How To Travel Europe On A Low Budget – The ease of finding cheap flights in Europe has revolutionized route planning, and even turned vagabonds into jet setters. Before buying a long-distance train or bus ticket, it’s smart to check the cost of a flight first – you might be surprised. You can fly almost anywhere on the continent for less than $250 per flight.
After Europe deregulated its airways in the 1990s, a flock of fruitless, budget-conscious airlines. Some established ones (such as EasyJet and Ryanair) have route maps that rival their main competitors. Meanwhile, dozens of smaller niche airlines stick to a more limited flight schedule. For a partial list, see the table below.
How To Travel Europe On A Low Budget
Budget airlines typically offer flights between major European cities for $50-250. You can also fly reasonably priced in Europe on major airlines – and without any aggressive restrictions. If your timing is right, you can even find some remarkable deals, which must be a typo (Ryanair, for example, flies regularly from London to any of dozens of European cities for less than $30). Even after adding taxes and a boatload of fees, these flights can still be good value. To get the lowest rates, book well in advance. The cheapest seats sell quickly (except for occasional surprise sales). Of course, it is important to consider the disadvantages of flying budget airlines (described later).
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One-way flights on low-cost airlines are usually just as affordable as round trips. Consider combining a few cheap flights, either with the same or different airlines, to get to your destination. But be careful to leave enough time for connections – you’re on your own if a delay on one airline causes you to miss your next flight on another. Pay attention to which terminal your flights use, as low-cost carriers are often in a different terminal than traditional carriers, and you will need extra time to transfer between them. If you’re using a budget carrier to connect to your flight in the US, allow enough layover to accommodate a delay – perhaps even overnight.
Smart travelers use low-cost airlines to creatively connect the dots on their itinerary. If there is no cheap direct flight to Florence, maybe there is an alternative to go to Pisa (1.5 hours away by train); note that many flight search websites have a “nearby airports” option that will broaden your search. Even adding the cost of the train ticket from Pisa to Florence, the total can be much less than the price of a long trip over land, not to mention several hours faster.
Most budget airlines focus on certain hubs. When looking for cheap flights, first check the airlines that use your point of departure or your end point as a hub. For example, for a trip from Budapest to Oslo, I would look at Wizz Air (with a hub in Budapest) and at Norwegian (which has a hub in Oslo). Be aware that some airlines are abandoning this “hub-and-spoke” model for a less predictable “point-to-point” schedule.
My first stop when looking for budget flights online is Skyscanner; this simple website specializes in European budget airlines and provides an overview of all my options. Skyscanner also includes major non-budget carriers.
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Many other websites, including the all-purpose Kayak, are worth a look. The visually appealing Momondo shows which days around your planned dates have the cheapest rates; also include nearby airports in the search results (be clear which airport to use).
With a lower fee comes potential drawbacks. Budget cards are normally non-refundable and non-changeable. Many airlines only take online bookings, so it can be difficult to reach a customer service representative if problems arise. (Read all the fine print carefully so you know what you’re getting into.) Flights are often tightly scheduled to squeeze more flying time out of each plane, which can exaggerate the effects of delays. Deadlines are strictly enforced: If you’re told to arrive at the check-in counter an hour before your flight, and you show up with 50 minutes to spare, you’ve just missed your plane. In addition, it is not unusual for budget carriers to go out of business unexpectedly or cancel a slow-selling route – leaving you looking for an alternative.
Since budget airlines don’t make much money on your ticket, they look for other ways to make up their profits by bombarding you with ads every step of the way (when you book, via email after you buy your ticket, on board the plane. ), sell you overpriced food and drinks on board (nothing is included), and sell you fares. The first price you see on the website can be deceptively low: Once you start the purchase process, each step seems to incur a different fee. Additional costs may include reserving a seat, choosing a seat near the front, line skipping and priority boarding privileges, and—of course—checking bags.
If you plan to check a bag, pay the fee when you buy your ticket – on many budget airlines, the price per bag increases progressively the closer you get to departure. Be aware that you may have to pay more for a second bag, check larger or heavier bags, and check odd-sized bags such as baby gear. Do not assume that your bag qualifies as hand luggage in Europe; Many budget airlines use smaller dimensions than other carriers. To avoid unpleasant surprises, read the baggage policy carefully before booking.
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Another potential headache: budget airlines sometimes use obscure airports. For example, one of Ryanair’s London hubs is Stansted Airport, one of the most distant airports from central London. Some of the Ryanair flights to “Frankfurt” actually take you to Hahn, 75 miles away. You may even land in another country (albeit nearby): For example, a flight advertised as going to Copenhagen, Denmark, may go to Malmö, Sweden, or a flight to Vienna, Austria, may land in Bratislava , Slovakia. These are still safe and legal airstrips, but it can take money and time to get to your final destination using public transportation. On the other hand, the money you save often more than pays for the difference.
These are some of the budget airlines that cross the European skies, along with their main hubs. To find out more, check out Skyscanner, or search online for “cheap flights” along with the cities you’re interested in flying to/from. New airlines appear – and old ones go out of business – all the time. Traveling around Europe can be expensive. Flights, high-speed and overnight trains, ferries — they all eat into your limited (and expensive) travel budget.
Fortunately, there are many ways to tour Europe on a budget. The sharing economy, new bus options, discounted rail passes and many budget airlines all help you navigate Europe without breaking the bank.
I have been traveling in Europe since 2006 and I have seen many things change during that time period. I’ve seen travel hacks come and go and prices change and change again. While COVID has affected things, I can honestly say that it has never been easier to get to Europe because there are many new cheap ways to travel the continent.
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Taking buses between cities is one of the cheapest ways to get around the continent. The main international bus companies are Eurolines and Germany’s FlixBus, which expanded greatly when they took over Megabus and now have routes all over the continent.
Flixbus is usually the cheapest bus option, with prices starting from 5 EUR. Their buses include Wi-Fi, electrical outlets, free luggage (one carry-on and one stored under the bus), and comfortable seats. (Megabus is still running in the UK.)
FlixBus has quickly become my favorite non-rail way to get around Europe on the cheap. It’s not fancy by any means, but it’s the cheapest way to get around. They are mostly from Europe. Here is a map of their routes to help you plan your trip!
However, there are many other region-specific bus companies that will take you elsewhere. For example, Alsa is the main supplier in Spain and its neighboring countries.
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You can use BusRadar or Get By Bus to find the cheapest and fastest option on your desired route.
Busabout is a hop-on/hop-off bus service. You can come in and out as you like along one of their established routes. You can buy tickets that allow you to travel their entire network with a certain number of stops. They have short passes for trips of 5-12 days, as well as passes that last 6 months.
When you consider the soft benefits of a guide, the day trips included in your pass, and the ease of meeting people, Busabout is priced similarly to trains and flights (although it still costs more than a regular public bus ). The only downside to Busabout is that if you want to visit a city that is not on one of their routes, you will have to make your own way there at an extra cost.
One of the cheapest ways to travel long distance in Europe is by budget airline. These airlines are very productive on the continent and the competition has led to incredibly cheap fares. It is not unusual to find flights for as little as 10 EUR! I use Skyscanner to search for the best deals. They all do