TIPS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE PLANNING YOUR NEXT EUROPE ADVENTURE
Europe is a vast continent with multiple cultures, languages and currencies, so where do you start? After a two month stint travelling through Europe we have picked up some tips and tricks we wish we knew before venturing across the globe.
There Are Multiple Ways To Get The Same Place
You don't need to jump on a tour bus to see as much of Europe as possible, you don't even need to book a dozen flights to take it all in. There are so many ways to get to the same place. We personally opted into travelling Europe via train but you can hire a car, hitch hike (be careful with this option) or carpool with fellow travellers. The charm of Europe is that there are so many countries within close proximity of eachother.
Quick tip:Just say you have opted to fly into the capital of Spain you may find it tricky to get out of the airport, but with some pre-planning you can organise a Barcelona airport taxi transfer (or any other country you may be in) to make the process quick and simple.
History Needs To be Refurbished
We unfortunately learnt this lesson when we arrived in Rome and found the Colosseum to be under heavy reconstruction. This meant the iconic photograph standing out the front would be ruined by scaffolding and workers in high res vests.
We always recommend travelling in low season (bonus tip right there) which has both its downfalls (construction) and bonuses such as cheaper accomodation and less crowds. However, this also means that Europe utlises the slower time to give their grandest sites a bit of a clean to prepare for the busy months.
Want To Save Money? Visit Countries Not On The Euro
Coming from Australia where our dollar didn't go very far when trading for Euros, our wallet thanked us when we arrived in the Czech Republic, a country with its own currency. Don't worry there is Eurotrip (that's Euro-less) well worth your time as your visit can lead you to Romania, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia or Lithuania.
Quick Tip: Stay away from the UK, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland as even though they are not on the Euro these countries will put a dent in your money quicker than those with it.
Don't Book A Return Flight - Book 2x1 way tickets
Our trip to Europe started with a one way flight into Glasgow and ended with a flight out of Rome. Why waste a days commuting back to Scotland to catch our return flight out when instead we could use that precious time getting one last slice of pizza! This will also save you a lot of money and if you are in early stages of planning use the Skyscanner flexible option to find the cheapest flight in (and out) and then sort the middle part out as you go.
Eat In - Not Out
Whenever we are asked what our top travel saving tip is whilst exploring the world abroad it has to be - stay away from the restaurants. Yes, we do understand that if there is a delicacy worth indulging in such as pizza and gelato in Italy we will do these as once off treats, but otherwise it's straight to the supermarket for us.
We honestly are not big foodies when travelling as we would rather spend the difference that the restaurant charges to put towards a tour, activity or museum entrance that will be long remembered.
Now on to you - what are your top Europe travel hacks?
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