Europe on a budget is a lot easier than you might think. I traveled Europe for 3 months on a budget, and I came back home with some money to spare. So if you’re interested in traveling Europe on a budget, stick around because I know some of these tips will be helpful for you.
Hostels or Dorms for accommodation
If you’ve done any amount of research or planning for your travels in Europe, you’ve probably heard about hostels. Hostels are by far the cheapest place you can stay while traveling Europe, maybe with the exception of some Airbnbs here and there. Rather than getting your own private room, you’re usually in larger dorm rooms with as many as like 20 beds I’ve seen before. In addition to the shared sleeping space, there’s usually also a shared bathroom. I stayed at a ton of hostels while I was traveling, and overall I’d say that it was a really good experience. Hostels are great for meeting other travelers and making friends, which for me was important because I was traveling alone. Hostels are also great just because they are so cheap; they make travel a lot more affordable for people that otherwise might not be able to travel. Lastly, I like hostels because they were really great at pointing me towards specific activities to do in whatever area I was staying. They usually had brochures where you could talk to the reception staff, and they were really friendly and always willing to give you some tips about the area. As far as things that you can do.
I would say one of the main drawbacks of hostels is that they just don’t give you much privacy. With the shared sleeping space and the shared bathrooms, you’re really not going to be alone very much. Some hostels include public cooking facilities as well, which means you can buy your own ingredients, go back to the hostel, and cook food. The hostels I stayed at typically had pretty extensive setups; they usually had everything you needed for the week. Something else I like about going this route is it’s a lot of fun to meet people from other countries and then cook a meal with them. It’s just a great way to learn about them, learn about their culture, and also to strengthen your friendships with some new people. So, consider cooking your meals to save some money.
Walking instead of getting taxi
When traveling Europe, you’re going to be doing a lot of walking, but in my opinion, this isn’t something to be avoided. I think walking is a great way to get to know the different cities that you find yourself in. Something I was intentional about is if there was like a 30 or 40-minute walk instead of getting a taxi, I would usually just walk it because not only do you get to explore the city a bit more, but you also save money on not having to pay for a taxi. Of course, if you have time constraints, you won’t be able to walk everywhere, and if I was on a tighter schedule, I probably would have been more intentional about taking taxis and whatnot. But I had the time, so I was relaxed, and I explored the cities on foot, and I think that’s a great way to travel. Just make sure you buy a new pair of shoes before your trip and break them in. I got a lot of blisters initially because I had a new pair of shoes that I hadn’t done much walking in. Think about breaking in some shoes before your trip just to save yourself a little bit of pain later on.
Travel fewer countries
Another tip for traveling Europe cheaply is to simply travel to fewer countries. A lot of time and money can be wasted by spreading yourself too thin over too many countries. I think I wasted a lot of time jumping back and forth between major cities just because I didn’t really have a clear idea what my route was initially. I spent way more time on trains than I needed to. Granted, I did have a train pass that allowed me to travel as much as I wanted for 3 months, so it didn’t necessarily hurt me financially, but it definitely did eat into my time. And like I said, if you don’t have a train pass like I had, then you would be spending a lot more money to jump across between different countries. On my next trip to Europe, I plan on being a lot more intentional about which countries I visit and how long I stay in each country. You can spend an entire trip in one country and still have more to do there.
There are a few countries in particular I’d love to go back to and just explore more; Italy being one. I think there’s so much to do there that I’d like to see more of. But yeah, that’s my tip: focus on fewer countries, really dive into whatever countries are on your trip, because this will cut down on the amount of time that you have to travel, cut down on the amount of money you’re spending, and will also allow you just to explore those countries and wander more than you would otherwise. Another benefit of diving deeper into a country: you’re likely to come across less touristy areas, and anytime you’re outside of major city centers, things are going to be a lot cheaper as far as food, accommodation, transportation, all of that will be cheaper.
Trading work for accommodation
Another way you can travel Europe on a budget is by trading work for accommodation. Some hostels I came across would let travelers work some in exchange for free accommodation. Not every hostel offers this option, and it can be somewhat competitive, as other travelers will be looking to do the same thing. You’ll just want to bring your interviewing skills. I interviewed for a setup like this while I was traveling, and I was beat out by someone else, unfortunately. It can be competitive, but it is a viable option for traveling Europe deeply. Some other ways you can stay places for free while traveling could be to utilize websites like Workaway that let you communicate with locals and set up an arrangement where you might be doing some farm work or working in a vineyard in exchange for getting to stay at their facilities for free. Another website that I used a little bit was called Couchsurfing. This is just a way to communicate with locals who might have an extra room that they’re willing to let people stay in. I recommend exercising caution when using these options, but again, they are available if you’re looking to do things totally free as far as accommodation is concerned.Top of Form
Travel in the off-season
My next tip, especially if you’re traveling to more popular tourist destinations, is to travel in the off-season. When you travel in the warmer months of the year, everything is going to be more expensive. Not only that, but there are also just more people everywhere and longer lines for the different attractions you might be wanting to see. If you’re not opposed to colder weather and you want fewer crowds and lower expenses, I definitely recommend traveling to Europe in the off-season.
Looking for deals on your transportation
My next tip is to start looking for deals on your transportation well before the start of your trip. I think one of the main barriers for people traveling is the initial cost of getting to whatever country you’re traveling to, considering your airfare can be a huge hit. And then to travel within the country is going to be another big expense for people. So, the better deals you can find on those two major things, the cheaper your trip will be overall. Depending on what kind of trip you’re doing, it could be cheaper for you to get a bus pass or a rail pass, or it might be better for you just to buy each leg of your trips. Definitely, I think that will just depend on how you plan on traveling if you’re interested in that option.
Traveling at night
Something else you might want to consider with your transportation is traveling at night, so taking overnight buses or overnight trains that would save you the cost of having to pay for accommodation as well for a night. As far as flights are concerned, I would suggest that you start looking as soon as possible into the flights to see how much that’s going to cost. Something else to consider is that the price of your flights will vary greatly depending on which country you fly into and out of. I know for me flying from the East Coast of the US to Europe, Amsterdam was a very cheap place for me to get flights into and out of.
Avoid foreign transaction fees
My next step for traveling Europe cheaply is to avoid foreign transaction fees. Some credit cards and debit cards have fees for foreign transactions while you’re traveling, and this can add up very quickly and make your trip more expensive. I recommend checking with your bank or other banks in your area to see if they offer a travel card that waives those travel fees entirely for you. Some other fees to look out for would be when you’re withdrawing money from ATMs; they usually put a fee on that as well. It’s better to withdraw larger sums of money less frequently than to constantly be withdrawing money because you’ll be hit with those fees more often. I would usually just take out a couple of €100 at a time and then spread it out in my luggage so it’s not all in the same place. I’ve heard of someone getting something stolen, maybe they’re in the midst of their half of it. And of course, along with this, you just want to be careful about how much cash you’re carrying with you. Depending on where you’re traveling, being pickpocketed or robbed is a very real possibility, so the less physical cash you have on hand, the more you’ll be able to mitigate how much damage is actually done.
Hitchhiking
Another way to cut costs while traveling Europe is to try hitchhiking. I tried this approximately one time while I was traveling, and it was just for a really short distance. However, I’ve heard accounts of people doing this for their entire trip, so I know it is possible. This definitely isn’t the safest way to travel Europe because you’re depending on total strangers, so I recommend extreme caution if you do choose to do this. I would also recommend not doing this alone; I’d probably want to travel this way with at least one other person. When I hitchhiked, I had a friend with me, so we were together, and it did feel a little bit safer. So, again, it is a risk, but it does have the benefit of eliminating one of your major expenses, which is in-country transportation.
Get around by Motorcycle
If hitchhiking is a little too extreme for you, another way you can travel cheaply is by getting a cheap motorcycle and just using that to get around while you’re traveling. I met a guy who did this, and it was what he planned for the duration of his trip – to use a cheap motorcycle to explore. I think this could be a really fun and perhaps less traditional way to experience Europe. If you have experience riding motorcycles, maybe that is something you want to consider. Another cool aspect of traveling this way is that you could potentially sell your bike at the end of your trip and get back some of the money that you paid for it.
However cheaply you plan on traveling, it’s highly recommended to save more than you think you’ll need. Just as a safety net, having a little bit more than you need will enable you to relax a little bit more, not be completely stressed out about money, and also may allow you to splurge here and there on things that you might never get the opportunity to do again.
So that’s some tips from my personal experience. Comment blew if you need more budget tips.
