Now that the US dollar makes Euros very expensive for Americans, lets brainstorm some ideas for cutting expenses on a Europe trip.

Here are my suggestions. Please post with yours!

- Apply the Slow Travel philosophies. Stay in a vacation rental (less expensive than a hotel, you can cook some of your meals or have deli food) and see what is near you (less driving uses less gas).

- Fly off season. When I have been booking, it seems that flights are less expensive October - May.

- Rent a smaller car. Less expensive to rent, uses less gas, lets you park more easily. Or try a car-less trip - take trains or use the cheap European airlines.

- Step down a star. If you like 4 star hotels, this is the chance to hunt out the good 3 star hotels so you can save some money.

- Find less expensive restaurants. In Italy, have pizza for dinner. Order the house wine! In England, try dinner at an Indian restaurant.

- Don't buy things unless you really need them. Your souvenir of your trip is your memories. Maybe you don't need physical souvenirs.

- Work out a budget. If in the past you did not carefully track your trip expenses and are just assuming it is way more expensive now, figure out exactly what you spent on your last trip and see what the same trip would cost now. Maybe it is not that big of a difference? Maybe there are obvious areas where you can make cuts?

- Live more cheaply at home so you have more travel money. Save your "eating out" money for when you travel. Cut back on some of your extras to leave more in the travel budget.

For Vacation Rentals:
- Go for the simpler vacation rental instead of the one with lots of extras.

- Give up the pool! Staying at a place with a pool is much more expensive than a place without (this only applies in high season when you can use the pool).

- Ask for a discount! It doesn't hurt to ask, especially if you are staying in a place for two weeks instead of just one. Or if you are booking a two bedroom and will only be using one of the bedrooms (because that was all you could find in the location you want).

In a vacation rental, buy food for at least three or four meals on the very first shopping trip.
All that food that will potentially go to waste keeps you from making a spur of the moment decision to eat out.

In a hotel, book one with breakfast included.

If you are touring, consider an impromptu picnic on your dash.

So many good ideas here, Pauline! I think you covered everything already - but here are a couple of thoughts:

Stay off the "beaten track"- just a few blocks in a city or a few kilometers in more rural places can make a world of difference, in restaurants and accommodations. The nice bonus is you will find yourself amoung local people instead of hordes of tourists.

Avoid staying in the biggest cities, especially if you have already seen them. My Italian friend laughed when I complained about hotel costs in Venice, she said the Italians just stay in Padova and take the train....I am sure this is an idea that could be adapted for many locales.

Finding a place with kitchen facilities will save you a ton - we generally have breakfast in our apartment, a nice lunch while we are out for the day and make a simple supper when we return.

Figure out your best cell phone option and then use calling cards! Saved us over 200 dollars the last trip!

We always "go cheap" on accommodations - in Italy we have found agriturismos to be an excellent bargain. I can understand luxury hotels for a "destination resort", but for us the destination is Europe itself, as long as the place is clean and safe, we are happy. Last year in Munich, our cousin suggested a nice hotel that was 300 euro a night, we found one a block away that was 60 - and very nice! To us, it makes the difference between one trip a year and two.

Be creative when searching for airfares, sometimes flying into a different European city and taking a budget airline to your final destination can save a lot. There are schedule and baggage issues to consider, but it is worth looking into. Flying out of an airport that isn't your "home" airport can also help...

Bring travel bottles for your toiletries - yes of course you can buy them there, but you are buying a full size bottle of whatever at a 40% premium, and won't use the whole thing. Same for OTC medications. We love the nalgene bottles, LL Bean sells a great set that never leak, etc. and you bring the stuff you like! Nickels and dimes, I realize, but it does actually make a difference...

Since airfare is a huge proportion of our costs, we bend over backwards to add to our frequent flyer points. We put everything we can on our "points" credit card, my husband carefully plans his business travel flights to add to our main ff account (and I don't grouse about the time he spends away from home!). When we're planning a trip using the ff miles, we get on the phone the hour the seats open up, and call every now and then as the trip gets closer to see if we can get something better. We accept the sometimes inconvenient routing as the necessary evil that makes our trips possible.

Don't forget to ask for a diesel when you make your rental car reservations.

Fly coach! It's uncomfortable, downright miserable sometimes, but it only lasts about 12 hours, even for us west coasters, and you save a LOT of money.

We also put every penny we can on our "points" credit card so that at least every other year, our flights are free.

If you want to eat at an expensive restaurant, go for lunch instead of dinner.

Look out for places where the locals eat.

In Britain check out pub food as an alternative to restaurants.

Don't just order the "house wine", some restaurants are getting wise to that and its no longer guaranteed to be cheaper.

If your hotel has a buffet breakfast - stock up and have a sandwich for lunch.

If you are self-catering go to the fishmongers just before closing on Saturday, they are usually closed until Tuesday and you can get bargain prices to save them putting fish in the bin.

If you are in the countryside find farm shops and farmers markets.

~ Rent a reasonably-priced apartment and look for ones that provide some good freebies, such as a free cell phone and free calls to Canada, US, England or wherever you live.
Find a rental that provides a laptop or computer and complimentary wireless or high-speed internet...saves a bundle on internet spot charges, and you don't have to schlepp your laptop.
Look for a rental that has no add-ons, such as final cleaning, heating costs and so on...saves another 100E +/-.

~ Look for an apartment that is NOT in the center of the city, as Kate says. My huge apartment in Florence was north of San Marco about 3 minutes' walking time and a 9 - 10 minutes' walk from the Du-O-mo. It was a short bus ride for me, when it was raining.
I paid 400E a week for a 3 weeks' stay, a total of 1200E including complimentary museum tickets and train tickets from Florence to Pisa for my flight to Paris. Apartments closer to the Du-O-mo were renting from 700E - 1500E a week and higher. They were usually 1/2 the size and without that luscious huge terrace that I enjoyed.

~ Renting an apartment allows you to eat great food at home and save a bundle! I eat breakfast and dinner in, with delicious fresh food from the market, then I find a great cafe for lunch, when the cost of the meal is less, by up to half. My favorite restaurant in Rome served a wonderful ravioli dish at lunch for 1/3 of the cost if ordered in the evening.

~ If you like hotel living, rent a hotel with complimentary breakfasts, free museum tickets, free parking...get the most bang for your buck.

~ Ditto Pauline's suggestion for taking the train, bus or metro and not renting a car...if you think you can do it, do it! I love not having to deal with finding parking and finding a service station for gas and all that other car-stuff!

~ I carry a small soft-sided collapsible cooler full of my travel food for the flight, then re-freeze my freezer-pack when I arrive and take the cooler with me during the day, full of light snacks. It saves looking for a place to have an afternoon snack. I'm often hungry about 3 - 4 P.M. and this saves me some $$$. If you are renting a car, you can take Deborah's gorgeous roadside picnic in the cooler.

~ Senior's discounts.
If you qualify, and they offer it, take the discount!
If you're not a senior yet, and they offer a discount...take it, on my behalf.

~ Eat where the locals do.
Don't order lunch at some darling little quaint cafe, 1 block from the tourist attraction of the moment...the Trevi fountain, for example.
The cost of 2 terribly-awful dry cheese and ham? sandwiches, 2 glasses of cold something-like-iced-tea beverage and 2 golf-ball sized gelati in cardboard-like cones?
48E.
The look on my grandson's face when he saw the total of the bill, including the charge of 10E for each teensy gelato cone?
Priceless!

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money." ~ Susan Heller
Brenda

Believe it or not I think it is cheaper to stay longer. For us one of the main costs is the flight. Once we get to Europe we can actually stay quite cheaply. A car rental for two weeks works out to be less expensive than one for a week.

We always travel with a collapsible cooler. We also have a kit which contains cutlery, napkins, and a cutting board. When we're on the road we keep the cooler stocked with snacks and water. We'll often have an impromptu picnic for lunch and sometimes dinner. The picture below is our lunch last year while driving up the coast of CA. What we didn't eat for lunch we ate as a snack later.

I think it is less expensive to travel in a group as well - you can share the big costs i.e. car rental or villa rental. Mind you – then you have the dynamic of the group and will everyone get along! LOL

Renting in an area which is not 'trendy' will help save costs as well. Our villa apartment in Montespertoli was 565 euro for the week - split 4 ways it was by far our cheapest accommodation. Had this villa been located elsewhere the cost would have been higher.

Get to know the villa owner (or locals). Gabriel was able to provide all sorts of money saving tips - i.e. where to park for free in Cerebia so we could take the bus to Florence.

Try to locate near a major transportation hub. We lucked out in that we were close to the autostrada as well as a major bus depot.

Buy your bottled water and other drinks at a store rather than on the road. You can pay 3 euro for a small bottle of water in the Vatican or buy a case for 7 euro.

Buy your vino in bulk from one of the bulk wine shops.

When we were staying at the villa we cooked most of our own dinners. We'd eat a nice lunch in whatever hill town we happened to be in for lunch and then toss something together for dinner. We'd buy our groceries at the COOP.

Plan splurges. If you know you have a big dinner or outting coming up you'll have something exciting to look forward to (besides being on vacation )

When searching for rentals, Google the name of the place. (or even "name of town" and "rental") Often the same property is represented by different agencies, but at different prices. Rentals by owners are usually less expensive than those from agencies.

We're working on the one meal out a day - and next summer (even in Vermont), shooting for that meal to be lunch (which is usually less expensive).

Upgrade your normal weekday wardrobe - what do I mean by that? If you're everyday clothes at home are good enough for travel, you won't need to buy new clothes before your trip (yes, guilty as charged).

Review your mode of transportation to/from the airport. I love having someone meet me with my name on a card to take me to the city but taking the Opera bus into Paris worked well and was much less expensive.

If you're renting a car for a long period of time (at least in Italy), look into renting it from an off-airport location rather than picking up at the airport. Even with taking a car to the pick-up location, for a two week rental we saved about $100, plus avoided the airport lines.

When traveling with kids, either have them save money before departure, or give them a set amount at the beginning of the trip for souveniers. This way they know exactly how much is theirs to spend and 1) aren't nagging you to buy them something 2) budget their own money and buy things that are really important to them as opposed to picking up lots of junk along the way.

Again, in Italy, stay away from the cola - Chris loves it there (they use sugar instead of corn syrup) but man, a can of coke is more expensive than water or wine!

In Rome, fill up your water bottles at the fountains instead of buying new bottles every day.

As others have said, off season travel saves a bunch.

Street food is good (crepes, panini, pizza). In Paris, sticking to the formulas (price fixe) can get you some good deals in restaurants.

Seek out the smaller, cheaper, museums or free museum functions. Same with church concerts rather than organized concerts at large venues.

In Italy - silly but sometimes, stand, don't sit to have your morning cappucino/espresso.

Okay - I need to run (we're making a bialy run this morning) but will try to think of more things when I return.

Oh - okay one more - buy your wine for your house/apartment in the local supermarkets rather than the fancy shmancy wine stores - plenty of selection - reasonable prices.

While secretly hoping everyone will feel well to do and spend the money to take cooking lessons from me and therefore be able to fix fabulous meals cheaply forever after going home, I too feel the pinch living on papertowel dollars in Euro world.

Don't overbuy at the grocery. Throwing all those bits and pieces away as you clean out the fridge is wasteful and will not do. At the bread counter, ask for the weight you need and they will cut it for you. Same for everything at service counters. Single people here have to know that.

It is still possible to live without internet or cell phones entirely for most people.

Get lost. Once you can't see anybody who speaks English, you'll find bargains in everything.

Ask locals. They know what's what. (Or their brother in law owns it, can't help that)

Sit still once in a while and see what comes to you. At least here in Italy that's half the enjoyment for me. In Paris I sat in a cafe window and imagined myself a 1930s runaway writer, which never worked for me in New York. It cost the price of a coffee.

Bring less stuff, buy less stuff, don't tip other than a roundup, act like a European.

Another one just came to mind - pay cash for things when possible - often you'll receive a discount for doing so. Just be sure to keep the receipt!

This isn't always feasible, but given a choice, choose a vacation rental priced in dollars. Our apartment for next spring in Paris is owned by Americans, and it's nice to know our price will be the same regardless of what happens with the exchange rate.

We horde our frequent flyer miles and hotel points. Join the frequent stay programs of any hotel chains that you may stay with, it's free and depending on the program and your use of the chain's hotels, you can especially in the major cities, do extremely well, when staying on points. In Europe, if we stay in a hotel we usually prefer cozy, family run hotels, but if it is the difference between staying in e.g.Rome or not, then we will use our points when we have enough saved up.

Here in Canada I do all my banking via President's Choice - no fees for checks, online transactions, ATM withdrawls etc. Plus I get 1% credit to my account whenever I use my PC debit or credit card to pay bills or buy groceries. The credit appears as "points" which I use to buy groceries. As a rough estimate I get about $600-$800 "free" groceries each year, plus my banking fees are non-existent.

I also collect Air Miles (especially at the LCBO, eh Jerry?) but I prefer to use my PC card to pay bills or buy gas. My free groceries pays for a return trip to Paris on ZOOM (discount Canadian airline) each year and I don't have the hassle of trying to get the best points deal.

However, I have some friends running their own small businesses and their Air Miles points add up a lot quicker than mine ever would. So I guess we each have to decide which strategies work best for us as individuals.

Except for the utility companies that charge a processing fee for paying with credit card, we pay for EVERYTHING with our CapitalOne Reward card. Groceries, fuel, clothing, books, etc.

Then when we are ready to book our airline tickets, we go for the best possible price we can find. We cash in our reward points for cash and apply that to the cost of the airline ticket.

This allows us to book tickets that will earn those nice looonnnng miles to Europe. Otherwise we would have cashed in miles to get a ticket that didn't earn any miles.

I'm not sure I'm being very eloquent here. Did that make sense?

quote:

If your hotel has a buffet breakfast - stock up and have a sandwich for lunch.

This is not an uncommon practice but it does not make you very popular with the hotel management.

quote:

- Step down a star. If you like 4 star hotels, this is the chance to hunt out the good 3 star hotels so you can save some money.

If you are prepared to renounce some standard service, e.g. daily change of towels, or night concierge, in each country there is a wealth of accommodation that is significantly cheaper than hotels.

In Italy agriturismo (either with rooms or with apartments), B&Bs, affittacamere are more often than not family run and offer generally better prices than hotels.

If you take a room at a B&B ask if you have the use of a fridge to keep picnic stuff and if there are facilities to make warm drinks. Besides the savings, sometimes it is nice not to have to go out for dinner after a long day of sightseeing and enjoy a glass of wine in the garden.


Another way to save is to make a bit more use of public transport. Taxi are tremendously expensive, keep it for emergencies. Take a train from the airport to to the region where you are having your holiday and then take the car. This will save you some stress and probably a whole day car rental. This is however not worth if you are traveling with more than two people as the price of the train ticket for 3-4 will be equivalent to that of the additional car rental day.

Last but not least, check the prices in the restaurant menus: some dishes are a lot cheaper than others and over many days it will make a difference if you do not order fillet steak everyday!

The big saver for our three months in Paris in 2008 is our apartment rental at $2600 a month in the 9th arro - 950 sq. ft. of living space(normally rents at $1400 per week). I try to rent apartments in U.S. dollars, so that I know in advance what my actual cost will be. But that is usually a secondary matter to us liking the apartment.

Despite our weak U.S. currency, we have plans to be in Victoria BC for two weeks next month and another 9 weeks in Europe starting mid-November (Paris, Brienz Switzerland, Venice).

The flip side to these travels is working hard to make enough to pay for it. Guess where I am at the moment???? Here in the office. But, hey, I don't mind delayed gratification.