Traveling abroad on a budget doesn't mean staying in questionable hotels, eating peanut butter sandwiches for a week, or skipping everything you actually went there to see.
Over the years, I’ve met a lot of people—friends and strangers—who tell me they would love to travel abroad, but they think it’s either completely out of their price range or just plain scary. I get it.
Leaving the country can feel like a really big deal when you haven’t done it before. Different money. Different languages. Different transportation. Different customs. Sometimes even different sides of the road. Here’s the thing: “abroad” is a pretty general term.
There are definitely places that are more expensive than others, but that's no different than traveling here in the United States. A hotel room in New York City is going to cost significantly more than a hotel room in Plymouth, Wisconsin. The same is true in Europe. A hotel room in Cologne, Germany, may cost more than one in Schweinfurt.
Where you go matters. When you go matters. And how you choose to travel matters.
That’s why I wouldn't cross international travel off your list simply because you assume it's going to cost too much. There are a lot more options than you might think.
Where—and When—You Go Matters
Timing can make a huge difference in what you'll pay. If you want to visit Munich during Oktoberfest, you're definitely going to pay more for a hotel than you would on an average night in the city. Apparently millions of other people also think drinking beer in a giant tent in Munich sounds like a good time. Who knew?
Holidays, festivals, school breaks, and peak summer travel can all send prices climbing. This is one reason I love traveling during shoulder season—that wonderful little sweet spot between the busy high season and the quieter low season.
You can often find lower prices and fewer crowds while still having a pretty good chance of nice weather. Attractions, restaurants, and tours are also more likely to be open than they might be during the true off-season. Is that going to be true all the time, in every destination? Nope. Weather is weather, businesses make their own schedules, and apparently nobody checks with me first. If you have some flexibility with your dates, shoulder season is definitely worth looking into.
Let's Talk About Hotels
I don't need the fanciest hotel in town. I want somewhere clean, respectable, safe, and in a location that makes sense for what I want to see and do. There are options.
Just to prove my point, I did a quick search for a seven-night stay in Paris in October. I found rooms ranging from $115 to $3,669 per night—all with guest ratings of 8 or higher out of 10. Yes. You read that correctly. $3,669. Per night. No, it did not have a perfect 10 rating. If I'm spending $3,669 per night on a hotel room, it better have a perfect 10 with at least 500 reviews. At that price, I don't just want a chocolate on my pillow. I want someone waiting at the end of every day to tell me how wonderful I am and ask if I'd like another glass of wine.
Back in my actual tax bracket, I found the Chalgrin Boutique Hotel, close to the Eiffel Tower, for about $242 per night, with a 9.4 rating from more than 1,000 reviews.
I also found a beautiful apartment for $84 per night about eight miles outside the city center. Using public transportation, you could get into central Paris in about an hour.
Now you have a decision to make. Would you rather pay $242 a night and stay close to the places you want to see? Or would you rather spend $84 a night, save more than $1,100 over seven nights, and spend extra time getting into the city each day?
Location or cost? Convenience or savings? There's no right or wrong answer.
Maybe you'd rather spend more on your hotel so you can walk out the door and be close to everything. Maybe you'd rather save that money for food, tours, shopping, or another trip. Maybe you're perfectly happy riding public transportation for an hour each way if it means saving more than $150 a night. This is where you decide what matters to you.
Don't search for a hotel in Paris, see one room for $600 a night, close the laptop, and announce, Well, I guess Paris is only for rich people. Keep looking. Change the neighborhood. Compare hotels and apartments. Look at public transportation. Read the reviews. Figure out what you're willing to compromise on—and what you're not. You might be surprised by what you find.
Public Transportation Is Your Friend
I'm a huge fan of public transportation in Europe. Trains, buses, trams, and metros can take so much of the stress out of getting around. I don't have to rent a car. I don't have to figure out unfamiliar road signs. I don't have to find parking. In countries where they drive on the opposite side of the road, I don't have to repeatedly remind myself, LEFT. LEFT. STAY LEFT. Everyone wins. Depending on where you're going and how many people you're traveling with, public transportation can also be cheaper than renting a car.
Is there a learning curve? Absolutely. There may come a moment when you're standing in a train station staring at a departure board wondering why everyone else seems to know exactly what they're doing. Here's a secret. Some of them probably don't either. You figure it out. You follow the signs. You use your phone. You ask someone. You get on the train. Hopefully the right train. The next time, it's easier.
You Don't Have to Eat at Expensive Restaurants
Food is another area where people sometimes assume a trip abroad is going to cost a fortune. Just like in the United States, restaurants come in every price range, and a more expensive restaurant doesn't automatically mean a better meal.
Some of my favorite travel meals have come from little cafés, pubs, bakeries, markets, and neighborhood restaurants that didn't cost a fortune. You can splurge on a special dinner one night and grab something inexpensive the next. You can stop at a bakery for breakfast instead of sitting down at a restaurant. Grab something from a market for lunch. Have a picnic. Find the little place around the corner that's packed with locals.
Personally, I won't skip a good meal just to check another attraction off my list. I also don't need white tablecloths and six forks every night. I'm on vacation. I don't want homework before dinner.
Spend your food money where it matters to you.
Activities May Cost Less Than You Think
You may also be pleasantly surprised by how affordable sightseeing can be.
Some museums are free. Others offer student, senior, family, or other discounted admission. Churches, parks, markets, neighborhoods, scenic walks, viewpoints, and historic areas may cost little or nothing to enjoy. Walking across a beautiful old bridge? Free. Wandering through a Christmas market? Free. Sitting in a square watching the world go by? Also free. Buying the pastry you spotted while sitting in that square? Not free. Worth it? Probably.
Of course, there are expensive attractions and tours, too. But many are comparable in price to things we already pay to do in the United States—and sometimes they're less. You don't need to book an expensive tour every single day to have an amazing trip.
Pick the things that matter most to you and spend your money there.
Then There Are the Flights...
Ah, airfare. This is often the big one.
For me, flying internationally from Iowa can be significantly more expensive than flying from some of the larger airports around the country. I still haven't figured out exactly how airlines decide what a flight should cost. Apparently, logic is not part of the formula. The route that makes perfect sense can cost $1,400, while the one that sends you halfway across the country in the wrong direction first somehow costs $800.
I don't make the rules. I just have to figure out how to make them work for me. That might mean comparing several departure airports. It might mean being flexible by a day or two. Sometimes I'll watch fares for a while or change the order of a trip based on where I can find the best flight.
The plane ticket may be one of the biggest expenses of your trip, but don't stop your research there. Look at the total cost of the trip before deciding Europe—or anywhere else abroad—is too expensive. A more expensive flight to a destination with affordable hotels, inexpensive public transportation, and plenty of free things to do may actually lead to a less expensive trip overall.
But What About the Scary Part?
This one might actually be harder to get past than the money. You're going somewhere unfamiliar. Maybe you don't speak the language. You don't know how the trains work. The money is different. You're not sure how you're getting from the airport to your hotel. You can't pronounce the name of the street you're staying on. That's intimidating.
Here's what I've learned: You don't have to know everything before you go.
I research—a lot. I download the apps I'll need. I know how I'm getting from the airport to my accommodations. I make sure my phone will work. I have Google Maps and Google Translate ready to go. I learn a few basic words and phrases. Do I become fluent? Absolutely not. But I can usually say hello, thank you, and point at something I want to eat. We're making progress.
I figure out the things that will make me feel more comfortable before I ever leave home. Then I go.
Have I gotten confused? Absolutely. Have I walked the wrong direction? More than once. Have I stood in a train station staring at my phone while everyone walked around me like they had somewhere important to be? Yep. Have I eventually figured it out? Also yes.
That's part of traveling. Every time you figure one of those things out, the next trip feels a little less intimidating.
Don't Decide You Can't Go Before You Even Look
I'm not going to tell you international travel is cheap. It can be. It can also be very expensive. The same thing can be said about traveling anywhere.
What I will tell you is this: Don't automatically assume it's out of reach.
Do the research. Compare destinations. Look at different dates. Consider shoulder season. Compare accommodations. Learn how public transportation works. Look for free things to do. Decide which experiences are worth spending more on and where you're perfectly happy saving a little.
You don't need the $3,669 hotel room. I promise.
Don't let the fact that you've never traveled abroad before convince you that you can't do it. You don't need to know everything. You just need to know enough to get started. You'll figure out the rest along the way. Maybe you'll take the wrong train. Maybe you'll walk three blocks in the wrong direction. Maybe you'll order something at a restaurant without being entirely sure what it is. That's okay. Those are usually the stories you end up telling when you get home anyway.
Traveling abroad isn't always as expensive as you think. Once you've done it, it isn't nearly as scary as you imagined. You might just come home wondering why you waited so long. Or, if you're anything like me, you'll come home and start planning the next one.
