Resources:

General Resources:

Air Travel:

Tips and Tricks: Use a third party to look for cheap airfare. The one I use most is Kayak it searches all airlines based on where you’re flying to and from. You can also ‘explore‘ destinations all over the world if you’re not quite sure where you want to go. Simply enter your starting city and move the map around to find a region or destination you’re interested in and it will show you the airfare. There are other third-party sites too, such as Expedia, and Tripadvisor. The downside of booking through a third party is if something goes wrong…you will be forced to deal with the third party, and in my experience, that’s a nightmare. I will book excursions through Tripadvisor, but not my airfare – that’s just a personal opinion, you do what you think is best for you. I use Kayak to do the search for me, and then I go to the airline’s website to book.

Scenario 1: When booking your flight out of the US to Europe and you are going to be traveling to multiple destinations. Sometimes it’s much cheaper to book multiple round trips (RT). For example, if you are flying from the US to Iceland, and then to Ireland, followed by Frace. Play around with the bookings – it might be cheaper to book a RT to Iceland, and then another RT to Ireland, and a third RT to France, or a one-way to Ireland, followed by a one-way to France, and then a one-way back to Iceland. Remember, getting to Europe is the expensive part. Once you’re in Europe, flying around is pretty inexpensive! Iceland Air does offer a stay-over for up to 5 days at no extra cost, which is a unique perk. Play around with your options to find the best deal. You can save hundreds of dollars this way.

Scenario 2: You don’t have an international airport near you (example: Boise), or maybe you do (example Portland). Look at flights to Europe flying out of other international airports near you (ex: San Fran, Seattle, L.A.) often times you can find flights to your destination much cheaper at the larger airports.

Scenario 3: Say you want to go to Florance Italy from the States. Rather than flying direct to Florance, which is often expensive. Find the cheapest major European airport to fly into and then book a separate flight from that airport to Florance. Major European airports include Rome, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Madrid, and Munich…). As I mentioned, getting around Europe once you’re there is fairly inexpensive, so find the cheapest flight to get you there and then use trains, planes, and automobiles to get you to your final destination!

(Below are links to the most common airlines in the US and Europe).

Trains:

Tips and Tricks: From Rick Steves; Unlike the US, trains are a great way to travel across Europe! Don’t be afraid to take a high-speed train, they’re comfortable easy to navigate and inexpensive! You can buy your ticket(s) online (links below), show up at the train station, and watch the boards. About 12-15 min before you’re scheduled to depart the board will update and show you which track to go to (make sure your destination city is posted, or on that route as one of the stops). Your ticket will tell you what car (the car is usually posted near the front (either as a sticker or in some cases a digital plakcard) and row and seat. It’s definitely worth it to pay a little more for 1st class – air conditioning, bigger seats, typically a table, there is power (for your phone – remember your converter!), and they do have WiFi. Sit back, relax and watch the countryside go by at >100mph! Always look for the train with the fewest number of stops “express” if they offer one.

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