But there’s just one small problem: It’s the summer. And you’re planning on going to, say, Paris, and are freaked out that all the good spots are already booked and your dream vacation is starting to feel a whole lot more stressful. What’s a Cheapo to do?

Don’t worry, we’re here to help! Take a deep breath and follow these five tips to find affordable hotels in any city.

1. Location, location, location.

First, get to know the layout of the city you’re visiting. Do you know where you’ll be spending most of your time? Are most of the sites you’re visiting in the same area or are they spread throughout the city?

While finding a hotel near your favored attractions is an obvious first step, it’s also important to consider neighborhoods that can serve as convenient “hubs” for reaching museums, landmarks and restaurants in disparate areas.

Staying near the Eiffel Tower makes it easy to also visit the Musee d’Orsay, Les Invalides and go cafe hopping in nearby St-Germain-des-Prés. But if you’re more interested in experiencing the Marais, visiting Pere Lachaise (and especially if you happen to be arriving into Gare du Nord), you may wish to consider the budget-friendly Republique neighborhood.

We often hear from travelers who book the cheapest hotel they can find only to realize it’s an inconvenient schlep to the areas they want to visit. This can cause an undue expenditure of both time and money, but fortunately it can be avoided with advance planning.

2. Re-order your schedule

For travelers who plan on visiting more than one city (or those in the midst of some RTW backpacking), flexibility on the sequence of city visits can help save money. For example, hotel rates in Brussels are always higher during the week than on weekends, so why not visit Bruges from Wednesday to Friday and Brussels on Saturday and Sunday? The rates are cheaper and the line to see Mannekin Pis will be shorter.

Likewise, keep an eye out for regional and national holidays or major conferences that can cause rates to spike. Just this past week we noticed hotel rates in Milan were particularly high even for typically lower-cost properties. Digging a little deeper, we realized it was the annual Milan Furniture Fair, which caused most centrally located hotels to sell out… sounds like a perfect time to visit Florence!

3. Go window shopping

Once you’ve narrowed your list down to a handful of hotels that look good, always compare rates. Hotel owners frequently use more than one reservation agency to manage their bookings, but can charge different room rates depending on the commercial terms of their contracts. So shop around, Cheapos, and compare prices to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

An easy way to do this is by using a hotel search engine that receives up to the minute prices from multiple reservation agencies. There are many excellent sites that feature this type of price comparison, including Kayak, Mobissimo and (you guessed it) our very own EuroCheapo.

4. Consider what amenities you really need and skip the ones that are just nice to have.

When is the last time you had a truly delicious breakfast at a hotel? While they do exist, we recommend skipping them altogether and starting your day at the cute café down the street. Breakfast fees at hotels can be notoriously high, yet the quality can be exquisitely sub-par. Skip it, pay less elsewhere and save yourself some euros.

Also, think about the room amenities that you really need to enjoy your visit. Is a satellite TV really a necessity? Do you need air-conditioning in Vienna in early June? The difference in comfort between a one-star and a three-star hotel might be more noticeable in your wallet than anywhere else.

5. Don’t forget about hostels and apartments.

You’ve probably already heard this before but it’s worth restating: Consider booking a private room in a youth hostel to save money. Most hostels offer both private and dorm-style rooms, and many have gone to great lengths to shed their image as a lair exclusively for round-the-world backpackers (editor’s note: not that there’s anything at all wrong with RTW backpacking, of course).

Hostels also add an extra dose of convenience, frequently offering on-site laundry facilities and kitchens to guests. There’s also the undeniable social element that’s hard to find elsewhere.

Similarly, you might wish to consider booking an apartment that includes some of the same cooking and washing benefits beyond what is offered at a standard hotel. A wide selection of short-term rental apartments can be found on sites like Roomorama, airbnb and, of course, Craigslist.

Tell us what you think! Do you have any special tips for finding cheap hotels to share with your fellow Cheapos? Leave a comment below!

The post Travel Planning: Five tips for finding a cheap hotel during summer appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

However, booking a ticket in another language can be intimidating. France’s SNCF website is fairly easy to navigate, but if your French doesn’t extend much beyond “Parlez-vous anglais?” use this cheat sheet to book day trips from Paris or crisscross the country!

Step 1: Choose where and when you’re going

The SNCF homepage. Be strong!

On the SNCF homepage, there is a box on the left-hand side for quickly booking trains. First, enter the “départ” (where you’re “departing” from) and “arrivée” (where you’ll be “arriving”).

Next choose your departure date in the box next to “Aller le” (“going the…”) and return date in the box next to “Retour le” (“returning the…”). If it’s a one-way journey (“aller-simple”) leave the return date blank. Note that the dates follow the European format of DD/MM/YYYY.

Also choose your desired departure time for both directions (“à partir de” means “starting from”). Remember that these times will be written in standard 24-hour format.

Specify how many people will be traveling using the drop-down menu next to “Adultes” (adults), and select either first or second class.

For direct trains only (without transfers), click the box marked “trajets directs.” Then hit the orange “Rechercher” (“search”) button to begin searching for tickets.

Note: Under the search box, you’ll notice a tempting array of little flags. If you’re already feeling a bit nervous, you’ll understandably be drawn to the English flag. Sure, clicking it will change the language to English–but it will also send all results through RailEurope, a helpful agency for foreign tourist that usually adds a substantial mark-up to ticket prices.

Step 2: Select your tickets

Now a page will open with options for the first half of your journey. Prices can vary greatly depending on the travel time and the day of the week, and only reflect half the cost of the total journey for a round-trip ticket (“aller-retour”). However, when booking for more than one person at a time the price reflects the total cost for all tickets.

The box at the top shows all the options at a glance, from which you can then scroll down to select the one that best fits your specifications. Tickets are color-coded by price range, whereby orange designates the cheapest fares, blue more moderate fares, and gray the most expensive.

When you check one of the circles to choose a ticket, a so-small-you-might-miss-it box pops up underneath all the options for that departure time that says “Choisir Ma Place” (“Choose My Seat”). From the drop-down menu, specify if you’d like to sit “à côté de” (next to) a particular seat, or simply give a preference for “fenêtre” (window) or “couloir” (aisle). Pretty much all trains in France have assigned seats, so be sure to keep that in mind when you go to board.

Note: If you’ve selected an “iDTGV” train, you will be permitted to choose your “ambiance.” “iDzap” is a train friendly to portable electronics, DVDs, cellphones, etc., while “iDzen” restricts electronics, cellphones, and anything that makes noise.

Be careful of tickets marked only “non échangeable” (non-exchangeable) or “non remboursable” (non-refundable), though most fares cannot be exchanged or refunded “après départ” (after departure). Certain tickets must be paid for online and printed at home – if so the fine print will read “Paiement en ligne. Billet à imprimer vous-même” (“Online payment. Print your own ticket.”)

Once you have figured out what time you want to leave and have chosen your seat, click the orange box directly underneath marked “Valider cet aller” (“Validate this part of the trip”). Make sure you hit the right one!

You’ll then go through the same process again for the return journey. Again, remember that the price is for one way of the journey.

Step 3: Payment

On the following page, confirm that all parts of your journey are correct then click “Valider votre réservation” (“Validate your reservation”) to proceed.

Next come three questions before the actual payment.

IMPORTANT: Since the majority of SNCF ticket machines do not accept American credit cards, be sure to click “Gare ou boutique” (“Rail station or boutique”) for question 1 in order to pick up your tickets from a ticket window at the station. Also note that if you’re booking an iDTGV (as pictured), you will only be given the option of printing your own ticket.

Question 2 requires the input of a “civilité” (“title”), “nom” (“LAST name”), “prénom” (“FIRST name”) and e-mail address for confirmation purposes.

Under question 3, check the box to indicate that you agree with the SNCF terms and conditions. Then click “Valider votre commande” (“Validate your order”).

Finally, it’s time to enter your credit card information. Note: The card you use to book must be presented to pick up your tickets, so be sure to use the card that you’ll be taking with you on your trip.

After entering all your data, hit the “valider” button one last time to complete the transaction. A screen should pop up with your confirmation code, which will also be sent in an email along with your itinerary. Print either for your records and to bring with you when you collect your tickets.

Step 4: Picking up your tickets

Now comes the easy part! Simply head to your departure station with your credit card and booking number to get your tickets. Many SNCF agents even speak English and so can help you make any changes to your reservation and get you to where you’re supposed to be.

Departure tracks are usually announced 20-30 minutes before the train is scheduled to leave, so be sure to leave enough time to pick up your tickets and figure out where you need to go. And don’t forget to stamp your ticket in the machine by the track before getting on the train!

Bonus tip: Reserve now, pay later

The SNCF website lets you reserve a ticket online without paying for it in advance or even giving a credit card. On the pre-payment page, instead of clicking “Gare ou boutique” under question 1 hit “Option.” The red text lets you know the date and time by which you need to confirm your reservation (usually 24 or 48 hours before departure), and you’ll receive an email with a booking code.

If you’re not sure what your schedule will be like or don’t want to give out your information online, reserve your seat then bring your confirmation number to the station before departure to pick up and pay for your tickets.

The post France Train Tickets: How to book tickets on the SNCF website (in French!) appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.