When I lived in Europe, I never wasted a chance to get away for a long weekend or any kind of holiday to visit other parts of the continent: Prague, London, Paris or Berlin, everywhere was on my list. And I didn't need a big budget to travel to these places, because there are so many ways to fly around Europe cheaply. Since I want to share the joys of travelling, here are some tips for the best ways to get cheap flights all over Europe.

Tip 1: Get ready early. First of all, you'll usually get cheaper tickets if you book far in advance. I was on the email lists of a number of the airlines, especially the budget airlines like SkyEurope, EasyJet or Air Berlin, who sent emails to me every time a ticket sale was about to start. Often there are super-cheap offers for the first tickets sold on newly released flights - sometimes for as little as one Euro (plus taxes; but these are sometimes as little as 15 Euros, making for a very cheap flight). The earliest tickets are usually the cheapest, so planning ahead is a good way to go. I used to keep a list of all the German public holidays when I lived in Germany, ready to book a trip whenever the cheap flights came up (and sometimes no matter where they were going: nearly every destination in Europe is a great weekend getaway!).

Tip 2: Don't make fixed plans. Being flexible is another important factor. For example, if you are able to travel at any time of week, you can look around to get the cheapest tickets. It depends on the airline and the destination, but a ticket from Stuttgart to Paris can be cheaper in the middle of the week than on Monday morning, Friday night or on the weekend. If it's also not so important to you what time of day or night you fly, this can also help you to get cheaper tickets.

Tip 3: Go anywhere. Finally, it might sound crazy, but be prepared to fly crazy routes and you could get some fantastic bargains. A good friend of mine lives in Bratislava, and often flies (very cheaply) to London enroute to flying somewhere else in Europe; for example, it cost her only a quarter of the price to fly Bratislava to London to Spain than flying direct from Bratislava to Spain. On a trip with my mother, we needed to return from St Petersburg in Russia to my home near Stuttgart: we took a short bus ride to Tallinn in Estonia, spent a night there, flew to Berlin for a couple of Euros and explored this great city, then flew down to Stuttgart the next day. Sure, it takes more time, but if money is more important than time, you can save plenty of Euros, and see a few places that you didn't expect to.

To check on the best budget flights around Europe, a great website is the whichbudget.com site, which collates all the possible flights by destination and country. Be careful with one thing: budget airlines often use airports that are a long way from the cities they advertise, so check the distances and exact location before you book. Happy cheap flying in Europe!