Too Expensive? Here is How You Can Easily Afford A Trip To Europe

Do you think travelling to Europe is too expensive? Do not worry if you really want to go there. Here is how you can afford it despite a tight budget like Anwesha Rana did last autumn:

Photo courtesy Luke Walker/Getty Images

Anwesha Rana
@RanaAnwesha

Too expensive – how can we afford it? While I have always wanted to travel, it took me long enough to figure out exactly how I could accommodate this gnawing, aching wish into a decent lifestyle on an income that was comfortable to live out on for a month but not enough to take off anywhere on a whim. 

I save for an entire year and then spend it all on one vacation. It does seem daunting to plan a trip on a tight budget, but I discovered last year that planning, and planning ahead, makes all the difference. If you, like us, have a very clear idea of what you want from your vacation and how you would prioritise its various aspects, here is our itinerary and a rough idea of the budget we travelled on that may be of help as you plan something similar.

Date	From	To	Transport	Departure	Day	Arrival	Day
13th October	New Delhi	Vienna	Ukraine Airlines	10 am IST	Saturday	20.55 GMT	Saturday
23rd October	Vienna	New Delhi	Ukraine Airlines	15.40 pm GMT	Tuesday	6.20 am IST	Wednesday
Date	From	To	Transport	Departure	Day	Arrival
15th October	Vienna (Wien Hbf)	Hallstatt (Hallstatt Bahnhof)	Train	6.55 am	Monday	10am
15th October	Hallstatt	Vienna	Train	18.32 pm	Monday	9.30pm
17th October	Vienna Erdberg	Budapest Népliget	Flix Bus, Connection 904	9.30 am	Wednesday	12.35 pm
21st October	Budapest Népliget	Bratislava   central	Flix Bus, Connection 902	1pm	Sunday	3.40 pm
23rd October	Bratislava central	Vienna IA	Flix Bus, Connection 901	10.30 am	Tuesday	11.15am
City	Hostel	Stay	Days	Address
Vienna	Wombats Naschmarkt	13th to 17th October	Saturday to Wednesday	RechteWienzeile 35, 1040 Wien
Budapest	Wombats City Hostel	17th to 21st October	Wednesday to Sunday	Királyutca 20, H-1061 Budapest
Bratislava	Hostel Blues	21st to 23rd October	Sunday to Tuesday	Špitálska 2, Bratislava

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We travelled by Ukraine Airlines simply because it was the cheapest, and we could bear the long layover at Kiev because the easy prices for the round trip justified it all, and stayed in hostel dorms, travelling by bus across cities. The costs were very reasonable, in fact, generously cheap, to be fair, because we had made all reservations months in advance. 12 bed mixed dorms in hostels are always the cheapest and you can get very easy rates on bus tickets if you book somewhat in advance. Here is an approximate breakdown of costs per person:

·         Round trip flights – 23,000 INR/290 Euro/320 USD

·         Hostels [Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava] – 7100 INR/90 Euro/100 USD

·         Bus [Vienna-Budapest-Bratislava-Vienna] – 2,000 INR/26 Euro/30 USD

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That brings you to an approximate total of 32,000 INR/406 Euro/452 USD, covering the major part of the costs for your trip. For Indian nationals, there would be a cost for visa, roughly about 8,000 INR, which rounds off to a neat sum of 40,000 INR [505 Euro/564 USD] – quite decent for a comfortable, 11-day vacation!

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If you are inclined to visit museums and galleries, I would suggest accounting for about a 100 Euro for tickets, and a little more if you would like to opt for audio guides. 

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This concludes our mini series on central Europe. We hope you have enjoyed it and might find our suggestions helpful. We will be glad to hear from you of your adventures and travels, so please feel free to drop in anytime you would like to!

Boldogutazás!

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