How to Save Money on Your Europe Vacation

Traveling to Europe is exciting - but it shouldn’t have to be expensive! As someone who has been to over 25 countries, here are a few tips and tricks that I’ve picked up along the way to cut costs without cutting fun.

Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? It says that for 20% of what you do will account for 80% of the results, and traveling is no different. If you do your research and prepare in advance, you can save hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars!

The first tip to save money on your European vacation is to travel during off season. This means avoiding the months when everyone and their grandma is traveling, which is usually June, July, and August . Being flexible with your travel dates and traveling in “shoulder season,” which is around March-May or September to October, will get you savings on airline tickets, hotels, and more.

Another example of being a flexible traveler is to fly to and from a destination in the middle of the week. Airline tickets are at their highest during the weekend, when most businessmen and regular travelers are heading home - if you can travel between Tuesday to Thursday, you can save anywhere from $50 to $200+.

If you’re planning to visit only one city or country, it might be a good idea to rethink your plan. That’s because it’s usually cheaper to fly into Europe and visit multiple countries at once instead of going back and forth. During her first Europe trip, my best friend flew into London, took the Eurostar train into Paris, then took budget airline flights to Rome and Copenhagen before flying back home. She had 2 weeks and got to see so many new places by dividing her vacation into sets of 5 days! I recommend using a trip planning tool, such as TripIt, TouristEye, or RoutePerfect (which is good for multi-destination trips) to create your route and visually map out each destination.

Finally, get a travel credit card to save money on foreign transaction fees (and rack up points to get your next ticket for free!). There are many varieties, but I recommend Chase Sapphire because you can use the points for anything travel-related (hotels, airline tickets, etc). There are also airline-branded cards for United, Delta, and American Airlines that you can also look into.

Travel Lifehack: Don’t be afraid of long layovers - they’re an opportunity to see an extra city for cheap! When I was flying to Kiev, Ukraine, there were two options for my layover ticket: either a 2 hour or 12 hour layover in Amsterdam. Since I wasn’t in a rush and had never been to the Netherlands, I picked the longer layover, created my own “walking tour” by researching places I wanted to see and got to explore a new city - without having to spend extra money!

After booking airline tickets, the next task is making sure you have proper accommodations. My number one tip is to choose hotels (or hostels) with a flexible cancellation policy - Booking.com has an excellent selection and the majority of hotels offer some kind of cancellation.

Before finalizing your accommodation, make sure to check the location, nearby amenities (like restaurants, metro stations, local supermarkets, etc), and reviews on TripAdvisor.

Taxis are great if you want something fast and convenient, but you can save a ton of money by opting for public transport or walking. During my travel to Paris, France, I saved around 25 Euro by walking instead of taking the metro - plus as a bonus, you get to see more of the city and feel like a local! In certain cities, like Amsterdam or Copenhagen, renting a bike is also a viable option.

Traveling can give you many memories, especially photographs and interesting stories - don’t forget to share them with your friends and family back home! International roaming can rack up to hundreds of dollars in charges, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Avoid unnecessary costs in three ways:

• Switch to an international plan with your current mobile provider.
• Buy a local sim card. This is what I normally do when I travel because it’s easy to find them in the airport and perfect if you’re only visiting one country.
• Buy a wifi device. These neat and pocket-sized devices are great for multiple countries or for group travel. You set it up before leaving the country, and turn it on whenever you need internet. The device connects to a local provider for a flat rate - for example, the Skyroam charges only $8 per day, and everyone in your group can connect.

Europe has so many delicious cuisines to offer, it would be a shame not to try the local food! One easy tip to save money on food is to take advantage of lunch specials - while in Rome, I was surprised to see that the same dish costs 22 Euros for dinner and only 14 Euros for lunch!

Buying food in supermarkets, like sandwiches, drinks, salads, fruits, and snacks, is another great way to save a few Euros. You can then take the money you saved and splurge on a fancy meal. On our last day in Paris, we bought two sandwiches, two types of cheese, a local French wine, and some grapes for under 20 Euros at a grocery store called Franprix. The same would have cost at least twice more at a nearby cafe - and wouldn’t have an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower!

Tip: The golden rule of eating is to find restaurants at least 3-5 blocks away from major tourist sites. Many cafes and restaurants will inflate prices only because they’re conveniently located.

Museums are an integral part of European culture - but you don’t have to pay full price to get inside! Many cities have free museum days once or twice a month, usually on a specific day (like every second Friday) - simply Google “Free Museum Day (CITY)” to find a list!
If you’re under 26 (and sometimes under 30) take advantage of discounts by getting a European Youth Card. You can purchase one for around 15 Euro and get discounts to over 60,000 museums, restaurants, transportation, and more - just for being under a certain age.

As mentioned before, walking around is one of my favorite ways to see a city - and an even better way is to take a free walking tour. These tours are usually around an hour or two long, entertaining, and explain the city from a local’s perspective - plus you might even make a few friends! The tours are completely free and based on a “pay what you think” system.