Affordable Europe: 4 travel mistakes to avoid in England

If you're looking to cut costs in Europe (and who isn't anymore?), you may have considered hostels. One resource, europeanhostels.com, has been around since 1999. The site has just been overhauled and now has 38 European city guides, editor's picks, hostel photos, user reviews, and travel forums. One thing that's really cool is the site search: Sort results by popularity, price, or user rating. Plus, you can view all locations on a Google map (also sorted by price) to find the location that fits you best. Other sites, like hostelworld.com, have maps, too, but they aren't sorted by price (and they're not nearly as user-friendly). A little leery of hostels? One comforting thing is the fact that the "editor's picks" are vetted by the guys at europeanhostels.com—unlike hostelworld.com, which is simply user generated. EARLIER Family travel: Hostels that are unhostile

With gas prices soaring, will summer road trips remain an American rite of passage? After all, a lot of gas was burned up across Route 66 in Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Steve Kark, writing for the Roanoke Times, thinks that such "journeys of self-discovery" are getting almost too pricey to be possible: "As the price of gas surpasses $4 a gallon, it's clear that a long summer road trip would be beyond the means of all but the most dedicated of today's young wanderers.... I doubt gas will ever again be so cheap that most of us won't have to think twice about whether we can afford that next long road trip." That may be true, but I'd like to think that road trips won't die out entirely. I loved (most of) the long, long drives my family took out to the Rockies when I was little. And one of my favorite college memories was piling into a car with a buddy and driving from Madison to visit a friend working on Mackinac Island, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. (By the way, the Upper Peninsula is one of Budget Travel's recently recommended road trip itineraries.) Even if you have a trunkload of gas money to re-create On the Road, it would hardly be the same. A lot has changed since 1957, when the book came out. Last summer, the LA Times came up with a list of some of the differences between America-then and America-now. For instance, back in '57, the ink on the contracts for the few first interstate roads was barely dry, and only 40 McDonald's existed. Now, there are over 45,000 miles of interstate, and thousands of McDonald's. To get a sense of what remains of Route 66, check out this Fodor's intro. Helpfully, the federal government has declared more than 100 roadways to be "Scenic Byways" because of their "outstanding archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic value." Some of the roads trace Billy the Kid's routes in New Mexico. Others tear through the Florida Everglades. Find a list at byways.org. I bet that most road trips can be both inspiring and affordable if you trim your ambitions a bit. Rather than aim to hit both coasts or a dozen states, focus on a smaller area. Plan to see it more thoroughly. A slower pace will boost the odds you actually talk to some locals—perhaps at one of the roadside eateries recommended by Roadfood.com. Many of Budget Travel's own road trips take that tack. Will your road trip plans change this year? Feel free to post a comment.

In Italy, even the world of private sublets are pricey during the summer. But they can still be better values than hotels. You'll find listings posted in English on Craigslist and on the booking service Venere, plus in Italian on Kijiji. But other sources for lodging may offer the truest bargains: Try the apartment finder Cross-Pollinate, which focuses on short-term stays of no more than 14 nights. This website lists more than 200 apartments, guest houses, and B&Bs; at the typical tourist stops for the "Grand Tour" of Italy, as well as for Paris and Barcelona. All apartments have been screened by Cross-Pollinate, a family-run company, to make sure they meet strict quality standards. Apartments can be selected by size, location, budget, and number of guests. Only apartments available for let immediately are listed, thus eliminating any superfluous emails and phone calls. Note: Landlords may expect deposits and some or all payments in cash. Try farm stays. For country travelers wanting to bask under the Tuscan sun without the blockbuster price, agriturismo is the way to go. Agriturismo broadly refers to "farm" vacations, where country houses are rented to guests and offer the chance to learn about the local food culture, pick fresh fruits and vegetables to eat, and learn how to make wine and honey. Agriturismi are governed by the Italian state. That means that official, state-certified agriturismi are listed at tourist office online sites for each region of Italy, which can be found on the the official directory. Convent and monastery stays, where rooms are sparsely decorated and evening curfews are enforced, are the best urban options if you're looking for cheap and cheerful lodging. The bonus, aside from the low price, is that some offer a pasto, or dinner, for about €6 in addition to room cost, and the building may hide a surprise cloister or garden, for a bit of relaxation the midst of a busy city. For info, try go-to-italy.com. [Note, there are also more fabulous clergy residences, so if you are considering a cardinal splurge, look for Italy's abbeys and monasteries-turned-luxury villas. You'll pay more, but get more.] —Erica Firpo, blogging from Rome for our Affordable Europe series.

Paris strictly enforces its regulations of trinket shops and food stands that surround popular attractions. This is why Paris’s thoroughfares are not clogged with vendors selling questionable or overpriced goods—unlike the tourist spots of many other European capitals. Still, there are even quieter sweet spots close to monuments that are unknown to the hordes. These are perfect places to rest your feet, write a postcard, or find better deals on food and gifts. No matter how crowded it gets underneath the Eiffel Tower, for instance, it is usually placid in the grassy areas just outside the pillars closest to the Seine—an ideal spot for a picnic lunch made of items from a local store. (Time your dessert course for after sundown so you can watch the structure sparkle in on-the-hour light shows.) Similarly, the backside of Sacre Coeur bears all the Montmartre charm of the front, but is less cacophonous, more classically Parisian, and priced for locals. In fact, the Lamarck neighborhood—as this quartier in the shadow of the basilica is known—is one of the most traditional areas of the entire city. Descend the stairs on rue du Mont Cenis, stopping at Le Relais, a century-old bistro that was one of the haunts of Édith Piaf (the late pop vocalist who recorded a famous version of La Vie en Rose). After an inexpensive steak-and-potatoes dinner at a table set outdoors on cobblestones, continue your descent to La Butte, a lively café on the corner of rue Caulaincourt, for an equally reasonable after-dinner drink or coffee. Don't worry about climbing back up all those stairs to get back to your hotel: the Lamarck-Caulaincourt metro stop is right nearby. —Laurie Pike, guest-blogging for our Affordable Europe series.