The US mortgage crisis hits the UK...

October 17, 7:55 PMNY Budget Travel ExaminerSusan Finch

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I'm in Edinburgh, Scotland for a wedding before going on to Budapest and Prague.

It's not exactly a budget vacation, but I'm surprised how well we've managed to pull the trip together by the hospitality of friends, inexpensive hotel options, and a slightly weakening pound (right this moment 1GBP is equal to $1.73 US dollars).

I've noticed my European friends are feeling the same global pinch from our mortgage crisis, which in turn has become their own crisis. They're worried about their homes, jobs, retirement, and a faltering economy.  And in turn they're traveling less and spending less.

I've discovered that because they're spending less and traveling less, there's that familiar trickle down effect to everything else in their economy. More sales and discounts flood their shops since the last time I was here two years ago.  (When 1GBP was equal to $2.05 in the US!).

Though Europe proves to be very dollar unfriendly, even with the softening prices here, my philosophy about budget travel continues to remain the same: Patience, persistence, and creativity.  

To get to Budapest from Edinburgh, I had to get creative. After hours of research, I eventually found a $2.00 flight on Ryanair.com from Edinburgh to Dublin.  

From there we'll switch to Aer Lingus to Budapest for about $132.  With taxes, fees, and baggage add-ons, our grand total for both flights came to about $160. Had we flown direct on Hungarian Airlines, our total would have been upwards of $450.  But it took hours of cross-referencing different airlines and timetables to come out ahead.  While time is money, I knew we'd never be able to cobble together a trip without putting proper time into researching all my options.

Getting to Budapest to Prague will cost a mere $25 per ticket on StudentAgencybus.com, where despite its name, you don't have to be a student.  A train ticket would cost over $100 each, and tack on several hours to our day.  

As far as hotels, food, and recreation, it does add up.  But staying with friends, acquaintances, crafting a careful food budget and attraction allowance puts us in a good place. Walking is our favorite pastime, parks and museums are often free, fruit and coffee with an inexpensive croissant is a favorite breakfast, and spending time with friends is more important to us than expensive entertainment.  

We could have easily tripled our budget with more expensive and convenient travel options, opted against the exhausting night flight from New York, and stayed in more comfortable accommodations.  It's really a matter of what you're willing to compromise and how to balance budget against convenience.