Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with europe and cheap

Have to fly in July, but we'll adapt to anything else!

amicamentis — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:53:46 -0800

How to find the best NYC --> Europe flight deals when both day of week and destination are flexible. Caveat: flying out July 2010. My roommate and I are planning an extended European vacation beginning around the middle of July next year. I know that this is the absolute worst time to fly out, so we need some tips about how to cut down the price.

We are flying from NYC but would be willing to travel to Newark or even Philadelphia if there were significant savings. I have used RyanAir in the past and am familiar with inter-European travel, which is why we don't care much about the city that we first land in. So far, it looks like flying into Dublin is the least expensive. We would also be fine with Paris, London, Glasgow, Amsterdam, or Geneva.

What now? I've heard that if you're flying during peak season then you should just buy tickets as early as possible because they will never lower. However, with our flexibility it seems that there may be some deal, somewhere a bit closer to our flight date. Is this wishful thinking?

We would appreciate any website recommendations that would give fares on neighboring cities as well, or flexibility about the day of the week. I've tried Kayak and liked it - are there others?

In addition, our vacation will probably continue for several months. Will the customs agents give us any problems for having a return ticket for more than three months from the day we enter the country?

Thanks!

Cheap, but fun Europe!

lattiboy — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:19:10 -0800

Help me plan an October European vacation (starting/ending in Madrid) on the cheap! Since AskMe was SO helpful last time, I thought I'd try a bigger project:

I picked up a pair of airline tickets to Madrid for an incredible price about a month ago and now I'm freaking out about 10 days in Europe and the costs associated with that. I'll be traveling with my fiance and we're open to just about anything (we would like to avoid non-private hostel rooms). The travel dates are from October 1st until the 10th.

We'd like to see as much as possible (Paris and London especially) for as little as possible.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

PS The conversion rate being what it is, if EASTERN EUROPE is realistic, I'm all over that!

more bang for my meager buck

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:35:50 -0800

I'm going to Rome for one week in February. How can I cheap out on lodging while there? I'm traveling with my boyfriend. The trip itself is only affordable to begin with because of the awesomeness of EasyJet. We're planning on trying to couchsurf but, if that doesn't work out, do you know of any hostels/hotels/monasteries where we can stay for less than 30euros/night total cost? (if you have any other advice on enjoying oneself in Rome while not spending much money, that's welcome too!)

Where to go in Europe?

alona — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:23:02 -0800

EuropeFilter: Two teens about to spend up to 10 days in Europe. Suggestions on where to go and how to keep it cheap? So we're 17, he's finished high school and I'm just before my senior year, and we're planning a 7-10 day trip in Europe in mid to late August. I know it's the most expensive season to travel but we really have no other time. Our parents are paying airfare (yay for parents) but as for me, I'm paying for everything else. That includes lodging, food, travel within Europe, entrance fees to various places and various other expenses. A rough estimate tells me I'll have betwen $700 - $1000 USD (not much. but if needed I know I can get more).
We're not completely sure about where we're going to be yet. We were thinking of doing a few days in Amsterdam, a few days in Ghent, Belgium (which I've heard is far more interesting for young people than Bruxelle) and then something like two days in Paris (because it's the most expensive).
We've both already been to London, so that's not necessary, and we both really want to go to Amsterdam. From there, we'd like places that aren't incredibly far (we don't want to waste time on travel) and preferably as cheap as possible.
Advice on which places are a must-see in any city is much appreciated as well :)

Help me plan/budget a 1-week Spain or Greece vacation!

sdis — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:44:07 -0800

Help me figure out a budget and an example itinerary for a February trip to Spain or Greece! I'm in Austria, and found some €20 roundtrip tickets (Feb 4-11 or thereabouts) to Barcelona, Spain (Well, Girona) via Ryanair during a February school break. This is cool. Now what? [Alternatively, tickets to Greece are ~€60 each RT, but we have someone to stay with for ~3 days]

I'm trying to figure out a rough outline of what a potential low-budget trip would look like for me and my fiancée, in terms of itinerary and cost. (As it's much easier to modify an existing itinerary than start from nothing)

Trip Goals: Go do touristy things, have fun, eat some things, get out of cold Austria, while keeping costs to minimum. We'd prefer private rooms to hostels.

Traveling alone in Spain - how to meet other travelers, and how to book rooms and train/air tickets on the fly?

inatizzy — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:35:59 -0800

It's my first time traveling alone! I'm spending 10-11 days in Spain, and I need some advice. How to meet people to share the experience with? How to book accommodations and train/airline tickets on the fly? I'm traveling alone to Spain for 10 days, flying in and out of Madrid, and I'm really excited because I've always wanted to visit Spain. (And to just do more international traveling in general!) Thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier question about what to do with my vacation time. I almost picked Costa Rica, but I found an amazing flight deal to Spain that I couldn't pass up.

I have plenty of sights to see and I'm sure I'll have no trouble finding things to do with myself once I'm there. I'm hoping to experience three areas: Madrid (maybe Toledo), Barcelona, and Andalusia (specifically, Seville & Granada). I'm traveling light (hopefully just a backpack and daypack) and hopefully staying in hostels, pensions or other cheap accomodations.

I'm trying to ignore my innate tendency to plan everything and instead do it on the fly. I've read that it will make my trip more fun and enriching, and I believe it. However, I'm not really sure how to do that once I'm in Spain and also keep my spending down as much as possible. (Do I go to a travel agent? Train station? internet cafe? And, how much time do I need to book rooms or flight/train tickets in advance to get a decent price and avoid things selling out?) Other than hostels, what accommodations are cheap but a good value? (as in, not a s***hole and in the city near public transport) And, is a Eurrail pass worth it? I've seen some cheap airfares recently, and I'm thinking that would be a better way to go than the train, and when it's not, the one-way train prices don't seem too bad... (STA Travel quoted me about $200 for a 3-day Eurrail pass and I don't know whether that's really a good deal. I don't know how much it will be to buy train tickets at the counter on the day I want to leave. Maybe it is worth it to spend a little more $ total, but take planes in some cases and train in others?)

I'm also really interested in meeting other travelers to share the experience with. The hostels that seem to be really good at promoting community are booked for this weekend already so I'll need to rely on some other method to meet people, but I don't know what that would be. (I'm still figuring out what's available at the end of my trip, but if I book things on the fly, I bet the best ones will be sold out again.)

I'd love any advice you can give me on this. Mostly, I just want it to be an enjoyable experience while keeping my costs down. I'm new to this so any insights you have will be much appreciated! Thank you so much!

Where to go in Europe for Cheap

ca_little — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 20:55:20 -0800

My wife and I are avid travelers - we usually do one or two trips abroad each year. The past few trips have been to Rome and Athens. This year, we were thinking of going to Paris (we've not been there together). However, there are two problems: 1) the dollar is doing crap-all against the Euro. 2) we have one-year old twins. Suffice it to say, the budget for travel will be tight. We can take care of a place to stay and airfare. We don't eat expensively (we prefer to eat native) and our interests are museums, learning, and generally absorbing culture. What place in Europe will be relatively easy on the wallet?

If it's MyAir.com, why can't I book a flight?

Scram — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:06:06 -0800

Why can't I purchase a cheap air ticket on Italian MyAir.com from the US? MyAir.com seems to have the only cheap flights from Bologna to Paris--as little as .01 Euro with tax. I have my eye on a 19.99 Euro flight on October 29, but every time I try to complete the purchase through their web form, I get an error message that says "you seem to have entered the wrong credit card details" (which I haven't) and warning me that if I do this three times I'll get bounced out of the system.

So I stopped after two times and called the airline number (0044 2073651597) a couple of times in business hours, but it was always busy.

Then I asked a travel agent in LA if she could make the booking, and she said neither she nor any travel agent in the US could book with MyAir, and suggested an AirFrance flight for $350 instead. This would put quite a crimp in our honeymoon budget, so we said nix.

So, great hive mind, I ask you: Is there an international travel agent I can hire in Italy or elsewhere in Europe? Or can I ask someone in Italy to buy tickets in someone else's name? Are there other cheap airlines flying Tuscany - Paris (Florence would be okay too) that I am overlooking? Can American Express handle this? Or is there an alternate way of communicating with MyAir?

Any suggestions much appreciated. Thanks!

Ever used bestfares.com? Gotten good airfare prices elsewhere?

zpousman — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 06:34:17 -0800

Bestfares.com. Scam or worthwhile deals? Does anybody have experience with bestfares.com? It's a $60 annual membership to get, ostensibly, below "sale" prices on lots of fares. And they look cheap. 'm most interested in airfares only (US + Int'l) and not in cruises, Vegas junkets, or hotels. Is it worth it? Any other hot ideas for actually getting cheap fares to, say, Europe?

Hitchhiking to Europe in 247 easy steps...

blue_beetle — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 12:59:30 -0800

Flying to Europe: How can I truly get cheap flights? I want to fly from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Europe at the end of April (around the 27th) and stay for 2 weeks. I'd be happy to get to ANYWHERE in europe, because once there I can find cheap flights through EasyJet (or others, or trains, etc) to get to places I'd like to visit. My best searching tells me it will cost about $800 to get there, but I've got a gut feeling that it can be done cheaper. I'm willing to make 100 connections, fly through Australia, and possibly ride in the luggage section if necessary. My google-fu is weak before this challenge. I've tried the usual sites like Kayak, Expedia, Travelocity, but they all seem to want a specific destination, but it doesn't matter to me, other than "Europe" and my dates are flexible. Are there sites out there that don't mind me being that vague? Is there a secret number I can call, do I need to slip someone some money?

Showing up the day of the flight for a stand-by ticket is a bit too risky for me as my availability dates are fairly fixed.

Note: I've looked at Kayak.com's Buzz, but that doesn't let me specify date ranges. I've noticed deals like $500 to Zurich, then with a bit of creativity I could take a train to Geneva, and catch an EasyJet flight to england for $16, but I'd have to leave this month. What's a guy to do?

What to do in Europe during winter?

heresiarch — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 14:49:30 -0800

I'm planning to take a trip to Europe with two to three friends for about two weeks during January break. We all have experience travelling in Europe - where would be good to go during winter? So far, we have been thinking mostly about western Europe, mostly because it's an area we know reasonably well. Between us, we've hit most of the major cities in Italy, France, and the UK, though some repetition wouldn't be bad. Some specific ideas include:

• Renting a car and exploring the French countryside (stay south-ish so it's a little warmer? maybe include French cities we haven't been to.)
• Eastern Europe? (don't know the languages or the area)
• Ireland? (flights are cheap, but are there things to do in the winter?)

In general, we like cities or countryside, castles are cool, museums are fun, good food is a plus. We're students, so cheap is good. We're not that interested in skiing or big group tours.

What destinations (general or specific) would you recommend we check out this winter? Any winter-specific ways to keep costs down?

Thanks!

Cheap Flights in Europe

fionab — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:05:58 -0800

I usually find great prices for flights. But I'm coming up empty on this route: Amsterdam to Zurich. I've checked a few of the usual suspects (RyanAir, EasyJet, Expedia, BMI Baby, Fly Globespan, CheapFlights, Swiss Air, KLM, Travel Jungle, Travel Cuts, Student Universe, STA Travel, probably a few more) and the route either isn't offered, or it's at least $200 US. I need the flight on July 15th, and $200 US seems extraordinarily high for such a short flight.

Any ideas? I can't do train/overland or an auction site, as I have something in Amsterdam the day before and a dinner in Zurich on the evening of the 15th, so I need to arrive earlier in the day. What are other no-frills airlines that might fly that route that I haven't yet found? Is it just because the Euro is strong? I only need one way, but it seems that the return fares are actually much cheaper. Other factors: I'm a full-time student, if that will help, but I'm 26 so many of the European 'youth' fares that end at 25 won't work.

I'm guessing that I'll have to suck it up, but it just seems odd that it would cost that much, when I've taken so many European flights for ridiculously cheap fares. Perhaps I'm paying my dues now, and subsidizing my previous deals. What are your secrets for cheaper European airlines or European student travel deals?

Cheap travel to Europe

sirion — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 18:52:55 -0800

I'd like to vacation in Europe from California with my girlfriend in a year or so. It seems as though our biggest expense is going to be plane tickets. How can I reduce this expense? •Approximate length of stay: 3-6 weeks
•Location: I imagine the difficult/pricey part is actually getting to that continent. Is that the case? If not, we'd like to spend some time in Nice and Vienna.
•Time of departure: Bent around college schedule, unfortunately, placing us square in peak travel times: Winter break, summer break.

Sumer Vacation Ideas

Orange Goblin — Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:04:33 -0800

Where should me and my girlfriend go for our summer holiday? (Inside not being an option, as it is full of More) We're both poor students so can't really spend too much - we're talking £200-£300 for flights, hotel, food, the lot. We want to go to a European city, and we're not too fussed which (as long as its not excessively hot). Between 4 days and a week would be ideal. Anytime in July, August or September is good. Basically, where and when can we get the best deal for our money?

Cheap hotels in Venice and Milan

amberglow — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 14:43:53 -0800

CheapItalyHotelFilter: I'm going there in a few weeks, and need recommendations for 50 euros or less. Any ideas? + 3 nights in Venice, 4 in Florence, and 2 in Milan. I think i may have found for Florence, but need tips for Venice and Milan (Milan is Sat and Sun. nights).