How to Save Money When Traveling to Europe

The following is a guest post by Simon Migliano of VoucherCodes.

Being a tourist in Europe is one of the toughest challenges anyone committed to the frugal life will endure. Even for locals, it’s dispiritingly easy to fritter away cash in tourist hotspots that seem to go out of their way to empty to your pockets at every opportunity.

As always, planning is the key, otherwise you risk losing control of your spending. With a little inside knowledge and an internet connection, you could save up to 50% at top restaurants, get cheap theatre tickets, save on takeout pizza and ride the subway for half price.

Before eating out, take the time to search for restaurant vouchers. Faced with a recession, European restaurants and attractions are resorting in droves to money-off vouchers to attract new customers. Savvy Europeans search online for restaurant vouchers (also known as printable vouchers), these coupons are downloaded from voucher codes websites printed out at home then handed over in the restaurant. Download a coupon for the eatery that most whets your appetite, print it out then hand it over when you get there. These can be found at RestaurantVouchers for the UK, PlanReduc for France, and Gutschein-Codes for Germany.

Typical offers include two main meals for the price of one; half price food bills and kids eat free. The potential savings are huge, particularly for families.

A family of four dining at Pizza Express, a stylish and family-friendly pizza restaurant chain, could easily spend $125. With a two-for-one printable voucher, this could be slashed by almost $35. An even better deal can be had at La Tasca, a popular Spanish restaurant chain. La Tasca's 50% off food voucher would save the same family almost $50 on a typical bill of $125 that included drinks.

Even if you don’t have an internet connection in your hotel, you can always nip into one of Europe’s many internet cafes and print out your coupon. The cost of doing so will only be a fraction of what you save.

Another great way to avoid being stung at the end of a meal is to log on to the Time Out restaurant guides which are available for most major cities. As online bibles for food-loving Europeans, these sites have all the latest independent reviews and even lists all restaurants where you can dine for under $15 a head.

Transport can also drain the cash from the holiday fund. A mistake that can often be made by families is to leave the bikes at home.  While not right for all holidays many sunny and picturesque destinations can provide the perfect setting for a group bike ride. This can form a fun part of the holiday while avoiding the overpriced trains operating on tourist routes.

In terms of accommodation it’s always best to book in advance with cheap hotel chains. While in Britain Travelodge, Holiday Inn and several others are leading the way in low cost accommodation. In France similar chains can offer three person rooms for under $30 a night, while still being close to major attractions.

A tip that cannot be stressed enough is to check with your provider before using your credit card abroad. Most companies will charge a huge commission of around 2.75% every time you use your card – a sting that can be easily avoided with some forward planning.

U.S. tourists made 2.96 million visits to the UK last year, according to the International Passenger Survey. While more French and Germans came to Britain in that time, no-one spent more than Americans, who handed over $3.66 billion in total. With London being consistently voted the most expensive European city it is worth being extra savvy when visiting the Big Smoke.

Taking in a show in London’s West End is likely to be high on your to-do list but it is very expensive. Avoiding paying full price usually means running the gauntlet of ticket touts or wasting an afternoon queuing up for hours for a cut-price ticket. But there is an alternative. Check out lastminute.com for some amazing deals. Originally a highly successful online travel agent, lastminute.com has branched out to offer cheap deals on just about every form of entertainment. It’s a double whammy:  save money on tickets and have more time to enjoy yourself.

One final tip for visitors to London: get an Oyster travel card at the tube station at the airport. Costing less than $5, this pay-as-you-go travel card will save you 50% on all underground and bus travel.

Given that a single tube ticket for just central London stations costs more than $6, it’s daft not to get an Oyster card. Just top it up with cash or credit card at tube stations or newsagents then swipe it as you pass the tube turnstiles or hop on a bus, happy in the knowledge you’re not being robbed blind like all the other tourists.

Comments

[Old Limey]

Our forthcoming trip to Europe is all paid for in dollars before we leave.
We are met at the airport, taken to the ship. All accomodations, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with complimentary wines are provided as we travel down rivers and through locks for 14 days and 14 nights. We are then taken to the airport for the flight home. The only foreign currency needed is for optional purchases of souvenirs or other items. Every day three sightseeing buses arrive at the boat to take the passengers on guided excursions. The other big advantage is that we only unpack once and avoid all expensive restaurant meals, taxis, car rentals etc. In the evenings shipboard entertainment is provided for the 120 passengers. An added benefit is that we won't get lost driving around in a foreign country, as happened in our much younger days and don't have to mess with public transportation and the risk of falling victim to pickpockets, losing our important documents, or having our rental car broken into. These trips are primarily for seniors.

[guinness416]

You could also structure your trip to avoid some of the more expensive parts of the continent. The cost of eating out, entertainment and any number of other things in Lisbon versus Dublin is astonishing.

[bogart]

Or, throw a few small pieces of tupperware and some ziplock bags in the backpack, and minimize eating in restaurants. With good bread, cheese, wine, chocolate, and fruit much more readily available in much of Europe than in the US, it's pretty easy (and tasty) to do.

[texashaze]

This is a good article. Traveling in Europe you get the "double" penalty of high exchange rate and already high prices. However it is worth it.

From personal experiences though food seemed to be the big killer. We took our son's on a 3 week trip to Spain with us 2 years ago. We did good but the quantity of food they ate literally torpedoed my budget. There is no fast food or buffets so it was either a cafe or shopping. It's hard to stock up on groceries in hotels so we did a lot of cafes and picnics. Food is still high and it was hard to fill up a linebacker, quarterback and soccer player on just bread and meats... this excludes the wife and I. Needless to say we lost weight but ate well and had a good time. We're looking at going to France in the summer so we'll pack plenty of energy bars for the son's, they're loaded with protein, calories and fiber for filling up.

[Miss Minchin @ Business Women's Finishing School]

When we travel in Europe we save a lot of money by getting 2/3 of our daily meals from grocery stores. The prices are very good, and we can feast on basic European staples that are luxuries back home. There is also the added benefit of being able to see the food before selecting it, unlike in restaurants where you may struggle to understand the menu if you don't speak the language. We find great inexpensive treats like hard boiled eggs, pastries, bread and olive oil, fresh fruits, cheese, etc for breakfast and dinner, and then eat out at lunch when the prices are lower (and we are not exhausted yet from sightseeing.

[laura in atlanta]

" . . . or wasting an afternoon queuing up for hours for a cut-price ticket."

If you are referring to Leicester Square Half Price tickets, I have never waited more than 20 minutes. I would highly recommend checking it out for last minute deals as well.

(Now,yes, in NY? You can wait up to 2 hours to get half priced tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square . . . but usually the wait is only about 45 minutes. Big savings, plus you meet really cool people in line. ;-))

And I love, love, love the London Oyster card!!! Big savings!!!

[Kari]

My husband and I find it quite cost effective to rent a condo or apartment with a kitchen (and it's often cheaper than a hotel). We then buy groceries for breakfast/lunch all week. We eat out for dinner every other day so we feel like we are treating ourselves a bit. Another advantage is that we eat much healthier food than we would find in restaurants.

We have done this in Mexico and Hawaii for week-long trips and saved about $200-$300 by our calculations. I imagine that with prices in Europe being what they are (especially in major cities like Paris or Rome) the savings could be even higher.

We like this arrangement so much, we consider a hotel to be a last resort when we go on vacation.