The Major Budget Killer Rick Steves Urges Travelers To Avoid While Visiting Europe

We all dream of taking an unforgettable vacation in Europe, walking cobblestone streets with a touch of sand in the hair after a sunny day at the beach, a cool gelato in one hand, someone we love holding the other. Hopping the pond is a bucket-list experience, but imagining the expenses keeps many from making plans. The thought of spending a few hundred dollars a night at a hotel, plus plane tickets, and then adding in food and entertainment, leaves many assuming they can't afford it, so they stay in the dreaming phase.

There are techniques and strategies for a budget-friendly vacation to Europe. For such advice, we turn to experts like travel guru Rick Steves. He's been cruising the planet for decades, racking up bonus miles, and showing the rest of us how to do it — like this simple tip for overcoming language barriers. Steves is particularly good at illuminating how that dream international vacation can be affordable. Naturally, he's got advice about finding the right place for your overnight stay. Accommodation is one of the biggest expenses of any trip, particularly in the relatively wealthy and tourist-friendly countries of Europe.

When it comes to choosing where to sleep without breaking the bank, Steves' advice is to avoid expensive hotels, writing, "It pays to choose your accommodations thoughtfully ... True, you can spend $400 for a double, but I never have. That's three days' accommodations for me." It's easy to see a large international chain hotel and assume it's a good value on your vacation. When traveling to Europe, however, Steves says it might be smarter to search a bit deeper to find something smaller. Doing so can help stretch your hard-earned dollars and provide a more authentic experience.

To find hotel recommendations for his guidebooks, Steves does a lot of legwork — literally. His approach is to walk around the most inviting neighborhood in a city, pop into the hotels he sees, ask for their prices, and jot down notes. He wrote, "By the end of the day, the best-value hotels stand out. What's striking to me is how little correlation there is between what you pay and what you get." That's why Steves emphasizes choosing accommodation thoughtfully. A higher price doesn't always translate to a better experience, and saving $50 or $100 a night adds up over the course of a vacation.

Lucky for us, we don't have to wander neighborhoods of European cities to find the best value. We can use online sites or tools, like Google Hotels, to help find a more affordable place to stay. The biggest thing is knowing what you're looking for in a hotel and your vacation at large. Of course, if someone wants a luxury experience and an expensive hotel, that's fine. Steves' travel style, however, is to really immerse and get a feel for a place while not spending unnecessary money.

That's why he recommends avoiding large, expensive hotels. For him, they have a  'uniform sterility' and lack the unique character and charm of the city they're in. He said, "I'm more impressed by a convenient location and a fun-loving philosophy than flat-screen TVs and pricey laundry service." Skipping the expensive hotel can save money, but could also lead to a vacation full of pleasant surprises with friendly locals.

There's no shortage of accommodation styles in Europe, from hotels to cheap hostels or camping, and everything in between. There's something for every type of traveler and budget. Steves has various criteria he's looking for in a hotel that we can emulate — there are red flags to look for when booking as well. Besides the standards like cleanliness and reasonable pricing, Steves looks for a place that is "central" and "relatively quiet at night," saying, "you're just as likely to spend $150 for a big, impersonal place on a noisy highway as you are to spend $100 for a charming, family-run guesthouse on a bikes-only stretch of canal."

Researching the friendliest neighborhood in a city, and then zooming in on the accommodation options available there is a good approach to saving a few dollars. Booking something central also saves time, because you don't have to travel in and out of the city center. The European vibes you came for are right outside the window.

The other things Steves looks for are more philosophical to his travel style. He wants a hotel that's "small enough to have a hands-on owner" and "run with a respect for local traditions." Steves is in Europe to connect with the people who live there and get an authentic, local experience. He wrote, "Europe's small, mid-range hotels may not have room service, but their staffs are more interested in seeing pictures of your children and helping you have a great time than in thinning out your wallet." Following his lead, we might be able to avoid a budget killer and get a uniquely local vacation in Europe.