There’s a good chance you’ve looked at buying a plane ticket at least once and figured, “Well, I guess it will still be there when I’m 65 and retired.” Don’t give up hope! I will show you how to visit the country of your dreams in Europe without breaking the bank.
First, you should put your specific vacation plans on hold.
Narrowing your search to something extremely particular is the easiest way to drive up your trip’s cost.
Even while Easter offers a long weekend, that doesn’t necessarily make it the best time to take a trip. Adapt to your vacation dates, destinations, and lodging options. The more open you can be with your itinerary, the less it will cost.
Second, settle on a destination that genuinely excites you.
I know I just told you to be adaptable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have preferences about where you go; it simply means you might have to take some unanticipated routes to get there. Don’t limit your flight options for Dublin trips to those that depart solely from the United States. You may likely obtain significantly cheaper aircraft tickets from the United States to other European cities. Then, for less than $80 total, you can book quick access to Dublin. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see a second nation!
Step 3: Choose your departure city.
Pricing for flights to Europe varies widely depending on factors such as departure airport, arrival airport, and time of year. The first thing you should do is choose the airport from where you will depart. How fortunate you are to call a significant metropolitan area home, like New York, Boston, or Los Angeles. These airports offer the most affordable flights to European destinations. Even if you don’t live here, you will probably have to fly through these hubs to Europe. So driving to one of those places might be a low-cost alternative. If not, you might want to get a flight to one of those places from your current location. It may sound counterintuitive, but it could save you money on airfare if you book your flight segments separately rather than all at once.
Fourth, find the least expensive European destination.
Instead of manually searching through hundreds of flights, you can check websites that collect the cheapest tickets. Some websites provide a “from” area where you can enter the “United States” or the city name from which you’ll depart. When filling out the “to” section, enter “everywhere.” Then, on the resultant list, look for the first/cheapest European country to fly to and click on it. However, if the price difference exceeds $100, I would prioritize the airport with the lowest price. For example, if France is $380 and Norway is $340, choosing France is probably worth it. Skyscanner’s lack of real-time updates on its deals and the need to sift through multiple dates to find the lowest time to fly are also drawbacks. However, waiting for a sale is the best way to save money on plane tickets. Keep in mind that satisfied clients rarely take the time to leave positive feedback, so it’s always a good idea to read up on a travel agency’s reputation before making any final decisions. However, a single-star rating for the agency can be a red flag.
Fifth, book a trip within Europe to reach your ultimate European vacation spot.
Most people are surprised to learn how inexpensive it is to travel between European countries via airplane.
For about $14, I was able to fly halfway across Europe. That’s not a joke. Within Europe, I’ve never paid more than $60 round-trip. If you find yourself in an unexpected country after booking the cheapest travel to Europe, you can use Kayak.com to get a flight to your destination.
Now that you’ve arrived, step six is to locate low-cost or no-cost overnight accommodation.
One’s ideal vacation varies from person to person. If you plan on putting up at the Ritz, I’m astonished you made it this far. Most of us want a decent place to rest our heads each night while exploring all Europe offers. A European slum is not a place I’ve ever stayed. I have no want to and am not in any real need of doing so. You can sleep at a hotel, a rental, a hostel, or on someone’s couch through Couchsurfing.
Hotel. If this is your first trip to Europe or you aren’t adventurous, booking a hotel room is usually the best bet. Hotels can cost anywhere from $20 to $200 per night, so consider that while planning your trip. Unless your oil company is having a record-breaking first quarter, I wouldn’t recommend staying in Monaco, but nearby Nice could be an alternative. That is to say, don’t limit yourself.
Rental. It is also possible to stay comfortable by reserving a private room, apartment, villa, or house rather than checking into a hotel. I’ve stayed in some of my favorite European spots, thanks to vacation rentals I found on sites like HomeAway and Airbnb. I’ve had wonderful experiences renting everything from a villa on a winery in Tuscany to a mother-in-law’s house in a quiet neighborhood outside of London, and the cost is usually far lower than staying in a hotel if you have a large company.
Hostel. Although the word “hostel” conjures images of seedy motels from the silver screen, it can be difficult to tell the two apart in Europe. It’s true that you can stay in hostels where you share a room with up to five other tourists and that this can be an intriguing and thrilling experience for some. But don’t automatically dismiss anything with the word “hostel” in the name because you don’t like bunk beds. Some “hostels” were as lovely as the hotels where I stayed.
Couchsurf. There’s no better way to meet locals cheaply or stretch a limited travel budget than through Couchsurfing. Check out Couchsurfing.com if you have no idea what I’m talking about. The site’s primary function is to connect people willing to welcome travelers with people looking for accessible accommodations. Reviews of guests and hosts can provide you peace of mind about their reliability. There is inherent danger here, so proper safety measures must be implemented. If things don’t go as planned, you should also have a backup strategy.
Seventh, save money by eating cheaply.
I’m concentrating on the basics of a European vacation: getting there, staying there, and eating there. Among these essentials is food; however, there are many other worthy uses for hard-earned cash.
The food is fantastic. As a foodie, I was dissatisfied with the quality of the meals I ate on my first several trips to Europe. That changed when I started researching restaurants on TripAdvisor before eating out. More of a piece of wisdom than a money-saving suggestion. However, TripAdvisor allows you to filter results by average restaurant prices to find anywhere between $ and $$. The cost of living is rising etc.
Here’s a money-saving tip: European grocery stores typically have relatively low prices. If you’ve rented a place that has a kitchen, use it! Visit a nearby market and stock up on some unusual ingredients. Get some sandwich fixings if you’re going on a road trip to save money.
Eighth Step: Acknowledge That Additional Costs Exist
There will be other costs, even if transportation, housing, and food consume most of your budget. Once there, you’ll need to consider things like getting about, paying for attractions, and buying souvenirs.
Taking public transportation is one of the available choices. Using local currency or a debit card at a kiosk, you can ride the excellent and cheap public transit in most European towns. Credit cards issued in the United States may not be used at these locations because they require a chip and PIN.
If you’re venturing outside of major urban areas, renting a car is a fantastic idea because it’s usually relatively cheap and provides complete independence during your trip. Although taking a train throughout Europe is a romantic experience, it can be expensive. The time and money saved by taking a flight is well worth it. However, if you are enamored with traveling through the countryside via rail, you should give it a shot. For a price, you can buy your tickets in advance from the Eurorail website. You can either buy them in advance online at a premium, or you can get them at the train station for far cheaper.
Tip #9: Pack lightly
Even though you might not realize it, packing lightly might help you save money on your trip. To begin, please be aware that every airline has baggage fees. Therefore, you may expect to pay $25-$100 per bag, for every flight segment. As you can see, the total quickly rises. Second, if you have two suitcases, you will load them with things you probably don’t need. Thirdly, utilizing the subway or other forms of inexpensive transit might be a hassle and an inconvenience when you’re toting around two heavy bags. Fourth, you must keep your bags with you at all times or at your hotel, so if you want to leave in the morning and travel to a different location, you won’t be able to do anything until you check-in. Carrying a lot of luggage
through Europe is a significant hassle. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have everything you need in a single bag. For a trip lasting a month and a half throughout Europe, I just required my 50-liter backpack. The answer is yes; you can even do your laundry in Europe. If you’re trying to make an excuse like, “Well, you don’t understand because you’re a guy,” stop it. Both of the young women I was traveling with could put all they needed into a bag. You can’t claim ignorance since you’re so young; my mom took me around Europe in a backpack smaller than yours. What I did, you can do!
10th Step: Prepare for the Worst, but Expect the Best
When I go to Europe, I estimate my costs and add more. Additionally, I have set aside at least $200 for miscellaneous expenses. Even if my actual costs rarely exceed this threshold, I’d instead not get into that position in the first place.
Conclusion
I’ve provided you with the abridged version of my Europe-on-a-budget guide in under two thousand words. While there are undoubtedly many additional considerations to make before making your Europe travel arrangements, the most vital step is making them. Get on the internet and look for low-cost airline tickets to Europe. Don’t stress out over scheduling every minute of your life before buying your plane tickets; instead, grab your keys and worry about the details later. Make room in your schedule for some unplanned adventures while you travel throughout Europe.
International Escape compiles all top travel deals worldwide into one convenient location. Getting low-cost flights from one airport to another is not always possible. Still, being flexible with your destination can uncover hotel and travel savings you never thought possible. InternationalEscape.com sifts through hundreds of thousands of flights daily to locate those exceptional prices. Finding $340 round-trip flights from Los Angeles to Oslo is possible. The “Deals” tab is where you’ll discover them.
To support my claims that InternationalEscape.com has the best foreign flight deals, I am taking advantage of these fares and reporting on the site’s “Inspiration” sections. Because of these low prices, I’m hoping that more people can take the trip of a lifetime overseas.
Check out InternationalEscape.com.
Follow @internationalescape on Instagram.
Check out @intlescape on Twitter.
Read also: https://booklysis.com/category/travel/
