The Meandering Musician contains affiliate links and is a member of the Amazon LLC Associates Program. If you make a purchase using one of these Amazon or other affiliate links, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. Read our disclaimer for more information.
Below is a list of my favorite travel resources! These are services and products that I use myself (or I note if I haven’t used it yet!) and highly recommend for international travel!
Flights
First of all, I have a free guide with my Top 10 travel hacks for getting to Europe affordably. This guide covers how to score cheap or even free airline tickets, which is always one of the largest costs of travel to Europe!
Other Flight Resources
SecretFlying — Sign up for their newsletter (which you can customize by places you want to fly out of and into) to get amazing flights deals sent straight to your inbox.
Kayak Explore — Kayak.com is well-known for being a good place to search for many different travel needs, but I like to specifically use Kayak’s Explore page to search for cheap travel to Europe.
Google Flights — The best way to know exactly what you’re getting for your money and not have any surprise fees or hidden surcharges is to search for flights on an aggregate website (my favorite is Google Flights), but then book your tickets directly with the airline. Pro tip: When searching for flights, make sure you are only searching using a private/incognito browser window!
TSA Precheck or Global Entry — Want to get to your gate at the airport super fast? Then get TSA Precheck, a government program that allows you to use dedicated security lanes at most US airports, and get your security checkpoint wait times down to an average of 5 minutes or less!
Global Entry is another US govenment program and it helps you get through customs faster upon returning from an international destination. Global Entry includes TSA Precheck, so you don’t need to apply for both. Global Entry appointments tend to be much more difficult to get than TSA Precheck, however, and I only have TSA Precheck.
It’s also worth noting that many travel credit cards (including the Capital One and United cards I list below) also cover the cost of application for either TSA Precheck or Global Entry.
Accommodations
Booking.com — Sometimes I book hotels directly on their own websites, but the next best thing (and sometimes the better thing, depending on where I’m going!) is making hotel reservations on Booking.com. I absolutely love that they don’t have hidden fees like many other third-party hotel booking companies. I also love being able to filter hotel search results by a nearly endless number of factors, including only looking for super highly-rated hotels, and their Genius loyalty discounts program is also a big win!
Vrbo and Airbnb — Looking for something other than hotels? Especially if you have kids and would like to have a different bedtime than they do (all sharing one room can be hard!), Vrbo and Airbnb can be very good options. In Europe there are also some amazing options for staying in historic buildings through Vrbo and Airbnb, so they’re definitely worth checking out, especially if you’ve got a lot of people in your travel party! (Just to note, I have personally used Airbnb, but not Vrbo.)
HostelWorld — I’ve never used this service myself since I don’t stay in hostels, but without a doubt the best service for finding quality hostels in Europe is HostelWorld. They can help you find incredibly cheap hostel accomodations all throughout Europe (and the rest of the world) by searching in just the same way that you search for hotels on other websites.
Travel Credit Cards
One of the best ways to get to Europe for cheap is to learn how to earn and use credit cards point and miles. Both 10xTravel and The Points Guy have great resources for learning about this, and I particularly highly recommend the free course on this topic offered by 10xTravel.
I also recommend looking into the following credit cards if you’re interested in earning points and miles to use specifically for travel and can’t afford a super high yearly card fee:
Note: Make sure that whatever credit cards you plan to use in Europe have no foreign transaction fee!
Planning and Organizing
Rick Steves Guide Books — When planning your trip, I highly recommend getting a good guide book. My favorites for Europe and the ones by Rick Steves. They are very thorough and I love the amazingly helpful “tips and tricks” they include, such as how to avoid lines at major sites and when to go to avoid the crowds. I recommend getting his city-specific guides, rather than (or in addition to) the country guides.
TripIt app — I love the organization side of things, and so I absolutely love the TripIt app! You can set it up to automatically scan your email and auto-enter all kinds of trip reservations—from flights to dinner and event reservations and everything in between!—or enter your trip details manually. There’s a free version (which is all I’ve ever used!) and a paid version with many more features.
Rome2Rio — Trying to figure out the best way to get from one place to another? Be it train, plane, or automobile (or boat or bus!), Rome2Rio is by far the best travel website I’ve found that can tell you all your best options for getting from point A to point B. They also have an app (Apple) (Android).
Experiences
Viator and GetYourGuide — If you want to take some of the guesswork out of what to see and how to get admission tickets in your destination, it’s worth checking out both Viator and GetYourGuide.
Both Viator and GetYourGuide offer curated travel experiences in destinations all over the world, including things like private tours, cooking classes, and even zip line adventures (and so much more!). Just pay close attention to the ratings and review for the activities you’re interested in: unless the experience provided is truly a unique one, it’s usually better to book tickets through the attraction or event’s official website. (I haven’t personally used either of these platforms yet—I like to plan out my own adventures!—but they both come highly recommended by other travel bloggers!)
Finding Your Way
Google Maps — A standard for all types of travel, Google Maps is also a great option for finding your way around European cities, especially because you can download maps and use them while you’re offline (handy when you’re trying to conserve phone data internationally). Depending on your city, though, there are often additional travel and transit apps that can better help you find your way using public transportation (do a Google search to find out what the best ones are for where you’re going).
Google Translate app (Apple) (Android) — Everyone can use a little bit of magic in their pocket and if you’ve got the Google Translate app then you’ve got just that! In addition to being able to type in words and phrases and have the app translate them for you, it also has a visual translation feature! Just tap on the “Camera” button in the app, hold your phone up to whatever it is you want translated, and voila! That sign is now magically in English!
Packing for International Travel
For international travel in general, here are my 10 “must have” items that I never go to Europe without!
1. Packing cubes — One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received for enjoying Europe is to pack light (you’ll be suprised how much you end up schlepping your bags around on cobblestone streets!). I generally aim for carry-on luggage only. Now that I have three kids, however, sometimes it’s easier to just check one big bag instead and do no carry-ons. Either way, I highly recommend packing cubes because they make for more efficient packing and keep you organized. The brand I use has gone out of business, so the brand I’ve linked to is another highly-rated packing cube brand.
2. Extra small carry-on luggage — If you’re planning to use carry-on luggage, it’s important to note that accepted carry-on bag dimensions for European airlines are often a little smaller than those in the US, especially on budget carriers like Ryanair. I love my Calpak carry-on and it has lasted for many years. If you’re looking for a good deal on nice luggage, I also recommend going to your nearest T.J.Maxx and checking out their luggage bargains. Just make sure you take a tape measurer and don’t get a bag that’s taller than 21.5 inches including handles and wheels, and ideally one that’s a little bit smaller.
3. International power adaptors — An absolute must have for traveling to Europe is international power adaptors. Plug shapes and wattages in the countries of Europe are different from the US (and different from each other!), and so you won’t be able to plug and of your devices in without an adaptor. I like the Ceptics GP Series adaptors. They’re budget-friendly, light weight, and come in packs of three—handy for when I want to charge my phone, computer, and camera all at the same time. You’ll need a specific adaptor for whatever country/countries your travelling to, so make sure to get the right one.
Note: While Europe’s standard electrical voltage is 220 volts while the US runs on 110 volts, most modern devices are designed to run on both, so you don’t need a power converter, just a plug adaptor. If you’re unsure about a particular device, just look for the text “110/220” on your device or do a Google search to make sure it’s okay.
Here’s where you can buy the Ceptics GP Series adaptors and below is a list of which adaptors you’ll need for each of several commonly visited European countries:
Austria – Type C and Type F
Belgium – Type C and Type E
Denmark – Type C, Type E, Type F, and Type K
France – Type C and Type E
Germany – Type C and Type F
Greece – Type C and Type F
Ireland – Type G
Italy – Type C, Type F, and Type L
Netherlands – Type C and Type F
Norway – Type C and Type F
Portugal – Type C and Type F
Spain – Type C and Type F
Sweden – Type C and Type F
Switzerland – Type C and Type J
United Kingdom – Type G
Note: Type C plug adaptors are ungrounded, while most other types are grounded (i.e. 2-prong vs. 3-prong plugs). Just like in the US, older buildings tend to have ungrounded outlets, while newer buildings have grounded ones.
4. Travel pillow — If you don’t want to wake up in Europe with a crick in your neck, make sure to have a travel pillow with you for your overnight flight. I like ones with a slicky rather than fleecy cover so I don’t get overheated, like this one by MLVOC (though I haven’t tried this particular one).
5. Money belt — With all the tourists that visit Europe every year come the pickpockets that target them. I recommend this money belt by Alpha Keeper, which is slim enough to comfortably put under your clothing without looking bulky.
6. A good phrase book — Even with all the techological capabilities we’ve now got on our phones, I still find it very help to carry a pocket-size phrase book along on my travels, especially for ordering at restaurants. Just like my guidebooks recommendation, I like the phrasebooks by Rick Steves—they’re easy to carry around and include all the most common phrases you’re likely to hear or need to say!
7. Pocket Kleenex pack — One thing that you’ll find in Europe is that public restrooms are a little harder to come by than in the US, and they often cost a little bit of money. In addition to the cost, they are often out of toilet paper, so I always recommend keeping a pocket-size pack of Kleenex on you while you’re out and about. Make sure to take several packs on your trip as each package only holds 10 sheets.
8. Portable charger/power bank — Most likely a great deal of your time in Europe will be out walking the streets and seeing the sites, and if you’re using your phone to navigate it will likely get low on battery sooner than you’d like. So I recommend carrying a portable charger that can charge your phone while you’re out and about. The one I have to old now, so I’m linking to one that is highly-rated and much newer technology.
9. Disinfecting wipes — In this post-pandemic era, it’s still good to carry some disinfecting wipes along and wipe down the high-use surfaces around your airplane seat (especially if you have young kids who touch everything and then put their hands in their mouths!). I use the Wet Ones brand, but if you’re looking for unscented the Purell ones are a better choice (though I haven’t tried these ones myself).
10. To-go pain medicine bottles — With all the walking you’re going to do in Europe, sore feet and legs are a common occurrence! I always keep a tiny bottles of both Tylenol and Ibuprofen with me on my travels. (I prefer only Ibuprofen over Advil, but I haven’t found tiny bottles of it, so I refill the bottles with Ibuprofen once they’re empty.)
BONUS: If you want to take the best possible pictures on your travels, make sure that you always have a camera lens cleaning cloth with you! It works just as well on phone camera lenses as on bigger, more robust cameras and ensures that you always get a smuge-free image. I use ones made by a company that’s no longer in existance, but any well-rated microfiber camera-specific cloth will do the trick!