Top Money Saving Tips on Europe Travel

Visiting Europe at least once in a lifetime is everybody’s dream. Taking a scenic train in Switzerland, traversing the canals of Venice in a Gandola, travelling back in time in one of many numerous medieval towns, and getting awestruck by the incredible architecture are some of the many things that attract every tourist and traveller.

But travel to Europe is expensive. Everything from accommodation to transportation to food is expensive in Europe. More so if you are from South Asian countries which are one of the cheapest countries to live in.

Europe will always be expensive but that does not mean you cannot travel Europe on a budget. If you are willing to sacrifice just a little bit of comfort, you can save tons of money while travelling in Europe.

We had our first Europe (Austria, Prague) trip in September 2023 and we spent INR 3.25 lakhs on the 15-day trip which included everything from airfare, accommodation, food, internal travel, attraction tickets, and souvenir shopping. People easily spend a minimum of INR 6 lakhs for the same duration. We visited Greece in September 2024 for 10 days and spent only INR ~3 lakhs.

Here are our top money saving tips on Europe travel :

Have a Good Travel Credit Card

It is no secret that airfares have shot up by 70-100% post-Covid. A roundtrip flight ticket to Europe that used to cost INR 30 – 45k now costs 55 – 80k. Flight tickets usually account for 15-25% of trip expenses. Owning a credit card with high reward points that can be redeemed on miles or buying flight tickets can go a long way in bringing down a trip cost.

Our roundtrip flight would have cost us INR 1.33 lakhs had we not made use of the credit card. Instead, it only cost us INR 40k. That was a whopping saving of INR 93k. We used an HDFC Infinia credit card that allows us to redeem points up to 70% of the flight ticket value. We have not paid full value for any of our flight tickets to date.

Some of the other good travel credit cards are HDFC Diners Black, Axis Magnus, Axis Atlas, and SBI Air India Signature.

Airbnb Over Hotel

Like airfare, prices for a hotel stay have also almost doubled post-COVID. A 3-star hotel starts from INR 10k in most cities. You can get a room at Airbnb at about half the price of a hotel. The rooms would be clean and hosts are generally very responsive and accommodating to your request. Plus, you would get a kitchen if you want to make your own food. The only compromise that you would have to make is to share a bathroom and toilet with other guests. That was not an issue for us as not only they were cleaned daily but guests also kept them clean after use.

Do Not Buy Mineral Water

Unlike in Asia where tap water is not safe to drink in most countries, tap water is perfectly safe to drink in Europe. No need to spend money on buying plastic water bottles, instead carry a water bottle with you and refill it whenever you need. You will find many free water fountains all over European cities.

The only exception is if you are on Greek islands like Santorini and Paros where tap water is not safe to drink. Buy water bottles there at the cheapest price from convenience stores.

Money Saving Tips On Getting Around A City

You will most likely spend multiple days in a city to explore its attractions. And you will need to use transport to move from one attraction to another.  Depending upon which mode of transport you choose, you can spend either tons of money or just a fraction of it.

Use Public Transport and Say No To Taxi

Taxis are very expensive in Europe. Just travelling a few kilometres in a taxi will cost you a few thousand rupees.

Instead, make use of efficient public transport to travel from one place to another. Public transport in Europe generally comprises bus, subway, and tram. You can reach most of the attractions using public transport unless you are going to an off-beat place in which case you may need a taxi or an organized tour. We even used only buses for travel in Santorini and Paros islands of Greece where the public transport network is not as vast as in other European cities.

A public transport ticket generally costs Euro 1 – 4 (~INR 90 – 360) and you can use any number and combination of bus, subway, or tram to reach your destination.

Use public transport to reach your accommodation from the airport/train station/bus stop if possible. Use taxis only if you are a minimum group of 4 people or having difficulty managing luggage in public transport.

Tips on using public transport

• Public transport in Europe runs on honesty. Nobody asks you to show your ticket to board any public transport. But there can be occasional ticket checking and if caught without a valid ticket, the penalty may be in hundreds of Euros. So, if nobody checks your ticket the first few times, do not presume you can avoid buying a ticket and get away with it.
• Just buying a ticket does not mean you are holding a valid ticket. The tickets in Europe do not mention a date or time. You need to validate it by inserting it inside a validating machine that will stamp the date and time. You will find a validating machine inside the bus and tram, and before entering a subway platform. And never try to validate a ticket more than once. Doing it will make the ticket invalid. Travelling on an invalid ticket is like travelling without a ticket and you will be subjected to the same penalty if caught.
• The doors of any public transport do not open automatically on arrival at train/subway stations or bus/tram stops. There is a button both outside and inside of every door that needs to be pressed to open the door. We were unaware of it before coming to Europe and a couple of times we thought that the door had malfunctioned when it didn’t open until we saw someone pressing the button.

Buy Travel Pass

Consider buying a travel day pass if needed to travel on public transport multiple times a day. A day or 24-hour travel pass will allow unlimited use of public transport within a validity period. Most of the European cities have their own single or multi-day passes. You will mostly recover the travel cost if you use public transport at least 2-3 times a day.

You will most likely see a 24-hour or 48-hour pass in Europe instead of 1-day or 2-day pass. The difference between a 1-day and a 24-hour pass is that a 1-day pass is valid from 12 AM to 11:59 PM whereas a 24-hour pass is valid for 24 hours from the time of first use.

Let’s say you have used a 24-hour pass for the first time at 4 PM today. It will remain valid till 3:59 PM tomorrow, unlike the 1-day pass which will be valid only till midnight today.

To give you an example of how much you can save using a travel pass – In Vienna, a single ticket costs Euro 2.4 (~ INR 215) whereas a 24-hour travel pass costs Euro 8 (~INR 720), and a weekly pass costs Euro 17.1 (~INR 1,540). We had bought a weekly pass in Vienna which not only saved tens of Euros but also relieved us from the stress of buying a ticket and validating it every time we needed to use public transport.

Do note that travel passes need to be validated only once on their first use. Do not validate them again, if done will make them invalid.

Buying a travel pass is a no-brainer if you are staying longer in a city. For a short-term stay, calculate how many single tickets you would need in a day and compare the total cost with the cost of a pass. We would suggest buying a travel pass even if you are not saving any money with the pass just for the convenience and peace of mind it provides. Of course, unless a pass is proving to be far more expensive than buying individual tickets.

We bought a 72-hour pass in Prague even though it did not save us any money but actually, it turned out to be CZK 30-40 (~INR 105 – 140) more expensive than buying individual tickets. But such a small amount was not worth the hassle of buying and validating individual tickets.

Intercity Travel Tips

You can travel from one city to another by flight, train or bus. A bus is the cheapest option to travel but you will have to sacrifice a bit of comfort especially when travelling long distances. A train is more expensive and also more comfortable than a bus. Choose to fly if either there is no bus/train connection or they are having long travel time.

Some of the important information/tips on using public transport in Europe

• Europe has an amazing train network. A particular route is covered multiple times a day by both slow and fast trains. So you should have no problem finding a train in your favourable time slot.
• Unlike India where you can only buy direct train tickets, you can choose to buy a train ticket with multiple connections in Europe very much like a flight with layovers. That means if you want to travel from Vienna to Paris on a train, even though there is no direct train you can book your tickets which may involve changing one or multiple trains at some other city.
• Both buses and trains follow a dynamic pricing model, which means, the earliest you buy a ticket the cheapest it will be. And it would be most expensive on the day of travel. So, plan early and book a train ticket around 1.5 months in advance to get the cheapest price.
• Many regional trains also run on the same route as high-speed trains. They may take a longer time to reach the destination but they will also be cheaper. The ticket price of some regional trains may be fixed and remain the same irrespective of when you book.
• Many trains in Europe do not include seat reservation by default with a ticket. Reserving a seat is not mandatory in European trains. Reservation may cost extra in the range of Euro 2-4 (~INR 180 – 360) per seat and can be booked either at the time of buying a ticket or later through the train website. We would not recommend paying extra on seat reservations unless you are travelling on weekends or holidays. There are generally many empty seats on a train and you may sit on any empty non-reserved seat you like.
• If plans are firm, buy a non-refundable ticket. A flexible train ticket can be 2-3 times more expensive than a non-refundable ticket.
• If unable to plan in advance, consider travelling by bus as train tickets may get 3-4 times more expensive on the day of travel.
• Flixbus is the biggest bus company with an extensive network all over Europe. It is very popular among backpackers and budget travellers.
• Buses are usually very cheap and you can travel between two cities for as low as Euro 5 (~INR 450) if booked in advance. Even on the travel day, buses do not get as expensive as trains.
• The two most popular websites/apps for train booking in Europe are Omio and Trainline. Both are in English and very user-friendly.
• Always check the seat61 website first for any train routes in Europe before booking the tickets. It is a train travel website and if there is a cheapest way of train travel on any route, you will find that information there. This is how I got to know about the first-minute tickets at the Czech Railways website that I mentioned later in the article.

These are the country-specific travel tips :

Germany

Buy a Bayern ticket if travelling inter-city within the Bavarian region of Germany. A Bayern ticket allows unlimited travel on regional trains, buses, U-Bahns and more for a day. A 2nd class Bayern costs Euro 27 (~INR 2,430) for 1 adult and is valid from 9 AM to 3 AM (the following day) on Monday-Friday and from 12 AM to 3 AM (the following day) on Saturdays and Sundays.

But the magical feature of a Bayern ticket is that at most 5 people can travel on a single Bayern ticket but the ticket price only increases in the increment of Euro 9 (~INR 810) per person. That means you pay Euro 36 (~INR 3,240) for 2 adults and only Euro 63 (~INR 5,670) for 5 adults.

We bought a Bayern ticket to travel from Munich to Neuschwanstein Castle and back. It only costs us Euro 36 (~INR 3,240) which otherwise would have easily cost us at least Euro 150 (~INR 13,500). Not only that, we also used the Bayern ticket on the Munich Subway.

Czech Republic

Omio or Trainline should be your go-to app for booking trains in Europe. But if your departure or arrival station is in the Czech Republic, do not forget to check the ticket cost on the Czech Railways website (www.cd.cz). Czech Railways is the only operator that can offer first-minute tickets that are significantly cheaper than the price on other platforms for the same train. The only catch is you have to book early to get this first-minute ticket. We saved about Euro 100 (~ INR 9,000) by booking Munich-Prague and Prague-Vienna train tickets through Czech Railways.

Should You Buy City Attractions Cards?

When in a city, you will want to visit castles, museums, churches or other attractions. Attraction ticket prices are expensive in Europe. Be prepared to shell out at least Euro 10 (~ INR 900) for each entry ticket. If you visit 3-4 attractions in a day, that will be around Euro 50 -70 (~INR 4,500 – 6,300) in daily ticket expenses.

Consider buying a city attraction card if you want to pack your days with multiple attractions visit. A city attraction card is valid for 1,2,3 or multiple days and includes one-time entry to each included attraction. Some city cards may also include unlimited use of public transportation.

But not all city cards are worth buying. Check what is included in a city attraction card, what it costs and the cost of the attraction you want to visit. Do your maths and only consider buying an attraction card if you can at least recover the cost of the card. When doing your calculations, consider the attraction price you get on the official website and other platforms and not the one you see on the city card website. Many a time, the official website sells discounted tickets or a cheaper multiple attractions combo ticket that is cheaper than all the tickets combined.

Do not get excited by the number of included attractions in the card. It is common to get overwhelmed by the number of included attractions and you may think a city card is a great money saver. It is a marketing technique of card creators but if you look closely, you will find that most attractions are not worth visiting. Always make your decision based on the must-visit attractions and if you decide to buy a city attraction card, then any additional attraction you visit is a bonus.

Also, there can be multiple city cards from different operators. So, compare all and choose the one which best suits your needs.

We did not find the Vienna and Prague City Cards worth buying. They are very expensive and you will have to visit many attractions just to recover the cost.

Salzburg and Innsbruck city cards are worth buying. Both the cards are reasonably priced and include public transport. You will be saving money even on visiting 1-2 popular attractions in a day.

ATMs Or Currency Exchange Tips

In major European cities, you can use a credit card or debit card to pay most of the transactions. But you need cash for small vendors or in smaller cities. You will be either withdrawing cash from an ATM or exchanging currency at the exchange office to get Euros or other European currency. If not paid attention, you could lose lots of money in both withdrawing cash or exchanging currency.

ATM

Choose an ATM with the lowest transaction fee

An ATM charges either a flat fee or a percentage of the transaction value if another bank or foreign bank card is used. This is called the ATM Operating Fee or Transaction Fee.

Always choose the ATM with the lowest operating fee. Do not withdraw the cash from the first ATM you see. Always try multiple ATMs and choose the one levying minimum or no fee. Bawag Bank ATM in Austria is one such ATM that charges no operating fee.

You will see many Euronet ATMs all over Europe. Avoid Euronet ATMs at any cost as they charge very high transaction fees.

Always decline Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC)

Another thing that you need to keep in mind while using ATMs is that always choose to get charged in local currency to withdraw cash. That is choose CZK if you are in Prague or Czech Republic, Euro if you are in Austria, Germany or any Eurozone country.

This is very common in European ATMs that they will show you the amount in the card issuing country’s currency by default which in our case was INR. This is called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and you must always decline DCC.

When you choose DCC, you permit the ATM operator to convert the amount to your home country’s currency. You may think it is as convenient as you will get to know the exact amount that will be deducted from your bank account but you may not realize that ATM has put a markup of 6-10% for currency conversion.

When you decline DCC, your card issuing bank would do currency conversion and generally have a markup in the range of 0 – 3.5% depending upon the card you carry.

Carry a Debit Card with zero forex markup fee

Forex markup fee is a fee levied by a card issuing bank to convert currency in your card to the currency you get from an ATM. In our case, it would be converting INR to Euro or other European currency.

We carry an Indusind Exclusive debit card for cash withdrawals. It has zero forex markup fee and is one of the two banks in India to offer such debit cards; the other being Yes Bank. Other cards you may choose are a Niyo card or a Scapia card that also charges zero forex markup fee but may charge a flat fee for cash withdrawal.

Currency Exchange

As many of the ATMs in Europe charge transaction fees which is in addition to the forex markup fee that your bank charges, it does not make sense to lose 4-6% of transaction value every time you withdraw cash. It would be more prudent to carry Euro or USD and exchange currency at one of many Currency Exchange Offices that you will find in a city.

Always check the current exchange rate online and compare it with the currency exchange rate offered by multiple operators and choose the one offering the most favourable rate.

Some exchange offices would try to rip you off by giving ridiculously low exchange rates. One we encountered was giving just 17 CZK for 1 Euro whereas the exchange rate at that time was 24 CZK for 1 Euro. So always, always check the exchange rate before exchanging currency.

Sim Card

When you travel to a foreign country, you need a SIM card to use the internet, make local calls, and even connect with your loved ones back home.

Unfortunately, local sims in Europe usually cost at least Euro 30 (~INR 2,700) and that too will not give you a high amount of data.

A cheaper alternative to this, which we also availed, was buying a European SIM card from TSIM. TSIM is an Indian website that home delivers European and other countries’ sim cards at no extra cost. We purchased this Europe SIM card for INR 1,489. It had a 30-day validity, 10 GB of high-speed data, and unlimited local calls within Europe.

Money Saving Tips On Food

Food is one of the major expense categories of any trip. These are the money-saving tips to keep food costs down.

• Food bills will be expensive if you eat at high-end restaurants. Instead, try eating at small eateries or food stalls at train or bus stations. You will get cheap food without sacrificing quality.
• Do not eat at the first restaurant you see near any major tourist attraction. They are expensive and sometimes not very good. Instead, walk away a couple of blocks and you should find restaurants selling food at cheaper prices.
• Have breakfast at a bakery. Bakeries are generally open from 6-7 AM. Fill your stomach with bakery items like croissants and sandwiches. They are reasonably priced and you will easily have a meal inside Euro 10 (~INR 900).
• Fast food meals like burgers or Subway are easily available for less than 10 Euros (~INR 900). You can get a large pizza under Euro 20 (~ INR 1,800).
• Bring cheap ready-to-eat food like Haldiram and Yu products from India and consume them during breakfast or at night to save money. But I would not suggest carrying too many of them as they take lots of luggage space.
• Buy items like soft drinks, juices, ice cream, biscuits, snacks and many more from big supermarket chains like Billa and Lidl. A small glass of soft drink costs ~Euro 4 (~INR 360) at restaurants but you will get a 2-litre bottle in less at supermarkets. Similarly, you can get ice cream and other items at very cheap prices (sometimes comparable to Indian prices) at supermarkets. We even bought a small bottle of ketchup for under Euro 2 (~INR 180) because strangely ketchup is not complimentary at many Burger restaurants in Europe and a small amount of Ketchup costs Euro 0.5-1 (~INR 45-90).
• Vegetarian/vegan food is easily available in Europe. You will find at least one or two options at Subway, Burger, and Pizza restaurants. There is also no dearth of restaurants selling Falafel balls and wraps. All of them except pizza costs less than Euro 10 (~INR 900). Indian food is also available at many Indian restaurants but it will be a bit costly.

Do you have any money-saving tips that are not included here? Feel free to share in the comments below.

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