Teen travel to Europe on the cheap ?
Related Topics
Beowulf beow...@nowhere.net
I know a teen who wants to travel to Europe, his first time. How cheap can he do it? Any tips on how he can do it cheap / on a budget? How to get the cheapest airfare to Europe? Cheap lodging? Cheap eating? How cheap do you think he can do a trip to Europe? (he wants to see Amsterdam and hopefully make it down to the Mediterranean Coast) Any tips and advice appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Padraig Breathnach padra...@MUNGEDiol.ie
This happens frequently: people ask about fares to Europe, but give no hint of where from they propose to travel.
It's usually the USA, but that's a big place, so no one answer suits all circumstances.
--
PB The return address has been MUNGED
Shawn Hearn s...@comcast.net
The book "Let's Go Europe" has lots of tips for budget travel.
You can find this book in any decent bookstore.
oneofc ...@yahoo.com (Iceman)
In most of Western Europe, it would be difficult to travel on less than US$50/day, not including the flight over, and that's staying only in hostels. $75/day is more realistic.
Central and Eastern Europe can be much cheaper than Western Europe.
Focus on cheaper countries, or cheaper parts of expensive countries.
London, Paris, Madrid, and Venice are particularly expensive, but most other places in England, France, Spain, and Italy are a lot cheaper than those cities.
Spend more time in each place rather than moving around all the time.
If you plan to move around a lot and decide not to get a railp***, use low-cost airlines like ryanair and easyjet to get across long distances, and consider buses rather than trains for certain short trips. Without a railp*** train fares add up very quickly in Western Europe.
Try student fares at statravel.com In most major cities in Western Europe, youth hostels are the only cheap option, and even those are usually US $20-30 per night. Even the cheapest hotels in major cities will usually be around US$40 for a single room.
Bakeries Cafes Creperies (france) Trattorias (italy) Tapas Bars (spain) Pubs (england) Many decent restaurants across Europe can be visited for a reasonable price if you don't drink alcohol with your meal and don't order lots of courses.
Avoid tourist restaurants. Anything with multilingual menus or picture menus, or anything too close to a major tourist site is usually overpriced and horrible.
Fast food is cheap, but I'd recommend avoiding it while you travel.
Amsterdam and the Spanish or French or Italian coasts are expensive no matter how you do it. Minimum $60/day plus the flight over and the flight from Amsterdam to the coast.
Beowulf beow...@nowhere.net
..
Sorry! Minneapolis (MSP)
John Bermont bermontNOSPAMM...@enjoy-europe.com
The 3 big line items are air ticket, sleeps, and eats.
For airfare shop around and around. Use travelocity, orbitz, and expedia. Also hotwire, priceline, etc. if the boy is over 18. Juggle days for the lowest fare. Buy early. Travel in late winter or early spring. Fares are dramatically higher in the summer.
Cheapest lodging is usually a hostel. Also look for rooms in private homes and B&Bs. Bare bones room with a bed can be had in Holland where you see the "Zimmer Frei" sign. A friend of mine has a B&B in Haarlem, currently priced at e29 for a single (http://www.enjoy-europe.com/b&bpaula.htm). The "Zimmer Frei" places in Zandvoort are less expensive. Travel with a partner to reduce sleep costs since many charge the same price regardless if it's for one or two persons when no breakfast is involved. Breakfasts at hotels throughout Europe are generally not a good value so if your friend stays in a hotel he should always ask for the price without breakfast.
To get the most for the least buy your food in grocery stores. Meat stores sometimes have pre-cooked meals or will make sandwiches, much better than fast food outlets. Visit the cheese shops also. Eat peanut butter, a great mid day snack or a full lunch.
Taking the train to the Mediterranean will not be cheap. Travel 2nd cl***. Take night trains and sleep in your seat. See train information on my site at http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap17/rail.htm Beware of pickpockets in Amsterdam.
He'll have the time of his life.
--
------------------------------------------------------
* * * Mastering Independent Budget Travel * * * http://www.enjoy-europe.com/
------------------------------------------------------
"simon" si...@home.com
Cheapest travel in Europe is with Eurolines buses www.eurolines.com they have p***es for week, month etc. Many overnight journeys and so saving on hotels can be made and good way of meeting people. I used to drive the Amsterdam-London route and made many friends from my time with them...
Simon ...
| To Top |