chain.

The best place to sleep is in the six-person cabs that some trains offer which provides slightly more privacy and safety. However, these are not always available or can seem cramped if you are sitting inside one next to a family of four with a screaming baby. See our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ3mLwQ-1DU.

These cabs have a sliding door and luggage racks above booth-style seats where backpacks can be secured. Just be aware of your surroundings and never leave valuables in your backpack! You will always be able to finish your trip as long as your money, passport, and camera are in your pockets... you may be slightly smelly, but you will finish nonetheless.

Find A Place To Crash.... For FREE!

Become a Couch Surfer!!! And we don’t mean by taking your mother’s sofa into the ocean and seeing if it floats; we mean by visiting www.couchsurfing.org to become a member of one of the coolest ways to sleep around the world.

We’ve heard about couch surfing numerous times from travelers across the world, but never been in one place for long enough to try it myself yet. The idea is to become a member of the site and open your home to strangers who want to crash on your couch while taking advantage of this same arrangement all around the world. There are members in over 230 countries so a couch is never far away. For instance, there are 21,574 couches to choose from in Italy and 96 to crash on in Fiji.

We know the concept of inviting strangers into your home or crashing on the couch of someone you have never met might sound a bit weird and even a little creepy, but the Coach Surfer organization works diligently to check every single member out and monitor all surfers to ensure it is all safe and legit. Becoming a member is free, but you can upgrade to a “verified” member for a small donation to the organization ($25), which means couchsurfing.org keeps closer tabs on members since credit card info must be given. You’ll be able to see which members are verified for perhaps a “safer” meeting although it might be hard to find since only 6% of members are verified.

Members are just like every other poor traveler across the globe looking for a free place to stay for the night while getting from one place to the next. The couch surfing philosophy is more about people making friendships and learning local customs than simply sleeping somewhere for free. If you’re still skeptical, check out the web site and read more than 1,600 comments about this worldwide group that introduces about 150 members every hour.

How To Ride The UK Rails

If you plan on spending some time in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) during your travels, you may want to consider purchasing a young person’s rail card for £26 (currently around $40). This card is valid for anyone who is under 25 or can prove that they are a full-time student. The card is valid for one year and allows you to receive major discounts on all train tickets.

To show how you can save in the UK with a young person’s rail card, I randomly priced two journeys for a week in advance:

London to Liverpool:
Without young person’s rail card – £55.50
With young person’s rail card – £36.65
Total savings: £18.85

London to Edinburgh:
Without young person’s rail card - £42.70
With young person’s rail card - £28.20
Total savings: £14.50

As you can see, if you are taking frequent train trips around the UK, you can save some pounds by purchasing the young person’s rail card after the cost of the card is factored in.

When you purchase train tickets online, you do not have to have purchased your young person’s rail card yet. You just need to show the rail card to the conductor who checks your ticket. When you purchase train tickets online, simply make sure you are buying reduced tickets with the ‘RAIL CARD’ option selected.

While you can purchase your young person’s rail card online or at the train station during your first travel, remember that train tickets are cheaper when purchased in advance. When purchasing your card from the station, make sure you have your passport and a passport-style photo.

To check out all young person’s rail card information, visit:
http://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/

To view train times and prices and to buy tickets, visit: www.nationalexpress.com

How To Rent Bikes In Europe

Bikes are a fun, fast, and affordable way to get around towns. After making this video, we looked up prices from other bike rental companies from many cities and the average price per day is close to about $8-$12. A great add-on to the bike is a saddle bag (if the shop offers it) which will likely be about and extra dollar or two. These bags are great for storing plenty of water which you will need when traveling long distances.