Planning a Trip to Europe? Avoid These 10 Costly Mistakes

Traveling to Europe is a dream trio for a travel buff. However, on the other hand Europe tour is always considered as an expensive one in the travel industry. With the rise in the value of Euro, a trip to Europe has become more accessible and less affordable. What to do then? A smart travel plan can always save you on time. You need to be clever enough in picking up the necessary options. How you are going to do so? Here’s a snippet for your guidance. Let’s take a look into that first. 

#1 Plan your itinerary wisely –
Visiting a new place means you should take a proper guidance from Europe trip planner website. It includes picking up the right destination of Europe. Avoid over loading your travel itinerary list with too many countries. At the same time, the mode of transportation required for traveling also matters a lot. Consider the logistic detail, like traveling expense. Traveling longer distance will obviously burn your pocket. Pick up the destination whose air fare is quite inexpensive.  Make sure you compare at least two to three airline fares.

#2 Ideal time to visit the place –
If you are a hardcore traveler, off-season will always be your first choice. Especially for destination like Europe, off-season tour always saves a lot of money. This is because; during this season many tourist sites offer free admission. Many luxury accommodations reduce their price quote. Hence, you might turn up getting royal treat at one of the expensive hotels of Europe at beyond-your-expected budget.

#3 Buy a city map –
The best way to understand a continent’s route and directions is through its route map. In that case, getting hold of such map from Europe will be a cheaper option that buying one from your own country. Once you get hold of such a map, it will be easier for you to pick up the countries to visit.

#4 Conveyances –
Rail Europe offers variety of rail passes. Get hold off one of those passes to travel from one city to another. Traveling by train is convenient if the journey takes less than five hours. Otherwise, opt for no-frills airlines. These airlines comes under budget fair excluding necessary facilities like complimentary food, in-flight entertainment systems and business- class seating arrangements. If traveling by road is not an issue look for buses or shuttle services as well. Europe has a huge list of conveyances for traveling within the cities. Choose the one that goes well with your health and money.

#5 Accommodation matters-
When it comes to accommodations, travelers should always avoid touristy hotels. Instead, look for Bed and breakfast accommodation as they offer double comfort as compare to hotels and that too half the price. Nobody will ignore an accommodation that makes them feel like home without spending extra money. Otherwise, if you are left only with hotels to choose on, ask for a deal. If you have fair chance to bargain the price, just go for it! Check their cancellation policy first. Keep track as to when and what you have booked for. Confirm all your reservation details two days prior to your arrival. This is because even renowned hotels do sometimes make a habit of messing with reservation.

#6 Foods to survive –
Enjoying nice cozy European dinner in a lavish restaurant sounds good! But when it comes to budget, it is a strict no-no. Small eat outs always come handy when it comes to limited budget on lunch and dinner. Else, how about having picnic? Instead of hotel’s breakfast, buy a fine picnic lunch from anywhere and carry it with yourself. It saves your time and money during your trip. Else look for grocery stores having deli sections. They also turn out to be savior for the situation. The best part is getting yourself adapted to European taste. Once you do so, your taste bud will relish some of the authentic cuisines of Europe and that too from inexpensive eateries.

#7 Tourist sites to explore –
Some of the best tourist sites of Europe can be free. Surprised? Well! When you are traveling off-season, some of the best grandiose churches, museums do offer free visits. In order to do this in a best way is to list down the places that offers free visit throughout the day or for a particular span of time. Once you do so, it will be easy for to move from one destination to another. You can even get in touch with the European travel planner. They do offer discount passes on public transport and tourist sites.

#8 Shop till you drop –
Visiting Europe and not taking back any souvenir will be the biggest mistake of your trip. Hence, instead of cutting down your comfort expense, do your shopping in inexpensive countries. It saves a lot in your pocket and yet let you get souvenir for every loved ones of yours. However, you also need to be street smart. Shrug off your inhibition and be smart enough to bargain the prices as much as possible. Another best way to do fruitful shopping is taking the help of locals.  If you have developed friendly relation with any of the locals, take his or her help to look for places where you can get the best product of Europe. It actually saves a lot of time for shop hunting.


#9 Clarify about international calls from your phone carrier –
You know you are traveling abroad and you might require to make international calls. In such cases, give a call to your phone carrier and ask them about the international call charges of your connection. Clarify if they have any deals for your number. Otherwise, you might end up paying huge bill once you come back. Similarly with internet usage, try to use free Wi-Fi connections wherever it is available.

#10 Avoid buying euros before the trip –
Many travelers have a concept of buying too many euros before starting their journey. Though exchange of currency is required, you can do so in smaller amount. Else you can straightaway head off to any of the available ATM machines of European airport and withdraw cash without spending too much on exchange rate.