Travel Hacks to Save Money on Your Europe Trip

Want to get that Europe trip out of your bucket list. Do movies like Before Sunrise and P.S. I Love You keep making it hard to keep your wanderlust in wraps, but the expenses are burning holes through your pockets? Don’t worry, your dream is not that far away. You can have your Europe trip within your budget and yet enjoy it as much. Traveling to Europe can be expensive, but there are some pro-tips and hacks that can help you immensely in saving money. Some of these are:

1.Book one -way ticket

When traveling to Europe, one usually visits more than just one country. In such a case, booking a round trip is not as cheaper as it seems. When in Europe, traveling in the loop may cost you more than you can imagine. Try traveling from one place to another without looking back i.e. land in London, travel throughout western Europe and fly back from Vienna. This way you won’t have to go back to your starting point once again which is more cost-efficient.

1. 2. Go off Season

Summers are considered the best time to visit Europe, which is not exactly true. During summers, Europe is filled with visitors and everything is expensive. It’s hard to book flights and hotels as everything is already booked and every tourist destination is packed with visitors. This poses two problems, first that everything is very expensive because of the high demand and the other is that you do not enjoy the true authentic Europe, but rather spend more time with tourists. But if you really want to have a Europe trip in summer, go to the less known places like Romania, Serbia, etc.

1. 3. Compare Flights and book

There are many apps such as SkyScanner that helps you to compare and book cheap flights. All you have to do is to enter the dates and they will provide you with the best deals on flights. Another way is to book through an agent who can find you the best Europe travel deals.

1. 4. Save on your accommodations

You can save a ton on the accommodations, all you have to do is avoid expensive hostels or any hotels in general and look for hostels. Many cities like Amsterdam have a tonne of hostels for travelers. There you can lodge in for way less than hotels and the fun part is you meet new people from various countries and ethnicities.

If you are a traveling group, then the most viable option is to rent an apartment or a private room. Sites such as Airbnb and Wimdu allow you to experience the place like a local and save money. That’s not it. If you want, you can stay for free too. Sites like Couchsurfing help you to find people who are willing to let a stranger stay at their houses for free. You can literally crash somebody’s couch for free. Furthermore, avoid finding accommodations that are on the outskirts. These accommodations are definitely cheaper but traveling to cities makes it more expensive. Stay in central areas and you'll have accesses to cheap food and you can even rent a bike and explore the city.

1. 5. Do Not pay for museums

Most of the museums have a day when you can enjoy them for free. There are also galleries of many museums that are completely free. The Natural History Museum, London is also practically free. The Louvre on the first Sunday of the month allows entry free of cost. This way you can save quite a lot if you’re on a tight budget.

1. 6.Plan your money

Before you leave for your Europe trip, you must plan on how you are going to handle your finances. The ATM fees are very expensive and exchanging is not only expensive but also risky. You have to do your own up-to-date research in order to find out the best credit cards available to you. The market is filled with travel-friendly cards. This way you can read and enjoy your vacation.

1. 7. Keep yourself connected for free

Do not fuss about phone connectivity in Europe. Unless you are traveling someplace remote, you can find free WiFi everywhere. A number of outlets such as McDonald's, Starbucks and other chains here provide free WiFi. Furthermore, more and more cities are offering free WiFi services in all public places. You can connect with any of these free Wi-Fi stations and you’ll manage. This definitely eases your connectivity issues and you can save a lot.

1. 8.Travel to non-Euro Countries

When you choose to travel to non-euro countries, you save a lot. Here you can take advantage of the cheap exchange rates and enjoy more on less. Countries like Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania etcetera, are quite good options. Avoid non-euro countries like Sweden, the UK, and Denmark as they are off on Euro as their economy is doing exceptionally well.

1. 9. Save on food.

Who wouldn’t want to experience the authentic cuisine of Europe while traveling there? But the famous restaurants and places to eat are quite expensive. To save on food and yet not miss out on anything, you can explore the street food, which not only provides you with the authentic food the place has to offer but also won’t be a burden on your pockets. Look for family-owned restaurants, for they are way cheaper and homely. Also, eat according to the season, do not go on looking for exotic things, whose ingredients are hard to find and which is what makes them expensive.

1. 10. Enjoy the rail-time

No-budget airlines are cheap but when we really think about it, all the extra costs like taking a taxi to the airport which is on the outskirts, paying extra for luggage etcetera, does not help in saving much. Therefore, to avoid those extra charges, traveling through trains is a safe bet. Furthermore, you get to enjoy the scenery of the beautiful countryside making your experience there more enriched. Book the tickets beforehand and look out for offers and deals in order to save even more on your travels.

11. Do not Fall the Shopping traps.

When visiting any place, people tend to spend more even on the most unworthy items. This happens because of the tourist effect as we want to be amused by anything. The souvenirs are always cheaper when you go to local markets. In fact, you will find the exact same items for half the cost. So do not let your emotions run by while shopping in Europe

Europe has many things to offer, one being the culture and arts of this historically enriched country. There are many entertainment sources such as theatres and operas which one shouldn’t miss, but if you are on a tight budget you can still enjoy the culture free of charge. There are so many best entertainment sources that are completely free of charge. Visit public places such as parks and sidewalks, and enjoy the people performing there and take a glimpse into the art and culture of the place. In many cities, you can find open-air films festivals like Pluk de Nacht in Amsterdam, which is one of the best open-air festival showcasing with national and international films and documentaries.

Always remember, vacations are for relaxing. So do not fuss much about the money and enjoy the beauty of this beautiful continent as much as possible. A lot of travel agencies come up with pocket-friendly Europe vacation pages to make your dream journey possible. Choose the best package available and have a nice vacation.

Tony John is one among the bloggers in Kerala as well as India and he started his blogging in 1998. Tony John is currently maintaining a couple of websites like India Study Channel, Techulator, India Travel Blog, Study Village, etc