Tight Budget....NEED HELP!!!
 

I will be travelling to Europe for the second time in July, and I desperately need some helpful hints on useful ways to save some money while out there...<BR>I've selected my accomodations very carefully and am staying in nice places (family run, B&B's) and not paying more than 35-40$$ a night...<BR><BR>However, I'm still at a loss as to where else I could save some cash....<BR><BR>IDEAS!!!PLEASE!!!HELP!!!

Don't go in JULY!<BR><BR>The air travel to get you there is more than the price of a whole week there, airfare included, in November to April.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

To save money I eat a nice lunch (cheaper than dinner). Or if you are on the run stop and get a sandwich or healthy "munchies" along the way. Find out free museum nights. For example I think the Louvre is free on Thursdays (check for updated hours!).

REX - thanks for the suggestion, but I already have the tickets, I'm up in Canada and I got a great deal on an open jaw flying into london and leaving out of frankfurt, otherwise I definately would have avoided July.<BR><BR>Thanks though!

The next biggest controllable expense on a trip like this is transportation within Europe. What exactly is your itinerary, and how are you getting around? Hard to advise on saving money without knowing compared to what?<BR>

As a fellow budget traveller, my advice is this - don't be pound wise AND penny wise. If you got the best airfare you could, and are staying at budget places, that's the biggest chunk of your expense. NOW, relax and have fun and don't make yourself crazy counting every euro.

When we were in Paris, we saw lots of tourists buying food in the Supermarket (prixuni or monoprix...I forget the name. They are on the Champs Elysee.) They even had prepared plates. One day we bought plates of smoked salmon, salad etc. We bought a baguette, wine and had an in-room picnic. It was great.<BR><BR>

to the top<BR>

I'm flying into London and out of Frankfurt - other than that my plans aren't solid yet. I do know that I'll be in Paris for bastille day (good idea, bad idea?) I've been to Italy and south of France (but wasn't on such a tight budget!) so I'm sticking to more northern western Europe - places like Brugges, Strasbourg, maybe Berlin and Munich.<BR>At this point I am flexiable as to destinations.<BR><BR>Thanks for your help everyone!

sorry....going by train since I can still squeeze in under the youth pass!

Like Karen said, research all the museums you are going to and find out when their free days are. The museums in London are free, but you might want to print out a floor plan from the website instead of buying one. Research the cheap eateries found in guide books like Lets Go (flip through them in the bookstore and make a mental note to write down later), research your transportation options such as weekly photo cards, and that's about it.

Look for discounts on public transportation in the cities-Paris has reduced prices for 10 tickets (carnet), London has reduced passes on weekends or if you travel after rush hour, etc.<BR><BR>Have a picnic lunch from the supermarket-there are several gardens in Paris and London that provide a nice setting or we found cheap eats near the Sorbonne in Paris, cheap pizza in both cities. Buy your soda/water at the grocery store (or use tap water)instead of a restaurant.<BR><BR>Free view of Paris from the top of the Samarataine Dept store in Paris.<BR><BR>I believe most of the museums in London are free, look for free days in other cities. Or if you want to see a lot in Paris, get a museum pass which will bypass lines and save you money.<BR><BR>London Original Walks have a good Jack the Ripper walk for only L5 as well as many others that we didn't try. If you want to see some Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre, you can get groundling tickets for L5 (but you have to stand in the sun). The Ceremony of the Keys in London is free but you must have advance tickets-do a search, there's instructions on how to obtain tickets.<BR><BR>Try this website for some other ideas in London<BR>http://www.londonfreelist.com/home.asp<BR><BR><BR>If you're a student, look for student discounts (probably need some proof like a school ID)

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. I once me a kid in Visp, Switzerland who decided to spent the day around the hostel rather than go to Zermatt and see the Matterhorn because that segment of the rainroad was not on his eurailpass.

Jewels, it might be helpful if you give a target daily budget that you're trying to meet. Rick Steves suggests something on the order of US85 per person per day to cover lodging, food, sightseeing, and miscellaneous (he doesn't discuss insurance or photography or souvenir costs, and needless to say, this figure excludes factoring in airfare.) You will also need to add in any ground transportation required by your itinerary. <BR><BR> Except for maybe eating simply, and buying your ground transportation as you go rather than in the form of a railpass, I have to concur with others; at some point, efforts to save more produce diminishing returns. Good luck.<BR><BR><BR>

Bring food from home. Go on a diet. Do a lot of walking.

Don't go to see al the usual touristy sights. Go to a Sunday mass, go shopping in a non-touristy neighborhood, go to a cafe or pub frequented by the locals, check out the local markets for some local color, find free advertised student recitals to attend, walk around and soak up the atmosphere, northern European breakfasts are usually huge and included in the price of the room so really fill up then even if you are not usally a breakfast fan, rent a bike and bike around to get the feel for an area. Frankly, how many museumsa and churches can't you reeally see and keep separate?

I always travel on a very tight budget and I always have a great time in Europe!<BR><BR>London is extremely expensive! Some museums are free on certain days. You must plan your trip according to the days you'll be spending in the different cities that you will visit.<BR><BR>Food in London is also extremely expensive! The only place that is reasonnable is McDonalds...<BR><BR>Personally, I have a big breakfast at the B&B then I skip lunch and have a nice supper. Instead of lunch, I might have a milkshake or an ice cream cone (I know, it's so un-healthy)<BR><BR>I only go to free places (free museum, churches..) In London, I splurged and paid to visit the London Towers (well worth it) The tube in London is also extremely expensive..Get some good shoes and walk - there is no better way to appreciate a city.<BR><BR>E-mail me direct if you want, I'll give you other suggestions. Not everyone can travel this way though

try taking a couple of boxes of granola bars and stuff them in your backpack. try to get off of the tourist strip when eating/shopping )eat in pubs in London many of them are great and fairly inexpensive)<BR>Take public transport and not taxis<BR>limit the number of museums you see to the ones that are 'must-sees' (unless they are free of course!)