Seize the day

Last week our blog was about shopping tips. This time I would like to give you ladies budget tips to enjoy yourself during your holiday. I will give you inspiration for a day off ,when you for example would like to plan a nice day with friends on a  limited budget.

My first tip is to go and have a look at the Dutch website of Vakantieveilingen. On this website you will find many suggestions to do in different categories; for an evening out with friends, beauty treatments, tips for a whole day and restaurant tips. Before you plan your day, you can have a look at the website to get ideas and discounts. This website is designed to bid on different activities. The bidding starts at € 1,- and you can bid as high as your budget allows you to. You can bit on all kinds of activities. For example I got two first class tickets to the musical “We will rock you” for half the price!

When you have a low budget, try to make use of the weather. During the cold days in the winter, you could do something active to warm up. For example, you can arrange to go ice-skating and this year you are lucky because you can do it outside for free! However, make sure that the ice is thick enough! Outside the city you can go for a long trip. Ask your friends to bring something nice to eat and bring hot chocolate, a nice treat after the cold.

On a summers day you can meet up with some friends in the park. Bring one or more large blankets to sit on and ask all your friends to bring something to drink and to eat (American style). You can start in the afternoon with drinks and if somebody has a barbeque set, you can end the day together with a dinner/barbeque till sundown.

During the spring or autumn you can go to the beach for a long walk and a drink at one of the beach houses. The advantage during those seasons is that it is not too busy and if you go to a less popular part of the beach, most of the time you don’t have to pay for parking.

For my next tip, you can think of visiting a city where you have never been before. This can give you an option to spend the day getting to know a different place. Moreover you can try a different restaurant. For reviews of different restaurants in every town, go to Iens. There is a button on the website which gives you the opportunity to profit from discounts in selected restaurants. To get an overview of the different hotspots in a city, go to the website of the local tourist agency (VVV). You can find list in different categories; museums, buildings which are worth seeing, different events in the city and many more. A few of our suggestions:

• Amsterdam
• Maastricht
• Den Bosch
• Leiden
• Antwerp
• Brussels

If you go to the website of Neweuropetours you find a list of cities where you can arrange a “free” walking tour through the city by local expert guides. At the end of the tour you can give the guide a tip suitable for your budget.

Tip: Beware that if you go to a city for a whole day, your parking costs can be pretty high if you use
one of the parking garages. You can use the P+R parking spaces around the city to avoid this. From
this parking spot you can use public transport to go to the city center. Or you can choose to go by public transport. Go to the website of NS for your discount options.