When I first read about the free walking tours that SANDEMANs NewEurope offers, I was a little apprehensive.

My first thought was “How good could a FREE tour actually be?”. It was just one of those offers that simply sounded too good to be true. To our surprise, the SANDEMANs New Dublin tour was worth every minute of the almost four hours that we spent scouring through some of Dublin’s most famous sights.

Where it Starts:

Between Dublin Castle and City Hall on Dame Street [Map]. Just be sure to look out for the tour guides in the RED shirts.

Meeting Times:

11AM and 1PM

What you’ll see:

Dublin Castle, Dubh Linn, Dublin’s Medieval Walls, Viking Remains, Norman Dublin, Georgian Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, Adam and Eve Church, The National Library, Famous Writers, Temple Bar, U2- Origins of the rock legend, Ha’Penny Bridge, Spire of Dublin, City Hall, Trinity College, Leinster House, Chester Beatty Library, St. Stephen’s Green, 1916 Easter Rising and more!

Cost:

FREE! Although, if you truly enjoyed this tour (which I guarantee you will), then be sure to tip your guide what ever you can afford to. These guides rely on their tips. In our personal experience, our guide was excellent and we loved the fact that he intertwined humor into the tour which made the history a bit more interesting.

The SANDEMANs New Dublin Tour is described as “A FREE 3 hour tour we wind down the quiet streets and bound through bustling boulevards, uncovering the hidden sites as well as the famous ones.” and in my opinion, it was that and more!

1. Always ask for the bill after your finished eating at a sit down restaurant. If you don’t ask, you’ll never get it and you’ll waste your day waiting to pay for your meal.

2. Learn how to haggle. Egypt is all about haggling, whether it’s for a water at the corner store, a souvenir at the market, or a non-metered taxi fare. We even haggled for the price of our hotel room in Dahab. Seriously, everything is negotiable!

3. BYOTP! (Bring Your Own Toilet Paper). You’ll be hard pressed to find toilet paper in most restrooms in Egypt. The toilets here have a built in bidet spray nozzle so if you don’t have toilet paper with you, prepare to walk out of the bathroom with a wet or dirty behind.

4. Accept that you’re a foreigner an you will be stared at all day, every day. Literally.

5. Be careful who you trust. You should be able to figure out who is genuine and whose not after the first two minutes of conversation. If the person starts mentioning “baksheesh”, tell them “shukran” (thank you) and simply walk away.

6. Ask the price before buying water, soda, candy, and anything else that you can buy at a convenience store. If you’re used to paying a lower price in other shops for your item, haggle with the shop owner a bit!

7. Use the Metro! It’s one of the most efficient metro systems that I’ve ever been on. Be aware, it’s extremely rare that you’ll run into other foreigners on the metro. We took the metro almost every day and not once did we see another tourist or foreigner. Considering you’ll be a minority, expect the train to go silent at times and when you look up, the entire car will be looking at you in awe.

8. Bring comfy shoes! Walking shoes or comfortable sneakers are best. You can wear flip flops or sandals but just realize you will be one of the only people wearing them and you’ll surely return with black feet from the dirt and pollution of Cairo.

9. Carry hand sanitizer! You’ll constantly be touching doors, hand rails an money while you’re in the city. You’re not the only one touching those things, remember there’s an estimated 25 million people in Cairo. Think about it!

10. Watch where you’re walking while exploring the city. The sidewalks, and streets of Cairo are not maintained well. I was really lucky I didn’t break my ankle after I fell into a hole in the sidewalk while walking through the city. This was not your typical pot hole, this was a hole that engulfed my leg, all the way up to my knee! Dangerous isn’t even the word!

11. Buy bottled water, lots of it! You’ll need to brush your teeth, drink plenty of it during the day and maybe even pour some on yourself after being in the extreme heat all day.

FYI: As a foreigner you’ll be charged 4 to 10 EGP for a “big bottle” (1.5, 2 liter) of water depending on where you purchase it.  You can get these bottles for 2 EGP, trust me. Just haggle with the shop owner and you’ll get it for 2 EGP. If they say that it’s 4, or 5 EGP just tell them that you buy water down the street all the time for 2EGP and they’ll usually have no problem selling it to you. Just act like you’re aware of what the “Egyptian” price is and you’ll be fine.

12. Eat where the locals do! Not only will it be the cheapest food that you’ll encounter during your travels, but you’ll also most likely be eating traditional Egyptian food which is what you should be doing if you’re in Egypt anyway, right? Even as a picky eater, I have to say that traditional Egyptian food is great, and very filling to say the least!

13. Don’t be afraid to cross the streets. The driving and traffic will be shocking when you first arrive. Crossing the streets at first is quite intimidating but after you get used to it, you’ll be crossing the streets with ease. Don’t bother letting the “Tourist Police” assist you with crossing the roads, if you do they’ll most likely want a tip (baksheesh) after they assist you in crossing.

14. Cover up! If you’re a woman you’ll need to be sure to cover up while in Egypt. Yes, it’s hot but it’s part of life here. Liz got away with wearing capri pants, and tops that covered the tops of her arms. She didn’t wear a headscarf, but all local women do wear these. Liz also got away with wearing flip flops for most of the trip through Egypt without any issues.

15. If you’re confident with your haggling skills, take a black taxi to your next destination. The black taxi’s are considered private and never have running meters. Most people will tell you to avoid them and use a metered taxi while in Cairo, but we took many black taxi’s during our stay. All you need to do is ask a local how much it should cost to go from point A to B and use that number to haggle with the driver. Make sure you agree on a price BEFORE entering the taxi. Confirm the price 2 or 3 times before actually getting in to avoid any issues. By doing so, you may save yourself a few pounds. Once again, if you’re confident and aware of the true “Egyptian” prices (what Egyptians would pay for something), you’ll most likely have no issues with agreeing on a price and you’ll be able to avoid being ripped off.

Do you have any tips to offer from your travels to Egypt? If so, feel free to leave a comment below!

Note:  This is a sponsored post from Easytobook.com. As you know, I normally do not accept sponsored articles on Pause The Moment unless I feel that the article is relevant to the site content and if it may be of interest of my readership. I chose to accept this article because I felt that it may be useful for some of my readers who may be planning on visiting Amsterdam in the near future. Feel free to leave a comment below if you find this article useful.

Amsterdam is one of the most popular European cities to visit in the world. The beautiful canals, green parks, stressed-free atmosphere and obviously the Red Light District and coffee shops- all make it a desirable location to visit over and over again. Because many visitors tend to come back to Amsterdam for a second or third round, we gathered here some of the best hidden hot-spots which are not mentioned in the standard guide books but still worth visiting:

1.  “Ctaste”- dining in the dark restaurant – Address: Amsteldijk 55 1074 HX Amsterdam
Tel: +31-(0)6 22335366:

This is a truly unique experience for everybody! Enjoy an evening where you will be using your all senses- except seeing naturally.

The food is served by blind individuals and before entering the dark eating room, you will be welcome in the restaurant’s lounge area where you will get a wide explanation about the whole experience. For those of you who are allergic for some kinds of food- no need to worry- the waiter will give you the chance to inform him about things you simply cannot or do not want to eat.

2.  “Café Vertigo”- Address: Vondelpark 3, Amsterdam, NH 1071 AA Netherlands:

This charming café could not be located in a better spot-right in the middle of the famous Vondelpark, underneath the Dutch Film Museum. Not only the location will blow you away but also the décor and the delicious food. The combination of the green surrounding, relaxed environment and the sounds of birds- will all make it an incredible after noon. The greatest advantage of this café is the option to visit the film museum after a pleasant lunch.

3.  “Dark Amsterdam” walking tour:

This 2 hours tour takes place in the Red Light District area and you can be certain it is not the typical tourist Amsterdam sightsees! The tour will start with visiting the prostitution information centre where you will get an interesting insight about the Dutch attitudes, rules and regulation -towards this field. After the introduction meeting is finish, you will start exploring the red light district area- the Wallen. Your tour guide will take you to wander around the Zeedijk, (which in the past used to be a dangerous area and now it is one of the most lively places to have a drink and dinner in Amsterdam) afterwards you will continue strolling around in the old Red Light District narrow alleys and you will most likely finish somewhere in a central area. Please note that this tour is completely safe and you will be surprise how much you will learn from it!

4.  “Dine with the Dutch”:

This is a must for those of you who like to get the full local experience! Just go on the net and register yourself in this website: www.dinewiththedutch.nl

Fill in your details and this remarkably smart system will be able to fit the most suitable family for you! The choices are tremendously broad: from a married gay couple to a large family with 5 children – everything is possible! After choosing your family you will get an invitation to a 3-course traditional Dutch meal. This will cost you 49 EUR per person including tax. Kids over the age of 12 will have to pay 25 EUR.

5.  “Amstelkring Museum Our Lord in the Attic”- Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40 1012 Ge Amsterdam:

Behind the distinguishing facade of the canal house and in the in the center of the famous Red Light District, you will find the 17th-century residence and a completely hidden church. This church was built secretly from the 1578-1795 when Catholicism in Amsterdam was illegal. Today, this amazing spot is a successful location where art and religion exhibitions are being presented.

Zurich-based EasyToBook.com can help visitors find hotels in Amsterdam . The company’s online portal makes it simple for visitors to locate hotels, compare prices and secure rooms immediately. EasyToBook.com specializes in discount rates on hotels all over the world that range from simple motels all the way up to celebrated 5-star venues.

For more information about hotels in Amsterdam, visit www.EasyToBook.com.

Everyone wants to visit the Greek Islands at some point in their lives, right? I mean, how could you resist the famous sunsets of Santorini, the beautiful beaches of the somewhat undiscovered island of Milos, or the all night parties on Ios, and more.

Getting to Greece

As far as getting to Greece itself, I cannot give you too much advice other than to keep an eye out on Kayak.com in order to try to find a decent flight from your country to Greece. They’re generally pretty expensive if you’re traveling from outside of Europe. For us, we flew from Cairo to Athens for a mere $145 USD including all taxes and fees. You can actually find cheaper flights to Athens from Cairo from time to time.

Another idea would be to find a cheap flight to somewhere in Europe or Northern Africa (Egypt) like we did and then find a budget airline from that flies from there to Greece. If you have the time to layover for a few hours in between switching flights it can definitely save you a lot of money rather than going direct to your destination. As for finding budget airline carriers, check out this website called WhichBudget.

Getting to the Islands

It’s very easy to travel to the Greek islands from Athens. The main port in Athens is called Piraeus and is easily accessed by Metro/Train from almost anywhere in the city. The metro and trains are very efficient in Athens and they run from 6AM to 12AM which is pretty convenient if you ask me!

You can book your tickets for the island of your choice by going down to one of the many ticket offices at the port of Piraeus. The most popular lines are Megajet, Blue Star, Anek, and a few others. Figure out where you want to go and what the ferry timetables are by going to (Greekferries.gr).

Once you figure out where you want to go and which ferry company you will need to take then either head down to the the port of Piraeus to purchase your tickets, or make it easier on yourself and purchase them online at your ferries official website. If you purchase online, you will receive a booking reservation number which you will have to provide at the ticket office before boarding your ferry. You’ll also receive your hard copy tickets at the ticket office on check-in.

FYI: Ferry Prices from Piraeus (Athens) to Santorini: 34 Euro. Prices vary when you travel from island to island. For example we paid 16.50 Euro for our ferry from Santorini to Milos.

Finding accommodation on the islands

There are many ways to find accommodation on the Greek island of your choice.

1. The first way is to search online by using Google, Hostelbookers, or travel forums like Thorn Tree, Tripadvisor, etc. If you decide to search the travel forums, head to the Greece forum and post your questions about accommodations. You’ll surely hear back from many locals, and people who have traveled to the island of your choice. They may also be able to give you great advice on where to eat, where to shop, tips on activities and excursions, and more!

2. The second way to find accommodations is to talk to someone who has been to the island of your choice. If you’re in Athens, just ask around when you’re in the cafes, shops, and restaurants. You’re likely to find someone who has been to or knows someone that has been to the island of your choice. Ask them where they stayed when they visited. You never know, they might even know someone that lives on the island that might be able to find you a great deal on your accommodation.

3. The third way is the way that we’ve been doing it. Just show up! Don’t book any accommodation before heading to the island of your choice. Show up and you’ll be amazed at how many apartment and hotel owners that are awaiting your arrival.
The best part about this is that you can often find the best deals by booking your accommodations this way. Picture this, there’s 25 or 30 hotel and apartment owners that all want your business. They’re pushing past each other trying to get you to glance at the brochure that they’re waving in your face. They are at your mercy! Think of it this way, they need YOU! You don’t need them.

By choosing to simply show up on the islands of our choice, we locked in the following prices.

Santorini: 30 Euro (approx. $36.00 USD/night) at a hotel called Katefiani Villas located in Perissa. The owner Jacob provided a free transfer from the port to the hotel/apartment (this is always included, but ask to be sure) and when we arrived we were ecstatic with the condition of our room. It was an extremely clean room with a queen sized bed, tv, refrigerator, air conditioning, private bathroom, beautiful balcony with table and chairs, and best of all it was a two minute walk from Perissa beach. There was a mini market three buildings down, restaurants all over and a supermarket within 10 minutes walk. The location was perfect, the beach was beautiful, the owners were very helpful, and the price was excellent. We highly recommend this place if you’re headed to Santorini.

Milos: 50 Euro (approx. $60.00 USD/night) for a beautiful two bedroom apartment with a fully equipped kitchen, full sized refrigerator, living room, dining room, and giant balcony that was located about 2 minutes walk from the main port of Milos (Adamas). We split this apartment with a couple from Colorado that we had met on our travels. Splitting the cost of this apartment meant that we had two nice private bedrooms in a spacious apartment with a full kitchen so that we could head to the supermarket and cook up a feast, and that we did!

The amazing thing is that you can actually find cheaper accommodations that we did, but you’ll have to be ready to really haggle if you want to get yourself a room for two for less than 25 Euro/night.

If you need a cheap place to stay in Santorini or Milos, please contact the following:

Katefiani Villas (Santorini – Perissa):  Jacob is the honest owner of the amazing Katefiani Villas located in Perissa. Feel free to contact him on his mobile number +30 6946 590351. You’ll also be able to find him at the port by asking around for Jacob of Katefiani Villas.

Nicki (Milos – Adamas):  Nicki is a woman who owns a scooter rental shop, a hotel and many apartments in Adamas. We stayed at one of her places for 25 Euro/night and it was top notch. We highly recommend that you contact her if staying in Milos. Mobile #: 6936 942724

Getting around the islands

Scooters and Rental car shops are readily available and plentiful on the islands. We rented a scooter for the day in Santorini for 10 Euro. In Milos the four of us rented a small car for 35 Euro/day.

There are also public buses that will bring you to different areas of the islands but these buses are slow and it might not be worth it. I cannot give advice on this as I either walked or rented a vehicle on both of the islands that we visited.
Saving money on the islands

Depending on where you’re staying or where you’re heading to on the islands, it can be pretty pricey to shop, eat out, etc.

1. My advice is to find yourself a room or apartment that has a stove top or fully equipped kitchen like we did. You can save tons of money by simply taking a trip to the grocery store with a meal in mind and within an hour you’ll have a feast of food cooked. Save the left overs for later or pack them for lunch before you head to the beaches! At the least, make sure you get a room with a refrigerator so you can keep your drinks cold and maybe even throw some fruit in there for the morning.

2. Talk to the owners of shops and get to know them. After a few minutes chatting with the shop owners you may be lucky enough to catch a discount on an item you’re interested in purchasing. Either way it’s good to be social, and you may even learn something interesting about the island from your new friend.

3. Rent a scooter or car to make the most of your stay. Be sure to ask your hotel, apartment owner which place they recommend when it comes to renting vehicles. Sometimes they work with different car rental shops or have a friend that owns one that may be able to give you a deal on your rental.

To see more photos of our trip to the Greek Islands be sure to check out the following photo albums: Santorini & Milos

If you found this post to be helpful, feel free to leave a comment below!

In this video you’ll find out how:

1. I protect my backpack from those EVIL airport conveyor belts

AND…

2 Find out which day pack I chose to bring with me and why I believe it just might be the best day pack EVER!

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If you’re interested in finding out how and what I packed check out part one of this video OR check out our itemized packing lists.

If you enjoyed this video, feel free to leave a comment below!

In the video above you’ll find the answers to two of the questions that we get asked most when we tell people that we’re getting ready to travel around the world.

1. What are you going to pack for this trip?

2. How are you going to pack all of your gear into a backpack!?

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If you enjoyed this video, feel free to leave a comment below!

The Reality of Saving Money…

Let’s face it, saving money is especially tough in this economy. While the economy is at an all time low, prices continue to rise. Many of us have mortgages, children, car payments, school loans, insurance, household bills, and more. So, how in the world are we supposed to save money?

There are many ways to cut down on spending. Although, nobody ever said it was easy! Here’s a quick question for you; If it was easy to cut down on your expenses, would you actually save your money? At first most would say answer “Yes, of course, why wouldn’t I save?” BUT… Would you really?

My belief is that most people tend to make changes to their lifestyles and the way that they spend their money only when they’re feeling under pressure financially. I truly believe that it sometimes takes something unfortunate like a recession or a loss of a job to happen in order for you to make some of the most important financial decisions of your life.

How We Saved Our Money…

We’ve put a lot of hard work and effort into saving as much money as possible for this trip. Admittedly, we’ve had to make some drastic changes in our lives in order to save the money that we have. On top of that we have created a short list of money saving techniques below that have really enabled us to reach our savings goals and we’re hoping that you’ll be inspired to do the same after reading some of our best tips on How to Save Money for an Around The World Trip!

Cut your habits by 50%.

If you smoke two packs of cigarettes per day, try smoking just one pack today. If you dine out 4 times per week, try dining out twice this week.

You wouldn’t believe how much you can save by cutting your habits in half. If 50% is too extreme for you, start at 25% and slowly make your way towards 50%! Saving is all about CUTTING DOWN!

Track your daily, weekly, and monthly expenses!

Try writing down EVERYTHING that you spend this month. Track every dime for accuracy. Yes, it’s a lot of work but at the end of the month you can look back and break the numbers down to find out an average of how much you spent on a daily and weekly basis.

Once you figure out your daily and weekly averages you should set goals for yourself based on your spending. Why not try to cut your averages down by a couple dollars on a daily basis? Think about it this way… if you cut $2/day off of your daily budget you could end up saving yourself $60 this month with this method alone!

Avoid dining out like the plague!

This one was tough for us! Liz & I love dining out. We really cut back on dining out about a year ago and it’s saved us a TON of money.

Instead of dining out, head to your local grocery store with some of your favorite meals in mind and for the money you would’ve spent dining out you can now throw together a weeks worth of meals!

Don’t get us wrong, we still dine out occasionally but usually only when there’s a deal or we have coupons. To find out how we manage to find coupons to all of our favorite restaurants, SEE BELOW!

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons!

You don’t have to feel like a cheapskate to use coupons. It’s not called being cheap, it’s called being SMART! Believe me, once you get over the initial embarrassment of using coupons you will NOT turn back!

I’ve had this infatuation with finding deals and coupons for about 2-3 years now and I cannot even tell you how much money I’ve saved by using coupons and doing a little research on the web to find deals on things I’m planning on purchasing.

Here’s a few of my favorite coupon websites: RetailMeNot , Coupons Inc , Cool Savings , Coupon Surfer , Coupons.com , Smart Source.

To find the best deals on technology/gadgets I always search Google Products first! My second choice is Amazon.com a company that gets a LOT of my business! (If you’re planning on purchasing anything on Amazon in the near future, be sure to click through on this link and I’ll make a small commission if you buy something). Just throwing it out there!

In order to get restaurant coupons, you’ll need to sign up for the email clubs of all your favorite restaurants. Once you sign up you’ll soon start to receive coupons for free desserts during your birthday month, buy one-get one entrees, $10 OFF $20, etc. Liz and I are both signed up for a bunch of different email clubs and we probably receive an average of 3-5 good deals per month.

Some clubs like Fridays, and Smokey Bones offer free Member Cards that you swipe every time you dine at their restaurants. Once you reach a certain amount of “points” on your member card, you’ll receive a free dinner and even $20 credit towards your next meal! It’s a no-brainer if you dine at these places regularly, even occasionally!

Tip: Create a few different email accounts for yourself and sign up for the email clubs with all of your accounts! This way if you receive a coupon that can only be used once, you’ll have a few of them!

Unplug EVERYTHING!

Yes, I’m serious about this one! Unplug anything and everything that you’re not currently using in your house. Did you know that a lamp that is plugged in but is OFF still draws power from the outlet it’s plugged into? Yep! Anything that is plugged in and is in the OFF position still uses a small amount of electricity!

We’ve been unplugging anything deemed unnecessary in our home for over a year now. Since putting this plan into action we have saved an average of $50 or more per month on our electric bill. We have saved so much energy that National Grid sent us a Home Energy Report letting us know that from the month of (12/19/09 — 1/20/10) we used 46% less energy than our EFFICIENT neighbors. Not 46% less than ALL of our neighbors, 46% less than our EFFICIENT neighbors! When it comes to ALL neighbors, we use just under 75% of the energy that they use. See our actual National Grid – Home Energy Reports HERE, and HERE.

As you can see in the second report above, over the course of the last 12 months we’ve used 51% less energy than our neighbors. National Grid claims our savings cashes in at around $983/yr. Pretty interesting, huh?

Tip: My best piece of advice that I can give you is to go out to Walmart or a similar store and pickup a bunch of cheap power strips that you can plug all of your appliances, lamps, etc into. Spread the power strips out around the house so that all of your TV’s, DVD Players, Surround Sound Systems, Computers, Printers, Routers, etc are ALL on power strips. This way when you’re done using your appliances all you have to do is switch off the power strip and you’re all set! Note:  Although the power strips are connected directly to your wall outlets, they cut off ALL power to your appliances so you no longer have to worry about unplugging each and every thing in your house after you’re done using them. This tip should prove to be a huge help!

Sign up for an Interest Bearing Bank Account.

Do your research and find a bank that offers a good APY interest rate. Think about it, it’s FREE money! Who doesn’t want FREE money?

I jumped on board with Charles Schwab Bank a little over two years ago when the interest rate was at 3.01%. Now a days, you’d be hard pressed to find such a deal, although there are still some great deals to be found if you really do your research.

Here are some of the excellent benefits that come from banking with Charles Schwab:

They offer above average interest rates on their checking and savings accounts. They used to offer some of the highest rates until the recession hit. Unfortunately now my checking account is at a measly 0.50%. Still, this is double the APY rate that Bank of America offers at the moment.

Another amazing benefit to banking with Schwab is the fact that there are no such thing as ATM fees. Charles Schwab is one of the only banks out there that will reimburse any ATM fee you are charged WORLDWIDE!

Not only do they waive ATM Fees, they also don’t charge any foreign transaction fees! If these benefits don’t hook you in, then I don’t know what will. Banking with Charles Schwab can and will save you a boat load of money when traveling abroad, believe me. To see what you’re being charged by other banks while abroad please refer to my previous post on how to Minimize International Fees While Abroad.

Apply for a Rewards Credit Card.

Warning: Credit Cards can be very dangerous! In saying that though, it all depends on how you plan to use it and if you’re responsible enough to pay the credit card balance in full each month in order to never get whacked on interest.

I’ve had one credit card in my life and it was for a span of maybe a year when I was 18 years old. Since then I thought they were quite possibly the most evil things on earth. Not that I had any issues with the credit card that I had, it’s just that I have heard and read so many stories about people get themselves into life full of debt and it’s just a terrible situation for anybody to be in.

Normally I would NEVER advise any one to get a credit card but I’m going to recommend a credit card that could turn out to be very beneficial to you if you play by the rules and you use it correctly.

Charles Schwab currently has one of the best credit cards on the market. It offers 2% cash back on ALL purchases across the board. Sure, there are a few credit cards out there that offer 5% cash back, but they’re usually only good for gas and grocery purchases. The Charles Schwab Invest First Visa works best if you have a bank account with them due to the fact that your cash back is automatically deposited into your bank account at the end of each month. If you’re interested in finding out more about this card, please click HERE.

Tip: If you’re planning on making some big purchases in the near future it would definitely be beneficial to apply for this card. I now solely use this card for all of the purchases that I make on a daily basis whether it’s for plane tickets or a pack of gum at the store. If my family is booking a vacation or making a big purchase I simply offer to charge it on my credit card and have them give me the cash that way I make the 2% off of the purchase. Sweet!

REMEMBER: If you pay off your balance in FULL at the end of each month when the “minimum payment” is due you’ll be in business. If you don’t plan on paying in full, it might not be worth the 2% interest that you’re earning for using the card.

Do yourself a favor and make an attempt at implementing one, two, or a few of the above “Ways to Save” in YOUR life. I promise that these methods of saving money will enable you to reach your goals faster. Take it from us, we’ve made changes in our lives and I can tell you with confidence that the changes that we made were definitely for the better.

If you’ve benefited from our list of “Ways to Save” in any way, please feel free to let us know by leaving a comment below!

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Do you have any advice, tips, or methods that you use to save money? If so, feel free to share them with us by leaving a comment below!

Guinness Storehouse

The St. James’s Gate Brewery opened up on December 31, 1759 after its founder Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the four-acre property for a laughable annual rent of £45 (approx. $70 USD).

Although the tour of the Guinness Storehouse is a little pricey for the budget minded traveler ($18.25 USD) it’s definitely a MUST see in my book. In fact, the Guinness Storehouse is the No. 1 most visited attraction in all of Ireland since opening in 2000.

Inside the Guinness Storehouse is seven whole floors full of history, facts about the ingredients, and information on how Guinness is made. You’ll even get to learn about the man they call the “fifth ingredient”, Arthur Guinness himself .

Once you’ve had enough of the history and you’ve explored all to be seen in the Storehouse, the tour points you to it’s seventh and final floor. The Gravity Bar.

Conveniently located at the top of the Guinness Storehouse with a breathtaking 360-degree view of the city of Dublin. That’s not all! It’s now time for all of you Guinness lovers to sit back, relax and sip on your complimentary pint of Guinness as you ponder what your favorite part of your visit to Ireland has been so far… Hmm? I wonder?

Cost:

€ 13.50 – Adults / ($18.25 USD)
€ 11.00 – Student / ($14.85 USD)
*Receive a 10% discount off adult admission – only available if you book online.

Temple Bar

Not so much the pub itself, but the area around it. Just a short walk over the Hay’penny bridge, through an alley of sorts and there lies Temple Bar. An area known for it’s late night revelers, and overly crowded pubs, but to me Temple Bar is much more than that.

When in Dublin I enjoy spending a part of my day strolling through some of Temple Bar’s seemingly endless amount of cobblestone streets that are lined with shops, galleries, restaurants, cafes, beggars and street musicians with dreams of one day becoming as famous as Dublin’s most celebrated rock band, U2. The Temple Bar area is also a great place to people watch. If that’s your thing, you’ll probably end up spending the better half of your day here.

Tip: Head over to the Bad Ass Cafe if you’re up for some good pizza!

If you want to check out the Temple Bar nightlife, feel free! Just know that you’ll need two things before you head out for your night on the town. Common sense, and MONEY! You’ll be home early if you think that you’ll only spend $50USD. Nightlife in Dublin can be VERY EXPENSIVE!

Fact: The Temple Bar has won the title of Irish Music Pub of the Year each and every year since 2002, (2002-2009).

You can always count on some great traditional Irish music being played in Temple Bar. Be aware, the Temple Bar Pub and the area itself is very touristy so you’ll need to keep your eye out for pickpockets. Otherwise, enjoy yourself!

St. Stephen’s Green

This beautiful public park was built as a gift to the people of Dublin from the Guinness family in the 19th century. Adjacent to one of Dublin’s most popular shopping streets (Grafton St), St. Stephen’s Green is a place that you could easily spend the better half of your day. On a sunny day during the summer months you’ll find that St. Stephen’s Green is packed with all of the Irish that are trying to take advantage of a day without rain! Most tend to either walk the park, lay out in the sun or bring a lunch and have a nice picnic while being surrounded by a plethora of flowers, trees and lush green grass. St. Stephen’s Green also has a pond that you can bring the kids to feed the ducks.

Have you been to Dublin? If so, feel free to leave a comment below about you favorite things to do and see!

Here’s our list of the Top 5 Things to Do in Dubrovnik, Croatia:

1. Walk The walls of Old Town

Yes, you can actually walk atop the giant castle walls that surround and protect the Old Town of Dubrovnik! The walk around the walls is about 2 Kilometers (1.2 Miles) long. Parts of the castle walls reach up to 82ft (25m) in height, and up to 20ft (6m) thick in some places! Make sure you charge up your camera batteries for this one. You won’t want to miss some of the best views in town. Literally!

Cost:

50 HRK/pp ($9.25 USD/pp)

Duration:

Until your batteries run out!

2. Kayak the Adriatic Sea!

We highly recommend this half day Kayaking adventure! We went with a company called Adventure Dalmatia and they were as professional as you can get. For those that have nightmares about flipping over in a kayak and getting stuck upside down, no need to worry! These kayaks are top loading, therefore you basically sit in a somewhat comfortable seat on top of the kayak. Plus, you can ride doubles! Instructors will lead the way as you struggle to keep in sync with your partners paddling. You’ll eventually get the hang of it and like us, you’ll end up passing your instructors at light speed while attempting to see how fast you can actually make your Kayak go!

As you cruise along the beautiful Adriatic sea you circle the Island of Lokrum, explore some small caves, and make a quick pit stop into a private cave beach along the Dubrovnik coast line called Bettina. Here, you’ll take a relaxing seat on the beach while you consume your yummy dalmatian ham & cheese sandwich which is included in the tour price. Once your food has been digested you can take a dip in the clear blue waters with your snorkel gear for a bit before heading back to the mainland. After all was said and done we had a great time, and boy were we sore afterwards!

Cost:

230 HRK/pp ($42.50 USD/pp) – Price Includes Kayak & Snorkeling Gear, Lunch, Waterproof Barrels for personal items, Guides/Instructors.

Duration:

2.5-3 hrs

3. Visit the isle of Lokrum

Lokrum. A small, lush, uninhabited yet beautiful island which lies about 700m off Dubrovnik’s spectacular coastline. With just a short 10 minute ferry ride from the port of Old town to Lokrum, this island can provide a few hours of fun in the sun and some nice hikes along Lokrum’s many cliffs. Not only can you spend a couple of hours taking in all of the photo op’s along the cliffs, but Lokrum also houses an old monastery, botanical gardens and a lake called Mrtvo More or the (Dead Sea). The Dead Sea was my favorite part about Lokrum, or was it the nudist beach which lies on the south-eastern tip of the island? Either way, we had a great time exploring all that’s to been seen on the isle of Lokrum and we highly recommend this short hop across the Adriatic. Oh, and one more thing… be sure to watch out for the gangs of pesky peacocks that seem to be around every corner on this island!

Cost:

40 HRK/pp ($7.45 USD/pp) – Round Trip Ferry from Old Town Port to Lokrum

Duration:

Early morning until the last ferry leaves…

4. Seaside Drinks at Buza

Buza, a unique cliff side cafe on the south side of Old Town that can only be found by catching a glimpse of an old wooden sign that says “Cold Drinks With The Most Beautiful View”. Be sure to keep an eye out for this little sign, because it can easily be missed! When you arrive at a hole in the castle walls that leads out to the sea, you know you’ve arrived! Most people pass right by this place without ever knowing it existed. That’s what makes it special though, right?

There’s actually two Cafe Buza’s (Buza 1, and Buza 2) along the edge of Old Town. Both are accessed by holes in the castle walls, and both serve the same menu — drinks only!  If you’re feeling a little adventurous, make sure you bring your bathing suit so that you can do a few of the many cliff jumps that are quite conveniently located at Buza. Usually, you’ll find a lot of the young locals jumping there through out the day. Watch to see where they jump from, and where they land and you’ll be fine! But, then again… don’t take my word for it!

Overall, Buza is a great place to end an evening while sipping a glass of wine and watching the sunset over the Adriatic Sea. Sigh… LIFE IS TOUGH!

Cost:

Reasonable.

Duration:

You won’t want to leave this place!

5. Explore Old Town at night

Old Town at night is as beautiful as it is during the day. From the immaculate white cobblestone streets to the maze of stair-filled alleyways that make up Old Town, there are endless routes to explore and you can do so feeling completely safe at all hours of the night. In saying that, I always recommend bringing a friend or two along with you because being cautious never hurts!

You’ll find that there’s usually a lot going on in Old Town by night. The streets are filled with the young and the old and most seem to enjoy taking an evening stroll while admiring all of Old Town’s beauty. If walking isn’t your thing, you can hit up one of the many restaurants and bars in the area, or you can even make a delicious decision to stop into one of the few gelato shops in town. Mmm!

For a fun, reasonably priced night out head on over to Latino Club Fuego where you can drink and dance until the wee hours of the morning. Head over to Gil’s Cuisine and Pop Lounge for a more expensive, posh night out. Gil’s is an Old Town hot spot where you can wine and dine on their open air roof-top dining/lounge area. The views cannot be missed, but the prices sure can!

Cost:

Depends on what you like to do!

Duration:

All night long…

Have you been to Dubrovnik? If so, feel free to leave a comment below with your own personal Top 5 things to do!