Traveling Europe on a budget can be easier than you think. In 2022 I did just that – spending over a month in Europe with my husband for $4,000 for everything. You can travel Europe cheap by using travel hacks to make it affordable for you, too! I’m going to show you exactly how I save money in Europe with my complete guide including transportation, food, 5-star hotels, entertainment, and more.
Traveling to Europe on a budget
Is Europe expensive to visit?
Many people believe traveling to and in Europe is expensive – but it doesn’t have to be! I’ve spent a week in Europe for as little as $1000 for two people for everything. If you can get the cost of your airfare and hotels down you can easily save thousands on any Europe trip. (More on that below.)
Traveling to Europe on a budget
Traveling to Europe on a budget means different things to different people. While some budget travelers are comfortable with shared hostel dorm rooms (one of the cheapest lodging options) others are interested only in hotels. It’s important to first decide what traveling to Europe on a budget means to you.
When I traveled with my husband for a month in Europe on a budget we still stayed in luxury hotels while traveling mostly by plane. We knew we wanted to stay in hotels and see as much as we could, so we opted to use credit card points and miles to help eliminate a lot of the cost of traveling Europe. In fact, our $4,000 trip should have cost us around $15,000!
Read more about Europe for Free and get all the details on how you can create your own trip of a lifetime for a fraction of the cost!
But you certainly don’t need to use points and miles to create a memorable trip to Europe. There are so many ways to travel to and in countries in Europe cheaply.
Ways to save on a trip to Europe
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Use points and miles – the cheapest way to get to Europe
One of the easiest ways to not forgo your travel style is to use points and miles for your trip. This allows you to stay in similar or even better hotels than you would have for free or just the taxes and fees. Travel credit cards award you with points and miles that you can use to pay for airfare and hotel stays.
All the hotel rooms pictured below were FREE thanks to points and miles!
The best way to use rewards is by opening a card and meeting the minimum spend to get the bonus. Then use your tens of thousands of points to pay for portions of the trip. This is exactly what my husband and I did this for Europe for Free – and our credit scores remained at over 800.
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Choose cheaper places to visit in Europe
One of the best ways to save in Europe with either cash or points needed is to choose alternative, cheaper countries in Europe to visit. While Western Europe is touristy and expensive, you can easily save thousands on the cost of a trip by traveling to Eastern Europe or Southern Europe.
Many countries in Europe like Prague, Budapest, Kotor, Istanbul, and Krakow are great alternatives with the same beautiful architecture, natural attractions, and culture of the more popular cities while offering more affordable options on hotels, activities, and food.
Why splurge on an expensive city on the Greek islands when you could have an amazing time spending a few days at one of the other cities on the two hundred islands nearby?
Travel Europe cheap in the shoulder season
Most travelers save tons of money by cashing in on rewards for flights. From budget airlines to the large companies, using your rewards is the way to get the cheapest flights. Saving more money on flights gives you more freedom to spend on unforgettable experiences. But rewards aren’t the only way to save.
One of the cheapest ways to travel is traveling during shoulder season (or even in the off-season) will ensure great weather, fewer crowds, and much better prices. Each country has its own idea of what constitutes each of these (ex. while Switzerland sees an influx during the winter months to ski, Spain is in low season).
It’s best to Google the country you are interested in with “shoulder season” or “off-season” to see when might be a good time to visit.
How to find cheap cash flights to Europe
One of the best ways to save on travel to Europe is by being flexible on your travel dates, positioning to a major hub with a cheap cash fare, and following the deals and not the destination. One of my favorite cheap ways to travel is to see what flight deals are available for the area rather than seeking out flights to a specific city.
These are the foundational pieces to saving money on every flight you take.
You can do this yourself by subscribing to a flight alert service. I use two: Going and Thrifty Traveler (use code KENDYL10 for $10 off your first year of TT!). These services send you great prices from your home airport and any others you add (i.e. those cheap positioning cities).
With the help of a flight alert service, a willingness to travel to a hub airport on a cheap flight, and flexibility in travel dates, you can easily find flights under $450 to Europe on a regular basis.
Think like a local to travel Europe cheap
Though a huge chunk of your cost to travel Europe will come from airfare and hotel nights, you can save big on travel experiences and food. The best thing you can do is think like a local.
First, find alternative ways to visit the must-see (touristy) destinations. You likely can find free audio guides and free walking tours that give you the same amazing experience while saving money on not hiring a guide.
You can also find cheap and totally free local experiences to do, too. One of my top tips for budget travelers to save money is to do a mix of 60% local, cheap, free attractions and 40% touristy, famous attractions (more than $20 per person) experiences.
Download my FREE search term guide to help you find free and cheap local eats and things to do!
How to travel Europe cheap: A budget for a trip to Europe
Deciding how much you should budget to visit Europe requires you to have a lot of factors answered. Like:
- Where in Europe are you going?
- Do you plan to stay in hostels or hotels?
- How do you like to entertain yourself?
- Do you have must-have experiences or eateries?
A lot of this goes back to your overall travel style. If you’re used to 4-star hotels when you travel, you might have a bit of culture shock bunking with 10 strangers in a hostel for a few weeks. Even if it is one of the cheapest lodging options, it’s not for everyone.
If you use points and miles to save as much money as you can, your hotel costs could be drastically different, too. Your 4-star hotel could even be free.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what I budget, as a budget travel hacker, for a week-long trip to Europe per person:
Accommodation: $300 (this is priced for one room and not per person)
I mostly use points and miles for hotel nights, so my accommodation budget is usually pretty small.
Airfare: $450
I only take flights under $500 to Europe and position myself to a hub for those prices with my Southwest Companion Pass.
Food: $175
This can drastically shift depending on how you like to eat and where you are in Europe. I had a 3-course meal for two for just $15 at a nice establishment in Eastern Europe (Bosnia). But on average I spend $25 per person on food when traveling thanks to a mix of free breakfast, cheap street food for lunch or a snack, and a nicer dinner.
Experiences: $200
I try to blend free and cheap things to do with spending money wisely on must-do experiences.
Local Transportation: $100
If you can take public transportation you’ll save a lot when traveling in Europe. Be sure to check out my favorite tool for booking train tickets! You can usually save on all types of transportation, from train travel (taking an overnight train) to car rentals (using credit card rewards and affiliate program discounts).
Looking for the cheapest way to get to Europe?
There are so many ways to save money and find cheap flights to Europe. The biggest advice I can give you is to reverse your search. This means don’t start with a specific destination but instead consider finding the best travel deal and then building your trip around it.
You can do this through a flight alert service, like Going or Thrifty Traveler (use code KENDYL10 for $10 off your first year of TT!). But you can also do this yourself with Google Flights. Add multiple airports in your departing city and then add “Europe” to your destination. You’ll be surprised with the kinds of deals you can come up with.
Be sure to check out my complete guide to positioning cities to help you find the best ways to get to travel Europe cheaply.
If you can’t be flexible with your dates or have a specific travel destination, using points and miles is another way to save. Point.Me can be a great tool to help you easily find all your points and miles options in one place. You can add all your accumulated points and miles into the system and they’ll show you the best deals. Just be sure to book early to get the best price.
I hope this was a helpful resource to show you how to travel Europe cheap. Because I’ve done it – and so can you! With the right budget, planning, and resources anyone can travel to Europe.
Schedule a coaching call to learn more about how I can make your travel dreams a reality for a fraction of the cost.
I hope this was a helpful resource to show you how to travel Europe cheap. Because I’ve done it – and so can you! With the right budget, planning, and resources anyone can travel to Europe.
Explore on. -K
Jade