Europe is an exciting travel destination with plenty of variety of entertainment and culture. There is much to discover across the European continent, but that can come at a costly price spent on travel arrangements.
Flying to Europe for cheap can be done by following some tips from experienced travelers. The organization, flexibility, and research are key elements. There can be opportunities for splitting flights and booking early. Researching deals and keeping dates open can also help.
If you’re looking to travel to Europe for cheap, check out the tips below. We’ll also give you more insight into what months are cheaper for traveling, and what European cities are the most affordable.
How Can I Fly to Europe for Cheap?
You can fly to Europe for cheap by investing time and research into exploring different opportunities to do so. Prices can vary enormously depending on a series of criteria. Being aware of these criteria will help you plan your next trip with the maximum advantage.
What Is the Cheapest Month to Fly to Europe?
Traveling to Europe is cheapest during the off-season, particularly during the winter months of January and February. The cheap prices also last throughout March, the beginning of spring. During this time, cold temperatures reign over most of Europe, and many activities that are popular in the summer are not available to visitors.
Flying during this time may require some winter wardrobe in your luggage, but it also involves less competition for good plane seats, fewer lines, and fewer crowds in tourist locations.
January is overall the cheapest month to fly to Europe, especially the Christmas holidays end after the first week of the month. The second best timeframe to fly to Europe is during the late fall, particularly from October to early December.
The only time to avoid flying during the off-season is December to early January, the season of Christmas and New Year’s holidays when prices skyrocket and crowds emerge once more.
You can still experience the Christmas-themed tourist activities like the famous Christmas markets if you travel in early December, so you wouldn’t miss out by avoiding those more expensive dates. You can also take full advantage of the skiing season without breaking the bank.
What Is the Cheapest City in Europe to Fly into?
The cheapest city in Europe to fly into will vary depending on your departure location. That said, the city that frequently features as the cheapest to fly into is Dublin, Ireland. Dublin has its own airport and offers a wide array of culture, history, and entertainment. It is also well-connected not only to the rest of Ireland and Northern Ireland but also to the United Kingdom which is home to the wonderful city of London.
(Here are some things to do on your first trip to London.)
In January, a one-way trip from New York City to Dublin can start at around $163 (€137). While in Dublin, you can experience the delights of pub culture, visit the iconic Temple Bar, stop at the Guinness Storehouse and the Old Jameson Distillery, admire St Patrick’s Cathedral, and travel back through time at Dublin Castle. You can also see Christ Church Cathedral, known better as the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, as well as the remarkable Trinity College Library.
Another city that frequently tops the charts of the cheapest European cities to fly into is Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. This popular capital city has its own well-connected airport, Schiphol. There is plenty to see in Amsterdam, a city famous for its culture and its sights, and you can do most while you travel the streets by bicycle.
You can explore Jordaan, one of Amsterdam’s most famous neighborhoods. This is a photogenic area, where you can visit art galleries, antique shops, and quaint bars.
You can also stop at Westergas in Westerpark, a repurposed industrial hub that now features microbreweries, restaurants, art-house cinemas, shops, and galleries. If you visit at the right time, you are likely to encounter either food markets or small-scale festivals within the walls of the Westergas.
Amsterdam’s canals are great for scenic walks, and you can spend many an hour at the numerous museums in the city. Check out cheap flights to Amsterdam for affordable plane tickets as well as everything you need to know about the city.
10 Tips on How to Fly to Europe for Cheap
If you’re looking to travel to Europe for cheap, these tips are recommended by seasoned travelers to the continent.
Don’t Fly Direct
Booking directly with an airline can seem the more convenient option, but it’s rarely the cheapest one. It is usually far more budget-friendly to book two separate round-trip plane tickets.
Flying into most of the major European cities will give you connections to budget airlines that you can then use to reach your planned destination. This can save a great deal of investment with only the extra hassle of having to check your luggage in and out several times.
Most international flights to Europe can involve a layover anyway, so using that same time to go switch to a more budget-friendly option would only be minimal effort. If this option interests you, there are some things you can check to see how much you would save.
First, you should see how much it would cost you to fly direct to your preferred destination. Then, you should check airports on the continent that fly to your preferred destination and see if there is a viable option that would be economical.
This tip requires some extra time spent on research and in airports, but it can end up saving you up to a few hundred dollars for the trip. If you do go ahead with combining flights like this, make sure to leave yourself enough time in between landing and take-off so that you don’t have to rush through the airport. Three hours is usually an acceptable buffer that can cover any delays.
Check Out Prices in Different Currencies
This is a lesser-known tip, but one that can prove itself highly useful. All currencies can fluctuate, so this can require some luck in timing and it isn’t always guaranteed to be allowed by the booking website. The pay-off can be significant if it does work out, however, so an attempt is recommended.
If you notice that your currency is strong, that would indicate that others are weaker in comparison. Most airline websites and booking websites offer the option of changing the currency of their flight search engine.
You should initially search flights to your destination of choice in your own currency. Then you should save the search and switch the currency. If you notice a marked difference (flights dropping from 300 US Dollars to 150 Australian dollars, for example), try to book your flights in the cheaper currency.
With this method, nothing changes about the particularities of your flight or the booking itself, you can just end up paying less for the same purchase. If you make use of this tip, make sure to have a payment method on hand that won’t be charged a fee for transactions in foreign currency or for converting exchange rates.
You should check out the terms and conditions of credit cards in particular if you’re going to use them for this. There may also be extra fees charged by the booking website for certain currencies but not for others.
This method requires some testing, but the time spent can offer the potential for big savings.
Research Deals
Deals are one of the fundamental money-saving methods for flying to Europe for cheap. Many airlines have periods of sales and flash offers that aren’t highly advertised. It’s advisable to sign up for the newsletters of your favorite airlines because these will alert you the moment sales occur.
You should also sign up for the mailing list of at least one flight search engine website to cover all your bases. It’s not guaranteed that your desired destinations will be constantly included in these offers, but there is a great chance of something relevant to you appearing in deals.
Many airline newsletters offer other perks to joining them, such as points for their rewards program and for the miles you’ve flown with them. These can add up to rewards that can be enticing, such as discounts and upgrades.
Sales can be both limited in number and time, so a lot of the time they require you to act fast and to keep an eye on the airlines and search engines. Newsletters and mailing lists will keep you in the loop without any extra effort on your part, and they could potentially deliver your dream vacation destination at a reduced cost in your inbox.
If you’d rather not use newsletters, you can also keep a close eye on potential deals by frequently checking the websites where they might occur.
Looking up deals can involve some time, but they are a sure-fire way to save on some money for your visit to Europe.
Keep Your Dates Flexible
One of the most important aspects of finding the cheapest flights to Europe is to have as much flexibility across the board as possible. Despite certain myths, there is no particular day during which plane tickets are cheaper. Flight prices can fluctuate all the time without the need for an established pattern.
If you’d like to fly to Europe for cheap, you can narrow down your flight timeline from late fall to early spring. This is known as the off-season and prices are more likely to be lower than during peak season in the late spring and summer.
You should keep your schedule open in terms of flight times and specific dates. You should also research the holidays specific to your desired destination. Traveling during holidays will usually come at an added cost, especially during Christmas and New Year’s.
Having as much leeway as possible can be one of your best tools in searching for flights. Many airlines and flight search engines offer the option to look at flight schedules for an entire month, which can help narrow down your desired timeframe.
Some good opportunities to find cheap flights are on the days after big holidays. In terms of time, you should also check out flights that are either leaving very early or very late.
Most people don’t seek out flights that are very early in the morning or very late at night because that can interfere severely with sleeping schedules. This also means that there will be fewer people on planes when you’re traveling, and it can give you cheap flights and potentially even an upgrade.
Mix Airlines
We’ve already recommended the method of avoiding direct flights when possible to save money on plane tickets. When doing so, you should also consider mixing and matching various airlines, especially local ones. This can take extra time of research and getting it exactly right, but the pay-off can be significant.
Flying direct with one company means you are essentially cut off from any other airline that isn’t the one you’ve booked with or its partners. If your flight has a layover anyway in a major European city while you’re traveling to your destination, you can use that opportunity to research flights leaving from that local airport to where you’re supposed to be going.
Mixing airlines carries a higher chance of finding a bargain price for your travels. If you find viable options you should consider dividing your flights into convenient segments. This way, you can save some money on flights.
Some flight search engines will show you potential options for separating flights into various pieces that work together to make your investment as low as possible. These flight segments can get you a cheaper price overall with only minimum hassle on your end.
The time you’ll spend on research for this method can reward you in full if you get the chance to separate flights, both for safety and for financial reasons.
Use Different Search Engines
In today’s world, numerous search engines operate online. The companies behind them are keen to make profitable sales, and they can all offer different prices for the same flights. This is another matter of extensive research.
If you have time, put your preferred location into at least two engines, and then observe what happens. It’s advisable to put your data into a major flight search engine and then expect the results from there before moving on to the smaller ones.
Ultimately, the decision rests with you, but from what we’ve seen, the price of tickets can dwindle significantly during just one day, and with huge variations between search engines.
This method also benefits from allowing for a comprehensive, in-depth look at various flight options. It can include options you hadn’t thought of, and it can save you quite a bit of money.
The different search engines can increase the variety of your options. Make sure to only uses ones that include budget airlines for an in-depth view of the different deals. Exploring search engines has become a straightforward endeavor, but it can still require some attention
Experiment with How to Get to Your Destination
Sometimes, the cheapest options for flight tickets can involve a degree of experimentation and adventure. Exploring alternatives can lead to great bargains.
You should check out which airport in your area offers you the best deal for your flight to Europe, and then you should make sure to check which destination has the best perks. It’s recommended to keep a degree of flexibility for your destination as well as for your flying dates.
You can reach many of the major European destinations through more than one airport. Countries are usually quite close together, and you can fly into one of them only to use another method of transport to continue your journey into another.
The primary airports near the bigger cities will be more expensive than the smaller ones that don’t receive as much international traffic.
Spend time researching how to get to your destination, and also alternatives about how to get there. You can fly into a smaller city with an airport that is next to a bigger one that could be your main destination. You can then complete your journey either with another cheaper local flight from one airport to another, or you can use buses, trains, or cars.
Traveling slightly off the proverbial beaten path when it comes to flights can mean far less crowded airports as well as potentially great bargains to be made during your journey.
Use Budget Airlines
Europe has plenty of budget airlines that you may not necessarily know about or see at first glance on flight search engines and airline websites. Many of these may not operate on an international level, which is another reason why we recommend for you to split up your flights.
If you fly into Europe with one airline, you can do some research prior to your departure to see what the local airlines can offer you. If you see something that catches your eye, you can then use that flight to reach your actual planned destination.
There are many budget airlines that operate in Europe. Not all of them will fit your criteria or serve the destinations you’re going to be traveling between, but it’s a great idea to keep an eye on them in general.
Some of the biggest budget or low-cost airlines on the continent are:
- This British low-cost airline offers over 1000 routes throughout Europe at affordable prices. Some of the countries it serves are France, Switzerland, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Romania, Poland, and Sweden.
- This is an Irish-funded budget airline that has some of the cheapest flight options. Its destinations run across Europe in countries such as Great Britain, Ukraine, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Hungary, Austria, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, and Cyprus.
- This is a Hungarian-based budget airline with very budget-friendly flight options. It has destinations in Spain, Great Britain, Romania, Austria, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia, and the Netherlands.
- This Spanish low-cost airline offers cheap flights primarily in Spain, but also includes destinations in France, Iceland, Greece, Croatia, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany.
Avoid Flying on Weekends and Holidays
Flight prices always increase on weekends and around holidays. Make sure you’re aware of local holidays when you plan your European trip because those can affect the prices too. It’s always best to fly during the week and to avoid the weekend as much as possible.
Although it’s not an exact science and there is no specific day that can always be counted upon to be cheaper than the rest, Wednesdays are recommended as days to book flights for because few people statistically travel in the middle of the week.
A helpful tool that you can use when planning to fly to Europe is a fare calendar. Many airlines include fare calendars on their websites to help you navigate ticket prices. While using fare calendars, bear in mind that ticket prices fluctuate according to many variables, some of which can be random.
Book Ahead
One of the best ways to plan a cheap trip to Europe is to book ahead of time.
Tips about this method don’t all agree on the exact timeframe of how early you should book your tickets, but the consensus seems to be between twelve and three weeks before you intend to fly out. This rule can fluctuate too, but prices for tickets definitely increase the closer it gets to the date of the flight.
Experienced travelers advise that the golden time to book your flight is in the six to eight weeks timeframe, but there are also indications that you’d benefit from book three months in advance too.
The best thing to do is to keep an eye on your desired flights some months ahead of time, and then to make note of the fluctuations in prices. The moment it seems to reach approximately your preferred price, you should book it as soon as possible to prevent it from rising.
What does seem certain is that you can book flights too early. If you want to get your tickets four months or more before your flight, you can be faced with premium fees.
When Should You Buy Plane Tickets to Europe?
You should buy plane tickets between four months and three weeks ahead of time. You should also buy those plane tickets for dates in the off-season, especially during the winter months when flights are much cheaper than they are during the summer.
You should start keeping an eye on flights you’re interested in around five months before they’re due to leave but don’t purchase immediately. Observe the fluctuations of the fares and decide accordingly when to make the move that seems the most beneficial to you.
We’ve already mentioned January as one of the best months to travel, but March can be a great idea too, as it’s getting warmer in Europe but prices are still low.
What Is the Most Affordable European Country to Visit?
There are plenty of affordable countries to visit for cheap in Europe, but one of the ones that get consistently named at the top of these lists is Bulgaria, in Southeast Europe.
There are cheap flights to get to Bulgaria, and when you’re there you can discover areas of stunning beauty and a lot of history-rich locations. You can spend time exploring the capital city, Sofia, a city that dates back to the presence of the Romans in the area.
You can then travel just outside the city to Boyana Church, a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church that was first built between the 10th and 11th centuries. The church was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the art preserved on its walls.
You can then make your way to Plovdiv, known as the oldest city in Europe with continuous habitation. You can find remnants of Roman times here too in the form of a theater and amphitheater.
Bulgaria is known for its roses, and you can experience the sight and smell of them in the place where most of the rose oil in the world comes from: Rose Valley, in the Balkan Mountains.
If you want to experience the roses in their full glory, you should visit the valley from May to June. There is also a Rose Museum there, where you can learn all about the production of the famous rose oil.
Other than the Romans, Bulgaria is known for another group of inhabitants: the Thracians. You can visit numerous Thracian tombs across the country, but if you’re already in Rose Valley, the nearest one is the Kazalank Tomb in the Valley of the Thracian Rulers. The area open to visitors is actually a replica of the nearby tomb, but it preserves the same details as the original.
Before you leave Bulgaria, don’t forget to visit its magnificent beaches on the Black Sea.
Discovering the sun-kissed Mediterranean coastline? We’ve curated a list of the best South of France beaches for a perfect blend of relaxation and seaside charm.
Conclusion
There are plenty of trips to fly to Europe for cheap but most of them can fluctuate and can depend on timing and luck. Organization and research can help plan a cheap trip to Europe, and there are plenty of affordable countries and cities that you can visit.
You can also experiment with combining airlines to get the cheapest option available and make sure to book ahead of time.