The previous Thread was too long.
We spent 8 weeks touring 8 countries and this is how we saved:
Plan your itinerary carefully in order not to back track.
Rail Passes - investigate and research P-T-P or whether a Rail Pass is the best buy.
Hostels in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are immaculate. Inexpensive and they serve a breakfast.
Bought lunches and snacks in grocery stores or delis.
For tips on how to save money when traveling in europe, see here.
For other ways to save money on your trip, click:herehereherehere
Checking for school vacation dates in the areas you will be visiting. It changes the airfares a lot. This is not only for summer, but also fall, spring and winter. Be aware that in Germany they are staggered, Munich will start and end at a different time then Berlin, etc. Flying into a city that is not on vacation will give you considerable savings. It is easy to google these dates.
Friends went to some of the same places (even hotels) in October that we went to in June. They paid a lot less for hotels and meals.
The trade off is weather and having to pack bulkier clothes.
We used Rick's books to get the cheapest hotels that had AC, picnicked a lot and ate lots of pizza and pananinis.
help pls...what are the affordable and safe hotels in paris? must be near metro...
We loved Hotel Leveque. Hotel recommendations was some of the most valuable info I got from Rick's books. It will tell you price, bathroom info, location, what's included, etc. Do you have one?
