How to travel around europe cheaply

cheapest ways to travel in europe

I have backpacked Europe numerous times now on a budget so I know exactly how to get from one country to another without breaking the bank. There are multiple ways to travel across Europe, with my list starting from the cheapest to the most expensive transport methods. The best part about traveling Europe is the easy border crossings as well as how accessible neighboring countries are to each other.
After moving to the Middle East, it really made me appreciate how convenient and cheap it is to be able to travel across borders so easily, something that many regions do not have the privilege of.

Hitch Hike

Hitch hiking is a free and therefore budget friendly way to travel across Europe. Hitch hiking is also a lot more common and culturally accepted in Europe, rather than in places such as the US where hitch hiking is normally not advised.

When you are hitchhiking, make sure to go on the side of the street in the direction that you want to travel, as well as making sure you are near a part of the road where the driver can pull over to pick you up. In my opinion, I would never recommend hitch hiking as a solo female.

Of course, many solo females have done this before and have not had any problems, but it is always better to be safe than sorry as you do not want to get yourself into a risky situation that you are stuck in. A good rule of thumb is to always have another hitch hiker with you for safety reasons, especially as a female, if you decide to use hitch hiking as a travel method around Europe.

The Young Globetrotters

Photograph by Dani De Leo

Travel with Bla Bla Car

Traveling with Bla Bla car is the second cheapest method of traveling across Europe. Bla Bla car is a car sharing app that is popular and available in many European countries, but it also runs in other non European countries. I used this app a lot in countries such as Romania, Italy, and Ukraine to get to other cities within the same country.

I have never used it to cross borders in Europe, but it is an option if you can find a ride available on the app. I have found that using this method is cheaper, for the most part, compared to using other public transport methods such as buses and trains. It is also quicker as it is just a regular car that drives on the interstate and does not stop dozens of times like the trains and buses may do.
I love Bla Bla car because it makes your journey more comfortable as well as offers you an opportunity to even make friends with your fellow passengers, if there are any. Depending on how popular your destination is, you may have multiple different car options to choose between which makes it a very flexible option.

However, please be warned, these cars are not always 100% reliable. Because the driver is just a regular person who is offering this service by himself and is not actually employed by Bla Bla car, the driver can always cancel or modify your ride before leaving.
So, if you are on a time crunch and relying on a Bla Bla car to get you to one city because you have a flight leaving from there the same day, I would be cautious as I have heard of travelers getting stranded in a place because their ride decided to cancel suddenly

Ride a Bus

This is the most common as well as most reliable method of transport for budget travelers. This is usually the method that I take most often, as Bla Bla car does not operate in every European country and sometimes can be unreliable.
Buses are also great for traveling long distances to other European countries and can be relatively cheap. I usually try and take the late overnight buses in Europe so that I do not have to waste an entire day driving.

Most European bus companies, or at least the big well known companies, are very clean and comfortable and sometimes offer free WIFI, bathrooms, as well as charging for your devices. The main websites that you can use to find cheap bus tickets include bus bud, omio, and get by bus.

These bus websites will compare the multiple bus companies to your specific location and tell you the cheapest ticket as well as the timings. The most popular and well known coach bus companies that travel across Europe include flix bus, euro lines, and National Express Make sure to buy your ticket online ahead of time, as it is usually cheaper than buying, your ticket at the bus station.

Also, many bus companies will charge an additional 1 euro or so to store your luggage underneath the bus, so make sure to have change or small notes on you. Even though there
are hundreds of buses all over Europe, there may not be b uses that go to your specific location every day of the week, so make sure to check out the days and timetables ahead of time on the apps mentioned above if you are on a time crunch.

Take the Train

Taking the train is another comfortable method that you can use to travel around Europe. Most of the European countries just like the buses, are also linked with trains. I have found in my experience, that depending on where you are going to and how long the journey is, trains can be expensive compared to buses, although they sometimes may be quicker.

If you are traveling for multiple months, you may be interested in purchasing a Euro rail pass or Interrail pass, which offers train travel across 33 of the European countries. Interrail passes are only for European citizens, while Eurorail passes are for non European citizens. These passes allow you to have unlimited train travel across Europe for specified period of time, offering a lot of flexibility.

The point of Eurorail is that the pass is supposed to end up being cheaper than purchasing individual tickets for each location. However, these passes are quite pricy and may not be within everyone’s budgets. I would mostly recommend these passes for longer term travel across multiple countries because if you are traveling for a brief period, you will not be able to make the most of your pass and the money you spent.

These passes cost anywhere from $199 USD to $725 USD. The price depends on which pass you choose and whether you are classified as a youth (aged 27 and younger), adult, child, or senior. You can purchase your pass here. Be sure to purchase them ahead of your trip as the pass will be delivered right to your door step

Rent a Car

The last option you can take for traveling around Europe is to rent a car. This is not ideal for solo travelers as it can get quite expensive if you are not splitting the cost with others. This is by far the costliest option for traveling around Europe, but the flexibility that you have when you rent your own car is unmatched and well worth the price if you can afford it.

Some hidden gems and beautiful places in Europe are simply not accessible by public transport, so having a car allows you to not miss any off the beaten path destinations. Taking public transport can be very limiting as well as waste a lot of time. Depending on which country you rent your car from, car rental rates can vary. My favorite websites to use for comparing cheap car rental rates are Kayak and Skiplagged.

You also need to take into considering the other costs that come with renting a car such as parking fees, tolls fees, and of course, paying for gas. Gas is VERY pricy and expensive in Europe if you are coming from a country like the US. On my last trip to Turkey, I rented a car with my boyfriend and we spent 2 weeks driving around the country.

It was the best experience to be able to go wherever we wanted and whenever we wanted and to not have to plan our schedule around bus timings. Renting a car may be a great option for you if you have travel companions to help split the cost.

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