Top Tips For Planning A Summer Trip To Europe 2022 Cheaply!
April 12, 2022
Planning a trip is one of the most exciting parts of living the world traveling dream! Most of us are super ready for post pandemic travel & I believe travel is a vital force for peace & brings more joy & love to our world, so a great antidote for Putin's War on Ukraine. As we plan & dream happy visions, we add joy & excitement to the planet & ourselves knowing that exciting Europe travel with friends, our van life explorations in Europe soon, more Barcelona travel 2022, creating our vintage camper van conversion, and many European road trips in a little while will manifest in a twinkling and change our lives for the better.
"As long as you focus on the outer world you see
imbalance and dis-ease. But there is no need to
reside in that because there is a place inside of you
wherein resides serenity. " - John-Roger
Let me share some of our best tips to travel Europe cheaply on a small budget! Who says you can't have luxury on a low budget? It's truly a total myth that travel has to be expensive and we prove that daily on our travels!
Cheap Flights are key!
With a little hunting, we got non stop tickets from Lax to Europe for just $320 each, but we bought them in March for a flight in May and I see the prices are higher for my daughter who wants to come in July. So timing is everything and if you can skip high season travel in July & August, you will likely find things cheaper.
One tip is have flexibility on your travel dates as that can often save you hundreds of dollars. Shop around and compare. I like to look at skyscanner, google flights etc and I also plug in different European cities. The key is to get the cheapest fair across the pond, then you can take a bargain airline to your preferred destination city. You can also try different airports in the USA, for instance, I might find a cheaper flight from SFO to a city in Europe and then just take a budget airline from LAX to SFO. Sometimes one can save money by booking one of NYC's 3 airports to a European city and then book a cheap flight from your city to NYC.
Choosing Your Destination
Where you travel to of course has a huge impact on the cost of a trip. What are your interests & where should you go? That is a hard question when there are SO many fabulous options in Europe. You can find ways to make any destination cheaper ( we did that in Tahiti & Norway two very expensive destinations), but countries like Spain and Portugal tend to be cheaper than most of Europe and Italy and France can be very reasonable.
Look at your public transportation options as that tends to save you lots of money and many places in Europe have great, cheap mass transit. We save money by slow travel & mostly using public transportation and our bikes. If you spend at least part of your time outside of a city & enjoying that while being able to commute into the city, you can save costs that way.
How To Beat The Summer Crowds In Europe ( & Costs)
Crowds in Europe are really bad in the summer months, especially August, but also July as almost all Europeans take extended summer "holidays" then. Not just crowds, high season also means much higher costs. Everyone knows that high season is the worst time to travel, but sometimes that can't be avoided.
We have been traveling non stop since 2006 and we do travel off season and shoulder season as much as we can, but we also have gained great experience on the tricks of how to avoid crowds even in the highest of seasons in the most popular places. I actually wrote a post called "How to travel without crowds in high season" that documents how we did it and gives you the best tips and tricks to avoid crowds and costs in high season Europe.
When To Book
As soon as you decide on where in Europe to visit, book it!! So many people are traveling now because finally covid & it's restrictions are now so much better and we all have pandemic fatigue and miss travel. This summer season in Europe is looking to be a busy one so I’d expect prices to rise and there may be limited availability.Or book now for September when the crowds will lighten up, yet the weather will still be great and prices better.
Picnic = Great Food Cheap
How to eat healthy & cheap while traveling Europe? We have found it quite easy to eat delicious, nutritious, luxurious food on a very tight budget as we travel Europe. One can eat gourmet meals by shopping locally at the supermarket, farmers markets or even health food stores. The big key to healthy, travel budget eating is European picnics ( even extravagant ones are cheaper than the cheapest restaurant foods) and fixing your own food. We’ve eaten lavishly after visiting a market, picking up a nice bottle of wine and some fresh cheeses, bread, meats etc. for next to nothing then finding a divine location, like the photo above with locals having a sunset picnic at the Louvre! Bring a blanket( or sarong) to one of the endless stunning locations on the continent and bask in a real European experience.
Travel Slowly
Why slow travel? The best way to see Europe, the best way to experience the world, is always slow travel. Want to avoid the typical post-vacation burnout and returning from a holiday or vacation more exhausted & broke than when you left? Think slow! It not only prevents travel burn out, but it will greatly enhance your experience. Less is more. The biggest cost for Europe is the plane travel there and back, so if you stay longer, you save money and have a better time.
Thanks to the pandemic, it is easier than ever to work remotely or road school virtually so almost anyone can do a long homeschool family European tour or couples or single long trip. If you are traveling long term, you can really stretch your dollar. Now, almost everyone can do extended travel & mini-retirements, so start looking into how you might do it and save a bundle too! What is a winter rental home or apartment in Spain like? I have many blogs about how we did this for many years in lovely 2 or 3 bedroom apartments for about $400 a month! If you are a homeowner, perhaps look at a home exchange.
Luxury Camping & Bungalows
The best luxury cheap lodgings in Europe are at the resort campgrounds as all Europeans know and there is not a place in Europe without them nearby, but some how Americans have not learned this yet. The campgrounds of Europe are not like anywhere else and are often super luxurious, complete with swimming pools, spas, restaurants, kids clubs, saunas, gyms, grocery stores, nightly entertainment, bars, bike rentals and sometimes horse back riding and free or low cost shuttles to major attractions. All this starting at usually €20 a night or less, sometimes as little as €5 a night! There is also free camping or wild camping in many places and easily done with a car or rental van. Not into camping? They all have rental bungalows as well, usually from modest to luxurious, so there is something for everyone. It is also a great way to actually meet Europeans!
Let me know if you have any other questions about traveling cheaply to Europe this summer or anytime. I've really enjoyed become a master at this through our many years of traveling Europe and love to share our travel tips to help you have better and less expensive travel!
Planning a trip is one of the most exciting parts of living the world traveling dream! Most of us are super ready for post pandemic travel & I believe travel is a vital force for peace & brings more joy & love to our world, so a great antidote for Putin's War on Ukraine. As we plan & dream happy visions, we add joy & excitement to the planet & ourselves knowing that exciting Europe travel with friends, our van life explorations in Europe soon, more Barcelona travel 2022, creating our vintage camper van conversion, and many European road trips in a little while will manifest in a twinkling and change our lives for the better.
"As long as you focus on the outer world you see
imbalance and dis-ease. But there is no need to
reside in that because there is a place inside of you
wherein resides serenity. " - John-Roger
Let me share some of our best tips to travel Europe cheaply on a small budget! Who says you can't have luxury on a low budget? It's truly a total myth that travel has to be expensive and we prove that daily on our travels!
Cheap Flights are key!
With a little hunting, we got non stop tickets from Lax to Europe for just $320 each, but we bought them in March for a flight in May and I see the prices are higher for my daughter who wants to come in July. So timing is everything and if you can skip high season travel in July & August, you will likely find things cheaper.
One tip is have flexibility on your travel dates as that can often save you hundreds of dollars. Shop around and compare. I like to look at skyscanner, google flights etc and I also plug in different European cities. The key is to get the cheapest fair across the pond, then you can take a bargain airline to your preferred destination city. You can also try different airports in the USA, for instance, I might find a cheaper flight from SFO to a city in Europe and then just take a budget airline from LAX to SFO. Sometimes one can save money by booking one of NYC's 3 airports to a European city and then book a cheap flight from your city to NYC.
Choosing Your Destination
Where you travel to of course has a huge impact on the cost of a trip. What are your interests & where should you go? That is a hard question when there are SO many fabulous options in Europe. You can find ways to make any destination cheaper ( we did that in Tahiti & Norway two very expensive destinations), but countries like Spain and Portugal tend to be cheaper than most of Europe and Italy and France can be very reasonable.
Look at your public transportation options as that tends to save you lots of money and many places in Europe have great, cheap mass transit. We save money by slow travel & mostly using public transportation and our bikes. If you spend at least part of your time outside of a city & enjoying that while being able to commute into the city, you can save costs that way.
How To Beat The Summer Crowds In Europe ( & Costs)
Crowds in Europe are really bad in the summer months, especially August, but also July as almost all Europeans take extended summer "holidays" then. Not just crowds, high season also means much higher costs. Everyone knows that high season is the worst time to travel, but sometimes that can't be avoided.
We have been traveling non stop since 2006 and we do travel off season and shoulder season as much as we can, but we also have gained great experience on the tricks of how to avoid crowds even in the highest of seasons in the most popular places. I actually wrote a post called "How to travel without crowds in high season" that documents how we did it and gives you the best tips and tricks to avoid crowds and costs in high season Europe.
When To Book
As soon as you decide on where in Europe to visit, book it!! So many people are traveling now because finally covid & it's restrictions are now so much better and we all have pandemic fatigue and miss travel. This summer season in Europe is looking to be a busy one so I’d expect prices to rise and there may be limited availability.Or book now for September when the crowds will lighten up, yet the weather will still be great and prices better.
Picnic = Great Food Cheap
How to eat healthy & cheap while traveling Europe? We have found it quite easy to eat delicious, nutritious, luxurious food on a very tight budget as we travel Europe. One can eat gourmet meals by shopping locally at the supermarket, farmers markets or even health food stores. The big key to healthy, travel budget eating is European picnics ( even extravagant ones are cheaper than the cheapest restaurant foods) and fixing your own food. We’ve eaten lavishly after visiting a market, picking up a nice bottle of wine and some fresh cheeses, bread, meats etc. for next to nothing then finding a divine location, like the photo above with locals having a sunset picnic at the Louvre! Bring a blanket( or sarong) to one of the endless stunning locations on the continent and bask in a real European experience.
Travel Slowly
Why slow travel? The best way to see Europe, the best way to experience the world, is always slow travel. Want to avoid the typical post-vacation burnout and returning from a holiday or vacation more exhausted & broke than when you left? Think slow! It not only prevents travel burn out, but it will greatly enhance your experience. Less is more. The biggest cost for Europe is the plane travel there and back, so if you stay longer, you save money and have a better time.
Thanks to the pandemic, it is easier than ever to work remotely or road school virtually so almost anyone can do a long homeschool family European tour or couples or single long trip. If you are traveling long term, you can really stretch your dollar. Now, almost everyone can do extended travel & mini-retirements, so start looking into how you might do it and save a bundle too! What is a winter rental home or apartment in Spain like? I have many blogs about how we did this for many years in lovely 2 or 3 bedroom apartments for about $400 a month! If you are a homeowner, perhaps look at a home exchange.
Luxury Camping & Bungalows
The best luxury cheap lodgings in Europe are at the resort campgrounds as all Europeans know and there is not a place in Europe without them nearby, but some how Americans have not learned this yet. The campgrounds of Europe are not like anywhere else and are often super luxurious, complete with swimming pools, spas, restaurants, kids clubs, saunas, gyms, grocery stores, nightly entertainment, bars, bike rentals and sometimes horse back riding and free or low cost shuttles to major attractions. All this starting at usually €20 a night or less, sometimes as little as €5 a night! There is also free camping or wild camping in many places and easily done with a car or rental van. Not into camping? They all have rental bungalows as well, usually from modest to luxurious, so there is something for everyone. It is also a great way to actually meet Europeans!
Let me know if you have any other questions about traveling cheaply to Europe this summer or anytime. I've really enjoyed become a master at this through our many years of traveling Europe and love to share our travel tips to help you have better and less expensive travel!
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