25 July 2017

10 ways to save money while backpacking Europe

Europe

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To start, backpacking Europe can be expensive and overall, financially draining. If you’re European, then it’s probably not too big of a deal but if you come from North America or Oceania, the dollar to euro exchange can take quite the hit on you financially. Nonetheless, there are many ways you can save while backpacking through Europe and still manage to save some extra cash while having the time of your life.

Here are 10 tips to saving money in Europe.

  1. Go grocery shopping. 
    Although I allowed myself to splurge on dinner and a glass of wine a couple times throughout my travels, my regular course of action was going to cheap grocery stores or markets and buying my food to make later on. This helped me save heaps of money! 

    It is important to find hostels that have kitchens so you can prepare your meals for the day. This is essential when purchasing your food at grocery stores. Olives from a market in France. Grocery shop in France.

  2. Yay for tupperware! 
    If you’re going to use the grocery store method, you’re going to need a couple plastic tupperware’s to lug around during the day so you don’t find yourself buying anything while out for your long daily adventures. 

    With this in mind, make sure you have a comfortable backpack or bag to carry around your food and things.  

  3. Use public transit. 
    In short, if you’re wanting to save money you must stay away from uber and especially, taxi’s. This is the first place where your money is going to quickly go. Most cities have transit cards you can load money onto which, makes traveling around easy and affordable.

  4. Don’t bring your visa to the bar. 
    Here is the key to saving money while backpacking. Of course, you’re going to party but if you’re wanting to do so in a cheap way you MUST leave that visa at your hostel. Bringing some emergency money is always important, which you can stick in your sock, bra or hidden pocket. But, a rule of thumb is to only bring as much as you need (Cover + money for a few drinks).

    This is when pre-drinking becomes important (but do so safely). I had a friend who bought a small bottle to put alcohol inside and would hide it in her thigh high boots. Im not going to recommend this but I’m throwing that idea out there to whoever feels confident enough to do so. 

  5. Download the App GoEuro
    This app is a lifesaver! This is how I booked 100% of my trips within Europe and it saved me so much money. I actually found a deal from Vienna to Budapest for almost 4 euros and trains through Germany for around 6-10 euros. I highly recommend this app, I swear it is a necessity!

  6. Take the long way home. 
    Overnight busses mean you can save the cash from a night at a hostel and put that towards something else. Mind you, these night busses are deadly and almost always unbearably uncomfortable. Yet, a couple of these long overnight busses endured and you can find yourself saving 50-100 euros easily.

  7. Buy a plastic water bottle. 
    However annoying you may think it is to cary around a plastic water bottle, I can assure you spending 15 euros or more a day on drinks is much worse. 

    You can find yourself great water bottles that have clips and hooks so you can attach them to your bag. This makes things a lot easier (as well, a lot cheaper!).  

  8. Stick to one cheap souvenir per country. 
    I told myself before going around backpacking, I would buy a shot glass in every country. Well, after seeing the prices of shot glasses I quickly decided to stick to postcards to save the money. One postcard from every country and saved receipts and tickets, made for great souvenirs!

  9. Pack the essentials. 
    During your travels, there will be times where you will probably need a bandaid, q-tips, vaseline or some other necessity that can become quite expensive while backpacking. Before heading off to travel, I bought myself a small bag that would easily fit in my backpack. It contained pretty much every medical/health necessity that I needed.

    If some of the bottles were too big I bought small travel sized bottles and would transfer the product inside. This helped me save loads of money. Sometimes these products can range from 10-15 euro’s and can become a huge waste of money. Saving money backpacking in Europe.                                     Here’s a picture of all the bags I brought with me.

  10. Sundays are for Museums and art galleries. 
    Bring your passport and your student card if you have one because this is whats going to get you that free entry into everything fun on Sundays. Beware, line ups can be long so always try to get to wherever you’re headed extra early because remember, must.save.money.

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