The cheapest real estate in Europe: an overview of the best offers, regions and countries, buying tips. The cheapest countries in Europe

For the third year now, I often live in Poland and got used to the quality of European goods, appreciate it and try to buy a lot in Europe. My purchases are the best essentials at the best prices.

Cosmetics and trivia

When the shaving cream ran out, I went to the store and bought it. The store ended up in Poland) That's how it all began. It became clear that quality discrimination is not fiction or rumors, but the very reality. I don’t want to list trademarks here so that they don’t sue me later, but almost all men's cosmetics differ significantly in quality in Ukraine and Poland. Instead of complaining about fate, I use my traveler's freedom and buy in Poland and Germany: toothbrushes, pastes, threads; everything you need for shaving; condoms; shampoos, shower gels, etc…

Food

Poland, Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria are famous for the quality of their food and low prices for it.

In Poland traditionally good cheeses, meat products, tinctures, a large selection of confectionery. So, an average chocolate bar will cost 2 zlotys or half a euro. I highly recommend trying medek. This is honey wine. Drink hot with cloves. Characteristically Polish and just a wonderful drink. It differs in quality: "one and a half", "double" and "triple". The first one is the best and costs about 15 euros. Usually, we buy a triplet, warm it up with cloves and drink it in a big company. The price for it is much lower - 5 euros, and the quality remains good.

In Germany meat products and bread are a fetish. If it seemed to you that in Poland there is a large selection of meat products, then in Germany it is huge. Like meat, bread in Germany is a masterpiece and can be tasted, sample, try ... One loaf on average will cost you 2 euros, and a kilogram of deli meat 7 - 12. To better illustrate German food prices, I will give an example. In Austria, for example, a cup of cappuccino and some pastry will cost you 7-10 euros. In Germany, for the money you can eat tasty and satisfying.

Hungary for me it's sausages and wine. Relatively cheap and incredibly tasty, Hungarian sausages are always among the gifts from this country. And the wines are traditionally of high quality at low prices.

in Serbia I highly recommend trying splash. This is a flatbread with meat and many additives. She looks like this!

Splash!

In Bulgaria bean and cheese dishes are incredible… Be sure to try bannitsa — a cheese pie and lutenitsa — a dish of tomatoes, peppers, and beans. . . Wonderful salads with cheese and much more. Food prices are lower than in Germany and Poland.

Clothing and footwear

I like to buy clothes in Polish second hand shops. There is usually a really large selection and prices for branded jeans, which you then wear mercilessly for two seasons - 10 zł or 2.5 euros.

Tip: Always ask how prices are set, as each store has its own rules. Someone sells by weight (the most unprofitable way for denim), at a fixed price per piece, or by eye of the seller.

Jeans, sweaters, outerwear are good here, but not shoes. It is dangerous to buy it in second-hand stores, because often it is at least a little, but it is worn out, which means that it was formed by the foot of the previous owner and is unlikely to suit you. The exceptions are almost new things. It looks like they were wearing one. — twice.

Be careful when buying shoes made in Poland. It can be short-lived, especially from unknown manufacturers. Of course, Crocs are good everywhere and it's a matter of discounts and promotions where to buy them.

Technique and optics

The idea that the quality of European goods is much higher leads to an expansion of the list of European purchases. And then, one day, a friend asked me to buy him an expensive camera in Poland. Accurately indicated the brand, model and Ukrainian price. This saved him) It turned out that in Poland exactly such a camera costs 25 percent more. I sent him links from Polish stores in złoty… he counted and thanked for not buying).

A similar situation happened with a meat grinder. There is a wonderful firm Zelmer in Poland. Everyone praises her very much. Production is located in Rzeszow. One could imagine that buying its products in zlotys is much more profitable than in hryvnias or rubles. It turned out differently. The price in Poland was 20% higher.

This experience does not speak about all the equipment, but if you decide to buy something similar in Europe, check first in online stores. To do this, you can enter the name of the model you like and the currency of the country, for example, eur or zl, into the search box.

Medications

I try not to use modern pharmaceutical products with rare exceptions. One of them is homeopathy. German homeopathy is much more expensive, but they ask me to bring the drugs made in Germany, because they cure.

In Poland, drug prices are lower than in Germany, and, for example, vitamins are often cheaper than in Ukraine.

Take receipts for all purchases, so that if necessary, be able to show them at customs and feel free to import your favorite goods. In Ukraine, for example, you can import up to 500 euros or weighing up to 50 kilograms duty-free.

How do I buy flights to Europe

Flights are my passion, look, these are flights from Ukraine.

Choose dates.

How can I find these tickets myself?

Instead of your city, enter a country in the search. If nothing suitable was found from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus - go further: Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania ... In the date window, select "All month" and then "Cheapest month". This will allow you to see the most the best prices in a year.

Only Skyscanner can search this way.

Ukrainians - for free

Editorial site opens hotline traveler.

We select low-cost tickets and budget housing for Ukrainians for free. Need help - write here

USB bank analysts compared prices for identical products in the world's largest clothing chain H&M in different countries. It turned out that chain stores in Russia are cheaper than in Europe and the USA.

The devaluation of the ruble has turned Russia into the country with the cheapest clothing in the mass segment, analysts at UBS bank say. In the materials of the analytical forecast prepared for the H&M network, the bank's investment analysts compared prices for similar products of the company in different countries of the world.

Before the fall of the ruble, Russia, by contrast, was one of the most expensive and stable markets for H&M, along with Japan. But devaluation national currency changed the situation, the report says. In terms of euros (at the exchange rate as of March 2015), H&M clothing presented in Russian stores has become the cheapest of all regions where the chain operates, UBS notes. On average, H&M clothes in Russia are 21% cheaper than in Europe, and 18% cheaper than in the US.

One piece of women's clothing in Russian H&M costs an average of €15.73 - 20.5% less than in Europe (€19.79), or 23% less than in the US (€20.43). Most expensive women's clothing— in Korea, where one item costs €26.10, which is 40% more expensive than in Russia.

H&M men's clothing is slightly more expensive: in Russia it costs €19.57, in Europe it is 25% more expensive (€25.95), in the US it is 28% more expensive (€27.06). In Korea, the average price is €34.4 (+43% to the Russian price).

In the Russian online store H&M, one piece of clothing can be ordered for €14.31, while in Europe — for €18.18 (+21%), and in the USA — for €18.66 (+23%). Korean online shoppers order from H&M for €24.08 per item.

For example, a women's blouse from the new collection in the Russian online store H&M costs 1499 rubles. (€23.32 at the exchange rate of the Central Bank on March 20, 2015), in German - €24.99, in the USA - $29.95 (€27.75). Three pairs of men's boxers, which can be ordered in the Russian online store for 599 rubles. (€9.31), in Germany they cost €9.9, and in the USA - $12.95 (€12.02).

The fall of the ruble and yen, according to UBS, could cost the retailer from 0.5 to 1% of global profit before taxes (EBIT). Investment bank analysts promise to monitor changes in H&M prices over the next few years.

The Swedish retailer's competitors raised their prices more sharply after the devaluation of the ruble. In Russian Zara stores owned by the Spanish Inditex, prices are still higher than in Europe. A Zara dress with striped pockets in the Russian online store costs 2999 rubles. (€46.71), the same in German is cheaper - €39.95, and in the US, on the contrary, it is more expensive - $59.9 (€55.55).

H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is one of the world's largest clothing retail chains, founded in Sweden in 1947. The company owns six brands: H&M, COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday and Other Stories. It operates in more than 55 countries of the world, in 13 countries it sells goods via the Internet. According to the company's website, 73 stores are currently operating in Russia.

Comparison of the cost of products in our country and in European countries

« real time» studies how the cost of products in Russia and in European countries correlates with the average salary. The comparison turned out to be not in favor of the native country: the food basket in some European countries is even cheaper, but salaries are at least twice as much, or even an order of magnitude.

Unseen beast: products with delivery

For more than two years, the analytical service of Realnoe Vremya has been conducting a monthly study of price dynamics in grocery supermarkets in Kazan. It is carried out according to the methodology of Rosstat on the basis of the standards of the consumer basket.

Now, however, we decided to look at the same “food” topic from a different angle - to find out how the people of Russia live in comparison with the inhabitants of European countries. Unfortunately, it is not possible to study prices by personally shopping in several European countries, but the Internet comes to our aid.

In most European countries, you can easily find at least one large grocery chain that offers its customers an online product catalog, or even a delivery service. It was these services that we used to find out the level of prices in European countries.

We decided to compare prices in Metro with large stores in nine European countries. Photo arhangelsk-catalog.ru

For the purity of the experiment, we decided to act in a similar way with respect to Russian prices. Here, unfortunately, there are quite a few such services (and specifically in Kazan there are no supermarkets with a delivery service or remote “collection” of a ready-made grocery basket at all) - therefore, we used the site of a large store, which is usually not used in the study of the consumer basket. This is a Metro Cash&Carry store with an online catalog available on its website.

Income difference - 11 times

We decided to compare prices in Metro with large stores in nine European countries. The rating includes not only the EU countries, but also other states. They were ranked according to the average salary "at hand" (after taxes) - these data were obtained from national statistical departments. The final list included two countries that are not members of the European Union, but are considered one of the richest and most expensive - Switzerland and Norway. Salaries here in terms of European currency are really high - 4422 and 3405 euros per month, respectively (1st and 3rd place among European countries in terms of income "at hand"). The stores studied are Coop and Spar, large European chains present in several countries (Spar also has a franchise in Russia).

Of the EU countries, six states were chosen - Germany, France, Austria, Italy and Spain, traditionally popular among Russians (from 9th to 16th place in terms of salaries - from 2270 to 1749 euros per month), as well as the Czech Republic, which stands somewhat apart - much less wealthy, but close to a resident of Russia both in terms of language and history, and in terms of prosperity (21st place, average income in euro terms - 851). In addition, we included another non-EU country - Serbia, to find out how openly poor European countries live. Serbia is in 36th place in terms of salary with an average income of 399 euros. This is even less than the official average salary in Russia.

Stores studied: in Germany - Real (a chain owned by Metro, previously present in Russia, later sold to a similar Auchan format), in France - Monoprix (local chain with about 300 stores), in Austria - Spar, in Italy and Spain - French Carrefour (the world's second largest retailer, previously present in Russia), in the Czech Republic - Tesco (the largest British retailer), in Serbia - Maxi (the largest network in Serbia, also operates in Montenegro, Albania and Bulgaria).

Stores studied: in Germany - Real, in France - Monoprix, in Austria - Spar, in Italy and Spain - French Carrefour, in the Czech Republic - Tesco, in Serbia - Maxi. Photo rau.ua

For reference: in Russia, food prices in most cases were quoted from the Metro hypermarket in Kazan. In some cases, the desired product was not available in the selected store - then the prices of other stores had to be taken as a basis.

Russia ranks 32nd in Europe in terms of official wages "on hand" with an indicator of 494 euros (about 34 thousand rubles). Due to the significant wealth stratification of Russians, such an average salary may seem overpriced - nevertheless, we are guided precisely by statistics, without raising the question of the objectivity of this indicator.

Bread and wine, tomatoes and mayonnaise

In order to roughly calculate the cost of the consumer basket, we had to deviate quite a lot from the traditional methodology of Rosstat. The fact is that the Russian department includes products in the list, many of which are quite specific, and it is quite difficult to find them abroad, and in some cases even impossible. In addition, we decided to expand minimal list» goods with some additional products, which in most cases are bought by people, but for some reason are not considered necessary by Rosstat.

The result is a food basket that can be described as a “consumer basket of a Russian emigrant”. The list still contains many products that are traditionally popular in Russia (such as bread, mayonnaise, sour cream and pasta), and our “emigrant index” will primarily characterize the spending of a Russian living abroad.

He will not do without vegetables - cucumbers and tomatoes, cabbage and carrots, onions and bell peppers. Photo businessinsider.com

Of course, it is not necessary to talk about the real correspondence of such a “basket” to human needs, however, according to our calculations, a person can live with such a set of products and even afford some excesses. Nevertheless, our conditional "emigrant" will try to look for the cheapest types for each category of goods.

So, within a month, he left his homeland in search of a better life will eat four types of side dishes: rice, pasta, potatoes (not forgetting about bread, as taught in childhood). He will not do without vegetables - cucumbers and tomatoes, cabbage and carrots, onions and bell peppers. He will also regularly eat rather prosaic fruits - apples, oranges, lemons, bananas and pears.

From meat, a Russian abroad will buy beef and chicken, and sometimes feast on salmon and sausage. He will also need milk, butter, yogurt, cheese, sour cream and eggs. For sweets, in addition to sugar itself, he will have chocolate and cookies. In addition, he will need various grocery products - vegetable oil, salt, tea and coffee, pepper, ketchup and mayonnaise. He will also sometimes buy carbonated drinks, juice and water, and in order not to be completely sad in a foreign land, he will sometimes allow himself to drink wine and beer (the latter definitely needs chips).

Consumer basket of a Russian emigrant

A Russian earns nine times less than a Swiss

As the analysis showed, the level of prices in Europe as a whole corresponds to the average income of the inhabitants of the country. However, this concerns only the distribution of places by the cost of the basket, but not the ratio of the cost of food to the average salary in the country.

by the most expensive countries in terms of monthly cost of products were Norway and Switzerland. Here, a grocery basket will cost 260-270 euros (about 18 thousand rubles). The same basket in Russia will cost only 115 euros (7,800 rubles) - more than a twofold difference. It would seem that this is good, only salaries in Norway are about seven times higher than in Russia, and in Switzerland - almost nine times (the salary of the Swiss is about 300 thousand in terms of rubles). Thanks to this, the average Swiss salary can buy almost 17 such “food baskets”, and in Russia - a little more than four.

Note that the number of baskets per salary in Russia is generally one of the lowest. The result is worse only in Serbia, where, with an average salary of 399 euros (27,000 rubles), the food basket turned out to be somewhat more expensive than in Russia - 130 euros (8,800 rubles). For the average Serb, one salary is enough for only three monthly food baskets.

In general, against the backdrop of low average wages in Russia (not to mention the size of pensions and the minimum wage), the price level in other countries seems to be quite high. For example, almost the same as in Russia, a basket costs in Germany - about 160 euros (10,600 rubles). But Germany ranks ninth in terms of income in Europe with an average salary of 2270 euros (about 150 thousand rubles).

In addition, a very low price for food turned out to be in Spain - 122 euros (8238 rubles, 400 rubles more expensive than in Russia, and cheaper than Serbia). The average salary here, of course, is not German, but still quite good - 1,750 euros (about 120 thousand rubles). Here, as in Germany, a resident can buy about 14 food packages on an average salary. Finally, the situation with the Czech Republic is interesting - despite the low salary of 851 euros (less than 60 thousand rubles) by European standards, the basket here turned out to be even a little cheaper than in Russia - thus, the prices here will seem comfortable even to a Russian with an average salary .

Lean on the onion, but do not touch the bell pepper

The bulk of food spending in all countries, as can be seen from the chart below, is for meat and fish. In Russia, about 30 euros (2,200 rubles) have to be spent on these products, and, for example, in Switzerland - 130 euros (9 thousand rubles). Inexpensive meat and fish - in Spain, the Czech Republic and Serbia: from 46 to 54 euros (from 3100 to 3700 rubles).

The remaining categories are much cheaper in all countries, and specific expensive types of products vary from country to country. From the graph, for example, you can see that Norway stands out from the rest of the countries in the Drinks category - this is due to expensive alcohol. In Norway, the sale of any alcohol stronger than beer is allowed in stores of only one state network, and the cost of a liter of wine here starts from 11 euros. At the same time, beer, which is sold in conventional stores, although the most expensive in Europe, it still exceeds the European price by two to three times, and not 10, as is the case with wine.

As for prices in Russia, in order to analyze their level, we decided to study not absolute indicators, but the share of prices in Russia from the average price for all analyzed countries. Thus, the average price per kilogram of the product for all countries is 100% here, and the price in a particular country is indicated as a percentage of the average.

More expensive than the European average, only eight products are sold in Russia. Basically, these are goods that are not produced in Russia. The graph shows the top 5 most expensive products in Russia. So, the cost of bell pepper is almost twice the average price. In Russia, it is generally the most expensive of all the countries analyzed, and a comparable price is only in Switzerland, France and Italy. Also in Russia are expensive tomatoes (more expensive only in Switzerland and Italy), yogurt and chocolate (more expensive in Norway and Italy) and wine. The price of wine in Russia is 122% of the average - however, this average also includes the off-scale price in Norway, where the cost is 400% of the average and is due, recall, to the anti-alcohol policy of the state. Rice (by 17%), cheese (by 14%) and coffee (by 9%) are also higher than the European average in Russia.

In the top 5 relatively cheap products, onion takes unconditional first place - its price in Russia is only 6% of the European average. 16% of the average price - for cabbage. About a third of the average price is for potatoes and chicken fillets, while eggs cost 41% of the average price.

Russians get 17 times less wine than Spaniards

It is interesting in this context to look at another proportion - how much the average salary will last if it is fully spent on one of the products in the basket. Realnoe Vremya analyzed this parameter and found out that for a Russian salary, only one type of food can be bought more than in any other European country.

This product turned out to be an onion. Onions in Russia cost only 6% of the average European price (why not an idea for a business?), And with a modest salary of 500 euros, a Russian gets 10.8 tons of this wonderful vegetable. Oddly enough, the Swiss can compete with him - he was very lucky with his salary, and the price of onions is favorable for him - he will be able to buy 6 tons of this vegetable.

There are no other products that a Russian can buy more than other Europeans. The top 5 most affordable products also include cabbage (a Russian can buy 2.9 tons of cabbage, and a resident of Serbia - only 951 kg, although a resident of Norway is lucky again - he can buy 4 tons of this vegetable). Here - chicken fillet (the Russian will get 191 kg, the resident of Serbia - 72 kg, but the Spaniard will be able to buy almost 400 kg). Also in the list of the most affordable products are bananas (a Russian can buy 655 kg, a Serb - 366 kg, but a Norwegian can buy 1.8 tons of this fruit) and eggs (321 kg for Russia, 164 kg for Serbia, but for a resident of Germany gets almost a ton of eggs).

Sad, however, is the situation with the least accessible products for Russians. Immediately 14 goods for the inhabitants of Russia are less accessible than for any other of the countries studied.

The product that is least accessible to Russians is tomatoes. A resident of the country will be able to buy only 127 kg of tomatoes with his salary, but a resident of Austria, for example, can buy 1.3 tons. There are similar problems with bell pepper: a Russian will buy only 81 kg, and there will be nothing left of his salary, while a Norwegian will need to buy more than a ton of this vegetable for this.

There are two more vegetables on the list of the most expensive for Russians - cucumbers and carrots. A resident of Russia will have enough salary for only 400 kg of cucumbers, while a German will get two tons. With carrots, the situation is not so sad - a Russian can buy a whole ton, but a Swiss will have four under the same conditions.

With fruits, the situation is generally simpler, but even here there are forbidden fruits. So, for example, you can afford only 280 kg of lemons (the Swiss will buy 2.6 tons), and 557 kg of apples (the same Swiss will immediately stock up 3.5 tons).

So-so is the situation with wine: a resident of Spain, for example, can buy 2.5 thousand liters of wine with his average salary, and a resident of Russia - only 146 liters. The Russian is generally deprived in this regard - even a Serb with his salary of 400 euros, thanks to relatively inexpensive wine, will get 238 liters, and a Norwegian - thanks to a large salary and despite very expensive alcohol - 300 liters.

And a Russian is unlikely to be able to compensate for the lack of wine with beer: his salary can only buy 385 liters of beer per month (even a Serb can buy 22 bottles more). In this regard, the German is also good - with his good salary and beer at 60 cents per bottle, he can buy 3.9 thousand liters of this alcoholic drink per month (that is, almost 8 thousand bottles, or 390 boxes).

It is interesting that dairy products, bread and beef were on the list of the most inaccessible goods for Russians. Sour cream, for example, a Russian will buy 6.5 times less than a Frenchman, yogurt - 10 times less than a Swiss. A Russian citizen will get five times less bread than a Norwegian, and 3.5 times less beef than an Austrian. The Russians also have a problem with the sweet life: he will get only 60 kg of chocolate. For comparison: a Serbian can buy 91 kg of chocolate, and a Swiss - a whole ton.

Maxim Matveev

CEO of Fashion Consulting Group

For overseas shopping There are both rational and irrational reasons. Shopping while traveling abroad makes sense not only because of the benefits, but also because of the pleasure of the process itself. It is for the sake of this pleasure that the same people who saved and chose goods at a discount in a mass shopping center are happy and easy to leave significant amounts in luxury boutiques.

A significant part of the money that is spent in the process of foreign shopping is completely justified expenses for “pleasant moments of life”, and irrational “bonuses” - relaxation, pleasure, pleasant pastime - are no less valuable to our lives than savings. However, is there still a benefit in shopping abroad?

What is cheaper in Russia

Of course, prices in rubles inevitably rose in 2015, with most of the major international brands squeezing their markups in Russia due to the fall in the purchasing power of Russians. This applies to both mass and premium brands. This is evidenced by prices and public statements by the heads of Uniqlo, Inditex and Mango. So, for example, Mango reduces its prices in Russia by 20%. This measure came into force on April 23 and applies to all lines of chain stores: Woman, Man, Kids and Violeta. Another example is the British brand Karen Millen, which announced back in February that their prices in Russia are now equivalent to those in the UK. Premium brands also use other steps, for example, they bring “lightweight” categories of goods to our market - such as Chanel mini-handbags. Boutique Italian brand Etro in GUM conducted a revaluation in early April, reducing clothing prices by an average of 15-20%. The Versace boutique, located in the same place, adjusted prices down on April 9th.

International brands have the opportunity to take such steps, as this does not significantly affect their global business as a whole, but allows them to strengthen the loyalty of Russian customers. Thus, today, in terms of euros, dollars or pounds, prices in Russia have become much closer to European ones. But still with the exception of certain types of goods. For example, women's H&M Super Skinny Fit jeans cost 1,539 rubles (£19.99) in the UK and 1,299 rubles in Moscow, Skinny Low men's jeans cost 2,309 rubles (£29.99) in Britain, and in Russia 1 999 rubles. Another example from the premium segment: the Escada Delwys dress costs $1,150 on the site, that is, approximately 58,650 rubles, and in Russia - 46,574 rubles.

Why go to Europe

Nevertheless, in general, prices in Russia remain higher, by 10–15% or more. But if you do manage to figure out cheaper goods in Europe, the benefit of this small difference will be offset by the cost of flight and accommodation. Therefore, European shopping, as well as shopping in Dubai or New York, makes sense not so much for the sake of saving in stores, but for the pleasure of the shopping process itself and the opportunity to have more choice. Collections of foreign brands in Russia this year are incomplete. For example, they do not have “high-risk models”, palettes are simplified, and expensive models, the so-called “collection spike add-ons”, are excluded.

In addition, abroad you can shop in the outlets of the manufacturers themselves, and not in discounts. Outlet is fundamentally different from discounts. A discount is a secondary retail sale of a product that stores bought, put their margin on, but could not sell and are now trying to make a discount. Part of the discounted goods is of unknown origin, often counterfeit or "local spill" with a foreign name.

Unlike a discount, an outlet is a store of the manufacturer himself, who, while offering a discount, still values ​​his reputation. There are no counterfeits in outlets, but you need to keep in mind that some of the collections sold are models made specifically for outlets. Such models resemble the main collection, but they are simpler in design and made of cheaper materials. Unfortunately, on this moment there are no outlets of major international brands in Russia.

And, of course, if you are looking not for the pleasure of shopping, but for the benefit, then it is much easier to find it on the Internet. For example, when purchasing fashionable clothes through the Farfetch.com website, you will receive it in Russia at a price that has already been taxed, that is, in fact, duty free.

How much do things cost in Russia and abroad

Name and brand

In Great Britain

Women's dress

Planning a trip to Europe is not difficult, but planning everything so that the trip is inexpensive and comfortable is already a skill. As experience shows, in order to travel cheaply around Europe, it is not necessary to reduce your level of consumption and deny yourself everything. Not at all! It is enough just to follow some basic rules. Here are some tips and life hacks on how to save money while traveling.

General Travel Savings Rules Everyone Should Know About

1. Are you still planning your vacation for August? Finally start traveling in the “off season”: there are fewer tourists, prices are many times lower, service is better. Most precious time in Europe: July, August, September, Christmas and New Year. Most comfortable and inexpensive months: October, April. The cheapest way to travel around Europe on your own in November and February.

In the photo: Santa Semana holiday in Valladolid, Spain

2. Avoid festivals and holidays that you are not interested in. Find out in advance the dates of the holidays that will be held along your route, because the prices for transport and hotels on such days increase by 2-3 times. And if you are not interested in these holidays, then why pay more?

3. Travel on your own! Forget about tours, vouchers and various intermediaries - you can only travel cheaply around Europe on your own. It's easier than traveling around the countries of the former CIS. Start with at least .

How to save on transport in Europe

How to find cheap flights detailed instructions read . But how to save further?

4. For moving within Europe, the rule most often works: the cheapest is by plane, then by buses, and the most expensive is by train. Of course, provided that you buy tickets in advance. For example, the cheapest way to get there is by plane and not to invent anything else.

Tourist advice. When buying a low-cost air ticket, check the location of the airport. Otherwise, it may turn out that you will pay 10 euros for an air ticket, and three times more to get from the airport to the city. Given this, it can be more profitable to buy a bus ticket, because bus stations are almost always located in the city.

5. Staying at major cities like, Barcelona or Milan, immediately upon arrival, buy a travel card for several trips. Before traveling to expensive cities useful to read helpful tips how to save. Recommended : the best , useful , and excellent .

6. Register on the websites of transport companies (SNCF, RyanAir, Alsa) - so you can receive information about sales by mail.

7. In some transport companies (for example, ALSA, OBB) for some reason it is cheaper to buy two tickets separately than one purchase for two at once - check both options!

8. Most tourists, when planning to rent a car in Europe, succumb to advertising and order a car along with an air ticket, or book a car on car rental websites - this is most often unprofitable. Before doing so, do not be too lazy to check the prices in all car rental companies - a couple of minutes, and you can save 10-30%.

9. It is not necessary to rent a car, make up - so you can see a lot of interesting things along the way, even from the bus window. This way you can spot places for future trips. For example, you will see Lake Como, the Alps, and magnificent Switzerland. But an interesting independent - ready-made instructions!

10. Get yourself a low-cost suitcase with the right dimensions so you don't have to pay for luggage.

Tourist advice. Buy a suitcase with dimensions suitable for transportation in hand luggage- “cabin bag” - such a suitcase does not need to be checked in as baggage, for which low cost airlines take extra money. There are suitcases “approved” by low-cost RyanAir and EasyJet.
In my experience, baggage measuring 55cm x 35cm x 20cm and weighing up to 7kg can be handled by most low-cost airlines.

11. When planning a route on a rented car, check how complex road junctions are arranged, especially in large cities. Sometimes this can be a great way to save travel time and even find free parking.

12. Group up with other travelers. Group tickets or renting a car for two families helps to save a lot on the road.

How to save money on food

Life hack. To eat tasty and inexpensive in Europe, choose a restaurant away from the tourist trails, at least turn into an alley and walk 50-100 meters. Don't be afraid of Michelin stars, but try to avoid the Tripadvisor sticker. Pay attention to the menu: inexpensive tasty food will most likely be where the menu is at local language, on one sheet. The most delicious food is served in establishments where there is no menu, and the owner himself will tell you what is being served today.

14. In cafes and restaurants, first of all, find out the cost of sets. Buying a set of several dishes is usually cheaper than taking the same one, but separately “a la carte”. By the way, always take the “Menu del dia” (Menu of the day).

15. To have a satisfying and tasty snack, it is not necessary to order a whole lunch or dinner in a restaurant in the center of a tourist party. The cheapest thing is to have a bite to eat in bars: we move away from central street, we find a cozy bar and from the counter (without asking the menu) we make an order in the local language. The only difficulty: you need to know a dozen phrases in the local language and the features of the local cuisine.

For example, in Spain, a cup of coffee and a tortilla de patatas (it's a Spanish omelette, but more like a piece of potato pie with an egg) in a restaurant will cost 7-10 euros, and in a bar the same will cost 2-3 euros (the magic word - pincho de tortilla - "pincho de tartilla"), and here's another.

16. In large European supermarkets, half an hour before closing, you can buy perishable products at half the price. And by the way, before the trip it will always be useful to find out the local prices. For example, here you are.

How to save on accommodation in Europe

The most expensive part of travel is accommodation. Of course, you have already read everywhere that it is more profitable to rent a bed in hostels than a hotel room :) This, of course, is a super-mega-secret, but here I will talk about less obvious things.

17. When choosing hotels for the entire trip, book the weekend first.

18. Book hotels as early as possible. BUT, if you didn’t make it in a month, then later low prices may appear 1-3 days before the desired date.

19. After booking a remote hotel, write there and find out how you can get to them on public transport. In some cases, they can provide you with a free airport transfer, or tell you how to get there by local transport.

20. When booking, check the price in the case of “2 nights + 1 night” and the option “immediately for 3 nights”, etc. The final price may surprise :)

21. To travel around Europe cheaply, when booking an apartment, look at the options for a week at once - sometimes it turns out cheaper, because a weekly discount works. As a result, it happens that 6 days cost the same as 7.

To find apartments in Europe at a low price and do not get to scammers, read - in other European countries in the same way.

22. When booking tickets and hotels in major cities, immediately check the location of the arrival station and your hotel.
Often travelers take a ticket before central station cities, forgetting about intermediate stops. Sometimes it is more profitable to get off the train one stop earlier - it can be closer to your hotel and cheaper than going to the central station and from there to the hotel.

23. When buying a transport ticket or booking a hotel, check prices for dates adjacent to yours. Sometimes it can be beneficial to shift your entire schedule by just one day.

24. Establish direct connections with the owners of boarding houses and small hotels. In the future, you will be able to directly rent accommodation with discounts.

25. If you have a birthday coming up - do not hesitate to notify the hotel about it. There are chances to get a nice bonus.

What you can not save on in Europe

Often people try to save fifty euros, spending a lot of time and nerves on it, and as a result losing thousands of euros. Personally, I do not like to spend money for nothing, but there is a limit to everything. There are normal ways to save money, and there are perverted ones - when people seem to be specifically looking for problems for themselves.

It is important not to confuse stinginess with savings, and also remember why you are traveling at all. Sleeping on buses or at train stations is good for those who like extreme travel, but not at all suitable for those who want to relax and love comfort. Keep a balance and do not turn pleasure into inhuman conditions of life.

26. Insurance. In my opinion, a fool understands that only millionaires can afford to travel to Europe without insurance. I don’t understand people who save 20 euros in order to collect 10,000 euros from friends ...
Firstly, without insurance, they may not be allowed through customs - they rarely check, but it happens, because. Travel insurance is mandatory when entering Europe, whether you need a visa or not. Secondly, medicine in Europe is expensive for tourists, and if something suddenly happens, even a simple poisoning, then just a doctor’s examination will immediately “beat off” the money for insurance. There can be only one option for saving on insurance - than ordinary tourists do.

27. Accommodation in hostels, couchsurfing, etc. is not safe, and not only for single girls. If there is very little money, it is better to rent a bed in a trusted hostel. In such places you can not only spend the night for 10 euros in comfort, but also meet new interesting people from all over the world.

28. Rent housing through Russian speakers in social networks and so on. Remember “we hussians don't deceive each other”? Everyone knows about this, but they stubbornly continue to “save”, lose money, ruin their vacation, and then complain about what scammers are in Europe and everything is bad. And, although there are a lot of wonderful Russian-speaking people in Europe now, who not only do not deceive, but also help each other, we must not forget about the basic safety rules!
I always book accommodation on Booking and only where there are already a lot of reviews. Because the reviews are real. And how people are deceived in social networks, I'm already tired of reading about it.

And one more important advice which will be useful to you in Europe:

29. Smile and be friendly!
Feel free to ask local residents where to eat cheaper, what to see for free and where to go.