Travelling to Europe for the first time can be both an experience of a lifetime or a disaster if one comes unprepared. From visiting The Eiffel Tower to having a relaxing vacation on the beach in Spain, if you go unprepared, these beautiful, lasting memories can be ruined or made much more expensive if one doesn’t follow some simple tips. Here I have compiled a list of travel tips that will make traveler in Europe’s life much easier and cheaper.
Cheap Flights
One of the most important aspects when considering traveling in Europe is what method of transport you will take. When choosing this, one must consider the cost, route, comfort level, length of time travelling, and obviously, his or her destination.
My number one tip is to plan in advance. Flights can cost well under €100 to almost any destination in Europe if your flying from within the continent also. That same flight can cost up to five or six times what it costed just a few months prior if one leaves it till a couple of weeks before to book.
What I use to book most of my flights is the service, google flights (https://www.google.com/flights). What I like about it is that they don’t charge any commission like other third-party booking agents, so they don’t over charge you. Google flights also allows one to check different dates using the Date graph which has helped me save hundreds over the years of
Travel by Train
\Taking the train can be one of the cheapest methods of transport across Europe and is a very popular method of travel among young people, inter-railers and international traveler. Having an inter-railing ticket also gives one a lot of freedom, as they can choose when and where to travel without having to make any changes to their booking. Tickets for this are starting at €138 on www.interrail.eu with their “best value” ticket (allowing 7 days of travel) being €251. Inter-railing may be (in my opinion) the best method of transport in Europe as it is a cheap, flexible and a comfortable way to travel across Europe.
Avoid Peak Periods
Another great way to save money is to travel in the off season. June to August seems to be one of the busiest times for foreign travelers to travel to Europe. This causes an influx in the price of accommodation, activities and travel around this time. Travelling outside of this period (excluding Christmas) tends to be quite cheap if (as mentioned previously) if one books in advance. I have seen flights from Boston to Dublin range from over €1000 in peak periods of travel to just under €300 in months like October and other off season months. Another feature on google flights is the price graph, this shows the average cost for each month in the year which can help one get the cheapest deals.
Avoid the extras
How low-cost budget airlines make a lot of their money is by charging outrageous amount for flight add-ons such as choosing where to sit, priority boarding, bag check in and extra legroom. A return flight can be as low as €20 with add-ons potentially costing triple this. If one wants to travel across Europe on a budget, these add-ons must be avoided.
Pack Light
One of the worst things you can do when inter-railing or going on a multi city/country trip is to over-pack. Not only might it cost more if one is checking in their bag between each destination when flying, but it also weighs you down and is a hindrance to carry around, especially when inter-railing. It is very important to take the essentials like you phone, charger, tooth brush and a few different outfits, but to bring practically your whole wardrobe with you will come back to bite you when you realized you wont even wear half of what you brought.
Arrive on Time
There’s no worse feeling than rushing to make a flight that you are late to, especially when the airport is crowded. It is a good rule of thumb to arrive to international flights three hours before take off as you must go through customs before hand, and to domestic flights within Europe you must arrive up to two hours before on busier travel days.
Collect Airmiles
Collecting miles is a great way to get cheaper or possibly even free flights in the future. Airlines like Aerlingus offer great deals to their frequent flyers by offering reduced or even free flights to those collecting a lot of miles. By using one airline exclusively, one can enjoy the perks of cheaper flights, access to the lounge and even getting upgraded to business/first class for free.
These were my top 7 tips for travelling cheap and easy in Europe. Be sure to follows these steps and share it with a friend if they are planning any trips soon.