I have not been in a trip for quite a while and preparations to a journey in Hamburg refreshed my planning habits. Actually decision to go specifically there was very spontaneous. I had just entered a departure city and date in Skyscanner and VOILA – I found return flight ticket with a lower price than return bus ticket. So I was going to Hamburg. Next step was to find housing, then sightseeing programme. And of course still keeping in mind the budget limitations. In this article I want to illustrate how you can cut easily all the expenses while still enjoying the trip.

Couchsurfing

As for me the best way to get to know the new place is to experience couchsurfing. This is an opportunity to get to know locals and escape expensive housing. According to the rules of couchsurfing organization hosts do not charge surfers for stay, although they expect to get some cultural value. I adore couchsurfing for meeting great and open people that can tell so much about city, guide through best places and even take you to parties. Eventually, I am super lucky with people who I meet on couchsurfing. Probably it is because I read carefully the profiles of hosts and contact them before head. Anyways this spirit of sharing and exchanging brings much more than conventional commercial ways like hostels, hotels, Airbnb. In Hamburg I stayed with two amazing and very different hosts.

Free walking tours

I think a person who came up with an idea of Free Walking Tours is a genius. Every time I visit a new city I take this kind of tour. It is way better than other commercial guided tours. Why? Because Free Walking Tours guides are much more motivated to make an excellent job than conventional ones, as they get paid after the tour. And if being exact – people do not pay for such tours but give tips. So in Hamburg there are two routes offered by Free Walking Tours. One is a nice introduction into the history, overall image of a city, while the second one takes you to a Red Light District, reveals secrets of young Beatles. Actually latter had been living and playing for 2 years in Hamburg and they said afterwards that this is city where they grew up. The proof of high quality of such tours is traced through numerous positive reviews on trip advisor.

City bikes

If you are short on budget City bikes can cut your transport expenses. If your visit is short ( a weekend for example) maybe it is more reasonable to buy a weekend transport pass and have unlimited access to transport. Although there was a nice week pass deal for 22 euros that could cover all 6 days of my stay, I still went for bicycles. To use city bikes in Hamburg one has to register and pay the fee of 5 euros. Then in future you are able to use those bikes for free if you follow a simple rule – after you rented a bike you have 30 min to return it to any parking spot. And then again you can do same algorithm and have next 30 min free and so on… Don’t forget to prepare your map and mark the parking spots around the city so you will easily find where to drop bike next time. Fees for using bike after free 30 min are small - 8 cents/ min. Bikes are the best way to explore the city. You can explore this magnificent city only while walking and bicycling.

Tip, using Blablacar you can get to Lubeck – a nice medieval city with castles and history, situated to the North of Hamburg– in 45 min. I paid only 4 euros to this service instead of using train that costs 11 euros minimum one way.

Exploring art in Hamburg

Kunsthalle (8 euros or 12 euros). Out of ten prominent art spots in Hamburg I had chosen to visit Kunsthalle. It is the nicest art museum I had ever been too. And you know why? In just 2 hours I went through the permanent collection and found a bit of everything. Germans, they managed to structure and arrange it in a way that makes your visit easy-going and not overwhelming. It happened to me before that I got frustrated (I bet you too) because of roaming endless rooms with one particular type of art. In Kunsthalle you have few paintings representing each time period and that is why I really recommend this Museum for those who want to have a short and easy time in a museum.

Partying places

Similarly to Amsterdam, Hamburg has two partying streets, where you can find cheap bars and nice clubs: Reeperbahn and Sternschanze. Just go there with a local host from couchsurfing and he will show the proper way how to party in Hamburg. That is what I did. Hamburg has its own spirit which I found very friendly and open. This international town carries stories, secrets and intrigues. I liked the story about one street near the waterfront that once was squatted by poor artists and creative people, but later became a cultural and spiritual place. Later on some rich and powerful people came up with a plan to demolish those buildings and construct new and fashionable complexes instead. But they met strong disagreement, followed by long period of fighting. In the end, art won the violence. Cultural spot was preserved and people were heard. It is a nice example when people can actually defend themselves even from more powerful and better financed opponents.