Eastern Europe Travel Saving Tips

Europe is often seen as an expensive place to travel. Hereby sharing some of my cost saving tips to tour Eastern Europe, usually known to be a tad cheaper than their cousin in Western Europe.

Eastern Europe consist of many ex soviet union (Russia)  such as Ukraine, Belarus and the Balkans region (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania etc).  It is an exotic region with many wonderful sights, simply a hidden treasure if you were to discover it yourself.  I had previously shared my Eastern Europe Itinerary  here.

Saving Tip #1: Take Budget Flight into Europe  

Getting a reasonable deal into Europe from Asia is now easier with more airlines connecting the 2 continents. Budget carriers are no exception with the recent entry of Norwegian Airways started its operations from London to Singapore. Getting into Europe by no frills airline mean one can take a budget flight to London and from there, many other budget carriers like Ryan Air connects one to other parts of Europe easily. The major hubs in Europe are London Heathrow, Amsterdam airport Schiphol, Paris airport (Charles de Gaulle). Not many people actually realize that Hungary is actually a good connecting hub in Eastern Europe as well if you are looking to travel in the region as it is situated near to Central Europe.

Saving Tip #2: Cut down on Food Costs

Food cost is one of the major contributor to travel expenses when one travels in Europe. Each meal typically cost around SGD12 (Singapore Dollars) in Central/Eastern Europe (Hungary, Slovenia), add SGD5 for dinner. A good way to save money if you are not a big eater like most Asians is to drink soup. Often than not, soups will come with bread allowing one to fill his stomach.

Saving Tip #3: Stay in Hostel

The quality of hostel in Europe region is not that bad as compare to the standards in some parts of Asia region. If you are not use to sleeping with strangers or share the bathroom, one can sleep in en suite that comes with private bathroom. Otherwise, stay in a 2 or 3 star hotel works fine too. Eventually, the old town of European cities are often such captivating that one would choose to spend more time outside than stay copped up in the room.

Saving Tip #4: Choose to take public transport

The bus and rail networks are relatively good for tourists to explore the region. Major tourist spots would have buses and/or trains that ply the area. Most people thinks that train is the best bet of transport in Europe. That is only true if one travel in Western / Central Europe where trains lines are developed. In Eastern Europe, bus is the best option due to the price, flexibility (more bus departures with various timings). It allows one to admire the beautiful scenery as it travels through small towns and depart/ stop at city centers unlike some train stations located a bit further off the city.

Saving Tip #5: Take overnight Bus  

Take overnight transport to save on hotel costs and also time. One will gets to arrive early in the morning at the destination and kick start your journey. Make sure you get enough sleep on the bus!

Below is my travel expenses recorded for my 11 days trip to Bosnia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia.

Categories: Europe Region, Travel Tips