European travel advice- what are some cheap tricks?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Since you all are always so tremendously helpful with my various (and seemingly never ending) travel queries, I’ve once again come to my favorite resource of travel information.

At some point this summer a friend and I are looking to go to Europe. Just about every facet of the trip is up in the air, other than the fact that we’d very much like for it to happen. We don’t really care where we go and we really are open (any time from the second week of June through the second week of September). Also, we’re not opposed to waiting and swooping up some last minute deals. I suppose our only real restriction is that we are college students and would, ideally, like to do the trip as cheaply as possible. What’s cheap? Well, I’m not sure what it’ll cost me to go to Europe! We figured we’d stay at hostels. In an ideal world, the airfare would be under $800, maybe even closer to $500- I don’t know if that’s realistically doable.

If I had to pick one place that I’d love to go to, it’d be Normandy. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a huge military history nut and being able to go to the Dday beaches gives me a huge feeling of nerdy glee. It’s my understanding that getting to Normandy from Paris is no big deal at all and would be totally doable within a trip to Paris.

So, I’m turning to my dearest Dopers. Do you guys have any tips or tricks for getting particularly good airfare? Should we consider a different destination than Paris? Would it be best to maybe fly into Paris, spend some time there, then take the train to another country, spend some time, and then fly back from there (essentially just buying two one way tickets)? Any particular destinations I should look into? I’m a history nerd, so anywhere would make me happy.

In the mean time, I’m messed around on various travel sites and it seems that the cheapest time to go would be in September. The student travel sites really don’t give much more of a discount than the regular sites from what I’ve seen.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Are you a student? If so, check STA
If not:
Check ITA for airfare.
You can’t book through them, just find the cheapest fare, then go to the airline site.
You can check for open jaw flights there (into one city, out another.)
Have you been to Eurotrip yet?

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It’s doable. Being flexible about your destination cities helps, and so does traveling at some other time than high summer. (That said, if you’re planning to leave in September and you have to be back by the second week in September, it will be a fairly rushed trip, and it’s generally more fun and better value to travel for as long as you can at a time.)

You might want to compare prices for London or Amsterdam, since they would also place you within striking distance of Normandy and are well worth visiting in their own right.

What you’re describing is called an open jaw ticket, and it shouldn’t cost as much as two one-way tickets – more often, it’s the average of the round-trip airfare between the two cities. (If you can’t do it online, go to your local branch of STA Travel – they’ll fix you up.)

On budgeting, in general: try to set aside at least $60 per person per day in most of Western Europe, plus a couple of hundred dollars in a slush fund for unexpected expenses. You may not need that much, but it’s better to have it if you do need it. Figure $20 a day for the hostel, $15 for meals, $20 for transit and sightseeing, and $5 for miscellaneous expenses (Internet, laundry, beer), and you’ll be in the right ballpark.

If you have any long overland trips planned, taking night trains or buses can save you the cost of a night’s accommodation, but doing this every night will make you miserable, so plan for a few nights of decent sleep in between. Buy a rail pass if and only if you know exactly how to make it pay for itself. If you’re looking to hit major cities in several different countries, it can be a great bargain; if you decide that you want to fly into Paris and have a nice leisurely trip around Normandy and Brittany, it won’t.

Avoid eating in major tourist areas; public markets and university districts are usually your best bet for cheap and tasty food. Little things like bottled water and sodas can add up, so it’s a good idea to take a water bottle with you and fill up on tap water at the hostel in the morning. Read your guidebook and know what the ground rules are in each country, so you’re not caught out by things like cafes charging a higher price if you eat at a table instead of the bar, or getting fined by the transit police if you don’t validate your bus ticket.

Have fun!

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Wow, these are the same prices I paid about ten years ago when I went to France as a poor student and eurailed around. I would get a good guidebook and if you are travelling with friends set it up so that each of you uses a different one. We stayed at some pretty cheap places and while we didn’t always stay in hostels we tended to split rooms in cheap dive hotels three or four ways. (the worst was 14 in a room for Octoberfest).

I did this for a few days and it really sucked after a while. If you have to do it pay a bit more and get a sleeper car, it will be totally worth it.

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Since you’re a college student, take advantage of the student hostels (rather than the hotels). Much cheaper. There are a number of hosteling organizations that can help you plan your trip and book in advance. We found http://www.venere.com/ to be helpful in finding places to stay while over there. You can search by price/area. They’ll provide quotes for hotels, hostels, privately owned apartments, etc.

Buy a Eurorail pass - its really the only way to get around multiple countries. If you plan well enough, you can achieve good discounts on a multi-day/multi-country pass (you chose the days you want to use it when over there… don’t use a rail day to ride any city subways though - its a waste, as many subways are very cheap.

Fly “open-jaw”: into one city, out of another (saves time and money backtracking to your origin). Airlines generally do not charge extra for this.

For food, frequent the supermarkets rather than sidewalk vendors, and sidewalk vendors rather than restaurants. European supermarkets are a lot of fun! (and break any cola/soft drink habits you have before you go- Coke costs more than a decent bottle of wine in France).

Price itineraries direct from a major airport (NY, Dulles, Atlanta) and make separate arrangements for getting there on a discount carrier or via car. Its generally cheaper than trying to price it w/ a connection in the US.

I heartily recommend Rick Steve’s “Europe Through the Back Door” book. There are some great cost saving tips in there.

Rome or Paris: buy a museum pass from the local TI the minute you get there. Its more economical than paying to get into each museum individually, and will automatically get you to the front of the line in most places. Its a great time saver.

“Budget Travel” magazine usually lists discounted packages. I tend to like theirs, as they don’t run the “tour group” packages, but the “airfare and x night hotel stays” type package.

Check flying into Frankfurt or another smaller city from any US-based airline hub. Delta runs cheap direct flights there and to Stuttgart from Atlanta…even if Germany is not on your itinerary, you can high-speed train it anywhere in a day. (Germany is wonderful, though)

In terms of specific destinations - try to mix it up between major cities with a lot of sights and countryside. We actually preferred the beauty and serenity of the Italian Cinque Terre over Rome (for example)…but Rome had plenty of good things to see.

I have some pics on my website…my wife and I have taken three separate trips - France/Netherlands, Italy, and Germany. Each was wonderful in its own way…Italy was probably cheapest, then Germany, then France.

If you can somewhat flexible, try booking your airfare through priceline.com. I’ve used them for US itineraries, but have NEVER seen a full transcontinental flight, so I would assume they would have decent fares for them, too.

Good luck!

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Hmm, in that case, Diosabellissima should probably add a few more bucks to the figures I’ve given her. My last two trips to Europe were to Spain and Portugal in 2005 and Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia in 2004, so I’m probably lowballing it for France.

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I’m not an experienced traveler by a long shot - but I did find 2 hotels through http://www.eurocheapo.com that were, well, cheap. And nice, in great locations, clean, and basically everything I need for a hotel. If you can find a cheap enough one for the two of you - it might be a nice break from a hostel.

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Alluded to but not identified above: Eurail Passes.

Apparently, long gone are the days of my Studentrail Pass that allowed me to board any train (second class) in Western Europe (except for the stuffy Brits and distant Irish who did not participate in the same system), and go anywhere. I used mine for commuter trains and overnights. (I saved the costs of several hostel visits by arranging to take an overnight train from one spot to another, sleeping on the train.)

However, even the more recent, more expensive, and more restrictive plans provide a good deal on intra-European transportation. The Brits also have similar plans, but you have to weigh the advantages of the plans against the actual time you will spend in Britain. If you plan to take in a lot of old camps and airbases, it might be worth it, but if you intend to spend all but a few days on the continent, it may not.

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Pack light. Gather together everything that you want to bring and throw it into a pile. Throw out half of it.

Buy a good travel backpack with an attached day pack. This allows you to leave your backpack at the hostel and carry your daytripping crap in the daypack. Everything you carry will fit into this backpack. Bring one set of nice clothes that are light and compressible. This is the only impractical item that you are allowed. I mean, you will have to be doing some clubbing while in Paris.

I recommend to include the following:

Killer walking shoes, light hiking boots if you are so inclined.
Convertible pants (the ones with zippers that convert from long pants to shorts).
Ipod.
Lightweight fleece.
Lightweight gortex shell for when it rains. This combined with the fleece are also be your warm clothes.
A book or two.
Silicone earplugs for surviving in the hostel should you be cursed with a dormmate like me.
A backup credit/debit card hidden somewhere in your backpack should your primary card be stolen.
Backup copy of your passport (also email this to yourself on a web based email site). You will always be able to recover this if necessary.
Sleeping sack which is required by most hostels.
Cheap European Tracphone or equivalent.

General safety precautions:
Money belt (I like the pouch that hangs under your shirt) to carry passport, credit card and money.
On the subway wear your daypack on your front, thus avoiding the slash and run type of thief.
Paris subways are full of con-artists. If someone drops a coat they are probably trying to distract you so that they can pickpocket you. By the way, you might want to carry a fake backup wallet containing a few Euros that you can sacrifice in case you are robbed.
If someone tries to sell you a subway ticket or directs you to a machine, ignore them and just buy the ticket through the ticket booth or kiosk WITHOUT their help.

For Europe, I like Lonely Planet or Let’s Go for a good American perspective on budget travel. LP is actually Australian, I think.

If you are not going to travel by train constantly, it might not be cost effective to get a Eurail pass. If you are traveling a long distance from one city to another, take a slow night train and sleep on it to save yourself the cost of a night’s lodging.

I seem to recall you are a student and below 26 years of age. Bring your student ID and always check for young adult/student discounts on everything, especially transportation and museums.

Bon Voyage!

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Also consider getting an International Student Identity Card. It can make a big difference on fees for museums and such. Back before your parents were born when I was using mine, (there was only one at the time, no special cards for young non-students or teachers), it came in handy quite a few times.

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www.whichbudget.com is an invaluable resource for figuring out which low-cost airlines fly to and from where.

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Usually, a two-way airplane ticket is cheaper than two one-way tickets. MUCH cheaper, ridiculously so. I’ve had cases where a two-way ticket was cheaper than a single one-way!

Tickets can be much cheaper as well if there is a Saturday night between the two travel dates; planes get sold out for M and F much faster than for any other day in the week.

You can buy books in English in most airports and large train stations, light reading (romance, mistery, fantasy, self-help books).

France is one of the countries where many bar-restaurants offer Daily Menus. These are cheaper than eating from the regular menu: you get to choose between, for example, three “first dishes”, three “seconds” and three “deserts”. One of each, no, you’re not allowed to have crepes, flan and ice cream :slight_smile: The daily menu is often posted on a blackboard outside, either on the wall or on the floor. Some places include water and bread with the menu, some include wine as well; it’s usually indicated in the sign.

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European travel advice- what are some cheap tricks? Well, there was this one lady in the red light district in Amsterdam…
Oh. You said what are some cheap tricks, not who. Never mind.

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Keep trying the websites of major carriers from major airports. Two years ago we booked round-trip from Chicago to Rome on AA the week before Easter at $298 - all taxes included, so it can be done. (Plus we got bumped to business class on the connecting flight from Amsterdam to Rome.)

Don’t spend too much for hotel rooms, but get one that’s not too scary to call home when you want to get off of the streets. If you’re visiting major museums (like the Uffizi), check their websites to get tickets ahead of time to avoid waiting in line for hours on end. Take the local trains like the natives, eat from small shops or food stands, be prepared to walk, learn a few words in the local language, and have fun!

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Some good info from Joelmama, Daryl and others. May I add a few points.

Around Europe itself, you can fly extremely cheaply via the two big discount airlines, Easyjet or Ryanair. Both have websites. Easyjet are better, Ryanair are cheaper but that’s because they are less reliable (more prone to delays) and fly to crappier locations in and out of crappier airports (often the cheaper airports that are very far away from the city they ostensibly support). They key with both these airlines is to book early, as far ahead as you can. If you do, you can fly around Europe very, very cheaply indeed, in fact far more cheaply than travelling by rail. But you must book weeks or months in advance to get the best deals.

Accommodation: it all depends what sort of person you are and what you want from a hotel or hostel. If you literally just need a roof over your head while you sleep and somewhere to take a shower, then you can get really cheap accomodation all over Europe, via the youth hostels and the cheap (1 or 2 star) hotels. They won’t be all that nice, but they will provide all you need. It’s very much a matter of personal taste and experience, but I personally don’t have much faith in lastminute.com, notwithstanding its strong brand. They do not necessarily find you the cheapest places or best deals, and I have found dealing with them to be a pain in the neck.

Avoid London if you can (I live in it). It’s the most stupidly, pointlessly expensive city in the world and well worth missing. You can visit two really nice locations elsewhere in Europe for the price of visiting London.

Don’t worry about language barrier. In touristy places, people everywhere speak enough English for you to get by. Further away from the touristy places, you may have problems but it’s nothing a little effort and imagination can’t deal with. Remember, the other person is trying to understand and help too.

Travel light, with no non-essential valuables. You probably only need about 10% of what you think you need at first. Every bit of weight you take with you will feel like a curse by the end of the trip.

Never miss out on an opportunity to go to the bathroom. You never know when the next chance will come along.

Drink water. It’s free in lots of places, and usually cheap even when it’s not free. The cost of other drinks (sodas, wine, beer) soon adds up. Don’t eat in restaurants. Buy in supermarkets, and put your own meals together. Buy fruit and veg and starchy carbs (bread, rice, grains, wheat, pasta, potatoes) because these are the cheapest and will do much to keep you going. Protein (fish or meat) is more expensive, but you will need a little from time to time.

Save time by asking for help when you need it. Information is often the most useful thing to you, and it’s usually free for the asking. But some travellers make life hard for themselves by not asking or thinking it will be too difficult. Nonsense. Get into the habit of talking to people and ASKING for help and information.

Good luck.

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Beware of the terms and conditions of the ticket, however, if you want to only use the return leg. They may reserve the right to resell that seat if you’re a no-show for the outward portion.