Cheap Travel Europe: Central Europe

Hi all,

So I am getting ready to do some cheap travel in Europe! I hope that you are also getting ready. Going to Europe or travelling around in Europe can be the trip and experience of a lifetime. I wish you all the best and happy trails in that endeavor. This is a great year to find cheap travel in Europe and possibly offers some opportunities because of the world economy and specifically in some locations.

I think there are still many deals and you can definitely still find cheap travel in Europe. You just have to know where to look. My general opinion is to go East and go South at this point to find the best deals. In some cases (particularly Greece) go East and South. The recession is still affecting much of the world and this economy is going to push some prices down if you know where to go. I don't think some of the mainline "West" destinations are feeling the squeeze enough yet to lower their prices significantly. Honestly, I don't know if the South and East are either, but their prices have never been as high as out West. Having said that, I think that Spain and Portugal definitely need to have a very good year considering their tough position economically. Greece continues to struggle, but the beaches in Greece have always been a great place to find cheap travel accommodations and that will simply continue. Southern Italy is similar if you know where to look.

The Adriatic coast of Croatia and Montenegro will also continue to be great places to find cheap travel and accommodations this summer. Both of these have been re-discovered since the Balkan war and are getting busier and busier and the prices have gone up a little, but the availability and variation (i.e. selection) have gone up dramatically as well and these locations continue to offer excellent value to the budget conscious traveler. If you are looking for upscale places at good prices and haven't booked yet, I would definitely check out Croatia and Montenegro... Cheap travel to Croatia is available on several airlines, including, RyanAir, Easy Jet and Wizzair. Montenegro is also opening up and offers use of the Euro in the economy there.

But perhaps the new "new destination" that hasn't completely been discovered yet, though I know that Lonely Planet has started to catch on, is ALBANIA. Albania is not for the no-touch freight traveler who is looking for an upscale vacation with no snags. For that matter, go West young man on that one (stay in London or Dublin if you want). But for the traveler who is willing to look for cheap travel and explore new areas, this country has very beautiful beaches at rock bottom prices. Just a short ferry ride away are the Greek islands, but if you stay on the continent you will find excellent prices and gorgeous natural settings. Go away from the cities to find this! This is a former communist country that was very isolated during the old days and their public systems (read sewers) are not advanced, so please don't go to the beach right near a major population center. You'll be disappointed. Having said that probably scared off a few more people, which means that the prices will be great for you when you arrive.

If you want to get more excellent deals, I recommend Romania and Bulgaria. These two EU members only joined recently and the economies have not caught up yet with the West, so the services there are much cheaper. This means that you will find cheap travel and accomodations without much trouble. This is especially true in the countryside. You can also buy real estate here quite cheaply, but that is another topic for another day and probably another writer.

Serbia also is a beautiful country (though you won't get a seaside place there) with some rough politics at the moment. The people there are very hospitable and the politics don't affect that. The prices are very reasonable, possibly even more so because it's on the top of so few lists as places that really need to be visited right now.

If you're already in the neighborhood, Macedonia and Turkey are also beautiful places with very reasonable prices. They haven't caught the Euro-lust that so many places have. The prices remain very good and you can find good lodging and cheap travel.

In all these cases, if you want to take a bus around and you ask a bit, you will find SUPER CHEAP TRAVEL deals. Honestly, I don't have patience for that and am able to find good airfare deals to all but a few places with just a bit of research.

You will find that while these are good options for Cheap Travel in Europe, the populations are very friendly and hospitable and will be glad to see you.

Get ready for cheap travel in Europe this summer!

Greetings on a rainy day. That's what Spring is about, though, right? To get some moisture that makes the plants start growing like crazy and then we start to get beautiful weather and can enjoy a great summer. And hopefully this summer will be full of travel, right? It would be interesting to see if school was out during a different time of year if summer would still be the high travel time. I bet for many it would. You just don't go to the beach in December in most places and really enjoy it like you can in the warmer times of the year. Since we are focusing especially on Europe, that is really true. Swedish sea kayaking in November anyone? Didn't think so.

The high season means it's more difficult to find cheap travel to Europe, but not impossible. Since it's pretty late to try and get a jump on the game, if you are still planning to travel to Europe with cheap fares, you might have to be little cunning and patient now. Last minute travel deals will pop up depending on how poorly things are going for the travel companies. The economy is starting to shows signs of recovery, but this is not guaranteed and it's likely that the companies aren't going to be too hard-nosed about giving good deals to try and scare up as many customers as they possibly can this summer. Having said that, you have to keep your eyes out for some good deals, possibly some signs of frustration or desperation. In my recent checks on the "low fare" carriers of Europe--you probably know who they are, but if not, read through some of my other posts and I name a few--I am not seeing that they are desperate AT ALL. In fact my recent cheap fare in and out of London is a thing of the past. A pre-season give-me. They are definitely asking for more money this summer, with only a few exceptions.

Is all lost? NO WAY! Hold on a bit and buy some last minute tickets and I think you will find that there are going to be many good deals out there. This requires, of course, patience and flexibility.

So if you're going to Aunt Nellie's wedding in the old country and you absolutely have to be there on a particular date and you are planning on getting a super cheap airfare, you need to raise your price expectations and start looking like crazy to get the best fare you can, otherwise you may be needing to fly first-class to get a seat and that will definitely cost you about triple.

I have walked into an airport and looked at the board and tried to see an interesting place where I would like to go, but don't have to if the price isn't right. If this is you, you definitely have some exciting days ahead of you, because I think the airlines would rather have your money than have an empty seat and nobody bragging about getting a good deal...

Also, because the airlines that have made their name with cheap fares in Europe are starting to become more mainstream (and thus more expensive), the traditional airlines are seeing a chance and dropping some fares to lure people who don't want to pay 40 more Euros to bring a bag and 5 more to drink a coke on the flight... There is an opportunity to get very reasonable airfares with some European airlines who are giving out cheap flights to lure customers back from the bargain brands.

If you are new here, take a look back at some of the other entries here on my cheap travel to Europe blog and see some of the strategies and try them out for great deals and I wish you the best of luck and success finding cheap travel to Europe this summer!

Cheap travel to Europe on a busy weekend

Hello again!

Just got back from a great trip to England. Of course I got some cheap airline tickets and basically stayed with friends for next to nothing.... I have also mentioned couchsurfing.com in the past for a way to stay cheap, though I found a place through friends of friends this time... Not to bore you about me, but I basically bought flights for the week I could go and found out later that the ROYAL WEDDING was that week! Why is this a big deal at all? Because conventional wisdom would say that cheap travel to Europe, especially London would be hard to find on such an occasion, right? Apparently wrong. Yes, I did buy my tickets about 2 months early and planned ahead a bit, but our flights weren't jam packed and I would venture to guess that cheap travel to Europe wasn't too big of a challenge last week. But maybe I'm just lucky--it only rained two days out of seven when I was in London!! It's not high season yet, so tickets were cheaper and it's a great gateway city, London. My main problem was finding decent meals and paying for public transportation in one of the most expensive cities in the world, not to mention that the dollar isn't exactly worth much these days against European currencies. My other big challenge was finding people who could speak English (I'm not joking!). One of the few people I spoke with whose native language was English, I really had a hard time understanding until I figured out that both three and four start with an "f" for him!! Overall, though, cheap travel to Europe and especially cheap travel in Europe is not too difficult to do. I flew no-frills and took my own water on board to avoid paying big money there, but hey, the bathrooms are still free! Although some airlines are talking about charging for them in the future, most notably Ryanair (super cheap travel within Europe). My friend just got a decent flight roundtrip in May and returning July, so there are still some tickets to be had if you follow the directions out there and on here about getting cheap travel to Europe.

The best attractions to see in Oslo

Oslo happens to be Norway’s capital and also its largest city, but these are not the only things it is known for. Oslo’s museums and parks are definitely world-class and always worth seeing. 

The Akershus Castle, in particular, stands as a landmark in Oslo. You shouldn’t miss it for anything. The castle used to serve as a prison during the second world war, but now it plays host to the Resistance Museum depicting the occupation of the Germans in Norway. Take time to visit the dark dungeons, banquet halls and staterooms that are housed within the castle – you will be awed, for sure. Come summertime, the castle grounds are used for many outdoor events.

Experience true Norweigan heritage at the Norweigan Folk Museum. Set amidst sight-captivating surroundings, the Museum features many things that characterize Norweigan culture and heritage. Here you’ll find the wooden stave church dating as far back as the 11th century as well.

The Kon-Tiki Museum is worth seeing, too, if only to see the balsa-log raft used by Scientist Thor Heyerdahl during his voyage from Peru Polynesia. But there’s plenty to experience in the museum, as well – artifacts from East Polynesia, Peru, and Galapagos, and lava statues from the Easter Island, among others. Make use of the interactive touch screen guide to help you get around.

Other notable museums to see in Oslo are the Viking Ship Museum which contains the world’s three best-preserved Viking ships, the Munch Museum featuring the many artworks of Munch, including his best work, The Scream, and the Barnekunst Museum also known as the International Children’s Art Museum.

Done with Museum hopping? Visit Radhuset, Oslo’s City Hall, referred to by many as Norway’s pride. Not every one thinks that way, though, so see for yourself what you make out of the murals, frescoes, sculptures, and wood carvings.

Spend time to see Slottsparken, too. Slottsparken is a park surrounding the Royal Palace. Witness the changing of the guard at 1:30 pm, and see why it is always such a big deal.

If you happen to visit Oslo during summertime, don’t fail to see Vigeland Sculpture Park which features granite, bronze and iron sculptures of the cycle of life as envisioned by Adolf Gustav Vineland.

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Cheap Travel to Europe Another Season

Another "high season" is coming up in the Travel to Europe Universe. Yes, not only do the winter snows stop and melt away and the rains begin and the flowers bloom and the gardens grow, but the prospect of TRAVEL begins to take on a new glow! We could actually pack lighter and stay warmer if we traveled to Europe in the summer, right? So the search for cheap travel to Europe begins anew in earnest for those of us born to wander. (If you are just starting out, please check out my blog about gateway cities for a primer on one of the basics of finding cheap travel to Europe).

So what else will be new in the wacky world of travel to Europe? A friend of mine recently had an experience that proves that "truf is stranger than diction" or something like that. He bought a ticket mere hours before he flew from Central Europe to the West Coast of the US and got one of the best deals he has ever gotten in his life! And this person is no stranger to travel and knows how to find a good deal. So what does it prove? Not much other than "you never know." Do I recommend waiting until the day of to book your flights? Not usually. If there is any principle that we can find for cheap travel to Europe , I guess it would be that there are three things we need to have: Flexibility, Flexibility and.... gumby-ness. It is economics 101 that flexibility will allow you to find the cheapest flights to the cheapest locations with the cheapest connections and when you don't have any options, you will pay what they want you to pay when they want you to pay it. I have recently read at least one place that waiting until close to the date will work well IF you will go where-ever. Now if you have a specific place and dates you have to stick with, I wouldn't recommend waiting too long. If you can get your tickets on cheaper airlines within Europe, I would definitely recommend buying those ahead, because the law of supply and demand will make them get more expensive as time goes by and more people fill up the flight. Even having said that, some carriers will drop the price once the flight is 7 days out and still very empty to get some people into the seats. So see how you do. Set your limits and look for something that suits you. I will soon be flying to London with tickets that I bought a couple months ago just because I couldn't pass up the deal to get away for super cheap.

There will be some people paying more for travel to Europe this summer and some people paying significantly LESS. My hope is to be among the latter group and that you will be too. I hope you have all the luck finding cheap travel to Europe this year and once you get there, to have cheap travel in Europe. After all, it is worth it to save some of the money getting there so that you can spend it on things that will make your time in Europe memorable and enjoyable.

Cheap Travel to Europe this year

Greetings! So in the dead of winter (for some deeper than others), the discussion of Cheap Travel to Europe may not sound appealing, especially if we are talking cheap travel to Scandinavia or some of the northern parts of Europe. Interestingly, this year Europe seems to be having a much more mild winter than the States, so perhaps the idea of escaping to southern climates like Southern France or Italy by finding cheap flights to Europe will be appealing to some trapped in the snow and ice of the season. If cheap is the top priority, then indeed, hop on the plane, of course first that means hop on the internet and look for cheap travel to Europe. During this season it's pretty sure to be had, as mentioned in my last blog on timing in finding cheap travel to Europe. If you are interested in traveling during the summer, it is also (past) time to jump in and start looking. Of course there will usually be some last-minute offers, but for the summer months ("high season") you will be very lucky to find anything close to cheap travel to Europe if you don't buy well ahead. The pickings will be slim the more time goes on and you will have very few options on what is available for truly cheap travel options to Europe. Don't get me wrong, catching a cheap flight on Iberia to southern Portugal or Spain will still qualify as cheap travel to Europe, but do you really want to have the 100+ F temperatures or long rides from there to get to other more temperate parts of Europe? Go ahead and carefully shop and buy a summer trip to Europe soon if you haven't already. Why is it tricky to get cheap travel to Europe this year? The main reason is: oil prices. They are already volatile this year and look like they are headed up. Will this really make the price of travel by air more expensive for the airlines? IT DOESN'T MATTER. The last time oil prices went up, so did several fees that the airlines added. The fares also climbed and cheap travel was made more difficult. The oil prices then went down. Guess what? None of those fees and prices really significantly went down during that period. The airlines saw a way to acceptably raise the prices because everyone knew that oil prices had gone up and so they raised fares and added several fees, such as baggage fees which had previously been "unacceptable" to customers. The price of oil finally fell significantly and these fees imposed stayed. If oil goes up again, it's fair to reason that the airlines will try the same trick and raise fares for sure. They will probably also add or increase some fees that will stay even if the fares go back down. This will make cheap travel to Europe harder and harder to find. One way to avoid this is to buy before this happens. When they lowered the luggage weight allowed from 70 pounds to 50 pounds, people who had purchased their tickets during the 70 pound limit were allowed to fly with 70 pounds. Of course if you pack light and go for a short time, this doesn't affect you. However, the concept will remain the same for fuel excess fees, anti-terrorism fees, passenger service fees and the like that will be tagged on if the airlines perceive that they can get away with it (they are not running their businesses as a charity after all!). So cheap travel to Europe may be elusive this year. But hey, what fun would it be if it wasn't a challenge?

On the optimistic side, with the economic outlook still pretty grim, there are several good deals to be had that really qualify as genuine cheap travel to Europe. The airlines are trying to lure people to travel with lower fares despite the bad economic indicators. If you are signed up for alerts from your city, I am quite sure you will see more than a few attractive offers come across the wires. Don't give up. I wish you all great luck in finding cheap travel to Europe this year!

Cheap Travel to Europe Means Timing

This title may seem obvious to some, but the truth of it could save you a lot of money. Perhaps you have read that you need patience in order to get Cheap travel to Europe. This is true--sometimes! But then again, sometimes waiting and "being patient" is the worst thing you can do if you want to get cheap travel to Europe.

So am I talking out of both sides of my mouth? Is the case of getting cheap airline tickets to Europe the same as that of winning the lottery? No. I don't believe it is. For starters, there are way better chances of you getting cheap travel to Europe than of you winning (big) at the lottery! Trust me. Part of the reason that the chances are better is that you can educate yourself about the prices of tickets and you can wait or hurry to get the cheapest tickets.

What you need to know to find cheap travel to Europe:

Basically you just need to decide what cities you want to fly in and out of and then you need to find out what the best prices are. If you read some of my other posts you will see some prices but of course those are subject to change with time, fuel prices, taxes etc. So don't rely solely on my prices. Especially with other cities. You want to find the best airline prices for your city pairs, not mine. What does it mean to do some research? I think the quickest way to find Cheap travel to Europe is to ask a travel agent. You may not think that I like using them because I am always looking for travel deals to Europe on my own. But if you have absolutely no idea of what a good price even is, ask a professional. If they can give you the best prices, go through them to get them. If not, get your tickets form other sources, such as the internet. Your travel agent or your own research online can help you to set your target price(s). Once you have those, look around. If you find them, buy! If you don't, wait. You can have your travel agent look for a while or even set email alerts on price drops to your destinations. Be ready to buy when the pieces fall into place and you find sufficiently cheap travel to Europe.

When to stop waiting:

If your travel times are NOT flexible, then you have to look well ahead of time and be thinking about that. You definitely don't want to wait past the three week before the trip stage anyway. That is when most ticket discounts will end completely and you'll be looking at full price tickets within that time period. If your travel time is flexible, just keep an eye out and watch for when the price is right and then just jump in.

Getting Cheap travel to Europe is not a science but being aware of what your target is and grabbing it when it's available is the key! Of course a little luck never hurt anybody either! So good luck and happy hunting!