How to backpack for a month through Europe with 1500 dollars!
1500 dollars.
That was my budget when me and my friend Paul decided to backpack through Europe for 30 days. 1500 dollars.
Let that sink in... that's 50 dollars per day in a places such as Iceland, Paris, London, and Barcelona. Cities that have a high standard of living which make budget traveling even more challenging. So that's leave the question....
HOW THE HELL DID WE ACCOMPLISH IT?
Before we embarked on our journey, we frequently meet to plan four main component of our adventure. Flights, accommodations, activities, and transportation. It is very important to plan out in advance because prices will increase especially during the Summer. While flights have become cheaper due to the increasing presence of budget airlines with transatlantic flights such as WOW Air and Norwegian Airlines. It is important to know that these flights are out of major cities such as New York and Miami rather than say for instances... Greenville, South Carolina. Anyways, here are my tips on how to save on the four main components of a European adventure.
Flights
Thanks to the decreasing cost of oil, and more low-cost carriers with transatlantic routes. Flight prices from the United States to Europe and vice versa have dramatically reduced. However, in order to save money on flights. You will have to do a lot of research and planning ahead. Most of the cheaper routes are located in bigger cities such New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. rather than cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte, or Nashville. Paul and I were lucky to found flights from Atlanta to Iceland for 650 dollars roundtrip two years ago. However, this is not as common as we would like. The majority of times it is cheaper to buy round trip tickets to cities such as New York for 200 dollars, fly a 450 dollar round trip trip to Amsterdam than a 1200 dollar route to Amsterdam from Charlotte. In fact, a lot of those trips have layovers in cities such as New York or Chicago so it is easier and cheaper to do the first option. Another important factor to consider is that flights in Europe are cheap. When I mean cheap... I mean dirt cheap. Due to the huge presences of budget airlines such as Ryanair, Vueling, and Easyjet. You could fly from London to Rome for 20 Euros one way.
I AM NOT MAKING THAT UP! THIS IS THE REALITY OF TRAVEL IN EUROPE.
An example of flights in Europe. One way from Rome to Budapest on May 16th, 2018.
So if you want to go to maybe Budapest, but see that flights to there from the US are 500 dollars costlier than to Rome. Then it will be more economical to fly into Rome first than to Budapest.
The front page of Secretflying.com. They also have a Twitter and Facebook page.
There are three main search engines that I recommend to find great airline deals.
Kayak, Mondomo, and Expedia. These three search engines from my experience have the best deals, and updated prices on transatlantic routes.
Accommodations
Finding a place to stay is most difficult part of budget traveling in my opinion. It is difficult because you could spend upward to 50 dollars per night to basically not sleep on the streets.
Here is a confession I have to... I stayed at friend's houses while over in Europe for about 10 nights, all whom I befriended while I was studying abroad in Barcelona.
HOWEVER... There is a way to find accommodations for little to no money.
CouchSurfing.. For those who do not know CouchSurfing, it is a social networking website that arranges home-stays, events, and gatherings. I used it two times for accommodations in Reykjavik, Iceland and Rotterdam, Netherlands. I can tell you this.... it is definitely something to experience if you're traveling.
Here with our first CouchSurfing host Helgi in Iceland. He owned an apartment near the bay which allowed us to see amazing views. Also he's in a band called Benny Crespo's gang. Y'all should check him out.
When you are on CouchSurfing, you are asking people in a particular city such as Paris or London if you can stay with them for free. A lot of times, especially if you have a new profile with no references, it is difficult to find a place to stay. My recommendation is to write them a message stating your interest, why you're a cool person to host, and how you can repay them whether it's monetary or gifts. Remember.. Just because you're staying somewhere for "free" doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. Be respectful, buy your host some food or beer, and be sure to have FUN! Also.. not really knowing what your host's house/apartment looks like could lead to some... interesting... stays.
Another cheap accommodation option are hostels. Hostels are essentially dorms where you live with up to 16 people in a room for a night. While it could be crowded, the opportunity to meet people and cheap prices make it my favorite cheap accommodation options. Most hostels have a bar downstairs that allows you to meet other travelers and mingle with locals. It led to great moments such as walking downtown Amsterdam with an English guy about deep stuffs, or partying with a bunch of Australians in Rome... (Australians are the craziest drinkers I've seen) However, there are some major cons. If you want some privacy, say goodbye because when you're sharing a room with 10 people, all of that is gone. Also, if you're an introvert, it could be your worst social nightmare.
Our AirBnB in Paris. Really nice to see this out of the window especially at night.
The final cheap accommodation option are AirBnBs. AirBnB is a website that allows people to list their room, guest house, and even their entire apartment/house for short-term rentals. I really enjoy this option due to two things. Privacy and hospitality from the host. While we were in Paris, we rented an AirBnB that overlooked a canal and my goodness it was phenomenal. The host was very respectful and allowed us to have privacy that you cannot have at a hostel. However, AirBnBs are usually the priciest of the three options so I would reserve it for cities you really want to have one at.
Activities
One of the best things about Europe is that each of the major cities have so many things to do. You could find them on Facebook, Couchsurfing, Instagram, and Twitter.
Here are two of my biggest tips on drinking and food.
Do not eat out TOO MUCH and buy your own Groceries.
Pregame HARD before you go out!
In certain cities such as Paris and Zurich, don't be surprised to pay 10 euros for a meal that you can buy for 4 bucks back in the States. The cheapest fast food in Europe are your typical fast food joints such as Mcdonalds and Kabob stores. For some reason in Europe, kabobs and gyros are everywhere and are the cheapest take out food option. Also, they're amazing after a night of drinking.
If you are going to partake in drinking activities such as going to bars or clubs, it is cheaper to buy bottles from a store and pregame rather than buy a drink at a bar. Pretty simple stuff right here.
Transportation
Unless the United States, there really isn't a driving culture in most countries except maybe Germany and Italy. Even in those two countries, public transportation is very good and takes you everywhere. You can ride the subway/metro/bus at most big cities, and ride a train from town to town for a decent price. Most of the towns in Europe have the central train station at its heart so train access is effortless.
For those who want to drive, I hope you know how to drive stick because that is the European norm. Almost every car is manual, and if you don't know how to drive a stick, I hope you don't stall as many times as me when I drove manual in Iceland. Car rental can be a little expensive so it would be good to invite people from your hostel or wherever you meet people to your road trip. Splitting the cost with more people will be easier on the budget. If you are going to the countryside, I would recommend this option if you have room in your budget allocation.
There is an app/website called BlaBlaCar that allows you to carpool from point a to point b. It is one of the cheapest transportation option out there. We used it getting from Rotterdam to Amsterdam for only 10 euros. Definitely a lot cheaper than a train or a taxi.
Finally, if you want to fly from a city to another, you're in luck because flights in Europe are dirt cheap. Due to low regulations and a large amount of low-cost carriers, routes can be as cheap as 1 EURO! However... there are some rules you have to follow to keep the savings. Some airlines such as RyanAir will give you a penalty if you don't check in through your plane. Also, there is a big fee if you want to check in your bag, usually up to 70 euros.. Yikes! The biggest complaint I have with these airlines are that the flights are usually bumpy, customer services from the attendants are non-existent, and seats are tiny making the flight very uncomfortable. However, you pay what you get I suppose.... Just hoping SouthWest will make their way to Europe soon.
With cheaper flights and more awareness about budget traveling due to the internet. It is easier to travel cheaper and better in Europe. However, like a lot of things, it is best done with some planning and a lot of patience. It is going to suck a lot times.. especially when you're forced to go to bed hungry or staying at an airport for a whole day. However.. the experiences while overseas will be worth it through all of the hardships.