How To Visit 15 European Capitals For Under $400

By Hristina Byrnes/April 25, 2017 4:16 pm EST

Flights to Europe are almost always expensive. It seems that the only time you won't break the bank traveling to the Old Continent is in December, especially the first two weeks of the month. Hotels and airlines are trying to push their inventory, so they are not empty now and oversold around Christmas.

However, not a lot of people have the time or the opportunity to get off work for more than a week that time of year. Traveling season in Europe peaks in the summer. You can start planning your itinerary now in order to save a lot of money.

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Let yourself be enchanted by destinations with unique character and a lot of rich and diverse history. The only thing that makes this sound better is being able to do it without going broke.

With the addition of tons of low-cost airlines now offering affordable trips across continents, making room in your budget for an international adventure is no longer that big of a challenge. However, many have hidden fees.

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Experts at Wanderu, a ground travel metasearch engine and fare aggregator, calculated how you can visit the most popular cities in Europe and not spend a fortune on logistics.

You can find a bus deal from Paris to Amsterdam for $20, and there are trips from Berlin to Vienna going for about $23. Overall, if you plan in advance and build your trip only using the lowest available bus fares, you can end up touring Europe for less than $400.

Wanderu included 15 European capitals and, with the help of our algorithm, they were arranged in the most optimized way that would ensure the shortest possible travel times. That way, you can easily stop by some of the most popular destinations across the Old Continent and experience the local culture while getting enough rest in-between destinations to keep you going for longer.

The trip is a loop, so it doesn't matter what your starting point is. That way, you can book a round trip to your starting point and not have to deal with additional travel planning and unnecessary hassle.

Route Avg. Trip Min. Ticket

London to Brussels 7h 8m $17.69

Brussels to Lxmbrg City 8h 40m $26.09

Lxmbg City to Amsterdam 9h 38m $20.10

Amsterdam to Copenhagen 12h 5m $41.05

Copenhagen to Berlin 9h 3m $20.95

Berlin to Warsaw 8h 35m $17.94

Warsaw to Prague 9h 20m $19.36

Prague to Vienna 4h 8m $10.54

Vienna to Bratislava 1h 7m $5.28

Bratislava to Budapest 5h 20m $15.92

Budapest to Zagreb 5h $17.75

Zagreb to Rome 20h 15m $47.51

Rome to Bern 19h 25m $56.17

Bern to Paris 14h 15m $31.64

Paris to London 10h 20m $19.89

Total trip cost: $367.88

Bus travel has emerged as a viable and more affordable alternative than train travel. One of the biggest advantages that buses have over trains is the ticket price.

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Also, distances from one major city to another are much shorter than in the U.S. Last but not least, going cross-country on a bus allows you to take in the beauty of every region you pass by, especially if you grab a window seat.

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