Budget Travel in Europe

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   maritimerposted 14 years ago

   I am interested in spending a few months in Europe in September-November 2010.  I'm not sure whether I will buy a mini camper van or a car or rely on buses and trains. Or perhaps rent an apartment in a cool town for 6-8 weeks. I budget back packed through Europe in 1987 and did a lengthy car camping trip through France in the mid-1990s.  I would like the trip to be economical (ie under 3K per month) but I'm not up for the dorm hostel experience.  For example, no dorms but I'm ok with sleeping on the floor of he ferry from Crete to Athens.
   
   Any tips? 
   
   Also what countries should I avoid (UK, got it) and which countries would be kind to my budget.  I have heard that Croatia is very reasonably priced.
   
   Thanks in advance for your help.

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   1. 61

      prettydarkhorseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      avoid those countries with euro as curency,only if you can avoid, but they are beautiful country, (Uk is of course expensive then the rest)and Malta is more expensive too, but then, you can ride in eurotrain, Amsterdam, Paris and Brussels are very near each other and then Germany too,

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         ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Actually, the UK is one of the more affordable for American citizens right now thanks to the weak pound. There are more Americans than ever coming over, and I watched a documentary a few months back which demonstrated how the cost of eating and drinking out in the UK was cheaper than almost every other country in Europe. I believe that the exchange rate has been stuck at around £1 for every $1.60 (ish). That is of course a huge difference to the $2 per £1 that I was getting when I visited America in 2008. The cheapest way for you to travel around Europe is to purchase Rail Passes from the UK subsidiary of sta travel:
         http://www.statravel.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg … ickets.htm
         
         The cheapest way of staying in the UK, without using hostels, is to travel between July-September and using university accommodation which is vacant during those months - you can get a huge comfortable room for like $30 per week as they want somebody in them.

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      Disholidaysposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hey you can also take help from website, now day there are many websites are there that can show you car rental rates, hotels and other accommodation cost. You can search here as I found it and it collect for UK specially London http://www.all-travelguide.com/hotels/london/

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   Sufidreamerposted 14 years ago

   If you are looking at Greece, it is easy to manage on much less than 3K dollars per month. The main tourist spots and Athens can be steep, but looking slightly off the beaten track is affordable.
   
   You can stay in domatia for about 25 - 30 Euros per night and will be able to negotiate a better deal if you are after a long term stay. The Lonely Planet Guide to Greece has a lot of good information for the budget traveller, and you are free to leave a comment on my Hub if you have any specific questions.
   
   http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Travel-T … n-a-Budget
   
   Don't know much about Croatia, but I have heard that it is beautiful - you could always give Tatjana Mihaela a shout. She is a lovely and helpful Croatian
   
   http://hubpages.com/profile/Tatjana-Mihaela

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   ryankettposted 14 years ago

   If you want cheap, like really cheap, then try Bulgaria! I was paying the equivalent of 55 cents for a double vodka and red bull in a bar there not long ago!

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      Mrs. Moneypantsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I just did some reading on Bulgaria.  It sounds great.  Double vodka soda sounds good too.

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4. 61

   Mrs. Moneypantsposted 14 years ago

   Eastern Europe is by far the least expensive.  The history is fascinating and the buildings are beautiful and the food delicious.  Some of eastern Europe is getting pricier but on the whole it remains reasonable.  The previous answers to this question were excellent.

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5. 61

   Drwibbleposted 14 years ago

   When I backpacked cheaply around europe, I used an interrail train pass. It allows unlimited train travel for a limited amount of time. On some trains you can pay a few euro's extra to get a sleeper carriage.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      How long ago was that?  I wrote a Hub about my Eurail experience. These days it's questionable whether it's worth it, because you have to book every trip these days and there's often a booking fee.

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6. 59

   ecobardposted 14 years ago

   Budget travel in Tasmania; it's not pretty:
   
   <snipped - do not post links to your Hubs in the forums>

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   curioxatposted 14 years ago

   Interrail is really good value and you can purcahse zones of where you're most likely to be. Check out earth.org for local advice to get the most out of your trip!

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8. 0

   vagabondinglifeposted 14 years ago

   I travel on a very tight budget (been on the road since 2006) - if you spend time in expensive parts of Europe I definitely recommend getting on couchsurfing.com and meeting some locals to stay with....totally free and its great to know people in a place.
   
   Cheers!

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   ftnirish7posted 14 years ago

   I second the others on this thread--Eastern Europe is the best on a budget. Save money on food by shopping in grocery stores and investigate day/week passes for public transportation. Consider offering private english tutoring as well to supplement your income and get involved with a local family.

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10. 77

    frogdroppingposted 14 years ago

    I second the interrailing. And Ryans advice on the UK accommodation. And consider Portugal. It really is cheap, despite being in the Eurozone. Staying here (in Lisbon) is cheap enough. Rent an apartment for a month or bed down in a shared one. And what about couch surfing? Or hopping around voluntary work places. Loads here, plenty in the rest of Europe too.

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11. 59

    mcbeanposted 14 years ago

    There is a big difference in the cost of living in the eurozone even though they share the same currency. It is common in clothing shops for example to see all the flags on the back of the label showing all of them at the same price except for Spain and Portugal where it costs 10 -15% less because if they didn't no one would buy it.
    
    If you like the heat, Spain and Portugal are great, good wine too. They are both completely broke so you would be doing them a favor by spending money there. Greece is in the same boat.
    
    Eastern Europe is by far the cheapest but also (in my humble opinion) has the least to offer. Croatia is not as cheap as it was 5 years ago as it unfortunately became a bit 'trendy'. Having said that a nice trip is a circular path from Italy into Slovenia, Croatia, the back to Italy via the ferry from Dubrovnik which is an amazing town. You can add on Austria and Hungary as a northern extension or visit Greece from the southern part.
    
    Northern Italy is much more expensive than southern italy with Venice miles more expensive than the rest of the country. The money you saved in Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary could be used to fund a bit more time in northern Italy and Austria.
    
    This trip has a nice mix of cultures, food, scenery and experiences.

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12. 59

    mcbeanposted 14 years ago

    P.S. You chose a good time to travel. Spetember was my favorite month in Europe. It will get a bit cold by November but you can always be more south then to stretch your Autumn

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    Hote mapsposted 14 years ago

    Consider as well value for money factor when going to different countries. In some of them the level of service may lack adequate quality

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14. 76

    thisisoliposted 14 years ago

    Whats wrong with the UK? :p
    
    I have done two tours around Europe in cars, and each time went around a lot of cities.  If you are going to be doing it fairly lavishly plan your trip out with secure parking in mind, because if you are going to want to rely on underground long stay parking in many cities you will have some trouble getting somewhere for anything more than a small car.
    
    You can get europe wide rail passes which are pretty good value, and will come to about the same as fuel costs if you travelled by car (Although less than that of a minivan)
    
    Just out of interest are you looking for adventure or touring?
    
    On my first trip around europe me and my flatmat got lost a fair few times, had some great adventures.
    
    The second time we had GPS, which meant that we could find our hostel on every occasion, but also meant that we had less stories to tell afterwards.
    
    If yoou are looking for trouble free GPS is the way to go, it may make things a little too simple for you though!

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    Ramblasposted 14 years ago

    I would suggest to try going to Spain. There is a lot to see and its pretty cheap. Expecially food is extremely cheap at least for us Nordics..hehe..
    Accomodation is quite cheap in small towns and villages. In Barcelona and Madrid its quite expensive.
    The only minus with spain is that you definitely need to speak some Spanish otherwise you will be cheated many many times. Unemployment is a huge problem in Spain, it is oficially about 20 %, but its really much more. People are desperate and they try to make money as they can.

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    hokin12posted 14 years ago

    It is very difficult to arrange a tour to abroad due to economy of winter. But here you can also get precise information, view, and tips in respect to arrange your tour in your budget. I have also got a travel package from Hank Freid, means get the services of accommodation & also traveling sources as well, which helps me a lot in arranging my tour in my limited budget.

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    BrianSposted 14 years ago

    Have you thought about Turkey, one of the cheapest European holiday destinations. Bus or coach is cheaper than train as well and drops in city centers so no need for other forms of transport.
    
    You can also fly really cheaply in Europe now thanks to low cost airlines like Ryanair and a few others. You could have a look for websites that specialise in travel for Europe i.e. that provide the different options for traveling in Europe and make recommendations for the best places to visit.

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    classicalgeekposted 14 years ago

    You can stay temporarily in converted buildings (in France they are called gîtes) like shepherd's huts, barns, etc. They are much less expensive than regular accommodations. I used to live in Europe and my advice is, stay away from the "regular" destinations and go out into the rural areas. You will have a lot more fun and you will bring back unforgettable material for some hubs!

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    Chris Horner SEOposted 13 years ago

    Camper vans can be quite expensive to hire.
    
    Best value for accommodation is to rent a self catering home for a minimum of 1 week stay. They can vary in price but you can get a very nice villa / apartment for as little as £100 per week in Spain / Italy / UK / France, depending on the time of year.
    
    Best place to find such holiday accommodation is from a website that only advertise private holiday homes so you can book direct from the owners...no middle man!
    
    I have used a website called Holiday lettings in the past for a stay in a Rome apartment and also for family holiday in Spain.
    
    It works out a lot cheaper than any budget hotel room..
    
    All the best and have a great trip.

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    Jenna May Swanposted 13 years ago

    Just got back from a not cheap visit to Dubrovik and it really is worth at least a flying visit. 
    
    You can stay near the old town in spare rooms pretty reasonably and so long as you eat a lot of pizza and buy booze in the local supermarkets it is just about possible on a budget!

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    travellermimiposted 13 years ago

    If you wants to go in cheap place then Italy is the best place.The place has immense heritage & very fantastic city.venice gondola ride is the best one in venice.Take the rides package of Isango, Its cheap & gud.

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