Cheapest way to travel around Europe on my own?

ralphy

Hi there

I'm 40 and want to travel a little bit around Europe on my own, and as I've never done anything like this before I really don't know where to start?!

Does anybody have any tips, advice, suggestions on the cheapest/best ways to travel around? Places to stay etc?

I don't have a huge budget I just want to see parts of Europe I've not been to before without breaking the bank. I've been to Amsterdam, Prague, Madrid and I'm going to Brussels in August so would like to avoid those places.

Places I would like to go are Barcelona, Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Scandinavia if possible I'm easy really and anywhere that anybody experienced with European destinations can recommend.

If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated!

the_mixer

I'm nearly the same age and had been thinking of doing the same.

You could try using air bnb as it works out cheaper than hotels a lot of the time, even more so if you just book a private room as opposed to a full flat, though I personally would feel awkward doing that. You could also use hostels which are very cheap, albeit you would be sharing a room with anything from 4-12 people and they are usually under 25.

Use budget airlines and get the cheapest times to fly from skyscanner. If you want to try Germany I would wholeheartedly recommend Berlin, which is very cheap for food, drink and accommodation as well as having some of the best history and culture of any European city.

Gloomendoom

A chap I know did it with with his brother on a pair of these...

ralphy

Brill thanks! I'll add Berlin to the list, I've heard about Air BnB and they sound a good option.

ralphy

Gloomendoom wrote: »

A chap I know did it with with his brother on a pair of these...

I don't fancy riding one of those!

ocean88

I've done this sort of trip several times. 2x by Interrail and 2x Car and Camping.

Interrail is great as you get a pass for example cost £303 and visit a choice 30 countries in 10 days.

interrail.eu

Now I stayed in youth hostels which is great for meeting people and cheap but it's a young crowd and there are issues with privacy and theft. Do you want to sleep in a Dorm? You could try couchsurfing but I'm not sure if it's feasible for a month trip.

Cheap hotels can be found on skyscanner but will cost around 40euro a night minimum, double cost of hostels, also try AIRbnb.

Travelling by car and camping is another option. Approx price of campsites I found would be 20-25 euro. Not that cheap really especially in the countries you are looking at. You will burn about 2 tanks a week approx depending on how far and fast you are going. Plus tolls are pricey if you want to go faster.

I found camping a lot cheaper than interrail because you carry your own food and cook it. So you can carry food with you in the day instead of buying food everywhere which is costly. Shop in supermarkets etc...

By car you can also explore off the beaten track.

I think you would be looking at £2000min thats £66 a day, £3000 would be £100 a day.
It all depends how you want to travel?

Grumpelstiltskin

Don't forget coach travel, look at Megabus and Eurolines websites.

ralphy

ocean88 wrote: »

I've done this sort of trip several times. 2x by Interrail and 2x Car and Camping.

Interrail is great as you get a pass for example cost £303 and visit a choice 30 countries in 10 days.

interrail.eu

Now I stayed in youth hostels which is great for meeting people and cheap but it's a young crowd and there are issues with privacy and theft. Do you want to sleep in a Dorm? You could try couchsurfing but I'm not sure if it's feasible for a month trip.

Cheap hotels can be found on skyscanner but will cost around 40euro a night minimum, double cost of hostels, also try AIRbnb.

Travelling by car and camping is another option. Approx price of campsites I found would be 20-25 euro. Not that cheap really especially in the countries you are looking at. You will burn about 2 tanks a week approx depending on how far and fast you are going. Plus tolls are pricey if you want to go faster.

I found camping a lot cheaper than interrail because you carry your own food and cook it. So you can carry food with you in the day instead of buying food everywhere which is costly. Shop in supermarkets etc...

By car you can also explore off the beaten track.

I think you would be looking at £2000min thats £66 a day, £3000 would be £100 a day.
It all depends how you want to travel?

Interrail sounds like a good idea, I like the idea of just jumping on a train as and when I need to, I'll investigate further. As for driving I feel it's too costly. Air BnB does seem a good idea I'm happy to share with other people it's a good way of meeting people and like you say hostels are more catered for the younger crowd!

Thanks for the advice I'll look into it more...

knightstyle

Do you want all towns? How long will you be away?
Friends have done this for six months, a week or two at each place. http://www.wwoof.net/
Or are you any good with animals? https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/house-and-pet-sitting-assignments/
If you bought an old people carrier, Previa or similar you can easily make a sleeping platform with cooking gear under by removing the rear seats. Sleep almost anywhere and many towns have free stop over places.

ralphy

knightstyle wrote: »

Do you want all towns? How long will you be away?
Friends have done this for six months, a week or two at each place. http://www.wwoof.net/
Or are you any good with animals? https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/house-and-pet-sitting-assignments/
If you bought an old people carrier, Previa or similar you can easily make a sleeping platform with cooking gear under by removing the rear seats. Sleep almost anywhere and many towns have free stop over places.

I'm probably going to do 2-3 weeks, I may just do one half of Europe first then later in the year do the other half of Europe.

ralphy

Out of interest, which time of the year is best to go to Scandinavia? I don't want it to be absolutely freezing or dark all day, is their summer the same time as ours?