When travelling in Europe what are cheap travelling tips?

Question

Tips on how to save money on everything: airfare, food, a place to stay, etc. Does anyone have family in Italy that are willing to share their home and I will pay them? Or does someone you know live there and may possibly be interested in being my new friend?

Answer 1

the best 1 is to take train or underground mostly present in uk
trains are the cheapest i give u an example suppose ur travelling a distance of 10 miles it would cost u 30 sterling pounds on car or bike but it would only take 5 sterling pounds to cover same distance by train or even u can get cruises many of them lik dtds royal carribean etc

Answer 2

Go light and go fast and don't go like most AmeriKans who think they need to take 5 suitcases with them.

All you need is a backpack (preferable) or a small suitcase... with a MAXIMUM WEIGHT of 40 POUNDS... and NO MORE.

Buy a youthrail pass before you leave the U.S. and use that as a moving hotel.. sleep on the trains at night and sightsee in the cities during the day time.. and stop somewhere about every 4 or 5 days to do wash and get rested.

BUY a Thomas Cook's EURAIL TIMETABLE... it's a red and white book and gives the train schedules of every passenger train in Europe... and STUDY IT because you will learn to live by it.

BUY a copy of EUROPE BY EURAIL and read it too and take it with you.

BUY the small pocket versions of the dictionaries for the countries you plan to visit... German, Italian, French and Spanish are a good start and take up no room.

Just remember... you can travel LIGHT which is fast and cheap or you can travel HEAVY which is slow and expensive.

You need a fraction of what you THINK you need... I once made a MONTH LONG trip to Europe with nothing more than a camera bag and a toothbrush.

Answer 3

Use a lonely planet guide, they are the best.
No need to buy a Tomas Cook timetable anymore, use internet.
Google on the name of the country and train times or train tickets, and you will find an English language page for the local train planner, here are a few to start with, the German one is very good for travels all over Europe, most planners work best if the country is the start or end of the trip:
German: http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml
Italy: http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/eurail_index.htm
A Eurail pass is good if you want to travel a lot in western Europe, but it does not work in the UK, Scandinavia and it does not work in eastern Europe, you will need to spend almost half you time in a train to make a profit over point to point tickets, when you use the cheapest options everytime again.

Cheaper still is the bus:
http://eurolines.com/
There are more companies too.

If you want to make a long distance travel across Europe, look into the price of flights, they might be cheaper than the surcharges you sometimes pay on the trains. (For fast train or night trains.)

Check with your bank what each use of your bank card cost, and the same with your creditcard company, often it is little, or you can get a card that does not charge when you use an affilated bank.
But even if you have to pay charges it is likely to be cheaper to use your card in an ATM over taking cash and changing at exchange offices, as they charge a rather steep flat fee or give you a lousy exchange rate.

If you are willing to stay with people you have never met, make some contacts via one of the website for coach surfing, so you have someone you have mailed with when you arrive:
http://www.couchsurfing.com/
http://www.hospitalityclub.org/
The ideas behind these clubs/sites is that you offer as well as accept hospitality at some time in your life, but as they know that not everybody will be able to travel, it is also allright to accept a place to sleep years before you will be able to offer one.

If you stay in hostels you can shop in a supermarket and cook your own dinners, (cheap) or go out for cooked lunches and buy a loaf of bread and some cheese for dinner, make your own sandwiches. (Lunches are cheaper and more cheap places are open at lunchtime.)

To safe on international airfare, start collecting sites with cheap tickets now, every time you see one mentioned make a bookmark.
Or use Google on cheap tickets, your nearest big airport or NY and the town or country you want to travel too.
Compare ticket prices, and conditions, and when you find a site that has good tickets bookmark it. (Put it in a separate folder.)

Answer 4

Follow the tips frim the first person who wrote. those are good ones. Travelling by train is cheap and you can travel longer. In addition i recommend the book "Europe-on a shoestring" by Lonely Planet, a book for those who travel on a budget in Europe. Live in hostels. Travelling in Eastern-Europe is pretty cheap compared to England and Italy. Taking money from an ATM in other country than yout own, might be expensive, so check with your bank.

Answer 5

I see lots of such good suggestions! Save on hotel/hostel by travelling overnight on the train (just in a normal seat, do not pay for the bed). Buy an international student ID card
http://www.istc.org/sisp/index.htm this is for people up through 26 years old and gets you discounts on many things. There's also a way through them to get messages, make phone calls etc. Get food at deli counters, bistros, and grocery stores and not in restaurants. Find out which days are free at the museums. See when the various towns will be having their town festivals-- then you can hear the local music and see the customs for free.

Answer 6

great tale, my spouse and that i went to Europe for 3 weeks. i could recommend getting the books by potential of Rick Steves. you are able to have the capacity to work out issues on a funds contained domestically aspects of the cities. No tourist traps or pushy hotel chains. We had a blast, i wish you savor some time over there.