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A vacation to Europe can be affordable or expensive, and it all depends on your travel preferences. Transportation One of the best things about Europe is that you can go country-hopping by car.... |
A vacation to Europe can be affordable or expensive, and it all depends on your travel preferences.
Transportation
One of the best things about Europe is that you can go country-hopping by car. As long as you’re proficient with right-hand driving, you’ll have greater – possibly cheaper as well – means of exploring the best Europe has to offer. Fuel could be a huge drain on your money, but not if you choose the ideal car for travel; another thing you should keep in mind is that diesel costs less than gas in Europe. Lastly, take your time shopping for car rental rates to save on insurance and other rental-related fees.
If you don’t feel like driving, you can opt for train or rail passes. Train rides in UK can be quite costly, but they’re very cheap when you find yourself in Italy. Finally, there’s always the alternative of walking. It’s tiring but costs you nothing and when you find yourself in the beautiful cities of Venice, Rome, Paris, Cornwall, and Heidelberg, you may think that walking is the best option after all.
Accommodations
The cost of lodgings will, again, depend on your preferences. Summer in the Mediterranean regions like Italy and Greece can be especially hot and this might prompt you to pay more for air-conditioned rooms, lobbies, and restaurants.
Studios, condo units, cottages, cabins, and the likes are also available for transients, but you’d do better to book them in advance. It could be hard to negotiate when you’re an American in Holland and you’ll have to overcome huge language barriers.
Naturally, you can expect to pay less if you’re willing to rough it out and enjoy the quaint charm of traditional living in the European countryside. Authentic traditions, however, can be quite expensive, too, if you insist on renting out a room in an honest-to-goodness castle in Scotland or England or maybe a chateau in France.
Food and Dining
First-time travelers, beware: restaurants located in less popular and populated areas are actually more expensive than those in tourist-friendly areas like Brussels, Milan, and Madrid. Nevertheless, if you’re worried about draining your pockets too much, there are always tapas, snack bars, and the likes scattered all over Europe. They may not offer air-conditioned rooms to relieve you from the heat outside, but at least they’ll allow you to extend your vacation a day or two.
Vegetarians might have difficulties looking for restaurants catering to their preferences in Spain. Wine, overall, costs cheaper than what you’d expect to pay here in the US and, you can definitely expect to pay less and enjoy more if you’re willing to try out traditional cuisine or local dishes and the likes.
How to Lower Expenses for Your European Vacation
To end this with a perfect note, we’ll let you on a couple of secrets to keep your vacation expenses low while exploring Europe.
Be multilingual. Take the time and effort to know simple words and phrases of the local language. It’s hard to get advice about the best places to shop or dine when you can’t understand each other.
Don’t convert your money. Rather, just obtain cash from ATMs or pay by credit card. It saves you from paying conversion fees.
Use prepaid phone cards. It costs less than maintaining your postpaid subscription while you go around backpacking in Europe.