Europe is a dream destination for most Americans. The dramatic scenery, the incredible architecture, historic locations, stunning beaches and romantic cities, it’s no wonder why it’s high up on that bucket list to most people. While I have touched on traveling Europe on a budget before, I feel like I missed out on including how to actually make that budget stretch while you’re there so that’s what I’m doing today!
Want to see my other post about Traveling Europe on a Budget? Click Here!
If you’ve dreamed of traveling to Europe but haven’t because of the budget, start saving and use these tips to help you because it is 100% possible to make that trip work while pinching pennies.
Here’s From USA ➝ Europe: How to Make the Most Out of Your Budget:
Monitor Exchange Rates
Exchanging in your money at the right time is a really important part of making that budget stretch. Definitely check the currency rate predictions so you’re able to get the most Euros (or other coinage) and don’t be afraid to exchange your money online before traveling to Europe if those exchange rates are at all time lows!
On the other hand, you could go the route of purchasing travelers’ checks to cover the cost of your expenses and get guaranteed rates on your currency each day.
Avoid Popular Tourist Times
Europe is full of traditional and cultural heritage events that attract millions of visitors per year. Knowing when those events are happening can help save you loads of money. Hotels and plane ticket prices are generally higher during these times so if catching those festivals aren’t important to you, definitely try to travel at another time.
May to October is the high season for travel and Europe so expect to pay premium prices for hotels and other services then.
Plan for the Long Haul
This is the biggest tip I can give for traveling Europe: bundle all of your bucket list European plans into one big itinerary.
Instead of making multiple trips back and forth to Europe from the USA, it’s much cheaper to hop around to different places once you’re over there. Many tour companies can arrange multi-city stays or you can look into renting a car to travel around on your own.
When planning to finance your trip to Europe for the long haul, consider staying in a long term rental rather than a hotel. One of my favorite companies I’ve used for Paris in the past is Glamour Apartments.
Fly to Alternative Airports
We’ve saved loads of money while traveling Europe by flying into the alternative airports. The cheapest way we navigate around is by flying with a “budget airline” called RyanAir. We board their flights from airports outside of the major cities like Frankfurt-Hahn instead of Frankfurt International in Germany, Rome-Ciampano instead of Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Italy and London-Stansted instead of Heathrow in the U.K. We’ve saved thousands of dollars by following this little trick!
Travel by Train or Coach
While it may not be the most convenient or quickest way to travel, it’s definitely budget friendly. Europe consists of so many tiny countries you can cross in just a couple of hours so hopping around to different places by train or coach is ideal, PLUS you get to see more of the incredible scenery this way!
Forego the Group Tours
Unless it seems to benefit you budget-wise as a part of transport to another place, forego taking part in those group tours when visiting locations throughout Europe. In my opinion, most of these tours are not only a massive waste of time but definitely just a ploy by companies to make money. We’ve actually researched guided tours in places we’ve been and end up copying them on our own time, saving loads of money!
Like This Post? Pin It!
| This post contains affiliate links which means that, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase one of these products I may receive a small commission. This helps me maintain my blog as a free space to you. Check out my Disclaimer for more info.
Shop the Post
Yes to all these tips! I feel Americans think it’s expensive because travel in America is outrageously $$. Once you get to Europe, it’s SO easy to get around with all different types of transportation 🙂
Ahh I can totally agree with that! Europe’s actually super cheap if you know how to budget and are able to spend more time there!