How To Travel Europe: The Best Way To Travel Around Europe For Cheap
Welcome to my post all about how to travel Europe on a budget, if you’re like me, you would rather travel for longer and see more amazing things and meet more awesome people than just spend all of your money in a mere few weeks.
But to travel for longer means that you need to come up with more creative ways to keep those costs down.
Here are all of my tips when it comes to the best ways to travel around Europe without blowing away that budget.
Five Hot Accommodation Tips to Travel Europe Cheap
When it comes to travel costs, accommodation is definitely right up there as something that will slowly but surely rid you of all of your hard earned travel savings. Check out my five hot tips.
How to Travel Europe Free
Couchsurfing – The big one, and probably the most well known is Couchsurfing. It has the best website layout and a good community vibe; it’s the one that I’m a member of.
Hospitality Club – Gives you access to a large community of friendly members and have a certain amount of security screening for hosts. The least pretty of the bunch, but who said non pretty sites weren’t valuable? Check it out here.
Global Freeloaders – Another site with a very ‘give back what you take’ attitude. You are expected to act as a host as well as a guest. It’s very travel focused. Check it out here.
Remember that you’re not just using this person (host) for free accommodation, the whole idea is that it’s about meeting new people, making new friends and networking on the traveler’s grapevine. If you only want a free night but don’t want to talk to anyone or socialize, then this is not for you.
All the sites are active and are worth signing up for if you think that this style of travel would interest you, it really is a fantastic way to meet new people and other travelers.
How to Work For Your Accommodation
WWOOF’ing – What Is WWOOF And How Do I Get Involved?
I’ve done a lot of WWOOF’ing in Europe, and I grew up with a best friend who’s family actually hosted WWOOF’ers on their farm in Australia. I always thought the acronym stood for:
Willing Workers On Organic Farms
But now apparently (according to the official website) it stands for:
World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms – (I think they changed it on me).
Either way, WWOOF’ing is a great concept, and essentially allows you to work 4-6 hours of the day on a property in exchange for food and board. It allows you to spend time in some real local areas with nice local people, and it’s a very different experience to staying in Hostels in the capital of that country, for example.
You are generally expected to stay for 2 weeks at a minimum, so you cannot just show up for one night and then leave the next day – that would be considered very rude (unless you had a good reason for leaving abruptly).
WWOOF’ing is world-wide, and is a super network of farms and hosts willing to take you on. You will need to pay for registration and membership with the WWOOF’ing community, but trust me; this is no scam, so if it sounds like your sort of thing then go for it.
Visit the official WWOOF’ing site here.
House Sitting In Europe
House sitting for people who would like their house occupied whilst they are away for extended periods of time is certainly a viable option. Of course it is more for those with long term travel plans in mind, but it can be a great way to begin living in another country and get a feel for the local place and culture.
A good site for house sitting is: MindMyHouse.com
It does cost $20.00 to sign up as a ‘sitter’ though, but has one of the more comprehensive listings for house sitting.
Paying For Budget Europe Accommodation
Hostels in Europe
Hostels are currently the biggest way to travel Europe cheaply. The cheapest way to do it is to stay in a large dormitory room. The advantage to hostels is you make loads of new friends of like minded backpackers, and often hostels will have kitchen facilities which can help to drastically reduce your food bill.
I’ve stayed in so many hostels I’ve lost count, but I can tell you that you will absolutely love some and hate others – just roll with it, it’s all part of the game!
The two big hostel booking networks are:
HostelBookers
HostelWorld
La Zurriola Beach in San Sebastian, Spain. We stayed at a hostel called 'Olga's Place' which was awesome and right near the beach.
If you plan on staying in hostels in Europe, check out my articles:
What Are Hostels Like In Europe And Loads Of Hot How To Hostel Tips
Are Hostels Safe: A Few Tips For Staying In Hostels In Europe And Hostel Security
AirBNB
AirBNB gives you the option to pay for someone else’s apartment or a room in their house. Can offer a lot more comfort and privacy than hostel’s, but can also save you a bundle compared to paying for hotels. Worth checking out if you don’t plan on staying in any hostels, or want a break from the 15 bed dorms!
Camp In My Garden
This concept is what it appears, giving you the chance to ‘Camp In My Garden’
, at the moment this idea and the gardens is heavily UK based, so it’s a great idea of you are backpacking with a tent and travelling through the United Kingdom.
How To Travel Around Europe For Cheap
An 18 year old me on my first trip backpacking Europe. Hey past self, that sign could be a little better!
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is definitely do-able. On my first backpacking trip through Europe when I was 18 I hitchhiked a lot with a friend. We only met friendly people – and even got a lift in a sports car from a guy who ‘remembered the good old days of backpacking’. So it’s not all weirdo’s and scary characters.
We did meet a couple of strange people in our hitchhiking trip though, and my honest opinion is that a solo female traveler shouldn’t be hitchhiking, call me old fashioned if you like, but there it is. Being two males certainly made hitchhiking a much more comfortable affair; I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from doing it, just giving my views on the matter based on my own personal experience.
Mitfahrgelegenheit in Germany
WHAT the diggety is Mitfahrgelegenheit!?
Well, for those travelling Germany, there is a site called Mitfahrgelegenheit, which is one of those obscenely long German words that essentially means ‘car-sharing opportunity’. And that’s exactly what it is.
It’s an inexpensive way to get around Germany, although you will need to brush up on your German skills or start using Google Translate as the site and most of its users operate in German.
For an example of pricing, getting a ride with a car from Berlin to Munich tends to range from about €25 to €30. So you can see it’s a lot cheaper than the train if you are passing through.
Train Travel Europe
Travelling via train is probably the most common and the easiest way to get around Europe. For non European citizens the best way to travel Europe by train would be to purchase a EuroRail pass, which will allow you to use the same ticket to train through multiple European countries. Check out these two sites:
I think RailEurope is generally cheaper then EURail (but do your own research) – however a global pass for 3 months will easily set you back over €500. So it’s not exactly cheap, but it is EASY and makes the travel section of your trip a real breeze.
There are discounts for those who are considered ‘Youths’ (under the age of 26)
If you are only going to one or two countries, it can be a lot cheaper to just get a train pass for that individual country instead of a global pass – so always investigate your options to get the best deal.
Bus Travel In Europe
EuroLines
These guys handle most of the international bus trips, don’t bother trying to use them from one city to another within the same country (I tried to organize a bus from Cologne to Munich for example, but had no luck with EuroLines).
They can be great for getting from one capital city to another, so include them when sourcing your cheapest option to get between cities.
BusAbout
This company arranges ‘bus loops’ that offer pre-paid routes through Europe via their own bus system. They offer drop offs at your hostel door and other various travel packages. It’s a little more ‘hand held’ – but can be a good option for first time travelers.
Updated: 09/02/2012
Orange Ways
I received a tip in the comments below that Orange Ways are a nice cheap bus option, especially around Eastern Europe. I haven’t used them myself yet, but they might be worth checking out.
Remember that each country tends to have their own individual bus systems, so investigate which companies are running the more local routes. Buses are generally a lot cheaper than the train system.
I have a friend who has done the BusAbout bus loops, she gave her thoughts on them in this article.
How To Get Cheap Flights In Europe
From a flight over Austria.
This is my process for ensuring that I get the best priced flight available and the best deals for cheap air travel in Europe.
First start by getting a base idea of the flights, companies and prices operating on the route you wish to travel.
Use Kayak and Skyscanner to compare prices. Kayak will also compare AGAINST a bunch of other companies as well. This will give you a good general idea for the prices (but will open lots of windows on your computer, so be prepared!)
Next I check the two big budget airlines in Europe, which are EasyJet and RyanAir. But remember, these companies add on prices after the initial ‘price flight’, so you will pay for luggage etc. So always get the ‘final price’ from them by clicking through (but not paying, obviously!).
Update: 09/02/2012: Also take a look at Wizz Air and Transavia – these are some other budget airlines I’ve discovered whilst living here in Europe.
Make sure the flight you are after is flying into the airport that you want, some cities have multiple airports, with one being an airport for ‘budget’ airlines, and another for normal airlines. EasyJet tends to operate in better airports than RyanAir for example – and it will cost you more to get into the city from a further away budget airport then the main airport for that city.
EasyJet uses London and Paris as its two big hubs for transport, so keep that in mind.
Remember to factor in all of your costs. Will you need to get a train or bus into the center of the city from the Airport? How much will this cost? Will it ultimately be cheaper just to get a train or bus all the way instead of flying once you tally up all of these extra flight costs? You need to be asking yourself all of these questions to ensure you get the best price available for your travelling.
Are you about to start planning a big backpacking trip, and looking for planning advice and travel ideas for Europe? Then check out my super planning guide to help you with exactly that.
So those are all of my tips for travelling through Europe on a budget. I hope they prove a valuable resource for you and your backpacking adventure – if you have any of your own tips or advice to give for readers, then please leave a comment or send me an email.
Thanks and safe travels,
Tom
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9 Responses to “How To Travel Europe: The Best Way To Travel Around Europe For Cheap”
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Great tips, thanks man. Had never heard of WWOOF or Campin my garden.
I’ve heard that Orangeways buses are very good for cheap buses around Poland, Latvia, Estonia etc.
Flights wise me and my friends love Wizz air. Worth a look as they fly some good routes and arent so cramped that you cant feel your legs by the end of the flight.
Hey Neil! Thanks for adding value to the post. I’ll definitely check out Wizz air and Orangeways, cheers!
WOW! Awesome tips Tom! I’ve heard about couchsurfing only but the rest, just learn it from here. I am checking those site what in store for me and will probably sign-up. Keep up the good work. This is truly ver helpful.
Tony recently posted..My First Solo Travel
Hey Tony. I’m glad these tips are helpful for you! I’m always aiming to write helpful guides/tip posts and all of that jazz. Cheers mate.
Tom recently posted..Doing My ABC’s (Of Travel)
Hi mate
Cheers heaps for this blog!
I’ve been aching to go to Europe for several years now, but with uni, it’s proven to be a very difficult task. My sister has gone twice the past few years, each time for 6-8 weeks, and she has spent over $20,000 each time, so I never thought it was possible to do it cheaply (although my sister thinks she is royalty). Finding blogs like this is an absolute GODSEND, and I would dare say this is the best backpacker blog I’ve encountered for beginners like me.
I’m going in mid-December 2012 until the first week of March 2013 and budgeting for 100 Euros per day. In the real world I’m a typical uptight finance student/math geek so I’m going to use the opportunity of flying solo in Europe to just forget about the real world for a while. I have a rough itinerary planned out, but I’m going to wing it when over there. I’m going to keep a journal and catalogue all my events and expenses so that I too can help push other nervous dreamers like myself outside the door.
Thanks again mate.
Hi Ryan,
I can’t tell you how much of a pleasure it is to receive comments like this, so thanks for taking the time to do so!
Firstly, your sister certainly enjoys the finer things to spend $20k for 6-8 weeks, I’m guessing there were no hostel dorms there! You can do it much cheaper then that.
Your trip sounds wonderful, 100 Euros a day is more then enough if you are happy to sleep in hostels and do some cooking at the hostel every now and then (or eat supermarket food). Don’t worry though, a budget like that DEFINITELY gives you room to eat out and do the drinks thing as well. Although get into the habit of pre-drinking at the hostel so you can limit the amount of drinks you buy at bars.
You never know, you might even come back with some money
Keeping a journal is also an excellent idea, try and make writing in it a habit instead of something you do when bored.
I’m a big fan of winging it too, nothing better then leaving with a very rough plan and seeing where it all takes you.
Best of luck with the trip, if I can help at all with any questions you have shoot me an e-mail. Also, if you’re passing through Rotterdam in The Netherlands, let me know (as that’s where I’m living at the moment).
Tom recently posted..Does It Snow In Holland: It Sure Bloody Does And People Go Ice Skating Too
Pretty good tips in here
I use Couchsurfing very often!
we want to leave as soon as possible but are having a hard time finding our transatlantic flight! i was thinking of flying into amsterdamn from toronto but it doesn’t really matter to use were we start.
what is the cheapest place to fly into?
–I’ve heard people mention london but then dont we end up paying more anyways by the time we get to europe??????
ive surffed all the sites you sudjested, they just prove not to be very helpfull if you dont know exactly were you want to fly into
ahaha i feel like a chicken with its head cut off, i keep doing circles xD
anyways if you dont have a chance to reply, thanks for the blog man EXTREMLY helpfull to find one thats still up to date and relative in 2012
Have a good one eh?
Hey Paintballa
It really does depend on so many factors, I use Skyscanner.net a lot for flight research. I recently booked a flight in December from Amsterdam to New York with Icelandair for about 310 Euros which I thought was pretty cheap.
London definitely is one of the cheaper hubs to fly into because there are four airports that are defined as ‘London’. You’ve got Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead. Just having a quick look for example, if you were to fly from Toronto to London on the 4th of July you could do it for 429 Euros. Catching a connecting flight from London to Amsterdam or using EasyJet or RyanAir is always quite cheap if you book in advance as well.
Having another look on the same date, you can fly from Toronto to Amsterdam for 352 Euros, so this is even better!!! Both of these cheaper flights are with a company called “Air Transat” that seem to operate heavily out of Canada, so you might want to check them out. Obviously I’ve never flown with them so I can’t tell you if they are any good or not – but don’t discount the cheaper airlines. I’ve flown AirAsia from Australia to Kuala Lumpuar quite often for dirt cheap, and AirAsia are perfectly fine, I’ve never had a problem with them.
It’s all about doing a bit of research and identifying the air carriers that are operating the budget flights on the route you’re wanting to fly! Whether you fly into London, Amsterdam or Paris – these are all big international airport hubs that are a great starting point for any trip to Europe. Good luck and I hope this helps!