Don’t you wish you were in Europe right now, breathing in the aroma of freshly made pizza, or wandering in the streets of Lisbon?
Are you always looking at Instagram stories of your friends flying all over Europe and wonder if you’ll ever be able to save up enough money to take that Summer trip to Europe?
Going on a Summer trip can be pretty expensive, but yours doesn’t have to be out of budget.
Here’s how you can get out of your comfort zone and experience picturesque Europe first hand on a budget.
1. Save up well in advance
Let’s face it; you need to establish a budget and start saving the money accordingly. Set your budget depending on how long you want to stay in Europe. The longer you want your vacation to be, the more money you need to save.
If you want to save up enough money by the time you have to take your trip, try following some of these methods:
- Cut back on your expenses. Don’t waste money on unnecessary things and focus on the bigger picture, i.e., your long-awaited trip to Europe.
- If you aren’t able to save up enough with your current job, look for an extra job to stick to your saving plans.
- Commit to your plans and set aside a dedicated amount of money every month.
- Don’t be a hoarder and sell things you no longer need.
2. Cheap flights
Hopping from airline website to website and compare airline fares can be pretty exhausting. Trust “Google Flights” to find the most affordable rates.
All you need to do is set your origin city and “Europe” as your destination and Voilà, Google Flights will find you the cheapest flight available. Let’s say that you want to go to London, but the fare is cheaper for a round trip to Amsterdam, Google Flights will display all the cheap destinations.
So you can then check the cost of ticket from Amsterdam to London, which will be significantly low due to European airlines, this way you will end up saving about 100-200 dollars.
Google Flights also comes in handy if you can be flexible with dates as it can find reasonable flights in the next two months. You can then set your dates according to the rates.
3. Exploring Europe
When you’ve made it to Europe, it is better to take travel by air rather than taking the train; the European airlines are budget friendly. You can use Google Flights to find the most affordable options.
If the dates don’t work for you, or you want to enjoy the scenic beauty of Europe while you travel from city to city you can use Europe’s premiere bus line.
Flixbus although is much slower but is much more reasonable than traveling by train. It will take you to almost majority of the places with free wifi and snacks.
These options vary from place to place, while it is cheaper to fly all over France, taking a bus or train is affordable is Italy. To find the best option, use the Go Euro App, it will show the cheapest prices of different modes of transport; you can then go with what works for you.
If you want the real touristy feel it is best to walk to near places instead of taking the local bus and guess what, it will save money too.
4. Where to stay
Accommodation makes up the most of your spending other than transportation, of course.
It is best to book a hotel or a place upon arrival so that you can explore your options. If your stay is long, then the best option is finding a hostel.
Europe is famous for its budget-friendly hostels that are clean and pretty comfortable too.
The best app to book a place is Hostelworld; it lets you view the reviews and ratings the previous guests and find a place that fits your budget.
However, if you’re interested in living with a local family who have a room or a couch to spare, go check out Couchsurfers.
5. Where to eat
Finding good and inexpensive food is another task. The key is to stay far away from touristy places to eat as they are often overpriced.
If you want to go easy on the travel expenses, then hit the nearest grocery store an fix something up in the hostel kitchen. These hostels also offer complimentary breakfast so, get loaded on the free food.
6. What to Pack
You must’ve seen people backpacking around Europe in the movies, well it is actually helpful and of course, budget friendly.
Pack outfits for ten days and something that you can play around with. For example two jeans and 4-5 basic tops, a fancy dress, one sweater and two pairs of shoes.
Nobody really cares what a tourist is wearing so that should be the least of your concerns.
This is how you can take a trip to Europe without breaking your bank, invest your time exploring your options, use your money wisely and you’ll be good to go.
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