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EuroTrip. Travel Tips for Europe.

How To Plan A Cheap Eurotrip – Travel Tips for Europe

I know that a Euro Trip can be a dream for many people, but traveling in Europe is usually not cheap. However, somecountries in Central and Eastern Europe are still affordable, or at least you can afford to travel there for longerperiods.

You don’t need to browse dozen of forums or web sites in order to find out how to save on your European trip.

I have prepared the ultimate guide with money saving tips to help you find cheap, or the least expensive, travel to allyour dream destinations, such as Venice, Paris, Stockholm, London, Rome or Barcelona.

Cheap Flight Tickets to Europe

You can download my FREE Travel Hacking Guide to find out how to find cheap flight tickets and accommodations.

The basic rule is that you should always compare prices for your Europe travel.

You can use flight search engines and websites such as Expedia, Skyscanner or Cheapoair. It is important to beflexible or to book your air tickets in advance (at least 50 days). Always clean your computer cookies and your web

history.

A really good way to get an overview of airfares is to find the best flight deals with ITA Software. It requires a littlepractice, but it’s worth the try. Another good way is to search Google Flights.

Fly Cheap Within Europe/Budget Airlines

You will find great offers from low cost airlines such as Ryanair, Easyjet, Wizzair, Germanwings, Aer Lingus or AirBaltic.

List of Low-Cost Airlines

United KingdomEasyJetThomsonFlyRyanairFlybeJet2.comHungaryWizz AirSlovakiaRyanairWizz AirGermanyGermanwingsAir BerlinSpainVoloteaVuelingSwitzerlandEasyJet SwitzerlandHelvetic AirwaysCzech RepublicSmart WingsTurkeyPegasus AirlinesSun Express

Try to search budget flight deals with Airixo, where good flight ticket prices come up quite often.

The Most Expensive European Travel Destinations

The most expensive cities are London, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Zurich, Helsinki and Copenhagen.

I’m not saying that you should avoid these destinations, but maybe you should consider alternative spots such asBudapest, Vienna, Bratislava, Kosice, Krakow, Ljubljana, Split, Tallinn or Riga.

Promenade in Split

Best Bargain European Cities

The top choices are Lisbon, Prague, Budapest and Krakow. You should also consider wonderful Ljubljana andCroatian cities such as Split and Sibenik. Why not visit Albania.

All offer great historical sites with beautiful historical centers with affordable, fabulously tasty cuisine.

Budapest has wonderful spas; Prague has great beer and farmer markets; Lisbon has the greatest location on thesea and fab pastel de nata; Krakow has the Wavel Royal Castle surrounded by a river.

Book Your Hotel, Hostel or Couch For Free

Couchsurfing is a great way to travel nearby for free. But please bring some nice presents, or at least help your host,or maybe next time you can be the host for someone else on the road.

If you would like to book cheaper accommodations, then do it in advance and try to avoid state celebrations, special

events (e.g., world football championships) or tourist hot spots.

Try to find your accommodations outside of the main touristic areas, but be sure you have a good connection withlocal transportation.

You can compare hotel choices with many different sites, but I personally prefer Hotels.com, Hotelscombined.com orExpedia.

You can also sign up for Booking.com to find secret hotels deals, which means you can sometimes get another 50%discount.

I normally pay between 25 to 50 Euro (35 Euros for Paris near Garre de Lyon) per night for two people.

Another option is Formula One Hotels; these are mostly used on cheap European Round trips, but it’s not the bestchoice. However, I slept one night in such a hotel on the outskirts of Rome, and that was great.

When you travel through Germany, Austria, UK or Belgium, I highly recommend you look at Motel One. You can bookcheap hotels with them in Berlin, Vienna or my favorite, Dresden. I have slept mostly in Germany, so myrecommendations are focused mostly there.

If you travel to Slovenia, Croatia or Greece beach destinations, you can find people offering private accommodations.This is the best way to get in touch with the locals and maybe taste the mamma-like, traditional cuisine that is freshand tasty.

There are also tons of websites offering private accommodations in the Tatras Mountains, or Slovensky raj inSlovakia, or near some famous spa resorts in Hungary (Egerszalok or the cave bath in Miskolctapolca).

Airbnb is also a fun way to find a great accommodation, but please check the references if you try to book anapartment.

Sleeping in hostels can help you also save a lot, but in cities like Paris or Stockholm the prices are higher.

A best thing about hostels is the socializing, which is not that common when you book a standard hotel room.

You can check for great deals on Europeans Hostels here, using London as an example.

Be sure that the hostel price is lower than a hotel. Sometimes you can find a better deal at a hotel.

Food and Eating Out

The most expensive restaurants are in London, Stockholm or Paris. On the other hand, these destinations offer agreat range of affordable, international cuisine.

Don’t try to visit tourist-friendly restaurants because it’s always a trap. I usually follow the rule that you can find thebest eateries on side streets.

Eat Like Locals Do

You will find really nice Turkish grills, such as Mangal Ocakbasi in East London; or some great Kebab stands onNashmarkt in Vienna; or nice Vietnamese Pho14; and great sandwiches in Paris. You will also find delicious,affordable eateries in Berlin (there are great sandwiches near Check Point Charlie, with the best Kasekuchen I haveever tried).

Vietnamese or Chinese bistros and restaurants are dirt cheap.

If you want to find the best of each city, head to the city markets like Berwick Street Market, Borough Market or SouthBank Center in London, Nashmarkt in Vienna, Hötorgshallen and Östermalms Saluhall in Stockholm, or Marche DesEnfants Rouges in Paris.

Italy, France and Croatia offer daily village markets with a great selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses or fish.

The “Menu of the Day” in restaurants range from 3 Euros in Slovakia, Czech Republic or Hungary, up to 9 Euros inVienna, Berlin or Stockholm. Daily menus in Paris start at 12-14 Euros.

A nice lunch with the perfect surrounding: Omis Croatia.

Cook For Yourself

An easy way how to save money on food is to cook yourself.

There are plenty of supermarket brands, such as Carrefour, Tesco, Migros, Auchan, Billa, Coop, Interspar, Despar,Sainsbury’s, M&S, Konzum, Studenac or Globus.

The quality of food in the supermarkets of France is great, with delicious cheeses and jambon. There is also highquality food in the supermarkets of Austria, and great products can be found in England.

I think quality highly depends on the supermarket chain.

You will find the cheapest drinks mostly in Slovakia, Czech Republic (both countries have great beers and also wines,especially rose), Poland and Hungary.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the most expensive drinks, which I’ve found to be in Sweden, Finland,Switzerland or London (try the Happy Hours).

Transportation

Most local transportation by tram, bus or subway costs from 0.9 to 2 Euro one way.

Avoid trains and rails because it is the most expensive kind of transportation.

Ok, maybe a short gondola drive in Venice is the most expensive.

However, traveling by train is really convenient, and some train routes are just stunning, like Bernina Express.

I’m a big fan of TGV fast trains, and I have tried some routes in Switzerland and France.

Taking a taxi is also expensive in most countries.

Low cost airlines often have great fares within and also outside of Europe.

I like driving, so I drive a car a lot, and if you have a group of at least of 3 or 4 people, this is the best way to travel.

Prices for renting a car can start from 25 to 60 Euro, and you can get a discount if you plan to rent a car for a longerperiod. Cars also save your time and allow you to plan your Euro Trip better. Check prices here.

1 liter of gasoline starts from 1.4 Euro.

The distances are not that bad, so if you plan to drive a car from Vienna to Lefkada Island (the best beaches inGreece), it takes 1600 km to drive through Hungary (Slovakia is optional), Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia (Fyrom) andGreece (drive via Olymp Mountains, which is stunning and you can visit Meteora Temples).

But don’t rent something like this. By the way, this is an Aston Martin Cygnet, spotted in Austria.

The highways to the French Riviera or Croatia can be quite busy during the summer.

International buses are cheaper than trains. From the Czech Republic, you can take a ride with Student Agency thatcovers about 60 cities.

Eurolines is Europe’s No.1 scheduled coach operator.

Another good coach company is Ecolines, which goes to cities as Munich, Vienna or London.

Museum Entrance Fees

Many museums (some are really great in London) offer free admission on certain days or at certain times of themonth. My favorite is the Louvre in Paris, which is free on the first Sunday of every month. Check ahead to find outwhich other museums offer free admission.

Purchase a City Pass

Big cities offer special discount cards that can help you save money on admission for museums, public transportationor attractions.

Be sure to evaluate whether it’s really worth it to buy a city pass.

Passes can be a great value if you plan to really take advantage of all the opportunities that such a card offers.

I have saved a lot with a Stockholm pass, but London and Paris Passes are also a great choice.

Guided Tours and City Tours or a Local Guide

Do you know that is it possible to have guided tours for free, or sometimes just for cost of a tip to the guide?

Try Sandemans on their website, neweuropetours.eu.

If you need more information on local guides and free guided tours, you can download this FREE E-Book:

“How to Save on Travel – Money Saving Tips ”

Coupon Websites

Coupon websites are popular in Europe, so you can consider this as an option, as well.

Go visit Groupon UK or Vienna, Austria, but so far the best deals I have seen are in Eastern Europe and UK.

For example I found a 5-day trip to the French Riviera roundtrip from Slovakia at a cost of only 159 Euros, or 190Euro for a 7-day vacation in Croatia from the Czech Republic or Kefalonia; 14-day trip from the UK for 90 pounds.

These money saving websites also allow you to save on activities or food while traveling in big cities:

Myvouchercodes UK

Hotukdeals

Slevomat Prague

Groupon Austria

Groupon Germany

Phone Calls And Data

Calling abroad with your SIM card will not be cheap, but you can either switch to a domestic cell phone operator,such as Telefonica or Orange, or you can use Skype for your calls.

Turn off Mobile Data first, because it can be really costly. Just grab one prepaid sim card in your travel destination andyou are ready to go. Many prepaid sim cards also include mobile data.

If you are traveling inside the European Union, since 1.7.2014, the new Eurotarif for roaming calls is valid with thefollowing prices:

Outgoing calls: 0,288 €/min (30+1)Incoming calls: 0,084 €/min (1+1)Sent SMS: 0,096 €Transfered mobile data: 0,54 €/MB

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