Hello Guys….
Welcome to my blog, just a little about me before I continue…So just like everyone, I really love to travel, enjoy my life and explore the world but my bank account doesn’t love that at all!!! So if you are like me then guess what? you found just the right place to TRAVEL and ENJOY your holidays on a BUDGET!
On this first post about traveling on a budget, I would like to take you on a journey to one of my favourite destinations called “Nice” in the South of France.  This post uncovers how to plan a budget trip to the French Riviera – Nice without breaking the bank. And yes I know when we all hear the French Riviera we automatically think only millionaires visit such places…well, NO! 
Anyway, this post will basically give an insight on visiting Nice for 3 nights on a budget of a maximum of 200 euros (all included except transportation to Nice). The most exciting part about Nice is that it gives you an opportunity to ‘kill several birds with just one stone’! do you wanna know how??? OK, Nice is located in the center of the French Riviera which gives easy access to various beautiful cities like Cannes, Grasse, Eze, Antibes, Juan les Pins….etc and even Monaco! (just to mention a few as there are also Islands like Saint Tropez, Sainte Marguerita etc ).
So dear students, workers and people on a regular income here is how to explore the French Riviera on a budget…

Getting to Nice

If you are already in Europe, travelling to Nice on low cost airlines like easy jet, Ryanair and all the others can be one good option since they all fly to Nice for about 100euros or less for a return ticket depending on the season. Another great option is travelling by bus. Sometimes I enjoy buses as it gives you an opportunity to see other cities on your way and it’s even way cheaper! So companies like flixbus, ouibus, eurolines, isilines and many more all go to Nice, hence my advice is grab your headphones and put on your favorite playlist and before you know it you are already in the Cote d’azur….Well depending on what part of Europe you are leaving from, on an average, the trip can be anything between 3-10 hours for neighbouring countries around France. 

Trains and Car sharing are also very popular options to travel around Europe; blablacar is what I mostly use during my carsharing trips, and it’s quite interesting as you get to chat up and make cool friends while sharing your ride with passengers during the journey. For trains, SNCF is the most reliable option and they are always on time…but not so cheap if you book tickets last minute.

OK Guys take off time… What to do in Nice

Day 1 – You can set off by foot to take a walk on the famous promenade des anglais beach…and while at that take great photos as this is one of the most lovely picture friendly spots I have seen, then a trip to the historic and enchanting Castle (Le Chateau), and the old town which is just few minutes away. You might also want to check out the amazing museums in the city too on this day as there are a lot of museums.  

After a long day walking around you probably just want to have a chilled evening and might be craving to have ‘French cuisine’ but maybe your pocket could be telling you to just eat a cheap snack and sleep haha…anyway, the good news is, there are a lot of good restaurants in the area called ‘zone piétons’ and also the old town around ‘cours Seleya’ with very affordable meals starting from 13-15euros for a 2 or 3 course meal. But here is my little trick, I always walk down the whole street checking out the menu cos they are always advertised just outside each restaurant and after my tour I always find the most convenient for my wallet, I bet you there always is 🙂 

Day 2 – You are a tourist so there is no waste of time sleeping and lazying in bed, so on day 2 you are visiting 3 cities which are really close to each other. For just 1,50euros you get the bus 200 direction Cannes, and your first stop will be either Cagnes-sur-mer or Juan les Pins (depending on where you prefer to see), you can spend an average of 1 hour there and hop on the same bus to the next city Antibes, you might consider having lunch and sit by the lovely beach to relax, afterwards  the final stop is Cannes. Here you have the option of going around the city and visiting your areas of interest but do not miss out on seeing “la Croisette”. In the evening when you are done you can take the train back to Nice for less than 3euros and your return trip will be very short (approximately 15mins) since you are going directly.

Day 3 – This is the final day so we want to make it count, therefore I suggest you visit Eze village/Villefrance and Monaco/Menton. For 1.50euros you get the bus 100 direction Menton, drop off at Eze village to visit, then take the same bus to the grand Monaco…time to feel like a billionaire right? oh well, guess what? Monaco actually makes you feel so rich lol…take great photos, explore Monaco and even have coffee by the Monte Carlo Casino its just 4euros! maybe while having coffee you might meet an actual billionaire…you never know! 2-3 hours is normally enough to see Monaco and after which you can either set off to Menton or any other city you prefer. 

Your day ended so well, you saw the latest cars and richest people in Monaco, you need something to calm your nerves as you just got a reminder that there are different levels to this thing called money…haha don’t worry I know the feeling,! now take yourself to one of the cool bars in the city center or by the beach buy yourself a cold drink and cool off!!!! If you are staying in the hotel I recommended in this post, they have a very big garden facing the road so you might as well get your own drinks from a grocery shop, and chill out there.

• Now let’s talk about Accommodation 

Do you know for as low as 15-17euros a night (depending on the season of course) you can get a bed in a hostel/guesthouse in Nice? oh yes, and I mean a very decent hostel with a TV, air-conditioned room and comfortable beds… The best one I totally recommend is Hostel belle meunière , a family hotel just 2 minutes away from the main train station and less than 15mins walk to the famous promenade des anglais beach. Other possible options are couch surfing, airbnb, arbitel etc…

To conclude on this
…guys in 3 days you can see a lot of places, and even enjoy the same things that someone who is not on a budget enjoys.
Here is a breakdown of the expenses; accommodation-51euros (3nights), city bus/tickets for all 3 days max 15euros, Restaurants 2days max 30euros, Coffee + tip Monaco 5euros, groceries and easy breakfasts 15, night out indoors or outdoors: max 10euros, miscellaneous: 20euros + additional expenses if you decide to visit a paid museum or do any activity that is not free.
For travellers only interested in checking out just Nice there are lots of activities to do in 3 days in Nice, I totally recommend the following.

• Taking the 1 hour boat cruise from the Port for 18euros, it takes you through 3 cities with a tour guide (with trans cote d’azur)
• Visiting the historic museums, cathedrals and old town
• Parasailing and lots of interesting aqua activities by the beach between 25-40 euros

So with just about 150-200 euros one can have a great city break, who would have thought!…one last tip for this trip I want to share is always have a change of clothes in your bag, like a spare t-shirt or something, that way when you visit 2 or 3 cities in a day you switch clothes and take photos which eventually will make it look like they were on different days….lol for the gram right 🙂

Thanks so much for reading, next week stay glued for the next destination on a Budget!