1 Month in Europe: My Backpacking Route, Budget & Honest Tips

Some years ago, I planned my first-ever solo trip across Europe with under €1000 in my bank account and absolutely no idea what I was doing. No travel blogger to follow, no app to tell me the cheapest route. just a notebook, a lot of price checking, and the stubborn decision that I was going to do this alone, whether it made sense or not.

This route is from 2016, but the planning strategy still works. Scroll down for the full breakdown of how I built the itinerary, kept costs under €1000, and what I’d change today.

Disclaimer: It was 2016 before all these budget-saving apps were even available. I had to walk around with a map in my hand.

If you’re short on time, check out my 1-week Europe itinerary, or this perfect 2-week Europe plan.

My 1-Month Europe Route (Quick Overview)

• Austria → Germany → Switzerland → France → Ireland → Denmark → Italy
• Duration: 30 days
• Budget: ~€800–1000
• Travel style: backpacking + Couchsurfing

This was one of my first major European trips and has taught me so much of what I know today, and truly laid the foundations on which this blog was built (insights, tips, mistakes, and recommendations).

My Original 1-Month Europe Route: 7 Countries, Under €1000

Here is my complete itinerary for this trip, which I did on a budget, many years ago, in Europe:

• Klagenfurt
• Frankfurt
• Zurich
• Paris
• Dublin
• Copenhagen
• Milan

1 Month in Europe: Route Ideas for 2026

My 2016 route was built around budget constraints and where I had friends to stay. If you’re planning a month in Europe now and want something more flexible, here are three routes worth considering, depending on your style:

Classic Western Europe (first-timers)

London → Paris → Barcelona → Lisbon → back.

Slow down in each place, at least 5-7 days per city. You’ll cover the highlights without rushing, and connections between these cities are easy and affordable.

Central + Eastern Europe (best value) Vienna → Budapest → Krakow → Prague → Berlin.

This is my personal favourite for a month because the cost of living is lower, the cities are stunning, and you avoid the worst of the tourist crowds. I’ve spent time in all of these and written about most of them.

Northern Europe in summer (for nature lovers)

Copenhagen → Stockholm → Bergen → anywhere in Norway.

This only works in June-August. Outside of that window, daylight and weather will work against you. It’s more expensive, but if you’re drawn to fjords and midnight sun, nothing else compares.

For any of these routes, use Flixbus and Ryanair to keep transport costs down, and check my 2-week Europe itinerary and 3-week Europe itinerary if you want more detailed day-by-day breakdowns.

One month in Europe: Why travel alone?

Why is planning a trip to Europe probably one of the best things for personal development? It might not be for everyone, but it sure helps lots of people, just like travelling helped me.

It gives me this immense freedom to do what I want when I feel like it, and more than that, I benefit from this never-ending source of experiencing myself through a new place and the different people I meet along the way.

For those who have tried it or still do it, you will know what I’m talking about. If you are among the others, then here is a good read for you, a piece I wrote about travelling alone for the first time.

I cannot tell you enough about how much it will help you with your personal growth. Yes, there are greater things yet to be discovered about yourself, and here are some of my conclusions – Great Things Which Happened to Me After I Started Travelling Alone.

If your biggest question is ‘How much does it cost to travel one month in Europe?”

1 month Europe trip cost

When it comes to planning a trip to Europe, many people start asking about costs. Here’s a list of things to help you plan a budget trip to Europe. Note that these Europe trip cost details are from 2016.

But the answer is that it’s up to you!

If there is one thing you get out of this blog post, it’s that comfort comes at a price, and it isn’t cheap.

In my case, I didn’t pay for accommodation because I planned my trip around the places where I have some friends (or used Couchsurfing), and it cost me well under 1000 Euros (it was in 2016).

The total cost of my transport, which I had to book, was 170 Euros. After I added the price of the food and other costs (museums, city transport), it added up to 800 Euros.

Keep on reading to see how I did it and what my strategy is for planning a one-month Euro trip under 1000 Euros.

How I travelled cheap, on a budget in Europe for 1 month?

Based on your writing style across everything I’ve read today, here it is:

What I’d Book Differently Today (Tools That Actually Help)

Back in 2016, I was winging a lot of this. No eSIM, no digital bank card, definitely no travel insurance. I survived, but I also had some genuinely stressful moments that could have been avoided.

If I were planning this same trip today, here’s what I’d have sorted before leaving:

Travel insurance. This is the one I ignored for years and genuinely regret.

One bad situation, such as a cancelled flight, a stolen bag, a twisted ankle in the middle of nowhere, and your entire budget is gone.

I now use SafetyWing because it’s built specifically for people who travel the way I do: moving between countries, staying longer than a week, not fitting into the standard “holiday” insurance box. It covers over 180 countries, and the price is actually reasonable.

Accommodation

For longer stays (a week or more in one place), I now always cross-check on Booking.com with filters for free cancellation, which gives you flexibility if plans change.

eSIM for internet everywhere. 

In 2016, I was constantly hunting for WiFi or paying roaming fees that hurt.

Now I use Holafly, which gives me data coverage across Europe without swapping physical SIMs every time I cross a border. For a trip like this with multiple countries, budget travel, always on the move, having an eSIM is not a luxury; it’s just practical.

A card that doesn’t charge you for existing abroad.

I lost money on every single transaction in 2016 because my Romanian bank card charged conversion fees on everything.

These days, I use Wise for most of my European spending. It converts at the real exchange rate with minimal fees, and the app makes it easy to see exactly what you’re spending. Revolut is another good option and very popular across Europe.

I use both, honestly, because sometimes one works better than the other depending on the country.

None of this is sponsored advice. These are just the things I genuinely wish I’d had on that first trip.

How I Actually Planned a 1-Month Europe Trip (Starting From Zero)

In 2016, I was based in Klagenfurt, a small town in the south of Austria. That’s a great location to travel around Europe because it’s right in the centre.

It was about one month before the actual trip, and because I was tired of waiting for my friends to decide if we were going to do something together, I said to myself, “I’m gonna plan my own holiday, and I will make the most out of it.”

Yes, I have some tips for you to plan your own holiday, but it will always depend on a lot of other things too. The country, budget, and personal lifestyle. I mean, cheap is a trade-off for comfort and time.

The entire process of planning took me one day. Yes, it was one day of work. Writing prices and locations down. And comparing. Trying different combos.

Planning a trip in Europe: Itinerary planning for budget backpacking in Europe

So there I was in front of my laptop, with only 400 Euros in my bank account (please keep in mind this was 2016!). Ok, I knew by the time I had to leave, I would have another 330 Euros. But that was for the actual trip (things like food and other unforeseen expenses).

Your Europe itinerary comes down to money (again).

Years later, I’ve finally written a complete guide on how to plan a trip to Europe, and you should check it out if this is what you’re trying to figure out right now.

When you travel on a budget, planning plays a huge role.

I had the entire of Europe to choose my locations, so I was flexible about the places, not about the money. Europe on a budget was my only plan.

And I had only one place which was for sure on the list – Paris. But other than that, no clue.

The core of my trip was planning my European route, which depends on transport connections, prices, friends who live there and weather.

Everything was so tied up that it was hard to decide.

I checked the weather for the month and decided on the week I was going to be in Paris.

Then I had to find a cheap way to get there (by bus). That was my starting point. I knew I wanted to reach Paris, and I had an approximate date because I wanted sunshine, not rainy days.

However, I had a couple of rainy days too. September can be a weird month, but at least it was warm.

Other than Paris, I had no idea where to go next.

So I just checked all the possible destinations, sorting them by price and checking each one how much it would cost to get to another one from there. I was checking all options, in and out of Paris.

And then I sorted everything based on the price to get there. Remember that you also need to add the cost of transportation from the airport to the city centre.

Most budget airports are outside the cities, and a one-way trip to the city can be as much as 20 Euros. So I had to check that too.

Also, I was trying to find the perfect balance between the number of places to visit and the time spent in each city. I don’t like to rush through cities.

When you travel for more than a few days, it will get you exhausted, and it’s a good idea to plan some resting days too.

I am going to walk you through my method of building a cheap itinerary in Europe and will explain each destination as I build the final list of stops from my Euro backpacking trip.

My Strategy for Planning the Cheapest Possible Europe Trip

After I had an idea of where I wanted to go first (Paris), I was on a mission to find the best and cheapest way to get there.

Sure, there were 100 Euros train tickets and even more expensive plane tickets, but I was looking to find something less than 50 Euros to get there. When I say travel budget in Europe, I mean it.

At that time, I was based in Klagenfurt, Austria.

The plane was out of the question (in Austria). Too expensive. Then, I opened Google Maps and started to check trains and buses to get there, or somewhere close to France anyway.

That’s how I got to book a train to Frankfurt via Vienna.

It was the best option for me, and it was a perfect opportunity to visit Frankfurt as well. And I was getting closer to Paris. It sounded like a good plan.

I had no friends in Frankfurt, but one night, I decided to use Couchsurfing.

Now they have a Lauda Motion, a low-cost airline flying to Vienna, and life is so much better. It’s like Ryanair, literally. You buy the tickets on the same website!

I wrote all about transport in Europe in this post: How to plan a budget trip to Europe.

Frankfurt

When travelling in Europe, the train can be expensive. Next plan: flying. Yes, there are cheap airlines, low-cost, but at the time, they were not in Austria. So, I found a pretty decent train ticket to Frankfurt.

Ok, so I decided to spend 2 days (1 night) there.

And on the second day, I found a night bus from Frankfurt to Zurich. I was getting closer to Paris, without spending all my money on the train ticket.

Zurich

The great advantage of that cheap night bus was that I was leaving Frankfurt at midnight and arriving in Zurich, Switzerland, in the morning. That gave me the entire day to explore Frankfurt and also a full day in Zurich.

Taking two buses was cheaper than taking the train directly to Paris, so that’s why I added Zurich to my European tour map.

Only for one day, and then I took another night bus to Paris.

For that one day in Zurich,I locked my backpack in a locker at the train station, for which I paid quite a lot. I don’t remember exactly because the prices are in Francs, but I would say it was around 8 Euros.

I wasn’t expecting it, but I got to see Zurich.

Also, I’m glad I didn’t get any other ideas because that place is so expensive. No wonder they don’t care about the European Union stuff.

A sandwich at the metro was 10 Euros. A stamp = 3 Euros and a postcard = 3 Euros. A beer = 7 Euros (2016). Enough said.

After one sunny day in Zurich, I hopped on another night bus to Paris. By this time, I was so tired my body was hurting. I recommend booking a night bus only if you are under 25 or desperate.

Paris

The next morning, I arrived in Paris.

Paris is huge. Therefore, I had many transport options. Low-cost airlines, buses, trains, and Bla Bla car.

Everything. My thoughts on Paris here (sarcasm included).

I spent one week in Paris. Here’s a useful guide on how to spend 2 days in Paris.

If Paris is on your list, book the Louvre in advance because the queue without a ticket is genuinely brutal.

A few days with a friend and the rest of the week with someone I found on Couchsurfing.

Having friends in Dublin, I decided to go there next. The plane ticket was cheap; I bought it five weeks ago. I spent six days in Dublin.

Note that the duration of each stay was also determined by the day on which the cheapest flights were available.

So if the next cheap flight was in six days, then I would stay six days. If there was a cheap flight in seven days, then I would stay seven days; that was my reasoning.

Dublin

From Dublin, the options were not so many. And going too far from home was not an option because it meant an expensive return ticket. (Yes, I’ve tested all the options.

Also, there are lots of things to do in Dublin that do not include visiting a bar.

And if you make it to Ireland, I can’t recommend enough going to Northern Ireland and visiting the Giant’s Causeway. It’s just magical.

Copenhagen

From Dublin, I found that Copenhagen was really cheap at that time. It’s ironic, considering how crazy expensive Denmark is. So I bought that cheap plane ticket to Copenhagen.

Here’s a curated list of top things to do in Copenhagen on your first trip. Since then, I have visited this gorgeous city once more.

I spent another six days there—the same reasoning with the plane prices.

From there, the options were already limited. It was either a long time on a bus or a plane.

I had to get closer to Austria, so I was looking for destinations closer to my home base. I was looking for a destination that had a cheap on-land connection to the home.

Milan

While I couldn’t find anything, a bus, train, or plane to take me closer to Austria, I checked prices for plane tickets to Italy.

If you are in for a special treat, try to book a day trip from Milan, since it’s so close to Lake Como.

Most of the time, planes to Milan have a great price, going from all over Europe.

My plane was less than 25 EUR. You can still find similar tickets today, but you will need to add an extra carry-on or checked luggage, since the rules for luggage have changed since then.

But back in 2016, for 25 EUR, I flew from Copenhagen to Milan.

That’s why I decided to go to Milan for one night. And the perk of this destination was that there was a direct, cheap night train heading home in Southern Austria—total bliss.

For complete disclosure, that train was a night train, which was about 26 EUR, but that’s still better than a night bus because you have room to move.

How to Find Cheap Accommodation in Europe for a Month (What Actually Works)

Accommodation will either make or break your budget for a month in Europe. Here’s exactly how I kept it close to zero.

This step is a highly important step. Accommodation in Europe is not cheap.

A cheap hostel is around 20 Euros per night, and then when you multiply that by 30 nights… It’s not gonna go well if you’re on a budget. It’s not an option for a 1-month trip in Europe.

So when you are looking to find cheap accommodation in Europe, try taking a night bus/train and save that money. Two in one. Transport and accommodation. Although the level of comfort declines.

*After spending 2 nights in a row on a bus, I felt so tired, the first thing I did when I arrived in Paris was to sleep for 5 hours.*

As a last resort, check Booking for some cheap hostels, and always make sure you have a little extra money. For emergencies, you know?

If you happen to meet friends on the way (or make new ones), a nice flat on Airbnb could save you for the night.

I was also confused whether I should even consider expensive cities like Copenhagen. I had no idea if I should visit that place. But the weather was great. (I was constantly checking the weather, monthly predictions, etc.).

I knew nobody there, or so I thought. I literally searched on Facebook for “Friends who live in Copenhagen.”

I have a friend from high school living there. (After arriving there, I realised I had another friend and two colleagues from the university there. I guess most people are over Facebook at this point, because most of us don’t update our profiles anymore.)

The only two places in which I had no friends prior to my trip were Frankfurt and Milan. I spent only one night in each, so I used Couchsurfing to find a host.

All in all, I’m grateful for all the wonderful people I’ve met and for all their help. This backpacking trip made me realise that people are genuinely kind. Most of them, anyway.

I met amazing people, more than welcoming, and I totally recommend it. I also used the Couchsurfing app a lot to find a buddy for a day, visit a museum, or eat ice cream.

I said it before, and I will say it again – Couchsurfing is More Than Just a Free Bed For The Night.

To sum it up, here are my tips for finding cheap accommodation in Europe:

• Check hostel beds. Try to get a bed in a smaller room for more comfort. If you’re travelling to popular locations (such as Paris or London), book well in advance.
• Check out Couchsurfing. Nowadays, you need a subscription to access it, but I believe it is for the better, as it keeps the weirdos out.
• Research hotel location. In the end, it might be worth paying a bit more for a place that is conveniently located, so you will save much more on transport tickets.
• Reach out to friends and former colleagues. I bet most of them won’t mind helping you out for a couple of days.

How to Pick Travel Dates to Save the Most Money in Europe

Considering the lowest costs for that given time frame, planning a trip in Europe required lots of price checking and notes about different options. It was almost like a game of chess, but the outcome was all up to me.

I picked the days based on the price of the ticket. For example, taking a plane from Copenhagen to Milan was half price on a Monday than on Saturday or Sunday.

The cheapest plane tickets are during the week. Monday – Wednesday. The night buses/trains were also cheaper. Or the ones leaving very early in the morning.

A lot of my mornings were spent chasing a train somewhere in those cities. Or arriving. Which is great if you want to make the most out of your day there.

The Apps and Tools I Used to Plan a Budget Month in Europe

These are the exact tools I used in 2016, plus what I’d add today that didn’t exist back then.

Google Maps – whenever the obvious departure and arrival point had too expensive tickets, I stared at the map and searched for “What is close enough and can be cheaper?” (That was a question for me, not Google.)

OBB – The Austrian railway company. It’s cheap if you buy it a week before. It’s comfortable. The connections are great. Love it. I was always trying to use the train whenever getting in or out of the country.

Flixbus is a bus company which operates in many countries in Europe. Probably the cheapest one. It’s a bus; it’s ok. But it can be late, so don’t plan to catch a plane after a bus ride. Take some hours in between as a safety measure. And regarding safety, well… it’s like a car. A lot of things can happen on the highway.

Ryanair is a low-cost European airline with great connections and really cheap tickets. Each plane ticket (Paris – Dublin, Dublin – Copenhagen, Copenhagen – Milan was less than 26 Euros.

Sure, nowadays, they have changed their policies, and they basically charge extra for everything (cabin luggage, seat selection, etc.), but it is still a cheap airline.

Just make sure to follow all their rules, and you won’t be charged extra. Install their mobile phone to always have the boarding pass on hand!

Please check out my guide on planning a Europe trip for my best and updated tips. If budget isn’t an issue, you can also turn this trip into a European road trip.

One thing I didn’t have in 2016 that I’d use today is DiscoverCars for any leg of the trip where a rental car makes sense (especially if you’re going anywhere off the main train routes).

Kiwi is one of my favourites to check for all kinds of flight connections. Low cost or not, this is worth checking, and I love it.

Couchsurfing is an online platform for travellers, open-minded people who have a great passion for travelling and love meeting fellow travellers and/or locals. I used it to find people to hang out with or to find a place to stay. Great, amazing community. Too bad some speak poorly of it. I have many amazing memories because of it, and I have many more friends because of it. Read more about my experiences with Couchsurfing.

What else to keep in mind? Booking.com, in case you need a last-minute place to stay.

Don’t forget about travel insurance! You should always be on the safe side!

Check out the ultimate list for how to travel cheap in Europe for one month in Europe!

Destinations for my 1-month trip in Europe

Oh boy, I felt exhausted after a day of sitting in a chair and killing time on the internet. And extremely proud of my achievement. And not a single night had to be spent in a hostel. Mastery.

The total cost of my transport, which I had to book, was 170 Euros.

The year of this trip was 2016. After I added the price of the food and other costs (museums, city transport), it added up to 800 Euros.

This is what my final itinerary looked like.

Klagenfurt (Austria) – Frankfurt (Germany) – Zurich (Switzerland) – Paris (France) – Dublin (Ireland) – Copenhagen (Denmark) – Milan (Italy) – Klagenfurt (Austria)

If you’re looking for a Europe itinerary for your first European adventure, check out my recommended itinerary for 3-weeks in Europe. I promise it will be fabulous.

What I Learned From Planning My Own Backpacking Trip in Europe

I was always waiting for someone else to bring me along on their trips or plan everything for me. Oh, I had no idea what I was missing.

This simple, basic thing gives a feeling of self-control and confidence, and it illustrates how, in the end, we can manage everything.

What’s in it for you when planning a trip to Europe for yourself?

You get to decide each step of the way, how long you stand, and what to see. You truly feel like you have complete control over your life.

I manage to travel more cheaply and decide my own pace of travelling, destinations, and means of transport.

And it put a smile on my face on those mornings when, at 3 a.m., I was waking up and heading to the airport. Because it was all me. Every second of it was my idea, and I happily embraced it.

But I had to put in the work. Nothing worth having comes easy or cheaply. And cheap isn’t always about the money.

Thanks for reading (assuming you made it this far).

This is my strategy for planning a backpacking trip to Europe, and I hope it helps.

Years later, I still read this blog post and find it hard to understand how I did it, but this is proof that most things happen when you HAVE to make them happen, not when you have extra cash to pump into your 1-month trip to Europe.

Travelling on a budget to Europe happens only when you are truly committed to living on a budget, and the reality is that not all of us are. Unfortunately.

There is still a lot to be said, but I hope you got the idea. Anyway, feel free to tell me about your plans and travel ideas, and I will try my best to help you. When I don’t travel, it makes me really happy to help someone else travel!

If you don’t have a full month, I recommend this 2-week Europe itinerary.

Hope my tips will help you plan your month-long trip to Europe.