For those who have taken our travel personality test (you can find it here), and have figured out that they are a budget traveller, these tips will be extremely helpful. For those who aren’t, it never hurts to save a few dollars where you can! Europe can sometimes seem like an expensive place to visit, but you’d be surprised at how cheap Europe can be. Here are our tips on how to save money in Europe, WITHOUT compromising your experience.
1. Travel on buses.
The bus network in Europe is one of the best in the world. Not only is it extremely extensive and covers most of Europe, but it is both cheap and actually very clean and comfortable. Most inter-country or even inter-city buses in Europe even have free wifi now. Some even have screens on the back of their chairs (Student Agency has this)! You would find yourself spending more money on a Eurail Pass than just if you booked buses throughout your trip. They start from 1 euro- it is possible to even get a 1 euro bus from Florence to Naples in a comfortable, clean and modern bus. Some cheap bus companies to try are;
Flixbus (Germany and surroundings)
Polski (Poland and surroundings)
Megabus (Continental Europe)
Student Agency (Czech Republic and surroundings)
ALSA (Spain and surroundings)
2. Try hostels
The hostels in Europe are some of the best when it comes to value for money. Not only are most of them fully equipped with free wifi, breakfast and computers but they are clean, very very comfortable and actually very homely. Oh and they’re some of the cheapest you will find for what they offer. Don’t want to share a dorm? You can book in private rooms in most of them too.
Check out Hostel World for the most extensive range of hostels!
3. Find the free walking tours.
Although they might not technically be FREE (you tip the guide an undisclosed and pay-as-you-feel amount at the end of the tour), they’re much cheaper than if you were to book in a tour from an agency or group. The walking tours happen in almost every major city in Europe and are INCREDIBLY useful, educational and accurate in its information. The guides are generally locals, historians or people who have studied the ins and outs of the city.
Sandmans New Europe Tours are some of the best and they run almost every day at multiple times!
4. Try budget arlines if you are travelling by plane.
Ryanair and Easyjet are probably the most popular budget airlines so it’s worth having a look at these first. Beware though, being a budget airline, make sure you read the fine print to avoid any last minute fines. Top tip: make sure you PRINT off your boarding passes prior to getting to the airport as they can charge a pretty hefty fee for ‘printing services’ to have it done there. Sometimes it can be 80+ euroes and might be more expensive than the actual airfare itself.
5. Try carpooling
Carpooling is very very common in Europe with BlaBlarCar being a super affordable, safe and convenient way to travel between countries. BlaBlaCar is a service that allows the driver to make extra cash on a drive that they are already doing, say as their commute to work or a road trip to visit family in another European country, by picking up passengers on the way who have booked in via their app. There’s no set time as it is determined by the drivers departure time but it can be much cheaper, faster and flexible than the bus. Also, you get to meet the locals in a fun way.
6. Visit the museums and tourist attractions on their ‘free entry’ days!
Usually there will be times when the entry into famous museums and attractions are free so it’s worth looking into when that might be to save a few extra dollars.
Not travelling to Europe? Check out our tips on when to go to Vietnam
