Best budget hacks for weekend trips across Europe?
Posted by Striking_Classic_259@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 19 comments
I’m on exchange in Spain and using weekends to hop around Europe. Cheap flights are tempting, but everything else (hostels, transport, data, food) adds up quick.
For those of you who’ve done this: what are your best money-saving hacks for weekend trips? Bonus points if it’s something that actually worked for you as a student or while traveling on a tight budget.
Ok-Dig4576@reddit
Treat it like a marathon, reduce carb intake in the week, carb load on the Friday and then starve for two days traveling?? Unfortunately traveling at the weekend is always going to be more expensive. Is going to the airport without a ticket and buying the cheapest ticket there, still a thing? Or is it just an old movie trope… Good luck though! Get a weekend job? Work 3/4 weekends and travel once a month? 12 cities in 12 months is a good effort
AltruisticWishes@reddit
That's really shitty advice.
Brown_Sedai@reddit
A significant amount of the joy of travel for me is sampling the food in different places- plus this sounds like a miserable way to travel, guaranteeing you’re hangry and exhausted
Calm-Bus7555@reddit
If you don’t mind staying in someone’s home then check out homestay.com instead of Airbnb. I haven’t used it yet but the prices are usually a lot cheaper and you can even get meals in some cases
roses_are_blue@reddit
Yeah same, we can definitely afford to have breakfast at a cafe but I prefer to just roll out of bed in sweatpants and have some OJ and greek yoghurt with fruit.
Costs about 5 bucks per person and >>>> 30 dollar brunches.
Jumpy_Possibility_70@reddit
Never heard of it before. Looks wonderful! Thanks for the rec.
GreatRailwayBazaar@reddit
What worked for me:
Couchsurfing for free accommodation AND cultural exchange (do not use hosts’ places as a free hotel!) or hostels in shared rooms.
Data shouldn’t be an issue since there is EU Roaming and you should be able to use parts of your Spanish data.
Don’t fly on busy times, like don’t go to a beach town in summer, go in winter to save money.
Not flying on the weekends, weekends are expensive. My uni schedule gave me time to fly from wednesdays and I could also skip classes. The classes with compulsory attendance I put them on 2 days and the rest I could basically mix&match which I wanted to skip hahah
Food, either supermarket or street food whereas one meal at a traditional restaurant was un negotiable for my travels. And going to student bars/hanging around the university because cheap drinks, cheap food…
ISIC card for -sometimes- discounted entry to museums, lots of walking…
Flow-Visual@reddit
You can search for cheap trains, pet sitter like Airbnb
https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/join-now/pet-parents/
Also create a couchsurfing account.
Minbedstekop@reddit
last night in, first flight out. Sleep in the airport.
Student discounts everywhere, always ask.
cross reference hostel prices, sometimes hostels are cheaper on their own websites and/or the same price but offer something extra like breakfast. Always read reviews.
serviciocerveza@reddit
What I did as a student: - bought food in the supermarket and made my own meals to save money (most European grocery stores have a sandwich section!) or aimed for really cheap street food - buy train tickets within Spain as far ahead as you can and they’ll be muuuuuch cheaper - day trips can save you money if you don’t want to spend on hostels- my friends and I once took a bus from Leon to Sevilla on Saturday which took roughly the whole night, spent the day exploring, then took the night bus back and went to class 😂 did I sleep great? No I did not. But I got to see Seville and otherwise wouldn’t have been able to! - try to go with a group of people (ideally 4) only if they are on the same page as you about your style of travel so you can split accommodations and make it cheaper - try to make friends with Spanish or other students from abroad (other countries in Europe) that are from regions outside the city you’re studying in- then you can go visit them on breaks and stay with their families. Don’t underestimate the power of networking as a broke student 🤣
Striking_Classic_259@reddit (OP)
Nice! thanks for the tips.
GrayDepression@reddit
You should get an ISIC card. There are many discounts for students in museums and other places.
You can try couchsurfing. I never tried it but it should be cheaper than hostels or maybe free and you have a local for recommendations.
I never take express trains or buses. They are usually 2-3 times more expensive than regular public transport and only slightly faster.
Probably best budget hack would be not drinking alcohol and going out. Couple of beers can easily turn to many more...
Striking_Classic_259@reddit (OP)
Good tips. I’ve also started skipping alcohol when traveling since it eats up my budget fast. Thank you
Kloppite16@reddit
With data you should get 10GB roaming allowance within the EU. So long as you connect to Wifi where ever you can then 10GB of data should be more than enough for a weekend. Download offline Google Maps of the city you're going to in advance and that will save on data for online maps.
Otherwise Id say think like a local in your spending and what you do when there. Every city will have a website/newsletter of free events that are on that weekend in the city. It can be art exhibitions, music performances or comedy, all for free. Check them out.
For eating look at websites that are the local equivalent of Groupon or Living Social to get discounts on cafe & restaurant food. Also with the Too Good to Go app can find you cheap food before cafes close at 6pm, often 5-6 euro will feed two people.
bors00k@reddit
Depending where you are in Spain, you can get cheap bus tickets to France, Portugal and even Italy. You obviously spend more time traveling, but being a student you can probably get a weekday off every now and then. Go for less popular destinations or less popular months, February/March or November. Use hostels, browse for student discounts etc.
Ashamed_Let_1703@reddit
I did the same during my exchange in Germany and quickly realized that while flights can be cheap, everything else adds up fast. What really helped me save was taking night buses or trains like FlixBus instead of flying, so I didn’t have to pay for a hostel that night. I also traveled with just a small backpack to avoid baggage fees. For accommodation, if hostels were pricey, I used Couchsurfing or picked hostels near transport hubs to save on metro fares. For food, I stuck to bakeries, supermarkets, or even university cafeterias instead of restaurants. Using an eSIM or local SIM helped me avoid roaming charges, and booking early for busy destinations (or going last minute to less popular cities) kept things affordable. Honestly, some of my best weekend trips were to smaller cities that were cheaper, less crowded, and still super fun.
gaifogel@reddit
Supermarket food: nuts, seeds, fruit, veggies, bread, cheese.
gooos115@reddit
Well stay in a hostel is the biggest money saving hack while I was a student travelling, and buy grocery food instead of eating out can save too.
likewhatever33@reddit
Home Exchange. Let someone stay at yours while you stay at theirs. For free. This is the best saving tip ever. You can also cook in the kitchen so you save money on food too.