Would you like to see all the beauty Europe has to offer? Inter-railing is often seen as a rite of passage for students around Europe. With cheap Ryanair flights, Interrail tickets and easy entry to other EU countries, there is a real opportunity for students to travel Europe on a budget. Now more than ever can you be admiring the beautiful Eiffel tower one night and walking through the Colosseum the next – without breaking the bank! Travelling from city to city, country to country, is a truly amazing experience, and Inter-railing is one of the best methods of seeing mainland Europe. A little planning beforehand could save you a lot of money.
Flights
Flights to and from will take up a huge chunk of your Inter-rail budget. That’s why we recommend using Skyscanner to search for the cheapest flights and locations to fly in to. We strongly encourage students to be both flexible with the dates they decide to travel as well as the starting point. Choosing the right flight using Skyscanner and being flexible about your starting point location can make the difference between an expensive holiday and a cheap holiday. On our recent trip we planned on attending a festival in Budapest but found it much cheaper to fly into Prague and get a train over. Not only did we save a ton of money, but we also got to visit the beautiful city of Prague! Skyscanner allows you to compare the prices of various dates and cities to find the best flights for you.
You can plan an impressively low budget holiday if you hold an Inter-rail pass. An Inter-rail pass also gives you plenty of discounts for accommodation, restaurants, various sightseeing activities and transport. Despite the convenience of an Inter-rail pass, travelers should also consider taking a bus if their route allows it. Depending on the route and time of year, taking the bus may be a more sensible option. Flixbus offer quick and convenient transport around Europe for a fraction of the cost of certain train routes. This is something to consider if sticking to your budget is your priority. These buses offer air conditioning and entertainment and not to mention comfy seats to catch up on any lost sleep!
Figure 2: Image taken from Flixbus.com
Many cities, such as Berlin, have designated tourist cards built with discounts on museums, restaurants and public transportation. These are often offered in airports upon arrival and are worth considering if you plan to stay for longer than a weekend! If visiting the popular Inter-railing destination of Poland, Krakow Tourist Card grants tourists free bus usage and museum access. These can also be found at local tourist information centers and help students on a budget!
Walking tours are a great activity and Airbnb often host free walking tours around the city. This can be a great way to quickly take in a lot of history and culture of a buzzing city like Budapest. With this, many guidebooks have student discounts and have ‘walking tours’ in them for you to follow. Lonely Planet has a great selection of European cities and are very comprehensive!
Figure 4: Walking tour in Amsterdam, Image taken from www.neweuropetours.eu
Right after transport, accommodation will also often make up a huge portion of your budget. Our go to recommendations is hostels to keep costs low and meet fellow travelers. They often come with kitchen facilities. Hostel World is a great website and app for last minute hostel deals. With this, Airbnb are also great and cheap, especially when travelling with a group. They are often very nice and unique and come with a lot of amenities. Be sure to always check if they are private rooms or a shared space - We learned that the hard way! Airbnb’s often have first time users’ discounts or for when you invite friends on to the app. This could mean getting up to €50 credit on the app if you are in a group and invite each other on to the app, switching profiles when booking each time!
A great thing about staying in Hostels and Airbnb’s for students is that they often come with kitchens. Cooking and eating in every so often is a great opportunity to save a lot of money and prolong your trip! We used this trick while in our Airbnb in Rome. We were able to cook ourselves a lovely lunch which we could bring with us to the beach. This allowed us to enjoy great food on the beach while keeping costs low! Packing an empty lunchbox and reusable bottle is a great idea if you are planning on staying in locations that have kitchen facilities.
A lot of hostels also offer breakfast. While a big part of travelling is trying the different types of food across Europe, we recommend treating yourself regularly and trying new cuisine! However, finding that balance between cooking and restaurants can help you save and travel for longer! We ended our trip in the breathtakingly beautiful Lake Bled where there are many parks where you can bring your lunchbox and enjoy a picnic next to the clear blue lake! Tourist areas are full of restaurants with tourist prices! By walking just a few blocks away, you can find nice quiet restaurants which much more reasonable prices. College or university towns such as Ljubljana in Slovenia cater for the local students and always have lower prices. Always make sure to ask if there any deals for students!