Is Europe expensive to visit? DA. At the very least, the greater part of it is, especially by Southeast Asian standards. but it doesn’t mean that there are no ways to reduce travel costs.
When most people think of Europe travel, they picture full-service flights, pricey hotels, restaurant stops for every meal, and pre-arranged packaged tours. For the longest time, I used to think that way, too. but the truth is, the travel landscape has changed so much over the past few decades that generally expensive destinations like Europe can be enjoyed even by budget travelers.
Backpacking has been around for ages, but thanks to social media, more and more are becoming familiar with it. A shoe-string traveler can easily book a hostel dorm bed, prepare their own meals, join a free walking tour, and still have a full experience.
As of this writing, we have visited 28 countries in Europe. and whenever we’re backpacking across the subcontinent, we always get countless questions from our pals and followers about how we manage maximizing our stay while keeping our expenses low. We’ll try to answer all these questions. It’s going to be a pretty lengthy post, so without further ado, here we go.
Ce este acoperit în acest ghid?
BEFORE YOUR TRIP1. What countries in Europe are optimal for budget travelers?
2. When is the best time to travel to Europe?
3. how to apply for a visa?
4. Where to book low-cost flights to Europe?
WHERE TO STAY5. What are budget-friendly lodging options in Europe?
6. Which is the best: hotel, hostel or apartment (AirBnB)?
7. Where do you book low-cost hotels, hostels or apartments in Europe?
8. how do you choose where to stay in Europe?
FOOD EXPENSES9. how much is your food budget?
10. how do you keep food expenses low?
GETTING AROUND11. how to travel from one European city to another on a budget?
12. how to find low-cost flights around Europe?
13. are there activities you can enjoy for FREE?
14. Are free walking tours in Europe really free?
ALL about THE MONEY15. how do you get Euro?
17. Is it safe to exchange money in Europe?
16. Is it safe to withdraw cash from ATMs in Europe?
17. Is it better to pay cash or with a credit card?
18. Is tipping mandatory in Europe?
OTHER practical TIPS19. Internet connection in Europe
20. how much clothes do you pack when traveling to Europe?
21. beware of pickpockets!
22. beware of scams!
23. Timing is everything.
Mai multe sfaturi pe YouTube ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Postări legate de:
BEFORE YOUR TRIP
1. What countries in Europe are optimal for budget travelers?
Not all countries in Europe are equal. It is incredibly diverse in terms of culture, socio-politics, and most especially, cost of living. Tourists moving from one country to another can feel it right away. Some are more expensive than others.
Nordic countries like Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark are generally considered expensive. Switzerland, too. many in the central and eastern regions, including Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechia, and Poland, are very affordable. Western and southern states like France and Italy are in the middle of the price spectrum.
To give you a better grasp of it, let’s use something that many consider a reputable tool in comparing costs — McDonald’s big Mac. The world’s most expensive big Mac can be found in Switzerland, where it costs roughly US$6.70. compare that to the Ukraine, where you need to shell out only US$1.70 for the same burger. That’s almost 4x cheaper.
If you’re on a tight budget, limit your stay or try to avoid expensive countries and fill your itinerary with cheaper destinations. What I usually do when planning a long multi-country trip is to mix them all up. When I plot my route and I want to check out an expensive country, I try to balance things out by adding more pocket-friendly destinations.
2. When is the best time to travel to Europe?
So far, we have experienced traveling around Europe in summer, winter, and autumn.
Toamnă. For us, the most optimal time to travel is the shoulder months of September-November. The prices are not that high and it’s not as crowded, but the weather is still relatively pleasant.
Vară. The summer months of June-August are considered high season (peak season) in most parts of Europe. because of the sunshiny skies, it is the most touristy time of the year. Hence, prices go up!
Iarnă. winter is when prices significantly drop. but it can get biting cold in the northern and mountainous parts of the continent. It is also important to note that tours and public transportation options are also limited in less populated areas like Iceland and the Greek Isles.
But the weather isn’t the only thing you need to take into account. Is there any event you would like to experience but can only be enjoyed at certain times of the year? If you would like to experience Oktoberfest, go to Munich in mid-September (but expect the hotel and tour rates to skyrocket)! If you want to see the nLumini orthern din țările nordice, consultați între jumătatea lunii septembrie până la mijlocul lunii martie.
3. Cum să solicitați o viză?
Cele mai populare țări din Europa fac parte din acordul Schengen, ceea ce înseamnă că veți avea nevoie de o viză Schengen pentru a intra.
Visa Schengen este un document de călătorie care permite titularului să intre în oricare dintre cele 26 de state care fac parte din acordul Schengen. Gândiți-vă la aceasta ca la o trecere aproape de acces la multe țări din Europa. După ce vă aflați în zonă, nu există granițe grele între țări (cu excepția câtorva locuri), eliminând dificultatea de a solicita o viză pentru fiecare țară individuală. Acestea sunt țările care fac parte din zona Schengen:
Austria
Belgia
Republica Cehă
Danemarca
Estonia
Finlanda
Franţa
Germania
Grecia
Ungaria
Islanda
Italia
Letonia
Liechtenstein
Lituania
Luxemburg
Malta
Olanda
Norvegia
Polonia
Portugalia
Slovacia
Slovenia
Spania
Suedia
Elveţia
Dar ține -ți caii. Nu puteți aplica doar nicăieri. Trebuie să vă dați seama ce ambasadă pentru a depune cererea dvs. și va depinde de scopul călătoriei dvs. sau de itinerariul dvs. european general. Regula este că ar trebui să aplicați la ambasada țării unde veți rămâne cel mai mult timp.
Dar nu toate ambasadele sunt la fel. Ambasadele spaniole și italiene sunt considerate pe scară largă ca fiind cele mai stricte dintre toate, în timp ce ambasadele olandeze și austriece sunt cele mai atente și iertătoare.
Am experimentat solicitarea unei vize Schengen la următoarele ambasade:
prin ambasada franceză
prin intermediul ambasadei germane
prin intermediul ambasadei grecești
prin intermediul ambasadei italiene
Dacă vizitați țări din afara zonei Schengen, asigurați -vă că aveți viza corespunzătoare. Țările care necesită o viză separată includ (dar nu se limitează la) Ucraina, Rusia, Belarus, Irlanda și Regatul Unit.
Unele țări non-Schengen vă vor accepta viza Schengen atâta timp cât este încă valabilă și vă permite să intrați multiplu. Acestea includ Croația, Muntenegru, Andorra, Serbia, Bosnia și Herțegovina, Albania, Macedonia de Nord, Bulgaria și România. Verificați întotdeauna cu ambasada acelei țări pentru a fi în siguranță.
4. Unde să rezervați zboruri cu costuri reduse către Europa?
Zborurile directe sunt de obicei scumpe. Majoritatea companiilor aeriene fac o oprire în altă parte. Qatar Airways se oprește de obicei în Doha, Emirates în Dubai, Turkish Airlines din Istanbul.
Unele dintre cele mai ieftine zboruri către Europa pe care le veți găsi sunt oferite de Scoot, o companie aeriană bugetară din Singapore. Au zboruri directe de la Singapore la Atena și Berlin.
Dacă veniți din Filipine sau din alte părți din Asia de Sud-Est, puteți rezerva cu Value Alliance, o alianță de transportatori cu costuri reduse din regiune, inclusiv Cebu Pacific Air, Jeju Air, Nok Air, Nokcoot și Scoot!
✅ Căutați aici zboruri cu costuri reduse către Atena!
Această secțiune vă este adusă de Value Alliance, dar chiar dacă nu ar fi fost, acestea oferă în continuare cele mai ieftine zboruri către Europa, așa că luați în considerare să aruncați o privire.
Unde să stai
5. Care sunt opțiunile de cazare favorabile bugetului în Europa?
Când vine vorba de unde să stea, majoritatea turiștilor se gândesc la hoteluri cu servicii complete. Există însă o mulțime de alte tipuri de cazare disponibile. Nu există hoteluri, pensiuni, cămine și opțiuni Airbnb!
Am plătit doar 37 de euro pe noapte pentru această cameră. Și poate găzdui până la 4 pax.
În acest moment, ar trebui să știți deja dacă călătoriți singur sau faceți parte dintr -un grup. Acest lucru vă va afecta în mod semnificativ cheltuielile și opțiunile de cazare.
Dacă călătoriți singur și sunteți preocupat de buget, luați în considerare rezervarea paturilor de dormitor. It’s waaay cheaper than booking a private room. (Chiar și camerele singure pot fi scumpe.) Este, de asemenea, o modalitate grozavă de a întâlni alți călători și de a -și face prieteni noi. Obișnuiam să rezervăm mult paturile de dormitor, dar acum sforăie scandal (lol), așa că rămânem într -o cameră privată.
Dacă sunteți o pereche, puteți lua în considerare rezervarea a două paturi de dormitor sau o cameră privată, depinde de situație. Dacă sunteți un duo care dorește să întâlnească oameni, dormitorul este încă o alegere bună. Dacă sunteți un cuplu pe o escapadă romantică sau o lună de miere, zeul meu, vă rugăm să primiți o cameră privată (haha!). Rețineți, însă, că în multe pensiuni, dormitoarele pot fi private, dar toaleta și baia sunt uneori împărțite. Verificați aranjamentul înainte de rezervare.
Dacă sunteți un grup de trei, știți că camerele triplice nu sunt neobișnuite în Europa. De asemenea, puteți verifica politica lor cu privire la o persoană suplimentară pe camerele duble/gemene. Este un mod grozav de a salva!
The cost of a room or a bed also varies greatly from city to city. For example, in Prague, we stayed in a centrally-located hotel for only €37 per night. That’s only around €18 per person. but in Reykjavik, even dorm beds are much more expensive.
6. Which is the best: hotel, hostel or apartment (AirBnB)?
What’s best for you depends on your travel style and preferences.
I personally prefer hostels because we enjoy the community spirit and meeting other travelers. but at the end of the day, our primary considerations are the price, cleanliness and location more than the type of accommodation. If we find a well-reviewed, budget-friendly, and centrally located property, we will book it regardless of whether it’s a hostel, hotel or apartment.
To demonstrate it, on our recent Euro trip, we stayed at a budget hotel in Nice, a hostel in Milan, an apartment in Bologna. On our previous trip, we stayed at a budget hotel in Paris, a hostel in Brussels, and an AirBnB in Iceland. the best for us is what’s in a terrific location and what amenities they have that fills our specific needs at the time, which I will discuss in the next section.
7. Where do you book low-cost hotels, hostels or apartments in Europe?
We book accommodations on Agoda or Booking.com.
Our reasons:
They offer all types of accommodations. They have hotels, hostels, inns, dorms and apartments. It’s just easier to search and compare.
They offer discounts and freebies. Sometimes, Booking.com also gifts loyal customers free airport transfers. We have been awarded free taxi from the airport four times. I don’t know what their criteria are, but hey, we’re just happy about it. Hahaha.
If you have yet to secure a visa, Booking.com offers free CANCELLATION with many properties.
We’re also part of their affiliate network! By booking with them through the following links, you’ll help keep this website free for all.
Book with Agoda
Book with Booking.com
8. how do you choose where to stay in Europe?
Aside from the price, our primary consideration is the location. We also take into consideration the amenities.
Great location. You’ll learn that most low-cost properties are situated outside the city center and they’re very tempting. but for us, if we can find a place that is in the old town or city center, we would pick that even if it’s a little bit pricier. staying in the center means you have easy access to the main attractions and transportation. If we know we’re going to take the train or bus a lot, we ensure our hostel is near a station. If you stay far from the center, you also have to consider the money and time it takes to get to the places you want to visit. These fares may be little but they can add up, and you might still end up paying more than if you stayed in the center.
Kitchen amenities. If you’re traveling long term, eating out at restaurants for every single meal will cost you loads of money. You’ll save a lot by preparing your own meal or joining forces with other travelers every now and then. We like eating out at local restaurants but not for every meal. We balance it out by hitting the kitchen sometimes. other hostels also share other ingredients left by previous guests and offer them for free.
Microwave and refrigerator. If you can’t find a place with an open kitchen, choose a room with a microwave and ref. This will allow you to buy low-cost cooked meals, store the some of them for later, and reheat them in your room.
Laundry amenities. If we’re traveling for weeks or months, we also make sure we stay at a hostel or apartment with a washing machine every other stop. This way, we don’t need to hit the laundromat or pay for laundry services. This also allows us to travel light.
FOOD EXPENSES
9. how much is your food budget?
We keep daily FOOD expenses below €20 per person.
We’re the type of travelers who enjoy eating out at restaurants to try local cuisine. You’ll be surprised to learn that there are a lot of low-cost restos in Europe, even in expensive cities. You just need to make an effort to find them.
This delicious cacio e pepe in Rome costs only 10 euro.
Stay away from restaurants in touristy areas. They are overpriced and cater mostly to tourists. eat where locals eat. sometimes all you need is walk for 2 minutes onto inner alleys and you’ll find a good resto that’s more pocket-friendly.
But we don’t eat out at restaurants for every single meal. We give ourselves a 20-euro budget per day and we’re very flexible with it. It’s all about balance. For example, if I spend €13 at a restaurant for lunch, I’m left with only €7.