Alternative and cheap reading week breaks

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen it gets to Reading week, you’re out of beans, you’re stealing loo roll from pub toilets, and the bubble can start to feel more like all of its surfaces are made of concrete. Much like Warwick in general.

You want to escape, but don’t think you can afford it. To that I say: invest in your wellbeing and dig deeper into that overdraft. It’s what Santander intended.

Here’s where to go, and what to know, about the world’s best thrifty destinations:

Budapest 

Image: The Photographer/ wikimedia.commons

Cheap, creative and a little bit edgy, Budapest is in many ways the Shoreditch of holidaying right now – minus the gentrification.

But forget cereal cafes, there’s actual culture here. Budapest is the best place for getting drunk on cheap white wine spritzers (£1 a glass!), seeing a fascinating Communist history, and admiring hidden street art.

I used Air BnB (http://bit.ly/1Y73Pk3) which is an incredibly cheap accommodation lottery. I was in a swanky flat with duck feather pillows but friends have used ones where the shower head was held together by coat hangers. Whatever happens, the story adds a spice to your ‘J’mapelle student generique’ travel blog. Just make sure you get insurance.

Nightlife highlights of Budapest are the pubs which made use of old ruins and use old bathtubs as seats and Corvinteto: a club on top of a Soviet-style department store. In the daytime, I would recommend having a look at eccentric and quite unbelievable Memento Park, especially to use the Cog Railway which is run entirely by kids.

Flights can be as little as £50.

Krakow 

Image: Eteru/ wikimedia.commons

Poland’s another country which people are going to because it’s cheap, but staying in because it’s ridiculously fun.

Loads of what you can do here is free. The museums and galleries are free on certain days, so I planned around and managed to do all of my culture hit list without stressing over money.

Another day where I spent nothing I went to an old limestone quarry called Skałki Twardowskiego which becomes a reservoir and is an amazing hiking spot, with the best view of Krakow for you to write shitty poetry about.

You can also have a cheap/free day at Plac Nowy, which is the best vintage clothing, food, and flea market you will ever go to. I bought a violin here once for the equivalent of a tenner. I don’t play, but I now I can pretend I do.

There’s a whole host of jazz clubs and bars across the river in Podgorze where you can completely escape other tourists. For nightlife, there’s beachside clubs here, which make use of derelict hotels. Drinks are at least half the price of the Dirty Duck.

Flights can be £25.

Nightlife highlights of Budapest are the pubs which made use of old ruins and use old bathtubs as seats and Corvinteto: a club on top of a Soviet-style department store

Amsterdam 

Image: Fabienkhan/ wikimedia.commons

The Dam has become a pretty conventional holiday destination for students, so maybe this shouldn’t be in the list. But how can it not be when it’s so ridiculously cheap and so ridiculously good!

Highlights include the highs, the lights, the amazing food, the art, and the ludicrously cheap but actually alright hostels. I spent £20 a night on my hostel and made some amazing friends, including an Italian belly dancer who now lets me stay with her in Italy for free.

For travel, I spent collectively £30 on my return coach tickets, and if you’re not put off by a 14 hour coach journey, it’s so worth it.

I ran out of money completely in Amsterdam after two days and, after an initial stint trying to live off the sugar on the tables at coffee houses, I soon worked out that you can feed yourself and probably a family of four off the free cheese and waffle samples. Mains and dessert sorted, and I had a brilliant time.

Culture wise, the smaller streets all have independent artists with incredible art which you can see for free. I even ended up getting a free print, and being painted by one of them. I also managed to scrape together €2 for one of those quite literally cheeky Amsterdam ‘shows’ as well, so even feeling awkward in a small booth can be done on a budget if that’s what you’re after.

I ran out of money completely in Amsterdam after two days and, after an initial stint trying to live off the sugar on the tables at coffee houses, I soon worked out that you can feed yourself and probably a family of four off the free cheese and waffle samples

Edinburgh 

Image: Saffron Blaze/ wikimedia.commons

Last year I made use of the fact Reading Week falls on a really weird time, and bunked with a friend (everyone’s got a friend in Edinburgh). If you offer them a stay in Leamington in return, you can also be assured you’ll never actually have to return the favour.

A cheap highlight was Portobello beach (yes, a beach) in the centre of Edinburgh. I had a night picnic with wine here, all stocked by Tesco on the cheap but it felt very classy.

The thrift shopping in Edinburgh is also amazing, and loads of the museums are free. Loads of them are on the same road, the Royal Mile, so you can hop between culture hot spots all day without even having to do much walking.

Bargain nightlife is supplied by a club called the Hive which is dirt cheap, a little on the rough side, but an amazing place to soak in local drama. Like Kelsey’s but Scottish. To nurse the hangover the next day, I went to a free comedy improv show called  “Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?”, which is every Sunday at the Stand.

I travelled on the Fort William Caledonian Sleeper train for £20 and saw unmentionable things I will never tell my mother. But cheap and hilarious, I wouldn’t change a thing.

For more travel advice, and to Know Before You Go, check out the Foreign Office’s guide to your Reading Week holiday (http://bit.ly/1jIhZ9A).