Europe 2018: 5 Money-Saving Tips
From the jaw-dropping natural beauty of Iceland to the ancient ruins of Sicily, from the fjords of Norway to the late-night tapas feasts of Spain, Budget Travelers ask us all the time, “Can we afford Europe?” And we’re more than happy to answer, “Yes, you can.” Here, our five best tips for doing Europe on a budget.
1. BOOK A BARGAIN HOTEL
Our hotel booking tool is showing reasonable rates across the continent this spring, including Dublin city center from under $150/night, a few London hotels well under $300/night (that’s an extraordinary savings for London, but do be careful not to book yourself too far from the points of interest you most want to visit), Paris hotels from under $200, and well-reviewed Rome lodging from under $150/night.
2. SAVE BIG ON AIRFARE
Airfare will, of course, be your big-ticket purchase when visiting Europe, and our friends at Skyscanner (Skyscanner.com), who mine discount airfares to deliver the lowest of the low, are uncovering spring deals such as round-trip to Dublin from under $500, Paris from under $500, and Milan from under $600 (with one or two options under $500). We also recommend that you follow the major air carriers on social media and sign up for their e-newsletters, which can give you the inside track into flash promotions and other good deals.
3. TAKE THE TRAIN
Speaking of Milan, Rail Europe (raileurope.com) is now offering direct service tickets between that Italian business and fashion capital with Frankfurt, Germany’s business capital, significantly shortening train travel time between those two countries. Rail Europe is one of the most efficient and affordable ways to explore, including Eurail One Country passes for 23 countries and Eurail Two Country passes for certain regions. New 2018 initiatives include One Country passes for Turkey and Serbia and a Two Country pass for the Czech Republic and Poland.
4. CONSIDER A PACKAGE TOUR
It’s one of the open secrets of the travel business: Hotels and airlines are willing to offer rock-bottom rates in order to fill their inventory, but the best way for you to take advantage of those super-low rates is to participate in a package tour. Budget Travel contributors and readers have loved the European tour experiences offered by Monograms, Contiki, Friendly Planet, G Adventures, and other tour companies. Today's package tours are a world away from the "touristy" treks your grandparents may have undertaken. The best tour company's offer exceptional guest services, plenty of independent exploring time, some great group meals and celebrations, informative guided tour options, vibrant people-to-people cultural experiences, and much more. And if you briefly crunch the numbers to compare the overall price of a European package tour with a vacation that you book yourself “a la carte,” you’ll almost always find that you’ve saved big.
5. DOWNLOAD THIS TRIP-INSPIRING APP
Our colleagues at Budget Travel's parent company, Lonely Planet, cover Europe like no other travel brand on earth, and we’re hooked on their Trips app, which allows you to browse a wealth of travel stories and images from Lonely Planet’s worldwide audience, editors, writers, and photographers. Of course you’ll find great intel on some of the popular European destinations we’ve touched on here, but you’ll also uncover hidden gems, locals-only secrets, and up-and-coming destinations where your travel dollar may stretch farther than you could ever imagine.