There are two cross-cutting factors at play. Let’s start with the good news for visitors. The pound is historically pretty weak at the moment, which means that, at the moment at least, day to day costs in the city are roughly comparable to costs in big American cities and most western European cities of note.

The bad news is that inflation is worse in the U.K. than just about anywhere else right now, so prices — especially prices for food and other consumer goods that arrive from the European Economic Area — keep inching up.

10 budget tips for visiting London

It goes without saying that it pays to have some budget weapons in your arsenal. Here are 10 ways to save on your trip to London.

1. Purchase a Visitor Oyster card

The Visitor Oyster card, a contactless smartcard that can only be purchased before you arrive in London, is a great way to save money. It determines the cheapest fare for any given public transportation journey and can be topped up along the way. It also caps fares at a maximum amount per day; for example, if you travel exclusively by bus, a £20 Visitor Oyster card will cap charges at £4.65 per day.

The Visitor Oyster card can be used on all Transport for London (TfL) services: The Tube, bus, tramlines, the Docklands Light Railway, Thames Clipper ferry services, and most National Rail train services within London as well as the Heathrow and Gatwick Express trains. Customers can obtain a refund for partially unused cards. The Visitor Oyster card is a cheapo traveler’s dream, but we’re not going to mislead: there is a good deal of fine print attached to its use.

Riding the bus is more fun and a lot cheaper than taking the Tube.

2. Take a bus

If you decided to go the journey by journey route, choose the bus over the Tube. Buses may be slower than the Tube, but they are cheaper. About 95% of London residents live within 400 meters of a bus line: buses really are London’s transit capillaries, penetrating — in particular south of the Thames — in a way that the Tube does not. Bus fares now include an entire hour of unlimited travel.

If you do decide to take the Tube instead, make sure to ride like a local with these tips.

3. Take advantage of the Boots lunch deal

Due to insane hikes in food prices mainstays like Pret and Benugo have become much less affordable than they were in years past. But the Boots meal deal is still a bargain.

Boots is a chemists (drugstore) chain found across the U.K. The Boots meal deal is now £4.99 for a main entrée, snack and drink in London — admittedly more than the £3.99 it was in London just a couple of years ago — but it remains a great deal.

4. Shop for food at supermarkets

If you want to find food for even cheaper, you can always assemble meals on the go from supermarkets. Chains like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl are good for ad hoc meals; even rather posher Waitrose offers up bargains here and there.

5. Walk

London, mostly a very flat city, is an ideal place for walking. (How flat? Check your stair counter on your phone: it’s not difficult to walk 20,000 steps in a day in London and find that you’ve only climbed two or three flights!) Use Google Maps or another customizable map to estimate travel times — don’t forget that London is huge.

6. Camp in the city

Yes, remarkably, you can pitch a tent in London! Crystal Palace Club Campsite in south London and Abbey Wood Club Campsite in far southeast London are safe and secure places to camp. There are also tent sites just barely beyond the borders of Greater London in Aldenham Country Park in Elstree, Hertfordshire.

Regency Cafe, London. Photo: distillated

7. Dine locally

Eat at local cafes and canteens to get the most bang for your buck. Most inexpensive restaurants are outside of central London, though even in the center, there are bargains to be had. For example, at Regency Café (17-19 Regency Street SW1P 4BY), the weekly curry is £6.20, the breakfast set is £5.50 and a veggie burger is £2.60.

8. Explore free museums

The best-known London museums are mostly free. Yes, you read that correctly. Permanent collections are always free at the Design Museum, the Museum of London, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Tate Modern and the Victoria & Albert, among other museums. The London Transport Museum is free to everyone under 17.

Just remember that some museums may require you to reserve time slots before you visit, even if tickets are free. Check the museum website before visiting to avoid being turned away at the door.

9. Score free and discounted theatre tickets

How to do theatre on a budget? I asked my friend Derek Craig, an avid theatre-goer, to weigh in. He suggested Seat Fillers, which offers free tickets — or tickets for the cost of booking fees only — to everyone. Another route to free (or hugely discounted) theatre tickets is The Audience Club.

10. Book budget hotels in London

Use EuroCheapo to book inexpensive hotels in London, from our favorite cheap hotels in central London to the best hostels around the city. (Did you think we weren’t going to sound our own horn?)

Ready to book your trip? Search for thousands of hotels in London.

The post 10 budget tips for visiting London appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Most visitors are familiar with London’s most famous parks, among these, Hyde Park, Green Park, St James’s Park, and the Regent’s Park. These parks are four of London’s eight Royal Parks, which means that they were originally used by the royal family for recreational purposes. 

But beyond these central London parks are a huge number of lovely, verdant places for year-round enjoyment. Swim and relax in the shade during the summer; track the changing of the seasons in autumn and spring; stay active during the dark winter season.

Here are four less well-known parks across London, parks most visitors are unlikely to stumble upon. 

Related: 20 free museums in London

Peckham Rye Park & Common

Nearest train station: Peckham Rye (Overground and Thameslink)

Bus lines: 12, 63, 343, 363

Peckham Rye Park sits south of buzzy, rapidly gentrifying Peckham, far south of the Thames. There is a quiet community garden, an arboretum, several gardens (a formal English garden, a Japanese garden, and a nature garden), and a fun, cheery café called The Round. 

Peckham Rye is lovely all year, though, like all of London parks, it really comes alive during the summer months. 

As a bonus, it’s within easy walking distance from both Peckham High Street and very pleasant East Dulwich, both of which are full of great places to eat. (Lunch tip: Head to Persepolis, a good value vegetarian supermarket-café at 28-30 Peckham High Street.)

Beckenham Place Park

Nearest train station: Beckenham Hill (Thameslink)

Bus access: 54, 136

This massive south London park, expanded in 2019 by annexing a golf course, has a BMX track, a swimming lake, and loads of trails through woods. The social hub of the park is a 1760s mansion sitting atop a gentle green slope, which houses a café and hosts frequent events.

Beckenham Place Park takes some time to reach from central London; unless you want to make a day of the park, combine a visit here with some other south London attractions, like the Horniman Museum and Gardens or Crystal Palace, with its triangle of interesting shops and cafes.

Vibrant blooms at Golders Hill Park. Photo: Laura Nolte

Golders Hill Park

Nearest Tube stations: Hampstead and Golders Green (Edgware branch of Northern Line)

Bus access: 210, 268

Adjacent to the much better-known Hampstead Heath, Golders Hill Park is an enormously appealing London park. It has a playground, a free zoo, tennis courts, a lovely Georgian pergola with sweeping park views, a botanical garden, and a bird pond, among other features. Paths crisscross the park; the paths through wooded areas are especially rewarding. 

Lincoln’s Inn Fields

Nearest Tube station: Holborn (Central and Piccadilly)

Bus access: 1, 8, 13, 55, 59, 113, 168, 188, 243, 521

The only truly central London park — to be exact, this is a public square, not a park — in this list, Lincoln’s Inn Fields sits adjacent to Lincoln’s Inn, one of London‘s four Inns of Court. (Inns of Court are professional legal associations; every lawyer — or barrister — in England and Wales belongs to one of these four associations.) The park features a wide grassy area perfect for summer picnics. There are also tennis and netball courts and a café. 

On the north side of the square is Sir John Soane’s Museum, a lovely and often overlooked house museum featuring restored interiors and paintings from Soane’s wide-ranging collection.

What hidden gems have you come across in London? Share your favorite London parks and other attractions in the comments below!

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But what about the train-ferry combination, the one many may recall fondly from their childhoods? It is still feasible, but these days it is not a streamlined option. You’ll need to purchase train and ferry tickets separately and finesse train station-port transportation on your own. The journey will also take 10 hours, so it’s best to leave that option to your memories. Instead, here are some more affordable ways to get from London to Paris and back again.

Related: 

• 50 Ways to save in Paris
• 21 Simple tips to save in London

Affordable Travel From London To Paris

Here are the most viable and cheapest ways to get between these two European centers.

Air: Fast but not so efficient

Though flying between London and Paris is by no means our recommended mode of transportation — the distance is simply too short to warrant the hassle, not to mention the carbon expenditure — there are a few ways to get between these two dynamic capital cities by air. These days the Paris-London route is used disproportionately for passengers connecting on to a long-haul destination, with the exception of business travelers flying in and out of London City Airport. That said, we did find one-way fares starting at $38 searching a few months in advance, but of course that doesn’t include all of the rail or taxi fares in between the airports and the city center.

• easyJet flies from London Gatwick to Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

• From London Luton, easyJet flies to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. You can find one-way fares three months in advance for as low as £30 (about $38).

• From London Heathrow, Air France flies to Paris-Charles de Gaulle with fares as low at £77 ($99), while British Airways flies to both Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly for as low as £47 ($60).

Rail: Comfortable and quick

The only direct train linkage from London to Paris these days is the Eurostar, which travels between London’s St. Pancras International and the Gare du Nord in Paris 15-17 times per weekday. The trip usually takes 2 hours and 15 minutes, with maximum speeds of up to 186 mph. However, Eurostar started rolling out brand new trains in late 2015 that can make the journey in only 2 hours at speeds of up to 200 mph.

The experience feels a bit like air travel, with its security checks and passport control in both directions. Because the UK is not part of the Schengen Area, passengers go through passport control prior to boarding their trains. Traveling from Paris to London, passengers first exit France through French passport control and then enter the UK via British passport control. In London, passengers will officially enter France in the station, submitting passports to French passport control before boarding their train to Paris.

From London, return Eurostar London to Paris fares begin at a very reasonable £41 round trip ($52) (between midday and midnight on a Monday; anytime on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday; and between midday and midnight on a Saturday). Booking nonrefundable tickets as far as possible in advance (up to 120 days) is your best bet for finding this low-cost fare. The cheapest tickets sell out first, so the earlier you book, the more you save.

Bus: Long but super cheap

The bus is usually the least expensive way to travel between Paris and London. It also takes much longer than a flight or the train. BlaBlaCar Bus and FlixBus are two major bus lines traveling between the two capitals. French BlaBlaCar Bus takes between 7.5 and 9 hours. The FlixBus journey takes between 9 and 10 hours. Both lines advertise free Wi-Fi and electrical outlets.

One-way FlixBus (formerly Eurolines) fares begin at £25 ($32). The FlixBus terminal in London is Victoria Coach Station; the Paris terminal is Bercy Seine.

BlaBlaCar Bus (formerly OUIBUS, and before that, iDBUS), a subsidiary of French train company SNCF, is a more comfortable option, with good legroom. Fares begin at around £25 for a one-way journey — promotional one-way fares and overnight trips can dip even lower. The BlaBlaCar Bus terminal in London is Victoria Coach Station; the BlaBlaCar Bus Paris terminal is Paris-Bercy.

What’s your preference?

How do you prefer to travel from London to Paris? Have any tips on ways to save on any of the transport options listed above? Share your tips with us in the comments section!

The post The cheapest way from London to Paris: Planes, trains & buses from £25 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Oh, the Northern Lights. I saw them once on a February visit to Tromsø, and they were magnificent. But as everyone in Tromsø will tell you, the Northern Lights are fickle. Some nights they’re out, and other nights they’re nowhere to be found. The best way to make certain that you will spy them is to base yourself for a leisurely period in a rural location in the Northern Lights Belt, which in Europe stretches along northern Scandinavia and Russia.

But if you don’t have two weeks to hang out at a farmhouse in northern Finland and want to maximize your likelihood of viewing the Northern Lights, Tromsø is an ideal base. Low-cost airline Norwegian even flies direct to Tromsø from London Gatwick four times per week. My one-way fare was only 660 NOK ($73 at the time of purchase.) I returned via Stockholm on SAS.

Tromsø budget guide

Finding an affordable hotel room

On the ground, the high-cost index means that you’ll never forget that you’re in Norway. But there is relief. I found a “smartroom” at Smarthotel, a Norwegian hotel chain that opened a Tromsø outpost in 2013. A “smartroom” is tiny (7 square meters) but cute. I enjoyed the simplicity of the space: brushed concrete walls, a bed alcove tucked along with a window and a little bathroom. Those seven square meters felt much bigger than they were. And with breakfast, my room was one of the very cheapest on offer in all of Tromsø.

Search for hotels in Tromsø.

Exploring during the day

Northern Lights excursions leave in the evening, which means that days will be free for exploring. The first stop for many is the Polar Museum, the best-known museum in the city. The Polar Museum includes exhibits on Fridtjof Nansen, polar bears, Norwegian polar expeditions and Wanny Woldstad, the first female hunter in the Norwegian Arctic territory of Svalbard. Admission is 70 NOK.

Free museums

But honestly, the Polar Museum is not the best museum in town. It is informative, no question, but it feels a bit dated and claustrophobic. Perspektivet Museum, on the other hand, is a sheer pleasure to visit — and free to enter, to boot. They have rotating exhibits but a lovely tribute to Norwegian writer Cora Sandel is also on permanent display. A few blocks away, the Art Museum of Northern Norway is also free to enter, with permanent collections devoted to Norwegian art from the early 19th Century onwards. The permanent collection prioritizes artworks that address Northern Norway.

Soaring cathedral

Museums aside, it is the soaring modernist Arctic Cathedral (admission 50 NOK) that is to my mind the city’s star attraction. Designed by Norwegian architect Jan Inge Holvig, it is located in the neighborhood of Tromsdalen across the sound from the city center. Aluminum-coated concrete panels give the building its dramatic form; on the inside, these panels illuminate the interior in a glowing peek-a-boo. The cathedral is ambitious, grand, and welcoming.

Getting around town

Tromsø’s 24-hour public bus pass is a great value for visitors planning to do any running around. It’s 100 NOK; the bus pass begins to pay for itself after two rides. (A one-way bus journey costs 50 NOK.)

The Northern Lights just outside of Tromsø. Photo: Lars T

If you’re lucky, you’ll see the Northern Lights, and when you do you’ll have no doubt who runs the show. But even if you don’t, Tromsø has real autumn and winter appeal. It’s worth a trip to see this unique Norwegian city just to experience its Arctic charm.

Your Tromsø and Northern Lights tips

Have you been to Norway to see this natural wonder? Tell us how you saved on your Arctic adventure!

The post Norway: Budget guide to Tromsø and the Northern Lights appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Outdoorsy nature lovers comprise one significant stream, as do the literary-minded – above all else fans of Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth.

For all of its beautiful countryside, England isn’t really a fall colors destination, though one overhears plenty of comparisons to New England in the Lake District in the autumn, and these comparisons are fair.

In the autumn months, the Lake District becomes a wet splendor, dripping with fall color and, well, rain. The region cradles the season in strong golds, reds and yellows. It’s captivating yet somehow understated. Tourist numbers dip in the off-season as well, and rates come down from their July and August highs.

Visiting the Lake District in fall

Here are five tips for making the Lake District work for you in the off-season.

1. Boats not cars

When it comes to the lakes themselves, consider opting out of a car rental and basing yourself at one or another lake. Traveling by car will mean getting wet and dealing with navigation hassles. Four lakes can be navigated on luxuriously slow, lumbering cruises.

Windermere Lake Cruises operates on Lake Windermere (limited winter schedule), Keswick Launch runs on Derwentwater (limited winter schedule), Ullswater Steamers churn the waters of Ullswater (limited winter schedule), and Coniston Launch provides tours of Coniston Water, though only through early November.

2. Bus tours – and buses as transportation

Bus tours can be booked by a company called Mountain Goat Tours, which operates daylong tours. In the off-season (November through Easter) the number of tours on offer shrinks to just two, but these are, arguably, the essential two: the Ten Lakes Spectacular (£39) and the Beatrix Potter & William Wordsworth’s Countryside (£35).

For general bus travel around the region, there is the North West Explorer day pass, which costs £11.50 for adults (£8.50 for children) and allows travel on buses throughout Cumbria and beyond.

3. Mint cakes

Get sugared up. The Lake District is known for the Kendal Mint Cake, a block of sugar cooked with peppermint oil that became a favorite of outdoor enthusiasts. Think of it as an energy booster. Or as candy. Your choice.

A cozy scene at the charming Ambleside Inn. Photo: Booking.com

4. Cheap beds

Bed down in the lap of value at The Ambleside Inn in the Lake District village of Ambleside. The rooms are above a successful restaurant and bar that serves locally brewed beers. Rooms are simple but cheery. Doubles begin around £99 per night.

Search for more hotels in Cumbria and the Lake District.

5. Escape the rain with Peter Rabbit.

If the weather is just too terrible to explore, there’s the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction in Bowness for fans and the generally curious alike. There is a short film, a virtual walk through the surrounding countryside, various displays (or “areas”) devoted to various of Potter’s characters, and a shop and tearoom. Admission is £7.95 for adults and £3.95 for children.

The post 5 tips for visiting England’s Lake District in autumn appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here are five tips for simple ways to save in Madrid, from finding a perfect pastry and scoring free museum admission to booking a cheap and charming hotel in a convenient location.

Related
• How to save on your trip to Madrid
• 10 Spanish phrases every traveler should know
• Search for cheap hotels in Madrid

1. Visit the Reina Sofia and Prado museums for free

Madrid’s Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is free for evening admission from 7 pm to 9 pm on Mondays and Wednesday through Saturday. On Sundays, admission is free from 1:30 pm to 7 pm. If you happen to visit Madrid on April 18, May 18, or October 12, or December 6, lucky you — the museum is open to visitors free of charge for the entire day!

Meanwhile, the permanent collections of the Museo del Prado are free every evening from 6 pm to 8 pm, except Sundays and holidays when the free hours are from 5 pm to 7 pm.

Tip for the young travelers: In addition, guests under 18 and students between 18 and 25 years of age (with an ISIC card) can always visit the Reina Sofía and the Prado free of charge.

Related: How to save time and money at the Prado Museum

2. Find a perfect croissant

Yes, you read that right. This is a list of budget-friendly tips for Madrid, not Paris, but the Spanish capital’s exceptional La Duquesita (Calle Fernando VI, 2) bakes a fantastic croissant for €1.80. It’s flaky and soft — pretty close to perfect. It’s not a bad way to start the day for just a handful of change.

Hostal La Plata is a budget traveler’s dream come true. Photo: EuroCheapo

3. Stay at a great hotel for a low price

Hostal La Plata (Gran Vía, 15) is a dependable, tried-and-trusted cheapo option. Family-run run since 1972, La Plata has a central location and a level of charm that plenty of inexpensive and mid-range hotels don’t quite capture. There are cheaper beds in Madrid, but few of these match the convenience or comfort of La Plata.

Related: Budget hotels in Madrid under $100 per night

4. Save with a public transportation pass

Madrid’s Tourist Travel Pass covers one day of travel in Zone A for just €8.40 (two days for €14.20; three for €18.40; five for €26.80; one week for €35.40). Zone A includes Madrid-Barajas Airport. The pass is valid through 5 am on the day following the expiration date.

Spend a little bit of time with maps of Madrid to figure out where you want to spend your time. If you intend to move about a fair amount, this pass can end up saving you some valuable euros.

Keep an eye out for “Menú del Día” lunch deals all over Madrid. Photo: Melanie

5. At lunchtime, go for the Menú del día

Spain’s “menu of the day” lunches are a great way to eat a two- or three-course meal for what you might reasonably expect to pay for a single course at night. If you enter a restaurant at lunchtime and a menú del día isn’t advertised, just ask for one. For a great menú del día deal in Madrid, check out Restaurante Momo (Calle Libertad 8 in Chueca). You get a nice three-course meal for only €12.50.

More ways to save in Madrid

Looking for more budget tips for Madrid? Check out all of our Madrid posts here, and be sure to explore this list of recommended cheap hotels in Madrid.

The post 5 budget tips to help you save in Madrid appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here’s one strategy for lowering costs: eschew particularly expensive locations for cheaper alternatives. As always, think broadly about alternatives. In some cases, a neighboring city will be less expensive than a popular tourism draw in spitting distance. In other situations, you might consider swapping one region for another half-way across the continent.

Here are five suggestions to get you thinking.

1. Consider Bratislava instead of Vienna

Vienna is glorious. It is impossible to forget that the city was once the seat of an empire. Though there are low-cost hotels, it can also be expensive and, during the summer months, overrun with tourists.

Enter Bratislava, the cute, relatively diminutive capital of Slovakia, just 40 miles to the east. It is a quieter and far less expensive alternative to Vienna. You can count on paying around €40 per day less in Bratislava between budget accommodations, meals and bar tab. Plus, hotels in Bratislava can go for as little as $40-50 per night when we did some searching for dates in the spring.

Furthermore, it’s easy and relatively cheap to travel between the two capital cities. A one-hour one-way train fare will set you back €15; the almost two-hour bus journey costs only €8. You can upgrade the trip with a 75-minute boat ride for as low as €20.

2. Switch out the Slovenian Alps for the Swiss Alps

Let’s compare two popular Alpine destinations, one in Switzerland and the other in Slovenia.

In the winter, a double at a cheap bed & breakfast in St. Moritz, Switzerland runs 110 CHF ($112) per night; in Bled, Slovenia: €29 ($35). In the summer, rate differentials aren’t quite so dramatic. A cheap studio in St. Moritz in mid-July is 63 CHF ($64); an equivalent property in Bled mid-July runs €36 ($44). Bled is less developed than St. Moritz, and (arguably) more interesting in terms of geology and landscape.

As an aside, Slovenia offers far more than Alpine vistas. Other places of note include Ljubljana, the country’s dynamic, pretty capital, and a tiny little arc of the Adriatic, centered on Koper.

Lisbon is one of Europe’s greatest and cheapest cities to visit. Photo: Francisco Antunes

3. Try Lisbon over Madrid and Barcelona

Lisbon is one of the most appealing cities in all of Europe — and an outstanding value to boot. It’s got everything one might want in a European capital: atmospheric neighborhoods, grand plazas and boulevards, good coffee, affordable public transportation, cheap taxis, great restaurants, and perfect egg tarts at more or less every bakery. It’s much cheaper than Madrid, Barcelona, and even Paris.

Hotels in Lisbon start around $30 for simple rooms, and you can score 3-star accommodations for as little as $60. In other words, Lisbon is still a cheapo paradise!

The French coastal region of Côte Bleue, west of Marseille, is a great alternative to the ritzy Cote d’Azur. Photo: Jeanne Menj

4. The Côte Bleue in place of the Cote d’Azur

The Côte d’Azur remains charming despite the glitz and celebrities that keep it humming. But goodness gracious is it pricey. For a less expensive holiday, look to the Côte Bleue, to the west of Marseille.

Carry-le-Rouet, a fishing village surrounded by a nature reserve, is one idyllic spot. In Carry-le-Rouet, the Villa Arena Hotel offers double rooms for €60. And in the nearby village of La Rove there is a simple, welcoming guesthouse called L’olivier, with double rooms for just €55 in July.

Jahorina in Bosnia offers a fun ski vacation for almost 75% less than the Alps! Photo: vladotesanovic

5. Go east for an affordable ski vacation

A quick glance at the top resorts in France, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria turns up exorbitant daily lift pass costing as high as €70 ($86) in Zermatt. Even relatively good value resorts in the region, like Courmayeur in Italy’s Aosta Valley, cost €44 ($54) per day for a lift pass.

A turn to the east reveals much less expensive territory: Jahorina, Bosnia (€20, or $24 for a lift pass); Popova Sapka, Macedonia (900 MKD, or $18); and Brezovica, an ethnic Serbian mountain enclave in the south of Kosovo, where a lift pass costs just €12 ($15) per day.

Related: 5 affordable ski vacations in Europe

The post 5 cheapo alternative destinations in Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here’s how to visit this self-governing French territory off the coast of Canada without breaking the bank.

More budget travel tips from EuroCheapo:
• Planning a trip to Europe? Avoid these 10 costly mistakes
• 5 Cheapo alternatives in Europe
• Sign up for these airline newsletters to find cheap flights to Europe

Getting to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

Getting to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon from Europe (or from most places in North America, for that matter) has, until recently, been very expensive. Air traffic to and from Saint-Pierre is dominated by local airline Air Saint-Pierre, which charges exorbitant fares for most of its routes. The one exception to their pricing is the short, 45-minute flight between St. John’s, Newfoundland and Saint-Pierre. A curious budget-minded traveler might then think, fine, let’s get to St. John’s cheaply and proceed from there.

Not so fast, budget warrior! Fares from Europe and most of North America to St. John’s are terribly expensive. I have wanted to visit Saint-Pierre for many years. I’ve spent loads of time pricing out journeys, discouraged time and time again by prices more than $2,000 — both from New York and from Europe.

Until recently, that is. The Canadian low-cost airline WestJet has now made the transatlantic journey between London and St John’s affordable. A flight from London to St. John’s, Newfoundland costs around £350, and the connecting flight on Air Saint-Pierre from St. John’s to Saint-Pierre is just over €200. And just like that, presto! Saint-Pierre and Miquelon enter the ranks of places that can be visited within a reasonable budget.

I find it ironic to suggest a North American low-cost carrier I’ve often tipped here for affordable travel in the other direction, that is, for getting from Europe to North America — odder yet to a bit of North America that is, jurisdictionally speaking, Europe.

Related: Search for cheap flights to Europe

A view of Saint-Pierre from the water.

Exploring Saint-Pierre and Miquelon on a budget

Here are five tips for seeing the best of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon on a budget.

1. Stay in a gîte

The French version of the bed & breakfast, a gîte, is a high-value proposition in the islands. On Saint-Pierre, I stayed at Pension Dodeman (€65 per night), a cute gîte on the edge of town. The owners occupy the ground floor, and three guest rooms are upstairs. The breakfast (a basket of baguettes and croissants) was included in the price.

On Miquelon, I stayed at L’Anjélie, where my basement room was €50 per night, and of course, included a very French bread-based breakfast.

2. Visit Miquelon, too — and go for long hikes

The larger of the archipelago’s inhabited islands is far more sparsely populated than Saint-Pierre. There are great hiking trails here through hardy wooded areas and low-lying scrub. There is also a fantastic, brand-new, state-of-the-art nature museum, called La Maison de la Nature et de l’Environnement (€10). You can fly to Miquelon on a tiny Air Saint-Pierre plane (€29 round trip) or on a ferry. Some ferries sail to Langlade, the uninhabited island south of Miquelon (round trip €17). Avoid these, as they require additional (and expensive!) ground transportation to Miquelon. The direct Saint-Pierre to Miquelon ferries cost €24 round trip.

3. Visit Saint-Pierre’s Arche Museum

Check out the territorial history museum (Arche Museum) to learn about the territory’s unusual status, its migration history, and its economic booms and busts. Here you can also check out the island’s guillotine — once put to use, now sitting on its grisly own. Admission is €7. Here’s another cultural tip: take in the territory’s pronounced Basque heritage. Visit the pelota court in the middle of the town of Saint-Pierre. For dedicated Basque culture lovers, every summer there is an annual Basque Festival on Saint-Pierre.

4. Eat croissants

You are in France, after all. Do not forget this, and do not fail to take advantage of the ubiquity of delicious croissants.

5. Take a tour

If you want to get a taste of local culture, book a tour with Frenchi’s Tours by Steve Le Bars. I took his culinary tour, which allowed me to try all sorts of traditional island grub. He took me to a local shack, full of creaky furniture and 30-year old magazines. We ate tuna pâté (canned tuna with boiled potatoes, mayonnaise, ketchup, and shallots), some other local pates, dried fish, and a ludicrously rich île flotante, a merengue splattered with hardened caramel, sitting in cream. Everything was washed down with red wine and birch beer. Delicious! Steve’s tours begin at €30. My only caution: be very clear about what you want in terms of tour length — in other words, about what you can afford. On longer tours, Steve charges by the hour.

The post Europe in the North Atlantic: Visiting Saint-Pierre & Miquelon appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

We checked in for a stay and came away very impressed. Read on to find out what we love about it, when to visit and how to book a room.

Related:
•10 First-time mistakes to avoid on your trip to Spain
•8 Overlooked destinations in Spain worth adding to your itinerary
• The Best affordable seaside escapes in Spain

Staying at The 8 Rooms House, a cheap hotel in Tarifa, Spain

As you might expect, the guesthouse, opened in March 2016 by a Catalan named Rodrigo Roses, has eight guestrooms. He had the idea to open the place after observing that the lower level of the building was unoccupied.

Windsurfing along the beach in Tarifa. Photo: Juan P.

Exploring Tarifa

Tarifa is Spain’s southernmost town, a port for ferries to Tangiers. But unlike nearby Algeciras, it doesn’t feel at all like a port city. It’s a beautiful little, tourist-friendly town, full of windsurfing agencies, cute boutiques, relaxed taverns, and lots of sun-starved, surf-crazed transplants from across Europe.

A stroll through the town or along the wide beaches reveals a demographic mix familiar to anyone who has spent time in surfing towns: fresh-faced jocks, wizened hippies, and preternaturally young-looking, slender 50-somethings with their 20-something kids in tow. At one or point or another in your stay, you’re guaranteed to see an old beat-up Volkswagen van.

Related: Search over 500 hotels in Tarifa

When to go

One fact of life in Tarifa is that the town needs more beds for visitors – the town’s hotels are overflowing in the summer. Thus far, most of Rodrigo’s off-season guests have come from northern Europe – Germany, England, Sweden — but also Italy. During the heart of the tourist season, he sees more local Spanish guests.

Room #3 at The 8 Rooms House in Tarifa.

Location

On foot, The 8 Rooms House is situated just three minutes away from Puerta de Jerez, the gate to Tarifa’s Old Town. It’s just off Calle Batalla del Salado, one of the main boulevards connecting Tarifa to the N-340 highway. It is very close to cafes and restaurants and about a 10-minute walk from the nearest beach.

The rooms

8 Rooms’ rooms are very attractive with a stylish decor. They have white walls and white bedding, while an additional blanket provides a flash of color. Wall-mounted flat-screen televisions are the only piece of contemporary technology in sight. My room’s “closet” consisted of clothes hangers cradling a wooden rod suspended from the ceiling by a coarse string – a simple furniture hack that is also beautiful. When minimalism is done right, as it is here, it is hard to beat aesthetically.

The lobby at The 8 Rooms House in Tarifa.

Design and style

Rodrigo has made an effort to furnish the guesthouse with local objects from Spain. AG New Use, a company focused on upcycling and reclamation made the sign outside, the reception desk and the lamps above the desk. It’s a nice touch, however, there are also some mass-produced items here. For example, I noticed an IKEA bedside lamp.

Just a two-minute walk from the hotel is Cafe Azul, a lovely spot for breakfast. Photo: Gaspar S

Breakfast options in Tarifa

The downside? There is no breakfast on offer, though coffee and tea are available in the reception area. There is also a vending machine stocked with bottles of water, cookies and other sweets. But don’t despair! An absolutely fantastic breakfast restaurant called Café Azul (Calle Batalla del Salado 8) is located a short walk away. Café Azul offers beautifully hearty breakfasts, strong coffee and fresh juices in a cheery space humming with locals and tourists alike. It also sells an absolutely delicious habanero-based hot sauce called Kema Kulo, which conveniently comes in 100ml bottles, small enough to transport home in your carry-on luggage without violating air travel liquid volume restrictions.

The final bill

So how cheap are the rooms? Expect to pay around €60 per night for a double room in low season and between €70 to €90 per night for a double room during the high season. That’s an excellent rate for such a popular destination by the beach. Note that Tarifa is fairly mobbed in the summer — availability can be limited, so book as far ahead as possible if you want to go in June or July.

Ready for a trip to Tarifa? Book a room at The 8 Rooms House.

The 8 Rooms House
Calle Otumbo 10
Tarifa, Spain
+34 649 26 40 09

Exploring Spain

On your way to or from Tarifa, you can visit more of Spain with the help of our Budget Travel Guide to Spain. After you read through these 50 tips, start planning your stay by looking at our favorite budget hotels in Madrid or Barcelona. Driving is a great way to see the Spanish countryside, read up on how to save on your rental car in Spain.

Have you been to Tarifa? Share your tips in the comments below!

The post Hotel Crush: The 8 Rooms House, a stylish & affordable hotel in Tarifa, Spain appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Before you start throwing everything you own into a bag, take a moment to think about strategy. With a few easy steps, you too can be hitting the road in Europe like a budget travel pro.

I’ve been traveling light since I was a teenager. And if you find the following advice too limiting, know that it could be much, much worse. My mother once traveled from Germany to Paris for a weekend carrying just a small purse!

Packing advice for a two-week trip to Europe

1. There’s no need to check a bag

Find a medium-sized carry-on bag. This is what you’ll be taking with you to hold most of your stuff. Everything you need for a two-week trip will fit into the carry-on bag (such as a duffel bag) and a modest backpack.

Related: Airline baggage fees for US to Europe carriers

Don’t try to remember everything in your head. A list keeps your packing system on track. Photo: Steve Hodgson

2. Make a list and check it twice

Catalog what you think you’ll need. Lay it all out, every last t-shirt, sweater and pair of jeans. Haul everything out and line up items next to each other: clothing, toiletries, books, electronics.

3. Condense your clothes

Now take an axe to your clothes. Reduce everything down to the following: eight shirts or blouses, two pairs of trousers, dresses or skirts, a sweater or sweatshirt, eight pair/sets of underwear, eight pairs of socks, and one pair of shoes. Wear a light jacket on the plane to save space in your bag, and you’re good to go. That’s it. You need to be a good editor.

Interlude

Get a hold of yourself. Breathe deeply. To answer your first and most pressing question, you’ll wash your clothes along the way, in your hotel sink or at a laundromat. You might even splurge and arrange laundry through a service. Just trust me.

4. Don’t overdo the toiletries

Reduce your toiletries as well, and keep in mind size limitations for international travel. Separate your toiletries into two categories: liquid and non-liquid, and place the liquid toiletries in a transparent plastic bag with a seal. Your non-liquid toiletries (toothbrush, dental floss, pills, etc.) do not need to be stored in close proximity to your liquid toiletries.

I turned to beauty blogger and travel publicist Lynda Daboh for cosmetics advice. Her two cents: “decant, get free sample sizes, and use powder products where possible to minimize spillage and maximize space.”

Think carefully about what you’ll need on the road. It may be less than you think. Photo: CalypsoCrystal

5. Do you really need that laptop?

Think about your electronics. Do you need your laptop? Do you need your camera? Will your smart phone do the trick of staying in touch and documenting your travels adequately? Among my admittedly tiny professional tribe of travel writers, I’ve noticed a slow but unstoppable trend toward leaving bigger equipment at home.

iPhone and iPad cameras are as good as many digital cameras as far as quality is concerned, and they allow you the opportunity to post and edit photos on the fly whenever you have access to WiFi. Reduce your electronics, and you’ll stand to benefit.

6. Don’t bring a whole library of guidebooks

Which books do you need? Many guidebooks can be transported digitally; relevant chapters of monster-sized guidebooks can be torn out and placed in a folder to reduce weight. Books for leisurely reading can be read on devices to save space again. (I’m old-fashioned and prefer to read books made out of paper, myself, but there it is.) For recording observations, a nice notebook is good to have.

7. Plastic bags can be your friend

Slip one in your bag for dirty clothes. Take another for transporting a second pair of shoes or flip-flops. And take an extra just in case. These will come in very handy.

You can never be too organized when it comes to travel documents. Photo: media.digest

8. Organize your documents.

Even the most technologically advanced traveler can benefit from having hard copies of tickets, itinerary suggestions, general information and a photocopy of your passport or any visa documentation on hand. Organize this into a folder, chronologically if it makes sense to do so.

9. Leave a little space for souvenirs

Leave room in your bags for treasures. Do you plan to do some shopping? If you do, make sure you have room for your loot.

Related: Check out these cheapo souvenir ideas in Paris, Amsterdam, and Florence

10. Everyone has different needs, so plan ahead

You can be forgiven of thinking of the practical last, but now it’s time to turn your mind to questions of utility. First of all, remember that many objects of daily use (hand sanitizer, tissues, many toiletries) can probably be purchased on the road.

Will your plugs work or will you need an adaptor? (Quick answer: You’ll likely need an adaptor.) Will you have language difficulties? If so, consider a phrase book, and consider familiarizing yourself with the language in advance by listening to it. But there are also the intangible valuable things whose value only you can determine. Will you need multivitamins? A favorite snack? A favorite pen?

Think ahead, dear Cheapos, and you are on your way to a fun two-week adventure.

The post Packing Advice: 10 tips for a two-week European jaunt appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.