Author: Irina
Material about the essentials: how to travel cheaply if the euro jumps, and with it the prices in rubles?
I thought, I thought, how to explain it more easily and came up with! For me, the owner of five Schengen, these secrets of saving in Europe are obvious, but for a beginner in travel, most likely not.
Therefore, it was decided to take a friend Dmitry, who has not yet seen abroad, but really wants and seems to even be preparing, to find out his algorithm for organizing a trip and, based on the result, direct him in the right direction, along the way explaining the announced life hacks to you, the reader.
And finally: We are here, of course, about Europe, but what if you are interested in New York or Dubai on a budget?
1. Decide how cheaper to have a rest - on your own or on a tour
- So, the plan is to visit Europe cheaply. Will you go on tour or will you “put together” the trip yourself?
- Himself, of course. So 100% more profitable!
Explanation: so, but not so. Most of the EU countries are indeed wiser to visit on their own. But:
- if you plan to fly to one country,
- This - Spain, Greece, Cyprus or Bulgaria,
- and the goal is a vacation at sea,
then the tour will be more budgetary... The truth, verified by me more than once! Even to see the same Barcelona, it is cheaper to take a voucher, for example, to Pineda de Mar and drive several times to the city by train, than to arrange a self-tour of the capital.
The Czech Republic also stands apart. This is not a "sea" country does not fit into the aforementioned rule, but tour operators still set fabulous sums - from 30,000 rubles for two for 7 days.
Budget Countries for Traveling in Europe
In all other cases, the cheapest Europe = independent trip + well-chosen direction. The other day an article was published here about 7 superbudgetary countries in Europe, I recommend that you familiarize yourself! For a seed: these are Poland, Romania, Hungary and ...
Barcelona Street - Sagrada Familia - Promenade (Nudist Beach)
2. Search for cheap tours
- Wait, have you seen the prices in travel agencies? Where will they find me such a penny Czech Republic?
- I saw it, that's why I switched to online aggregators.
Explanation: tourists of the "pro" level catch cheap tours to Europe, and to any "package" country, with the help of special services, such as:
- Travelata
- Level.Travel
- Onlinetours
They can find an interesting option, tk. analyze databases of more than 120 tour operators. Simple and convenient: put the "jackdaws" according to the necessary filters, asked the price of the available offers, studied photo reviews, paid, received documents by mail - and all this without crawling out of the house 🙂
Our trip to Italy (Milan)
3. Bank cards for travel
- You can also save money abroad by using the card. Considered any bank offers?
- Honestly, I did not think at all
Explanation: But in vain, a budget trip, as for me, starts with cashback - from booking air tickets to spending in a cafe. Refunds - in real money - come up to 7-10% from each purchase. Read more in a separate article - the best cards for a traveler >> or cash withdrawals abroad >>
Viewpoint "Bunker" in Barcelona - high and free
4. Low-cost airlines (low-cost airlines)
- You were going to Paris, right? How are the ticket searches going?
- I monitor the flights, there are three months ahead ... but flying from Moscow is not so profitable.
Explanation: Inexpensive and comfortable - it happens very rarely, so you have to sacrifice something. You probably know that the cheapest air tickets are in Europe. True backpackers love budget airlines (low-cost airlines) - Ryanair, Wizzair, Vueling, etc .: once you are in the eurozone, you can travel all over it.
How to get out of Russia without too much loss? The main directions are Vilnius, Riga, Helsinki, Tallinn.
- From Moscow: Nesterovsky train (≈1200 rubles), Ecolines, Luxexpress buses (≈3500 rubles), for those who like tougher - Blablacar (≈1500 rubles)
- From St. Petersburg: buses Ecolines, Luxexpress (≈1500 rubles), minibus to Helsinki (≈1000 rubles)
- From the regions: more difficult, but there are also chip flights, for example, Kazan-Budapest for 6,000 rubles
And one more rule: buy tickets in advance - it always works. To skate cheaply to Europe for May, I grabbed a ticket back in September, and what a! Moscow-Oslo for 3500 🙂
Bergen street, Norway - we walked up to the observation deck in 1.5 hours
(you can use an expensive funicular)
The right services for finding flights
Everyone knows where to look for tickets - on the largest aggregators, but not everyone makes full use of their capabilities.
- Skyscanner is a cool function of choosing directions depending on the departure point. I often use it and find myself a winner (as with Norway). You type the city of departure into the window “from where”, and in the “where” - the mysterious “everywhere”, and here they are - the most delicious options for your dates
- Aviasales - there is a calendar of low prices, and it finds a little more offers. Convenient for searching round-trip tickets: the cost is lower than on the SkyScanner
Coffee and Croissant in Paris - our favorite cafe Eric Kayser
5. Traveling with hand luggage
- Okay, let's say I fly to Paris from Vilnius with a low-cost airline. But plus the luggage surcharge?
- Are you sure he is needed?
Explanation: Yes, low-cost airlines are allowed to carry only hand luggage for free - such is the “payback” for low prices. But cheap travel isn't just with a backpack on your back. It can be a standard suitcase 55 x 40 x 20 + a backpack that is not too full (read the conditions of transportation) - isn't it enough, even if you travel for 2-3 weeks? Well, the issue with liquids is easily solved with the help of travel kits.
Observation deck "Tibidabo", Barcelona
6. Correct accommodation booking
- The next stage is accommodation. Your actions?
- There is definitely Booking, it is on everyone's lips.
Explanation: Booking is good, but the best search engine is RoomGuru, which monitors the bases of both Booking, and Agoda, and a dozen other systems. Hotels, motels, guesthouses - for all this here. When choosing inexpensive accommodation in Europe, pay attention to hostels. In some Asia they should be avoided, but in the West they are quite decent.
Do you want authenticity and immersion in foreign life and culture? Rent an apartment / room / house on Airbnb! The service is very beneficial for long trips or with a company of 3 or more people. Here is a promo code up to $ 54 >> for the first booking, and here is a detailed review-instruction >>
Atlantic Ocean in Porto, Portugal
7. Schengen visa yourself
- Will they give Schengen? The agency offered to issue insurance against non-delivery.
- Stop, which agency?
Explanation: if you live in Moscow / St. Petersburg, going to an intermediary when there is a consulate nearby is just blasphemy and a violation of the budget tourism code! In the regions, you should also contact not an agency, but an authorized visa center. Collect the package of documents yourself and do not forget the suitable photo ↓
8. Cheap travel + hotel savings
- How else is it cheap to travel around Europe? You mentioned that you can also “go around” ...
Explanation: when the plane is not subject to the purse, the aforementioned Blablacar is able to help out - most often the drivers declare an adequate price. For example, 12 euros for the Berlin-Prague route.
Another option - I warn you, for someone uncomfortable - is night buses (Flixbus, etc.) and trains: you move to another country and save on a hotel.
9. Pay attention to the airport
- Okay, okay, then I'll take Vilnius-Paris.
- Attention! Underwater rock!
Explanation: some unscrupulous airlines (and the inattention of the tourist) turn a cheap vacation into a costly one with just one detail - a generalization of the destination city. For example, you see Paris on your ticket, but you don't notice the BVA airport in brackets. And to cut from this BVA to the capital - about an hour by car for 20 euros (my case)! So turn on the meticulous paranoid and look with a magnifying glass 🙂
This view opens up when you approach Barcelona airport
10. Discounts and promotions on tours and tickets
- Promotional codes for tours - a nice discount of 1-3% on Onlinetours, triggered by clicking on the link >>
- Last minute tours - flip through the feed of the same name on Level.Travel
- Charters - allow you to fly to Europe cheaply, literally for pennies (Barcelona for 6000 round trip? :)). Aggregators don't always find them, so ↓
- Subscription - namely, to our telegram channel Howtrip | Lowcost, where similar promotions are periodically published
Cheap travel to Europe - tips
And this is Athens!
I cannot limit myself to banal arguments about flights / travel / accommodation, and therefore I will throw in more tips on how to spend a cheap vacation in Europe.
- Food: Yes, yes, look for food in local establishments, that's just a question, and their establishments - how to find them? Answer: in the Tripadvisor application - sort by "tasty and inexpensive" (and here are additional 12 cool travel applications >>)
- Sights: forget about paid excursions and listen to the guide on the Free Walking Tour, which is organized in any city in Europe. Airbnb will also help here - the site has "Impressions" - residents are satisfied with all sorts of interesting things, and you can join for the n-th amount (or for free, using a bonus up to $ 54 during registration)
- Transport: read about travel cards in advance, they will save you a lot of euros (like
T-casual in Barcelona). Or you can save money by joining a company and renting an inexpensive car (as happened to me in Spain). - Mobile connection: this, unconditionally, DrimSim is a universally beneficial SIM card in almost any country (in Europe for sure). Following the link, both you and I will receive 7 euros to the account - a kind of win-win :)
- Safety: see the official list. Unfortunately, the safest countries are also the most expensive.
Total: I have outlined everything that I have in the history of my inexpensive trips, and if you, the reader, have your own "European" life hacks, then let me know in the comments, I will definitely add them to the article!
