Europe is no doubt one of the most expensive places to travel to. The huge cost of living and sky-high hotel rates in capital cities like Paris and London makes it a pricey destination for travelers.
However, this doesn’t mean you can’t walk Europe on a budget. Here are trusted tips to help you save your pounds on your next trip to any part of Europe.
How to save For a Trip to Europe
- Work Hard, Play Hard
Whether you’re someone who travels for fun, or fresh out of college, you will need to save quite a bit of money for your journey. Of course, you can try to save money through discounts or life hacks like searching for better deals by hiding your IP with a VPN; some businesses inflate prices based on your location after all. There are simpler ways to go around Europe without touching your life’s savings (A friend of mine told me of a woman who spent only $700 during her 3 months in Europe, eating only rice and sleeping in train stations to save some cash). Must be really tough for the poor woman but I assume of course that you don’t plan to travel like that. Do you?
Now that you are all set, let’s get to work. Try some side hustles (check out these extra ways to make money while doing your day job), pick up extra shifts or ask your boss for work on extra projects or overtime.
- Accrue Those Travel Points
Collecting travel points is one of the best ways on how to save money for travel. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t advise this if you encounter difficulty with paying your credit card bills per month. But if you are able to responsibly pay off your debt every month, you can not only get points from bonus sign up programs, but you can also collect points for each dollar spent.
In Europe, Point collecting is gold! Almost every hotel in the cities of Europe use travel reward programs. Popular cities like Stockholm, Paris, London and Berlin are home to some of the best hotels in the world, all of which accept points as payment methods.
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- Know Where to Get the Best Deal
Transportation throughout Europe can rip your bank account in half. That is why it is very economical to know where you can find the best deal. Of course, you may not love the bumpy ride or get as much leg room as you want, but it’s Europe, who wouldn’t still love it!
- Megabus
- Wanderu
- Booking.com
- Hostelbookers
- Hostel World
- Skyscanner
- Ryanair
- Vueling
- Rome2Rio
- Airbnb
- Hoteltonight
- Invest in the Right Luggage
We all had wish at some point in our lives to travel with an old Louis Vuitton trunk filled with every sort of apparel, trinkets and you know other wild things (winks). Bad news, hard luggage is a lot harder to travel with. Most times, it weighs more, hard to control in rough streets and it can become a real struggle to pack the right amount of clothes.
If you’re traveling for a not so long period of time, consider a carry-on bag. It will save you a lot of baggage fees. Plus, you will not be responsible for too many items. If you’re traveling for a long amount of time, think about a backpack! They’re easier to take around (even through multiple types of terrain), can be inexpensive and don’t weigh as much. Here are some quick places where you can purchase a backpack:
- Osprey Packs
- Gregory Mountain Products
- REI
- Backpacks by Deuter
PIN IT FOR LATER: 
- Consider Some of the More Affordable Countries
Yes! You heard me right. Do you know a trip to Budapest cost less than $25 per day? Are you aware that the accommodation in Prague is really cheap? There are hundreds of countries in Europe (especially Eastern Europe), that is budget friendly. Some very popular, inexpensive countries include Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, Croatia, Herzegovina, Spain, Hungary, Czechia, Poland, Romania and Bosnia.
So do a quick pitstop in Paris and be adventurous enough to check out London for a night or two. But spend some significant time in these countries if you want to save for a trip to Europe.
- Prepare to Save Money When You Arrive
I recommend you keep a low budget while traveling (if you’re not able to spend a certain amount of cash beforehand). That sounds real difficult (I know) considering the amount of new experiences; food, sites and people you want to try. However, a disciplined follow-up of these tips helps you save money on the road!
- Travel with cheap flights in off-season (or totally avoid traveling to Europe in the summer time) or taking expensive Flight Routes
- Try out the local transport or walk
- Have breakfast, lunch or dinner at the local restaurant and split entrees with your traveling companion or make a friend over there.
- Avoid drinking too much alcohol
- Purchase a local Phone and SIM card instead of paying for data
- Use Uber or Lyft instead of a taxi
- To save one night of accommodation, Travel by night on a train
- Stay in a hostel or Couchsurf
- Make money on the road by sharing your experience on Youtube, your blog(if you run any) or with Grabr
- Avoid the temptation of staying in the center of the city when looking for accommodation.
I agree with your comments 100%, especially your point on how traveling in Europe can be expensive. One point to add is that to minimize this cost most cities in Europe have fantastic public transit, so while en route there use google maps to figure out how to get from your hotel to the sites using the subway or bus, then get a monthly travel pass while there! You meet the coolest people and see the most inspiring streetwear on european subways.
Cool! Sounds like you’ve been there. Thanks for your helpful contribution, Brandi
Ohh wow!! Thanks for sharing this, am gonna check it out for my own travel passion too 🙂 cheers, siennylovesdrawing
Hi Sienny,
Feel free. You can also send me a story on your travels. I would love to read some.
Always wanted to go!
Whats stopping you? Quit thinking, just go!
Great tips, I might use them to save for my trip to Asia!
Sure. These practical tips can be utlized in like a million ways.
This will come in handy, as I know of a relative that will find this useful.
Share with him/her. Thanks!
great tips and I will try them myself. traveling can be very expensive.
Without the right kind of knowledge? Yes and that is why I have written this guide.
This is good. Really good tips. I’m saving this to use later as I figure I might be needing it soon though I’m travelling for academic purposes. Thanks for sharing
Hey Grace,
That’s a really big move. I hope you sure are ready. Good luck!
Thanks for great information. I think it help them who wants to travel from their own savings.
It sure will, Kiran.
Wow, definitely a very informative and encouraging post, a detailed travel planner which considers your budget too. Thanks, great post.
Thanks Moni.
Great tips which we really need. My husband and I want to spend next summer in Europe and are starting to budget for it. That would be a vacation for 3 for 2 months. Hopefully with your tips we can make it happen.
I’m positive it can. Remember to enjoy your stay.
Europe is one of our travel dream. My sisters live in Ireland so I know the cost of living is quite high. Thanks for the advice on how to start saving for the trip!
IKr. So happy to be helpful, Nina
As a budget traveler, points you made here are true. I enjoy accruing the points and make sure for the first time of using it, i earn points. This is helpful.
Thanks Chai. That means a lot coming from a budget traveler.
These are great money saving tips. Making money along with YouTube & by Blogging is a good way.
Yes, especially if you are are the tech sarvy type.
Great! I’m happy that I’m already doing this. It’s a matter of time before I get to see Europe for myself.
Keep doing what you are doing. All the best!!!
.Insightful tips on Europe tour. Carrying backpack is must if hiking part is involved.
Yes Indu. Any other tips you would love to share?
Yeah, i always thought traveling to Europe is worth a fortune, an insightful post on alternatives and tips changes my view on European travel….. Thanks
Pleasure is all mine, Jef
These are great tips. You can save a lot of money by staying outside the tourist areas or in hostels. And, the overnight train is genius!
Yes. That’s like a perfect combo, or something.
You need to work hard and earn money for travel this is very convincing. Europe is my dream country I really want to visit.
I’m pretty sure it is to a lot of people. I wish you luck!
These are some great tips especially the one where traveling during the night is better than paying for one-night accomodation.
Right you are, Sayanti.
This is a great article with fantastic tips for anyone who wants to pack up and go see the world.
Thanks for dropping by, Katie.