How To Travel Europe on a Budget
Travelling in Europe was always something we wanted to do, and travelling on a budget was the obvious way to try and do it. We managed to do this through the Eurail/Interrailing pass, eating out less and strategically booking places to stay, which seems obvious but its how you do it! You can save even more money by comparing modes of travel and more and we want to share our best tips with you guys!
Overhearing a conversation, Ed and I had spent the same as a couple who stayed in hostels in every destination. Whereas we stayed in hotels or Airbnb's.
We always think it's best to look at all options of travelling, where to stay, how to eat and how to travel before venturing on your trip to make sure you can do the most without excessive or unnecessary spending.
Modes of Travel
Travelling Europe by the Train
Interrail/Eurail Pass
An Interrailing/Eurail Pass is one of the most convenient ways to travel through Europe on trains. You can organise everything down to the very last connection or be as spontaneous as you like.
Passes range from a week to a month and you can always buy more than one pass if you’re going for a few months. Interrail quite often have deals on too over seasonal periods which are the best times to buy your pass.
They have a reservation portal which allows you to book seat reservations all in one place too! We found this extremely helpful to compare prices between stuff, especially for fast trains and night trains. They also have an app to search for upcoming trains to destinations from your nearest station which is cool
Although you can book some separately and it may be slightly cheaper, the fast trains can be extremely expensive booked separately, therefore, it may balance out the cost!
Travelling Europe Without a Pass
We loved using our Interrail/Eurail passes when travelling through Europe, but if you’re wanting more spontaneity or don’t really want the hassle, also the passes also only work on certain trains. For instance, it doesn’t work on many of the Italian trains
Travelling on Booking your train tickets separately could be better for you. Using the pass, you can buy reservations for a seat on the train, so although you have your pass you can pay to make sure you get a seat, and some trains require a reservation. You can always just turn up but if it is a busy train you may be standing or not get on
By booking your tickets just when you like, it gives you a space on the train, it might be cheaper overall if you are using slower trains
Travelling Europe By Bus
If you really want to be travelling on a budget, travelling by bus could be a good option. When researching into travelling by a coach, it is definitely the cheapest option when a 5-hour coach journey can cost as little as £11! Although you can get some buses which travel through the night
For example, Paris to Brussels could be only £12! However, when travelling by coach it takes a lot longer than a train or a plane.
If you have a lot more time time to travel we would definitely suggest looking into travelling Europe by bus (cheaper too!) but if you have a limited time we would look at other options to limit travelling time.
Travelling Europe By Plane
Travelling by plane we think if the most obvious option if your destinations are further apart, or especially if you're travelling from outside of Europe! Obviously they are a must faster mode of travel also. However, usually the most expensive.
The best thing about Europe is that everything is so close together and pretty easy to travel by other cheaper means. Ed and I, when travelling from Rome to Paris, caught a flight rather than a night train due to the night train being an extra £260 (on top of our interrail pass) and the flight only £30. Which is a great money saver.
However, by the time we paid for a hold bag (see below), taxi to the airport, then a bus and train into the centre of Paris at the other end, it ended up pretty much costing the same as the night train did. So make sure you do your research completely first! We are glad we did do it this way as we were able to spend another day in Rome.
Travelling Europe by Campervan
The ultimate road trip is driving through Europe right? Ed and I have travelling parts of Europe using so many different modes of travel now and road tripping is definitely our favourite
Having our van has improved our ability to do this massively and we can travel somewhere and spend money on some petrol and save on those other hotel and accommodation costs
Renting a campervan can be expensive but maybe not as bad as you think. Although a campervan can have a much larger cost overall, you can save on more expensive hotels, hostels or Airbnbs and obviously modes of travel
It also gives you the freedom to drive wherever you like and more of the feeling that you’ve explored a country, rather than only travelling to a few corners
Overall I don’t think there is one best way to travel through Europe. The best way is the use of a collection of the 3 depending on which is the cheapest which requires lots of research!
But! If you don’t fancy doing that, then the Interrailing pass is excellent for convenience, due to the ability to jump on and off trains, book your reservations for seats in one place, and the potential of saving money compared to booking them separately!
Using Omio, you can compare all bus, train and plane travel in one place, to find out which is the fastest or more scenic route or the cheapest
Going Out (or Not) To Eat
Breakfast
Is breakfast is included in your accommodation? Great time to fill your boots (if it’s a breakfast buffet, the best thing in the world). If you have had a big breakfast you may not need lunch and an easy way to save money.
We first started in Brussels by going for a coffee and croissant in a café, by the end we were buying croissants in a pack from the supermarket, which was a fraction of the price and an easy way to save money, especially when travelling on a budget. If staying in an Airbnb buy breakfast from the supermarket to make too.
Lunch
Lunch is a funny one isn’t it? On a trip or holiday, we get to a point where we lose my appetite for the constant eating out and often cut out lunch, but if you’ve had a big breakfast it’s a perfect opportunity to save some pennies!
There is also a McDonald's pretty much everywhere, and although it may not be ‘a part of the culture’ it's still exciting to try all of the McDonald's products you don’t get at home! Such as a McRib or Smiley Face fries with sour cream and chive dip which we found in Germany. But the best thing is that it is always cheap and reliable but definitely not every day!
There is often lots of street food around too! Excellent food and often cheap too. Such an easy way to enjoy a cheap meal with views of great sites and attractions without paying those extortionate costs
Shopping in the supermarket and making a packed lunch is an often go-to for us too. A good way to explore supermarket meats and cheeses and the range of crisps! We also both have a hot thermos, where we can warm leftovers up in the morning and store them in our thermos for up to 9 hours and it stays hot. Great way to have a hot meal when out and about
We keep our lunch hot for up to 9 hours! We’ve used these thermos since 2018 and they’ve only ever surprised us at how good they are
Evening Meal
You often find when travelling, you can eat out pretty much every meal right? Or at least 2 meals. If your anything like Ed and I and love to eat, a great solution we found was what we called ‘snack teas’.
We would buy street food once or twice in an evening while exploring which instead of a sit-down meal costing around £50 or probably more, we would spend about £10 or less. We did this in more of the expensive places, e.g Western Europe and sit in eat in front of some of the most beautiful attractions
In Amsterdam, we didn’t even sit down for a restaurant meal and henceforth only spent about £150 in 3 days for everything. This also allowed more time to explore Amsterdam due to only a few days there.
We could do more and see more by not spending time sitting down in restaurants to eat. However, in Krakow, we ate every meal out as it was so cheap!
I would suggest research prices for a destination and what would be best for you and value for money.The price of a pint of beer is always a good baseline when travelling on a budget.
Budgeting
Seems like an obvious thing to do but its easy to get carried away. Other countries are going to cost a lot more than others.
Western countries such as Italy and cities like Paris costs a lot more like eastern countries such as Budapest and Krakow.
Have an idea before you travel to a destination the general cost of meals, tours you may want to do, and places to stay. This way you can be prepared and cut costs where you can! You can also do a lot of tours yourself including walk tours, or rent a car and by splitting it between a few of you, it can cost less than half
Using websites to book tours, comparing modes of travel and ways to get around can be done before you go!
Extra Travelling Costs
Reservations
The Interrail reservation portal allows you to map potential journeys and whether a reservation is required for the trains you have entered. It also gives you an estimate for the reservation if one is required, and you can book these 30-60 days before the train.
We have mixed feelings for reservations. Night trains are an obvious must, fast trains (such as Warsaw to Krakow) and popular routes.
However the first few trains, we paid for reservations and didn't actually need them because the train was empty. There were a few times - due to fewer passengers, our seats literally weren’t there because they made the train shorter.
The reservation for the train from Hamburg to Berlin literally didn’t exist, which was also someone else’s problem, the carriage simply wasn’t there but luckily the train was pretty empty and we just sat anywhere.
It also depends on what time of year you’re going, if you think the summer is the busiest time, do you really want to spend a 4-hour journey sitting on the floor or standing up somewhere?
However, do you also want to pay £60 for a reservation which wasn’t needed? It all comes down to speculation and you just have to judge. Generally, faster the train, the busier the time of year, the busier it’s going to be
Something to consider when travelling on a budget. In hindsight, we wouldn’t have booked as many reservations as we did, especially the smaller trains, but course it is a personal preference.
Extra Plane Costs
When you buy a plane ticket, it is just the beginning of the money you could spend on that flight. The flight company can then charge you for food, for speedy boarding, for taking luggage, there are so many optional costs which could easily cost more than the flight itself
Speedy Boarding and Seat Allocation
Lots of airlines charge to choose and book your seats beforehand, which could be approximately £20 depending on the airline and where you chose to sit. Whereas when you check-in online your seats will then be allocated a few weeks before completely free.
Do you need speedy boarding? Our plane from Rome to Paris was with Ryanair. They have lots of extras which you can pay for including speedy boarding.
When boarding the plane there was a separate line for speedy boarders which literally stepped onto the plane 1 whole minute before us. We timed it. The plane didn’t leave any faster, you still had your allocated seat, so what was the point?
Priority boarding can range depending on the airline however usually around £5-£10 which may not seem a lot. But £5-£10 wasted on an extra 1-2 minutes sitting on the plane or waiting to get onto the plane with everyone else seems like a waste. It is advertised as ‘getting onto the plane first’ which isn’t exactly true. Especially if 20 passengers on the plane purchase priority boarding.
Luggage
Luggage can also be a huge cost. Travelling with a backpack (fully recommend for any travelling!) will it fit in the overhead locker? Ed and I decided to pay for one hold luggage which we put as much stuff in as possible. We then had one backpack on the plane with us.
Different airlines have different rules regarding size and what you can take on. Think it also depends on how much the airport staff also care. We saw people with small suitcases and a bag, some with huge backpacks bigger than ours, and some you don't believe for a minute they would fit in the luggage compartment
Some airlines also have a rule which states if the compartments on the plane are full, then people’s luggage must go in the hold, without cost, which happened to a few of our fellow passengers.
Ryanair charges are £20-£25 each way, Easyjet £27-£43, and Jet 2 charge £56 each way for 1 bag. Which are extortionate extra costs! Therefore would suggest measuring your bag, and chose whether you need to purchase hold luggage.
If travelling with a backpack we would probably suggest you don’t. Especially when travelling on a budget, however, would always check with the airline.
Accommodation Choice: Hotel vs Airbnb vs Hostel
I always find people think staying in a hostel is always the cheaper option when travelling on a budget; however, apps such as Hostelworld add extra charges and don’t always cost what you may think. They may not be the cheapest option.
We personally didn’t want to stay in hostels. Ed and I are both quite shy in new situations and as a couple didn’t want to share with other people. Ed was also carrying an engagement ring (Jess unaware of this at the time) and he didn’t want to risk it getting stolen.
We chose to go down the route of hotels, but Airbnb's at certain points to wash clothes and we wish we used them more!
An average night in a hotel or Airbnb was around £70 a night. But like I said above, when overhearing a conversation from another couple who had travelled the same amount of time as us, they spent the same amount when they had only stayed in hostels, which seems quite silly. Might as well stay in nice comfort while travelling on a budget!
We can’t praise the Airbnb’s we stayed in enough. As stated in my Ultimate Guide to 3 Days in Krakow our Airbnb was brilliant at only £41 per night.
It was only a 5-10 minute walk from the centre. They met us earlier due to an awful night train. Communication through the app was great and they responding within 5 minutes every time. They gave great advice and provided tour books.
Overall we will use Airbnb more due to it feeling more like home. It's so much easier to relax in an apartment than a hotel room or hostel.
Hotels may also include breakfast and may be cheaper than an Airbnb
Unfortunately, each city can be different and researching into each option for each destination is definitely best!
Tours
Some tours can be absolute tourist traps! There are so many tours you can do yourself! Walking tours of the city, renting cars to travel to further away attractions often way cheaper than a tour!
When travelling to Krakow we did an Auschwitz tour, however, it included transport from Krakow to Auschwitz and you had to be guided around which was mandatory and it was great
Walking tours of places you can easily carry out yourself, and you can also find others online to follow
Tour books also include all the information you may want to know, but you can also often find free walking tours but usually need to give the tour guide a tip which is totally reasonable.
In Rome, you must visit the Colosseum. Being honest, I don’t think it was that impressive but how can you go to Rome and not visit the Colosseum?
The best thing about this was if we queued at the Roman Forum, being under the age of 24 and being from the UK (currently apart of the EU when writing this post) it was only €7.50 for the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill.
The queue was also much shorter at the Forum rather than the Colosseum and just for the Colosseum ticket alone it is €15 excluding the other parts.
On the other hand, Ed and I explore mostly ourselves and don’t feel the need to carry out many tours. It’s completely up to the individual but I suggest tours for the bigger stuff, and we suggest that you think, could I do this myself? Before potentially booking any tours
Travelling on a budget can be done! There are easy ways to travel throughout Europe and the key is research! Research different modes of travel, different eating options and different types of accommodation
The perfect way to also save money is food-related when travelling on a budget. Buying food and not eating out for every meal just isn't necessary and to be honest, you will probably get sick of doing so! Travelling in Europe is great, so many cities so close together and doesn’t need to be expensive either
