Traveling to Europe without breaking the bank

This summer we are traveling to Europe and will be visiting three countries:  Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungry.  We are traveling while the dollar is very weak compared to the Euro … and most other currencies, but we are traveling anyway and intend to do so as if the dollar was strong.

Yesterday, I suggested that using Europe’s extensive rail system is one way to minimize or decrease your transportation costs and it truly is.  Of course, time is always a factor, as in, do you have enough time to take the train.

Another way travel suggestions is to stay in a neighborhood outside the city center.  Europe has an excellent public transportation system.  There are usually excellent and authentic cafes near hotels outside the city center if the hotel does not have a restaurant.  Of course, you don’t want to be 50 miles aways and you have to be smart about the area you are staying … just as you would at home.  I am a big believer in reading travel blogs about other travelers experiences.  Some you have to be judicious about believing, but they tend to be very helpful.  Expedia and Frommer’s tend to be the best sites to explore.  Frommer’s has suggested some questionable places, so always cross-reference with what other travelers have said.

So, my suggestions for lodging is to avoid the city center, American chain hotels [which typically are more expensive], and full service hotels [bellhop, concierge, and so forth].  Look for hotels that are near metro stops and that show pictures of the inside as well as the outside.  I am always concerned when a hotel doesn’t provide pictures.  I also consider it a positive if the hotel allows me to book my room through a travel service, such as Expedia or Travelocity, or if the hotel accepts credit cards through their SECURE site.

When to use a travel agent?

Whether or not or when to use a travel agency is one of those nagging considerations that I make as I plan or decide where I want to go.  To date, I have yet to use an agent, but there have been times when I wondered, should I have used an agent or not.

Here’s my idea of what I think a travel agency should provide.  First, I think that they should …

• Ask me about my interests and accommodation needs.
• Be much more knowledgeable about the destination.
• Be able to help me match my interest to what’s available.
• Provide literature. 
• Make my arrangements.

But, this has not be my experience.  I am usually given literature and told “these are the options.”

Thus far, I have never used a travel agency to make my full travel arrangements.  I have only used an agent twice.  The most important trip where I used an agency was the Galapagos Islands … and they were unresponsive after they got my money.  Everything turned out fine.  In fact, the only reason that I used an agency for Galapagos was because I could not find another way to make arrangements.

Making travel arrangements is hard work.  You have to make arrangements to get there, you have to find a place to stay, and you have to decide what to do.  The Internet has made this work a little easier.  There are many travel sites where you can find information, like Frommers; online agencies like Expedia; and travel blogs … like mine.

I tend to use some combination of these sources and like to make my arrangements because I like flexibility.  But travel agencies can be helpful when there is not good information online and they usually can find availability that the average users can not.  I wish agencies were more flexible.  If you are not as picky as I am, they can certainly de-stress your planning.

Professional travel sites or blogs … where to go?

Planning a trip … I am one of those travelers who believes that preparation involves more than transportation to and from my destinations. For the extreme adventurous travelers who consider this sufficient planning, more power to you. Conversely, I don’t want to know what I am going to do every second of my trip either. So, regardless of your preference for planning, where do you go for advice, professional travel sites like Frommers, Fodor’s, Lonely Planet or a travel blog?

I used to rely almost exclusively on these professional travel sites, thinking that I would get some unbiased true advice from an “expert traveler” whatever that is, but then it dawned upon me that I shouldn’t limit my research to just one type of traveler, who may or may not have the same travel expectations or needs that I have.

My first venture into blogs began when I started reading opinions on Expedia that were written by your average regular traveler.  Sometimes these average regular traveler’s opinions are not helpful, but so is advice from some of the professional travel sites.  For instance, I used Frommer’s to select one of my hotels while traveling in Portugal, which turned out not to be great.

I have taken to using both “professional” sites and blogs.  I like the professional sites for their “factual” approach, such as you can do this, this place offers that, and so forth, but I like the blogs to learn about other travelers’ experiences.  I also find that people who spend time setting up a blog really want to share their experiences.  I’ve noticed that many of these “professional” sites like Frommer’s and Fodor’s include areas for blogging as well.

Bottom line, I find both useful.  You can find a broad range of advice from those who say, hop on a plane and just go with it, to those who offer recommendations and their experiences in terms of what to do, where to stay, and what to eat.