The best money-saving travel advice for Europe is to plan what you can and be smart about what you can’t. 

Armed with the right information, you are not powerless in the decisions you make. Take control of your travel so that you can pay less and enjoy your experience. 

Only you know what choices are right for you, but everyone can find savings.

10 fast tips for cheap travel in Europe 

There are some easy hacks for keeping travel costs low, most of which come down to good planning: 

1. Travel outside peak season
2. Avoid major local events
3. Book accommodation early
4. Fix your hotel dates when possible
5. Compare everything before you book – don’t accept claims of ‘cheapest rates’ without finding out
6. Book long-distance transport early
7. Use regional trains and buses
8. Eat away from tourist centres
9. Avoid ATM, foreign-exchange and card fees on transactions
10. Consider lower-cost European countries

Being informed about where costs lie is a traveller’s superpower. Most travel savings come from these five big ideas: 

● Make plans around fixed times
● Book accommodation early
● Buy transport tickets early
● Don’t travel Europe at peak times of year
● Don’t stay at busy times for destinations – check the calendar 

A lot of glib and gratuitous travel advice misses the mark, however, and some standard tips are modern myths. The appeal of clever-sounding hacks can be enhanced by social media, but simple ideas save the most money and are usually more practical. 

What’s true is this:

● You can save money on every European hotel room you book
● You can save on every European transport ticket you buy
● You can save on every European meal you eat
● You can avoid paying extra on every European transaction you make

There are no grand European travel secrets and not many cheap hacks for cutting European travel expenses – just useful knowledge and logical moves. Raven Guides draws on more than 40 years’ experience in European travel, much of it in relatively expensive countries, to compile the following tips.

How to save money on European travel

Before revealing money-saving tactics, it’s important to establish one powerful reality – accommodation and long-distance travel are expenses exposed to demand. This means: 

● At busy times, you pay more for beds in hotels or hostels or seats on main-line trains and long-distance buses
● The earlier you book, the cheaper beds and tickets are likely to be
● If you are prepared to lock in your dates and times, the service you want comes even cheaper – fixed hotel dates save a lot of money

If you track hotel room rates for a few weeks, or the cost of a long-distance train ticket for even a few days, you can see this in action. 

From this, four main principles emerge right away: 

● Book early and pay less – for accommodation a good rule of thumb is three months or more ahead, for main-line express trains at least a week ahead, particularly for popular destinations and peak periods
● Don’t travel in Europe at peak times of year – notably between June and August and during December or the first week of January (when Advent-Christmas markets attract crowds)
● Don’t visit destinations when local events might elevate demand for beds
● Make travel plans around factors you can control

But, even if you don’t have many choices about when you visit, you can still save money by being informed. 

You can also target the cheapest European countries to visit and make the most of their striking attractions and experiences.

How to save money on accommodation in Europe

Hotel and hostel beds is usually the area for biggest travel savings. Cutting accommodation costs is about a mixture of tactics and some smart thinking. 

The central tourist areas of big cities tend to be more expensive than other places, especially when it comes to accommodation. But big cities also provide more choice of low-cost hotels, hostels and eateries. 

It’s up to you to compare city areas and make smart choices about where to stay. What you need most is ready access to efficient public transport.

Tip 1: Book hotels or hostels early. For accommodation this means three months or more ahead.

Beds are limited and therefore demand-sensitive commodities. In the 2020s, there is almost always more than one price for the same bed. Most pricing structures elevate prices as supply shrinks.

Tip 2: Don’t book when events are on.

Look at a hotel booking calendar and follow the clear messages being sent by the booking prices. Cities host festivals and trade fairs and there are demand peaks caused by public holidays, especially long weekends. When beds are scarce, the cost soars. In extreme cases such as Munich, bed rates triple or quadruple during Oktoberfest. This case study shows why timing matters. 

In 2022, Oktoberfest ran from Saturday, September 17, to Monday, October 3. You can see this effect in one booking calendar below.

To book for 2026, the same inflation is clear in the rates being asked for a private four-bunk room at a Munich hostel:

For a comparable period immediately after Oktoberfest (when flexible rates were again being offered):

If you are not visiting for the beer festival, go at another time, or stay elsewhere and have a suitable transport plan.

Tip 3: Compare the prices on the same bed.

There’s a lot of marketing of accommodation websites that says they compare the prices. Booking websites claim they have the cheapest rate, but this is not usually true. Always compare the rate with the hotel's own website before booking. Instead, you make the comparison – check the booking website, do your research there, then compare the rate at the hotel’s own site. The hotel’s site is usually the best deal.

Tip 4: Fix your booking for the cheapest price.

Fixed accommodation dates almost always bring cheaper rates. In a Raven Guides comparison of hotel rates, fixed-date bookings came out about 11% cheaper than flexible rates. If you want to stay flexible, especially until the last minute, would the hotel you wanted be able to accommodate you on another date anyway? When you consider the issues facing the hotel, the extra you pay on a ‘flexible’ rate starts to look like an expensive upsell on the same bed, part of modern marketing practice.

Tip 5: Remote check-in, no-frills hotels and hostels can save you money.

Rates are cheaper for accommodation houses that send you a booking code for the front door and leave extra towels and linen in case you need them. This concept is becoming more common as a budget tactic in expensive countries. There might be breakfast and a phone number, but no reception desk. Check out the blog on lower hotel rates with self-check in.

Tip 6: Don’t think of hotels or hostels only – there are other budget accommodation choices in Europe.

There are all sorts of budget rooms – hotels garnis, pensions, guesthouses are just some of the option. Check out the blog on European pensions and budget rooms. 

How to travel cheaply around Europe

When people travel long distances, they use scarce resources. The costs flow from there. Travelling even medium distances at busy times costs more. Choose carefully.

Tip 1: The more you move, the more you pay.

This sounds obvious, but minimising movement comes back to planning. It depends on your travel ambition, but if you don't move too much or too far, you save money and time.

Tip 2: Buy tickets for long-distance train or bus journeys in advance.

For main-line express trains or intercity buses that means least a week ahead, preferably more. The state of intercity transport in Europe is such that European natives know that advance bookings are cheaper under the demand-based model – as vacancies vanish, prices rise. You could sit next to someone who paid one-third as much for the same ticket, or twice as much.

Tip 3:  Buy off-peak tickets for long-distance train or bus journeys.

These are substantially cheaper than tickets for journeys at more popular times. This tactic can mean travelling at uncivilised hours, but not necessarily at 4am or midnight. It’s easy to see the various ticket prices on most booking websites, so we have a choice between marginal savings and dirt-cheap travel.

Source: Deutsche Bahn

Source: FlixBus

Tip 4: Use regional transport services, which are usually covered by cheap, fixed-price tickets.

If you have the choice of two trains – fast and slow – take the slower, stopping-all-stations train to save money. 

Fast trains tend to be more expensive and insert you into demand-based pricing structures.  Sometimes you can find cheap rail tickets if you know what the offers are – this is usually about making early bookings. 

But using slower regional trains or buses is always inexpensive. No booking is necessary – in most cases, you buy and board.

Tip 5: If you intend travelling long distances, consider combining accommodation and travel by using an overnight train.

This can save a lot of time as well as money. If you can get restful sleep on a train, have a look at the possibilities. Overnight trains are making a comeback in Europe and offer tiers of comfort from lay-back seats to couchettes and full sleeping berths with shower and breakfast. The ticket might be more than the price of a hostel or budget hotel bed, but the real cost comparison comes from setting a day ticket plus a bed for the night against a sleeping berth. Then factor in the opportunity to do and see more.

Tip 6: Buy day or multi-day city transit passes in cities to cut the cost of getting around.

There are big savings available in multi-day passes, especially as the period pushes out to six days or a week. Some cities have phased out two or three-day transit tickets in favour of longer terms for this reason and even over four days a six-day ticket looks like a substantial saving. Know the validity area, validate the pass before first boarding and travel easier as well as cheaper.

Tip 7: Long-distance buses can be much cheaper than long-distance trains if you book far enough ahead.

Long-distance buses are not as relatively cheap as they were several years ago as the fierce competition in post-2010 Europe has settled with the loss of many players. The €5 or €10 bus tickets are a lot rarer. But bus stops, even many bus stations, are less well-equipped and the infrastructure for bus routes is minimal, so bus operating costs are much lower. Changes to schedules are easier, more flexible. But if you leave your ticket purchase until the day before you travel, this cost benefit vanishes.

How to find cheap flights in Europe

A lot of effort goes into seeking cheaper flights and this is necessary online. Don’t expect that online travel agencies automatically offer lower fares – compare, compare and compare.

Tip 1: Online travel agencies are a good place to start the search for cost savings.

Comparison is essential for choice and OTAs give a lot of alternatives. The serve-yourself model is one route to savings. The large OTAs operate multiple international hubs that can provide some support for customers when needed. If booking flight connections, ensure transfer times are sufficient. 

The flight-focused platforms are popular start points for travel planning. UK-based Skyscanner generally includes accommodation offers with its fares and offers an email subscription service with current discount offers. 

Budget Air UK has a useful Cheap Flights Radar page for deals from London. 

US-based Kayak offers several categories of travel products but flights are the priority. Lastminute.com handles flights only or bundles deals. 

Canada-based CheapOair is known mainly for flights, as is Australia-based Webjet. 

Websites such as Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline and Trip.com offer multiple products, but can be searched for flights.

Tip 2: Using OTAs’ date-range filters sets up a search for cheapest options.

One of our chief tools in the search for savings is date flexibility. If we can choose dates, our hand is much stronger. Set your date filters to a week or more to bring up a range of fares to widen choice and increase savings margin.

Tip 3: Look to budget airlines for ultra-low or low-cost fares.

Budget airlines, known in the industry as low-cost carriers or LCCs, frequently offer European no-frills fares in the €50-120 range and promotional fares are sometimes as low as €10 in narrow windows. LCCs now account for one-third or more of European flights, but about 60% of all air passengers.  

These stripped-down short-haul (up to 2,000km or three hours, according to IATA) or medium-haul flights (up to six hours) frequently use secondary or regional airports. 

Tip 4: Compare the total journey cost, not the advertised ticket price.

Low-cost tickets usually incur extra fees for checked luggage, food and other services. These can quickly inflate the cost of travel. Don’t assume that a €20 airfare is a €20 trip.

Tip 5: Factor in airport-to-city transport costs and time. 

The position of airports in relation to your location and destination is a further cost factor and associated fares vary considerably. Allgaü Airport Express runs between Memmingen airport (used by Ryanair and Wizz Air) for budget flights serving Munich (about 1¼ hours, €3.50 per adult including luggage). Stansted Express trains between Stansted airport and central London (about 50 minutes) cost £9.45.

International ferries are always a cheap mode of travel

Ferries carry lots of passengers and fares for simple passage or armchair seats are in a similar cost range to cheap airfares. Fares only rise when cabins or carrying motor vehicles come into the equation. But for overnight journeys passengers combine accommodation with transport and can awake refreshed in a new destination.

Tip: Look for the off-peak fares.

Where there are multiple daily services, the cost of an off-peak ferry ticket can be as little as half the price of other departures. 

How to eat cheaply in Europe

A chance to shop cheaply and picnic in green spaces should be seized as it is one of the least-expensive travel food options. But you don’t have to absorb all your nourishment on a park bench.

Tip 1: The central tourist areas of big European cities tend to be more expensive than other places.

This is especially true in cities such as Prague, Vienna or Paris. Atmosphere and fine dining can be a treat of travel, but getting away from the tourist traps – and the crowds – is a good idea if you want to eat affordably most of the time. There’s plenty of atmosphere and local flavour in many small places that you will still remember for ever.

Tip 2: Your mapping app or a good travel guide is your best dining partner.

A good travel guide or a locally compiled website by an informed expat resident helps a lot.

Tip 3: In cities, consider using food courts at shopping malls or other retail centres.

These places are meccas for budget meals, which offer low-cost variety. In places like these, you can choose. In more expensive regions, such as Scandinavia, there are often food halls that offer a similar array of choices. Raven Guides has discovered that cheap eats at shopping malls are worth considering when it comes to making accommodation choices.

Tip 4: Check out the local markets.

Town markets can be very good places for street food, often with a distinctive local touch. If not, great fresh produce, often organic, is available for self-caterers.

Tip 5: Certain styles of eating are relatively cheap in most parts of Europe.

● Asian-style rice, ramen, or other noodle bowls, or poke-style bowls at small food bars, are almost always low-cost bets. This rarely applies to sushi bars. Punch ‘asian food bars’ into your mapping app and compare.
● Kebabs are pretty budget-friendly in most places.
● Bakeries are often budget-friendly breakfast or lunch options, although this is sometimes less so in Scandinavia, where convenience stores might save more money.
● Pizzas are often available cheaply (again, with the exception of Scandinavia). Try to avoid branded chains and follow locally popular outlets.
● Street foods such as sausages and fries are definitely cheap eats if these are your preference.
● Hamburger meals can be cheap, but not always. It’s easy to research online costs of international fast-food brands where you are travelling.

Tip 6: Check out convenience stores for cheap options.

In high-cost countries, coffee and pastries cost much less at a convenience store than at a bakery cafe. Pour yourself a beverage and pay at the counter. In Scandinavia, convenience chains come into the snacking picture or breakfast with big cost benefits. Sit down on a stool or take your snack to a public seat nearby and take in the local flavour.

Tip 7: Consider a solid low-cost lunch and eating lighter in the evening.

In many city office areas affordable lunch bars are a necessary part of everyday life. Exploit this reality. Anywhere there is a cluster of office buildings is a lunch cafeteria where you can get a varied plate of food. Such places will usually offer vegetarian of vegan options.

Tip 8: Avoid restaurant alcohol in high-VAT countries.

If you want alcohol, consider getting a packaged supermarket product, although bring-your-own-alcohol restaurants are rare. Buy a few cans or a bottle of wine and relax in your room if you can.

Tip 9: For self-catering, understand the brand hierarchy for retail food pricing.

We all know that some supermarkets and brands are cheaper than others. So why ignore this fact when travelling. It’s not hard to find the discount supermarket brands in the country where you are, and pretty soon you know as much as anyone about where to shop and where to avoid.

Tip 10: Don’t eat at airports.

This tip should be obvious. The expense can be high for quite basic foods, especially inside the security area. No happy landings there. 

Ways to avoid extra travel costs in Europe

Are your transactions costing you money? Hidden transaction charges lurk to shock the unwary. Some of these are revealed below. 

Above all, know the exchange rate between your home currency and the currency in which you are operating. If you cannot carry the current exchange rate in your head, keep a note on your smartphone, where you have a calculator.

Tip 1: Debit cards are good, be careful when using credit cards.

Save up money before you travel, or face a very big bill down the road. We can choose to make discretionary purchases on credit, but travellers should always aim to cover everyday expenses with a normal savings account or cash withdrawn from that account. If you carry credit cards with no foreign transaction fees and useful protections, that’s much safer. 

Your interest rate on credit purchases is not the most important thing. Often you get time to repay. But cash withdrawals against standard credit accounts incur interest immediately, and at a very high interest rate, frequently higher than 20%. This makes for very costly travel. 

Tip 2: Have a card or bank account that does not charge you fees for foreign transactions.

These accounts are not too hard to find, although some charge a fee for use. Any fee has to be set against usual fees of 3% or more. Leave home knowing what you will be charged for purchases overseas.

Tip 3: Withdrawing cash usually comes at a cost.

Costs for withdrawing cash at ATMs can be high, especially where a fixed fee is charged for a small withdrawal. There are three types of fees:
● The fee imposed at the ATM where you are withdrawing (if using a machine that is not part of a network allied to the card-issuing bank), a flat fee (up to 3% of withdrawal value) or both
● The currency conversion fee (often 1-3%, but some machines charge more)
● Your home bank’s fee

Not all necessarily apply. Some card accounts do not charge such currency conversion fees. The home bank’s fee, if any, depends on the account you are using.

Any ATM charges should come up on screen before you confirm. Raven Guides once tried to withdraw 800Kč (about €33) at a Czech bank ATM and read a warning that the account would be charged 169Kč – almost €7, more than 21% of the transaction amount. That does not happen everywhere, but would not have been economical.

Tip 4: Minimise the number of ATM withdrawals.

If you're paying a €4–5 fee for a small withdrawal – which is common – you're paying a significant amount relative to the cash you're taking out. Cut your ATM visits by carrying whatever cash you might feel comfortable with carrying.

Tip 5: Bank-operated ATMs are almost always preferable to others.

Bank-operated ATMs are often the safer first choice, but always check the displayed fee and exchange rate before confirming a withdrawal. Unbranded ATMs in some shops or shopping areas can be expensive choices (except in Sweden, where banks combine to support the Bankomat network, which is essentially free of withdrawal fees).

Tip 6: Always transact in the local currency.

It is cheaper to do the transactions you need in the currency used where you are travelling. Any point-of-sale transaction terminal that offers you the option of paying in your home currency is offering you a chance that will likely cost more. Refuse this lazy choice. When tapping your card or smartphone, always select the local currency.

How to save money on sightseeing in Europe

You need only the will and the energy to absorb the atmosphere of Europe’s cities and towns. Europe is at your feet.

Tip 1: Free walking tours are a blessing.

Free walking tours are now common in most large European cities. ‘Free’ means that a voluntary contribution is welcomed, perhaps a handful of euro according to the value of the tour or the visitor’s capacity to pay. Another big advantage is that these tours are led by enthusiasts with intimate knowledge who can bring a dash of colour to their subject. Sometimes online bookings are necessary. 

Several websites gather free-tour offers in one place. Sandemans New Europe, GuruWalk, Freetour, Free Walking Tours by Locals and United Europe Free Tours bring together free walks in dozens of European cities. The Bright Nomad website documents both free and paid tours with a strong cultural emphasis. 

For further offers, search ‘free tours [destination]’ to see what’s available and follow the reviews.

Tip 2: Some museums have free entry times.

It could be an hour or two before closing time once a week, it could be one day a month, but many museums offer free entry at certain times. A little research and planning regarding museums you would like to visit might find uncover a lucky ‘free ticket’.

Tip 3: Museum combination tickets can be big cost-savers.

Combining a number of associated museums in one ticket saves money if the admission window is long enough and you want to see all or most. A little scheduling might be needed to realise the full benefit.

Tip 4: Free vantage points offer lots of great views.

A great view is not only inspiring and unforgettable. It tells a lot about the destination.

In Raven Guides destination guides, a section on views explains where to find them and any admission cost involved.

Tip 5: Churches are usually free.

Church interiors and exteriors tell a lot of stories and are places that reflect the spirit and artistic endeavour of various ages. But churches are above all places of worship that are often open most days, so respectful visitors are welcomed. There is no hard rule on which churches charge visitors for entry, although big cathedrals often charge to cover the infrastructure needed to accommodate crowds, or fees that permit photography.

Tip 6: Public spaces are usually free.

Parks and gardens are some of the most beautiful places in Europe. Occasional botanic gardens or plant conservatories charge (mostly small) fees.

Tip 7: Hop on-hop off buses can be good, cheap city introductions.

These buses can get you oriented in a new destination and the multilingual commentaries can provide a big picture of history, personalities and sites. The value depends on how long the ticket lasts, and this can be 72 hours or more in some cases. Visitors can program stops at targeted sites and save the cost of public transport.

Cheap travel myths in Europe: What doesn't always save money

Some travel myths need to be deconstructed and replaced with more critical, measured assessments. The best that can be said about some of this advice is that we should add the word ‘sometimes’.

Myth 1: Buying a rail pass saves money.

For reasons explained above, European rail passes such as Eurail and Interrail passes – once popular as a money-saving tactic but implicitly flexible tickets – are not likely to be the cheapest way to handle your travel. 

There might be a convenience factor in rail passes, but you might end up having to spend far too much time on trains making them pay. Such constant movement robs you of precious time for other travel experiences. One exception is Germany’s ultra-cheap Deutschland-Ticket, but it has restrictions and complexities, too. Rail passes (with the exception of some early-year discounts) always cost the same, but off-peak travel is always cheap. The logic here is hard to escape.

Myth 2: Hostels are cheaper than hotels.

Hostels are not always cheaper than hotels, though they generally are. It depends on which hostels are compared with which hotels. Swish and fashionable European city hostels are not necessarily money-savers, especially in peak season, on Friday and Saturday nights, or during local events. If you want a private room, booking all of a four-bunk room might not be cheaper and the room could be less comfortable. Wherever you stay, booking early, and at a fixed rate, is a far more reliable money-saving tactic.

Myth 3: Take an airport train or bus to the city when you clear airport security.

Dedicated airport trains or express buses can be faster or easier, but are usually a lot more expensive than using the regular transit network. The speed and convenience of these seems attractive at the end of a long international flight. Services like these can be better equipped for handling heavy luggage.

Myth 4: Multi-ticket websites are the best places to buy transport tickets.

Sites such as Omio, The Trainline or Bus Radar are quite useful for researching options, but can rarely claim to offer all the options or cheaper tickets. Compare prices with national rail operators’ websites or at major rail stations first. The dynamic here is the same as booking accommodation online – the home site tends to be the cheapest.

Myth 5: City tourist passes are money-savers.

It depends – do the sums first. You can rarely get around more than five ticketed attractions such as museums a day unless you are walking between closely located points, which negates any benefit of ‘free’ city travel. Are entry charges 100% covered by the pass? What other benefits can you realistically use? Sometimes the best benefit of these passes is skipping long ticket queues, but we are supposed to be travelling off-peak, aren’t we? Combination tickets for a group of related museums might be a better bet – if you can meet any time limits on the use of these. The fact is that saving money on city passes takes clear thinking and planning.

Advice you can use in most places – with a bonus tip

The tips above are not location-specific advice and can work in most parts of Europe with reasonable success, in some destinations better than in others. 

In many places specific, hot local tips about places mean a lot. Good European travel guides are sound investments that save substantial sums of money. 

The most important thing you can do is take a notebook, record and pass on your own tips on specific destinations to fellow travellers on the road, or to family and friends. Share that vital information and earn yourself a little goodwill – we’re all in this together. 

For low-cost destination ideas, check out the blog on Europe’s cheapest countries to visit.