Travel Europe on a Budget: Travel Tips That Actually Work

We’ve spent years slow traveling across Europe, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s this: long-term travel doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, by making a few intentional choices, you can actually spend less living abroad than staying home. In this post, we’re sharing our favorite ways to save money while exploring Europe as a traveler from locking in great currency exchange rates to eating amazing food for just a few euros. Are you ready to dive in?

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1. Lock In a Great Exchange Rate with Wise

Did you know the euro was at a 20-year low just a few years ago? Back in September 2022, 1 euro was worth only $0.96. Fast forward to June 2025, and the euro has climbed to around $1.17—a 14% increase since the beginning of 2025.

🚨 News corner – Thinking about your next trip? It might pay to swap some of your spending money from dollars to euros now. Europe recently lowered its main interest rate to about 2 %, and investors expect the U.S. to start cutting its own rates soon – so dollars won’t give you the extra “interest edge” they used to. Meanwhile, Europe sells more stuff to the world than it buys, so euros keep flowing in, while the U.S. is running a huge budget deficit and keeps pumping out new dollars. Many national banks are even talking about holding more euros and fewer dollars in their emergency stashes. All of that puts gentle upward pressure on the euro, meaning you could get a bit more bang for your buck if you switch before you fly.

Sources: ECB Cuts Interest Rates Amid Below-Target Inflation (Jun 5, 2025) – EU current account surplus €114.0 bn (July 3, 2025) – Central banks turn to gold over the dollar (June 24, 2025)

If you’re earning in USD, that swing can make a big difference in your travel budget. We’ve personally started to move some of our USD to EUR this year and so far it has been great!

Our tip: We use a service called Wise (Read: A Reliable & Transparent Money Transfer Service) to convert our dollars to euros when the exchange rate is in our favor. Wise lets you store euros in a multi-currency wallet (which still earn interest!) and spend them directly using their debit card or by simplying converting them back to USD (as EUR keep getting stronger) and then get additional USD to spent during your trip in Europe!

We’ve done this ourselves a few times. When the euro was weak we would buy more and when it became stronger we would sell some for more dollars.

ADD SCREENSHOT OF OUR WISE WALLET

2. Go for Long-Term Stays and Negotiate

One of the biggest money savers as a slow traveler? Booking longer stays. Airbnb often gives automatic discounts for stays over 28 days (we’ve seen 15–40%), and many hosts are open to private deals for off-season or gap nights.

How we negotiate:

• Start with a friendly message (“We love your place and are planning to stay for a full month…”)
• Highlight what makes us easy guests (minimal luggage, non-smokers, flexible check-in)
• Offer value (“Happy to water plants or keep the place tidy…”)
• Ask for a custom monthly rate

We’ve used this approach successfully in multiple countries: Italy, Portugal, France and it works more than not. It is actually quite rare that people would book a trip in a single location for 4+ weeks so the hosts will be happy to not have to deal with constant check-in/check-out/cleaning and also having to deal with pre-booking inquiries!

👉 To learn more read our guide about Our top tips to save money & score great deals on Airbnb!

And if you return to a place you like, you can then get an ever greater discount by transacting directly with the host without having to go through a booking platform!

3. Save on Food with Too Good To Go

We’re huge fans of Too Good To Go — a food rescue app that lets you buy unsold meals and groceries from local restaurants, cafés, and markets at a huge discount.

Here’s what we got on recent pickups here in Munich:

• Pastries – A HUGE bag from a local bakery with croissants, pain au chocolat, breads of all kind and even pain aux raisin! (€4 for €15+ value)
• Groceries – A mystery box from an grocery store with fruits and vegetables
• Salad meal – An organic and balanced salad from a highly rated healthy restaurant in the heart of the city (€5 instead of €15)

It’s a win-win: you get good food for cheap, and you help reduce food waste.
Pro tip: Check the app right before closing hours for some of the best deals.

(If you want to support us and never sign-up before, from you phone, sign-up using this link link – We might receive a small $2.5 USD kick back at not additional cost for you)

Here are 3 examples of TooGoodToGo food for 4EUR or less that we ordered when in Munich:

4. Travel Off-Season

Summer in Europe is beautiful but also packed like hell, expensive, and hot. By shifting your travel to the shoulder seasons (April–June and September–October), you can save significantly on accommodation and enjoy popular sights without the crowds.

We once paid 40% less for an apartment in Spain in May than we would have in July-August.

We know this can be harder for families with school-age kids, but if you’re a couple or a solo nomad with flexibility, traveling off-season is one of the best slow travel hacks.

5. Choose Cities with Great Public Transportation

If you’re slow traveling, there’s often no need to rent a car. In fact, skipping car rentals can save you hundreds in fuel, insurance, and parking fees.

Take Germany, for example: the Deutschland-Ticket gives you unlimited access to local and regional trains, trams, and buses for just €58/month. We used this pass extensively while exploring Bavaria and saved a ton compared to car rental costs.

Other public-transport-friendly cities:

• Vienna – €19.70 for a weekly pass or 51 for a monthly pass – (Buy the 7 or 31 day pass for Vienna here | Learn more about the 7 day pass for Vienna here | Learn more about the 31 day pass for Vieanna here)
• Lisbon – €40/month transit card (includes ferries) – (How to buy the monthly pass in Lisbon?)
• Budapest – Great network and walkable score

6. Try House Sitting or Pet Sitting

Want to cut your accommodation costs to zero? Platforms like TrustedHousesitters or Nomador match travelers with homeowners who need someone to care for their pets or plants.

We haven’t used this ourselves yet, but fellow nomads we’ve interviewed swear by it especially for stays of 2–4 weeks.

Bonus: You get a true “local living” experience, often in quiet residential neighborhoods.

7. Use eSIMs Instead of Roaming

Avoid roaming charges by using prepaid eSIMs like Eskimo, Airalo or RedTeaGo . For as little as €1–€5 per GB, you can stay connected across multiple countries.

We typically preload 3–5 GB for navigation, check-ins, and restaurant lookups. It’s cheaper and more flexible than buying local SIMs in every country.

👉 To learn more read our guide about The Best Phone Plans For Travel

8. Use Buses and Rideshares for Intercity Travel

Europe’s rail system is iconic, but often pricey unless you book weeks in advance. If you’re flexible on travel time, try:

• FlixBus – Comfortable buses, often €10–25 for long-distance routes
• BlaBlaCar – Carpooling with locals (great for off-the-beaten-path routes)

Example: We traveled from Geneva to Grenoble for ~€15 using BlaBlaCar instead of €50+ by car or €30+ by train. If you book even earlier than we did you can get as cheap as €10 for that same trip!

9. Tap into City Free Walking Tours

We also always join a free walking tour on day 1. It’s a great way to get your bearings and learn local tips. Just don’t forget to tip your guide!

Our Bottom Line

Slow travel isn’t just about seeing more of the world it’s about spending your money in ways that bring more value and joy. With the right strategy, Europe can be surprisingly affordable.

If you’re planning your own slow travel adventure and want to get a handle on your budget, sign-up for free to our free Nomad Numbers Travel Budget Tool – it’s the same one we use to track our spending across the world.

👇 Got questions about a specific country or travel hack? Drop them in the comments—we’d love to help.