Most people associate traveling through Europe with heavy expenses and often talk themselves out of going for this very reason. However, it does not have to be as costly as you have been led to believe, as you can use coupons for target.com to save money on a number of different expenses and take advantage of various other special occasions. For additional tips on traveling through Europe on a budget, read on to learn more!
Hitchhiking
While hitchhiking is completely free, you still need to know the ropes in order to keep yourself from spending days outside of a gas station, waiting and wishing for that elusive nice person to come along and bail you out. When attempting to hitchhike, it is best to use a gas station or a parking lot. You can also station yourself on the outskirts, which are better to catch the eyes of locals on their way out.
Buses
Buses are one of the cheapest ways to travel in all of Europe. European bus transportation is incredibly clean, safe and reliable. Eurolines is one of the cheapest lines available to you and it is in your best interests to book any tickets you are planning on purchasing online before the beginning of your trip. They are able to cover all countries, making it easy for you to get to any destination that you have in mind. There are also special discounts available for children under 18, youth under 25 and seniors who are over the age of 60.
Booking Flights
See our post about getting the best airfare deals.
Obviously, in order to enjoy all of the transportation that Europe has to offer, you will need to book a flight first. That should be done well in advance and you should also be willing to be flexible about the date that you choose to fly out. If you are too rigid when it comes to departure dates, you may end up paying hundreds of dollars in additional fees. There are a variety of flight search engines available to help you locate the cheapest flights such as Skyscanner.com, so be sure to use them.
Finding Accommodations
When it comes to locating cheap places to stay while you are in Europe, you have far more options available to you than you may have previously realized. If you have friends on the other side of the pond, now is a great time to contact them and see if they can offer you a place to crash.
Hostels are also available to you on the cheap and while some may not prefer them, due to the fact that they are typically very crowded, they provide a cheap lodging option for those who are trying to save a few Euros. Google provides a variety of great hostel recommendations for those who are unfamiliar with the topic.
Good advice, Kevin, but I still enjoy relaxing more and letting someone else do it with a tour. Although I will follow some of your advice when my daughter and I go to Italy eventually. We want to just "hang out" in Florence and Tuscany and take it easy. No trying to see as much as possible in a short time as we did in Ireland.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that the majority of people are like you Sue when it comes traveling through Europe, they would rather just sit back and relax and let someone else to the planning and there is nothing wrong with that. We do think though that when that is done, too much is packed into that trip that you almost need another holiday just to get some rest before going back to normal life again. ;-)
DeleteThat trip to Italy with our daughter sounds like it will be a great one.