What are some tips for flying to Europe cheaply and reducing your expenses while traveling around once there?

Question

We want to fly to Europe next summer but we are not picky about where we fly into etc. We want to stay for 2 -3 weeks and just travel around. We want to stay in mostly hostels and maybe a hotel here and there. So, are there particular ways to make the whole experience cheaper? Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi. I'm in the process of booking a trip to Europe ffrom Australia or myself and my 2 daughters..and although l have no idea what your airfares will cost from USA to Europe.. l can tell you that you can get really cheap flights within Europe with Ryanair & Easyjet. Initially.. l thought the cheapest accom would be to stay in Youth Hostels..but NO !!.. most of them are c**p ( look fine..sound fine..until you read the reviews..:-). Anyway.. if you are planning on spending 3 or more days in any one place..it is actually cheaper to stay in an apartment than a hotel or hostel. Hotels and hostels charge per person..and the rate doesn't generally get lower per person..the more you have. Apartments are cheap. Our London apartment only costs 80 pounds per night. Our apartment in Paris beside the Eiffel Tower - $185.00 USD per night. Here's links to the Airlines & apartment companies l've used.

Hope this helps :-)

http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/

http://www.rcahotels.co.uk/rca/index.htm

http://www.rentalinrome.com/index.htm

http://www.vacationinparis.com/index.htm...

Answer 2

For flights, what I usually do is check Kayak.com daily, their fares fluctuate and sometimes you can get great deals. If you can, you might get a great deal if you fly on monday/tuesday/wednesday as opposed to the weekends. Check your local newspapers for seat sales. Also check out Zoom airlines, they are a budget international airline. It depends where you go in Europe as to how cheap it will be, if you're planning on going to London, Paris, and Berlin, it's going to be pricey, but if you go to Krakow, Budapest, and Bratislava, you'll be saving heaps on food, entertainment, and accomodation. Tours are a good way to keep your cost down because your transportation, accomodation, and some meals are included, making it easier to budget. Cooking in your hostel kitchen, and eating at street vendors is a whole lot cheaper (think kebabs, hot dogs, pizza) than eating McD's every day for lunch and going out to expensive places for dinner every night. That being said, you should spend some money on trying to eat well, because everywhere we went, the food was fantastic. Some cities have campgrounds right near town that have adorable little cabins that can often be cheaper than hostels, and they are usually close to public transportation, and have all the amenities you'd expect (hot showers, a shop, etc.)  

Answer 3

Trains/buese in most europeans countries are quite affordable...especially if you can travel at off peak times.  I like getting the train over lots of flights....these days fligths always seem to be delayed...then you have to lug all your luggage through security and sit around for ages!

try googling the tansportation services specific to the country you are travelling in. E.G for Ireland it would be:

http://www.translink.co.uk

http://www.irishrail.ie/home/

or germany

http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en...

or Italy

http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html

I always find that eating out is the biggest expense.  Try to stick to streetfood or go to a supermarket and buy some, bread & cheese for lunch (this works especially well in France). Save your money for eating out in the evening.  

Answer 4

You could explore courier flights where you get to fly dirt cheap and maybe even get paid for it in return for a little hassle of accompanying some goods (legal goods that is). Check out Fedex, UPS etc to see what's available. An old work colleague of mine went from London to New York that way and it was a breeze.