How To Travel Across Europe On A Budget-XcelTrip

Xceltrip|5 min read|Jan 31, 2020

Travelling around Europe can be fairly expensive. Airline tickets, high-speed trains, overnight trains, ferries — they can all eat into all of the travellers limited travel budget. A few recent trends that have helped travellers get around Europe cheaper: weaker currency exchange rates, the rise of the sharing economy, new bus options, and lots of new budget airlines. There are now tons of cheap ways to get around Europe because of all these changes.

This article will look at how to travel across Europe on a budget, just to make sure that all travellers are informed on what they can do to stay within the set budget:

Megabus

Megabus is a cheap way to get around the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales) as well as to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Tickets can cost as little as 1 GBP if you book at least a month in advance on popular routes. However, even if you don’t scoop up these amazingly cheap deals, you can still travel for a more reasonable price than on the national bus system, as fares rarely top 20 GBP.

Busabout

Busabout is a hop-on/hop-off bus service similar to the Oz or Kiwi Experience in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. A lot of backpackers use this method of travel to get around as well as meet other travellers. You can get on and off whenever you want along one of their set routes. You can buy tickets that lets you travel their whole network with a set number of stops, for example, a nine-day flex pass, which gives you nine stops from your starting city. The pass also comes with a guide and sometimes includes group activities. A two-week pass is $299 USD.

FlixBus

Over the last few years, a new company has entered the market and totally changed the bus system in Europe! German-based FlixBus has routes in 20 European countries and thousands of cities, with prices starting as low as 5 euros. Their buses include Wi-Fi, electrical outlets, up to three three free bags, and comfy seats. It’s essentially Megabus, but less sucky. It’s the best and cheapest way to get around the whole of continental Europe. FlixBus quickly became my favorite non-train way to get across Europe more cheaply.

Budget Airline

By far one of the cheapest ways to travel long-distance in Europe is by budget airline. These airlines are hugely prolific on the continent, and this competition has led to incredibly cheap fares, often as cheap as 1 euro. Here are some of the best airlines to take to travel long-distance:

It’s important to remember that these budget airlines make most of their money through fees, and the second you mess up, they whack you with a fee. They are very strict about baggage limits or forgetting to print out your boarding pass. Be sure to follow their rules to the letter. Sometimes these budget airlines cost more money because of all their fees, so if you’re traveling with a lot of bags, it may be cheaper to fly with one of the larger airlines.

Eurail Pass

Traveling by train allows you the traveller to sit in a bigger seat, relax with a book, and watch the stunning landscape go by. It’s more comfortable than a bus and much less stressful than air travel. The European rail system is one of the best and most extensive in the world. If you’re going to travel by train, it’s hard to beat them on price and convenience for short city-to-city travel. For longer journeys (overnight journeys, between countries, or rides that require a high-speed line, like Paris to Bordeaux or Berlin to Munich), trains tend to be very expensive.

If you plan to travel around Europe in a grand tour or if you are going to be traveling across vast distances and don’t want to fly, getting a rail pass is your best money-saving travel option. Your cost per trip will be a lot lower than if you were to buy these tickets separately.

BlaBlaCar

The rise of the sharing economy has allowed people to hop a ride with locals going their way, and BlaBlaCar is the reigning king of this service. It’s hugely popular and widespread in Europe, and I’ve used this service many times. It lets you rideshare with people who have extra space in their car. You find a ride, they agree to take you, and off you go. You can find rides for as little as 5 euros.

This is the BEST paid way to get around Europe. You get to meet the locals, have a friendly conversation, save tons of money over bus and train travel, and get off the highways and more into the countryside.

Hitchhiking

The best way to travel Europe cheaply is to not pay for it and hitchhike. Hitching is quite common in Europe (and a lot safer than you think), and I’ve met a number of travellers who have done it and have been fine. I myself travelled this way in Bulgaria. But it’s important to use your head when hitchhiking. Always trust your instinct, and use common sense. If the situation feels unsafe, bail out as quick as you can.

Mix and Match Your Transportation

As you can see, there are a lot of ways to get around Europe on a budget. But the best way is to MIX AND MATCH YOUR TRANSPORTATION. The key to traveling around Europe on the cheap is to know when to use each one of the listed transportation methods. For short trips, I like trains and BlaBlaCar. For medium-length trips (half a day), I’ll take a bus, BlaBlaBla car, or train. For long distances, I fly or take a high-speed train or an overnight bus.

Too many travellers think it’s an all or nothing thing. Like one way is always better than the other. That’s not true. There’s no one way to travel Europe. There are a ton — and you need to know when to use which method. What’s more valuable? Time or money?

If you have more time, take the slower cheaper routes (except when flying is cheaper). If you have more money and a shorter trip, fly and take the train. In any given trip, I will take at least four of the above methods on how to get around Europe! It’s a mix and match method. One way isn’t good 100% of the time.

The first step to travel to Europe if you stay anywhere around the world is to grab a flight that would be cheap, so head on over XcelTrip use your cryptocurrency to fly to your preferred city and make memories that lasts a lifetime.

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