Save on Airfare

Although I just talked about the benefits of traveling by train, nothing gets you to your destination faster than an airplane. Train tickets generally don't exceed $500, (excluding first-class tickets) but plane tickets can cost thousands of dollars.

The faster you're able to get to your destination, the more time you'll have available for sightseeing, or even enough time to squeeze in a visit to another country. In order to purchase the plane tickets I needed at a price that wasn't going to empty my wallet, I booked flights months in advance on Ryanair. 

Tip #6

Book flights in advance on Ryanair

Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline which offers flights to destinations all across Europe. If you book your flights in advance on Ryanair, you can pay as little as $20 for your plane ticket. When I say in advance  however, I don't mean a few weeks, I'm talking about months, preferably 6 months. On Ryanair.com, the company advertises upcoming flights at cheap prices. Although it can be difficult to plan so far ahead, the money you'll save on your ticket is worth it. I booked all of my Ryanair tickets for my backpacking trips about 6 months in advance and never paid more than $30 for a ticket. If you book a Ryanair flight last minute, however, the prices can increase to thousands of euros. 

Ryanair is able to sell their tickets at such low prices because they are a "no-frill" airline. There are absolutely NO EXTRAS on Ryanair flights and they charge you fees for everything they possible can. Ryanair has been a very controversial airline because the airline generates so much money in ancillary revenue, money from sources other than tickets. 

One thing Ryanair is notorious for is charging extremely expensive fees for baggage that is over-sized or overweight. On one of my first Ryanair flights, my carry-on bag would not fit at the gate-check and I was forced to pay 30 euro (about $40). From then on, in order to get around the outrageous fees without have to sacrifice any of the items in my bags, I used to wear as many items of clothing as possible. Although it was extremely uncomfortable to fly wearing 6 or more shirts, 3 pairs of jeans or shorts, all my bras, and all my underwear, I was determined not to pay any fees. 

Although I was extremely sweaty and uncomfortable during 90% of my flights, I was able to purchase the plane tickets I needed for a fraction of what they usually cost. If you plan your trips in advance, and weasel your way out of Ryanair's extra fees, you can use this airline to save both time and money. 

Traveling by Train

Europe has widely used railways which span across the entire continent. Whether you're traveling short or long distances, European trains are frequent, fast, and most importantly, reliable. Most of the railway networks offer high-speed trains which allow you to reach your destination quickly.

European railways are extremely user friendly. Train stations can be found in even the smallest towns across Europe, so no matter where you may be heading, there's a train that'll take you there.

Traveling by train also allows you to see more of the countries you are visiting. A window seat on a European train provides you with an incredible view of countryside, big cities, small villages, and much more.

The only con I found about traveling by train was the cost of tickets. If you book in advance, you are usually able to purchase a cheaper ticket, otherwise, tickets can be extremely expensive. In order to travel by train without having to pay for expensive tickets, I bought a Eurail pass. 

Tip # 5

Buy a Eurail Pass

Eurail.com is a subsidiary of the Eurail Group, a cooperation of 30 European Railway companies and shipping lines. Eurail offers train passes to travelers all over the world that help to cut the cost of train tickets. 

Eurail offers 4 types of passes:

The Global Pass

The Select Pass

The Regional Pass

The One Country Pass

Although the Global Pass is the most expensive, I chose it because it's actually cheaper in the long run. The Global pass allows you to select how many times you'd like to use the pass within a certain amount of time, or an endless amount of uses within a certain amount of time. The Global Pass also allows you to use the pass in 23 countries, whereas the other passes only work in certain countries. 

After I had mapped out my entire backpacking plan, I decided to go with the 15 day pass use in the course of 2 months; this pass costed $725. The amount I paid for the pass may seem like a lot, however, I made sure to get the most out of my money. 

After I purchased my pass, I started utilizing the railway when I reached Germany. Germany is Europe's most central country, and its railway system offers high-speed trains to almost every country. By using Germany as a central location, I was able to travel to all the surrounding countries during that 2 months. Since the train rides from Germany are so fast, I would sometimes only spend the day in expensive countries so I could take the train back to Germany and sleep there for a lot less money (Switzerland and Austria). 

At the end of my first backpacking trip I was leaving Germany and heading to Brussels, Belgium. I had one use left on my Eurail pass which I used for the train. As I was waiting to board, I was standing by the ticket counter and overhead a man purchasing a ticket on the same train I was about to take; his ticket was 300 euro, which was over $400 at the time I was traveling! 

Instead of paying $400 for one ticket, I bought a Eurail pass which got me 15 tickets for $725. It might seem like a lot of money to pay up front, but you're definitely going to save a ton of money with a Eurail pass.