Europe can absolutely be done on a budget. I do it almost every single year. Here are some of my best tips I can offer you!
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BUDGET AIRLINES
If you have never heard of RyanAir, WizzAir or EasyJet, hop on a search engine and check
them out! They are Europe’s budget airlines and they are great if you are looking for
cheap flights. I once flew from Dortmund, Germany to Luton, England for $15 Canadian
(yes, you read that right). They are strict on their baggage policies so you really need to
do your research (if you are bringing more than a small backpack, you will need to buy
extra luggage).
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FLIXBUS
If you have a little more time on your hands you can check out FlixBus! They offer super
cheap bus fare to get between cities and countries. There are washrooms and wifi on
the buses, and they also offer night buses so you can sleep for the long bus rides.
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HOSTELS
If you are down to meet fun new people and bunk in a room with a bunch of others, I
recommend checking out hostels! They are generally half the price of a hotel stay. Many
offer A/C, wifi, free breakfasts…just read the fine print! I have never had a bad
experience (mind you, I do my research prior to booking). Lots of hostels offer smaller or
private rooms, but they are more expensive. My favourite hostel is The Hat in Madrid. I
also recommend looking at the Hostelworld website or booking.com when trying to
decide what hostel to stay at.
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SKYSCANNER
Skyscanner has a wonderful function where you input where you’re flying from, click
“Everywhere” for destination, and then choose an entire month and voila! A list of
destinations ranging from the cheapest to the most expensive will come up. It is a really
great way to see what destinations may be the cheapest to fly into!
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BE FLEXIBLE
My Windsor/GTA friends, check out yyzdeals.com. The best flight deals can be found
here and even all-inclusive vacations at the lowest prices. Check back frequently as lots
of deals might only last a few hours to a few days! Be prepared to jump on the
opportunity to fly to Porto, Portugal for only $300 with a backpack (trust me you do not
want a suitcase, a backpack will be sufficient)!
I hope you find some of these tips useful. There are so many ways to do Europe on a budget, but here are some ideas to get you started on your next adventure!