
I am a wanderer and anytime my life is thrust into a transitory state, between jobs, between educational experiences, between moves, I pack a bag and leave town in search of adventure.
This is an ingrained and necessary coping mechanism to my transitional state. I think better on planes, I plan better in the quiet moments in airport observatory decks, I process the changes best when wandering the streets of a new place, and I love it.
I want to share with you how I was able to spend a month in Europe for less than $1,000.
Here are 8 ways I have been able to travel cheaply:
Fly Wow Air
This is the holy grail of budget airlines. For $401 USD I booked a flight from Baltimore to Düsseldorf with a day stopover in Iceland. In order to receive the best possible flight price I was willing to be flexible with my time and location. In this case, I would have preferred to fly into Berlin, but the flight to Düsseldorf was $300 cheaper so I went for that one.
Ditch the fancy
After airfare, you’ll only have $600 left to last you for 4 weeks of travel. That breaks down to $150 per week. This means no all night-bingers in techno clubs, dining out every night, 5 star hotels, or museums with high entrance fees.
Accommodation
You will need to stay primarily for free with locals through Couchsurfing, or through your personal network like your friends/colleagues/family, or by house sitting your way around Europe. Alternatively to free accommodation, look into splurging once a week on a hostel or Airbnb that is less than $40/per night.
Plan to stay in each location for one week
Choose countries that are on average cheaper than $20/per day. You can look here for ideas. Pick your top 4 countries or destinations and plan to only move between those. This will help you to keep your transportation costs low. In my case, I chose Iceland for 1 day, Germany for 3 weeks, and Switzerland for 1 week.
Use cheap transportation services in Europe
You have plenty to choose from including bus services like Meinfernbus and Berlinbus. For European budget airlines, use Easyjet and Ryanair.
Eat what the locals eat and be prepared to dine in
In Germany and many Eastern European countries, groceries can be much cheaper than in the U.S. Especially items like cheese, beer, wine, and breads. Stick with where the locals shop, for example, in Germany, Aldi or Lidl are popular grocery store options.
Leave your heels at home
This point is about packing a light load. If you have less to carry with you, you will likely not be charged more for your luggage on airlines. On this trip, I brought less than 15 pounds in my bag. This meant ditching my idea of bringing my heavy DSLR camera, back up shoes, and excessive amounts of clothes. I only have 5 outfits for the entire trip and one pair of shoes.
Spend time outdoors
Europe has many beautiful outdoor hideaways to swim, hike, and enjoy a good dose of Vitamin D. You can typically swim in most rivers, lakes, and streams in Europe. Sunshine and outdoor time is free!
How To Spend a Month in Europe for under $1000 #travel
I’m convinced other people can travel like this too and would love to hear your stories of budget travel or what you find most exciting about this post!
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Image source: unsplash.com
This post originally appeared on Medium and has been republished with permission.
Yes! Travel doesn’t have to be expensive necessarily—if you do all the right things (hostels, Couchsurfing, cheap airbnbs, fly/train at off-peak times), you can definitely do it on a budget.
Great article! Europe can be expensive so these tips are great.
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Good for you! This is how I have been traveling for years, and I’m 58 yrs old. People ask me how I afford to travel. I don’t think they really believe you can do it on a budget. Europe is not as pricey as people think. Sure it’s expensive if you go first class, but if you cheap out, you will see so many beautiful things. Did you get to the Paul Klee museum in Düsseldorf? His art is beautiful.
A useful post and definitely very true it takes more than the average time to visit such a beautiful place but at last, there is a peace visiting such a wonderful city Liverpool and Chelsea and Milan, Europe is never cheap and If you go with the budget mind you would probably might end up visiting wonderful places. Nice article about the budget I like it.