EuroCheapo's Practical Info Articles

Overnight comfort with City Night Line. Photos © hidden europe magazine
Overnight comfort with City Night Line. Photos © hidden europe magazine

When Rail Journeys are Disrupted: Meet the Railteam Alliance

The great majority of our many rail journeys across Europe work perfectly. Most trains really do arrive punctually. But from time to time Europe’s railways do have bad days, particularly when bad weather rolls in and plays havoc with schedules. When winter strikes In three of the last five winters, we have had at least » Read more

Comment
Posted in Belgium, Berlin, Brussels, Europe, France, Germany, Hamburg, hidden europe, London, Practical Info, Train, transportation, United Kingdom
Amsterdam: 10 easy ways to save time when visiting

Amsterdam: 10 easy ways to save time when visiting

By Audrey Sykes in Amsterdam— Even during the off season Amsterdam is a busy place. Lines for museums are common, stuffy buses are all too familiar, and traveling in and out of the city can take some time. Here are 10 ways to keep you from playing the waiting game and make the most out » Read more

Comment
Posted in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Practical Info, Trip Planning
European Rail Services: Big changes in Greece

European Rail Services: Big changes in Greece

Cast back to just 18 months ago, and the departure boards at Thessaloniki railway station were rather interesting. The city boasted direct train services to ten different European countries. In those days, one could hop aboard a train in Thessaloniki and travel, without once having to change trains, to distant Prague and even-further-distant Moscow. No » Read more

Comments (1)
Posted in Athens, Bulgaria, Greece, hidden europe, Macedonia, Practical Info, Train, transportation, Trip Planning, Turkey
New York: A guide to tipping for foreign tourists

New York: A guide to tipping for foreign tourists

By Desiree Browne in New York— New York business owners and workers consider foreign tourists notoriously bad tippers. To be fair, many tourists are visiting from countries that don’t expect substantial tipping. And face it, eating, drinking, traveling and getting beautiful in New York is already pretty expensive, even without the gratuity thrown in at » Read more

Comments (3)
Posted in Ask the Cheapos, Bars, Drinks, Money Matters, New York, Practical Info, Travel Smarts, United States
London: 4 ways to save on public transportation

London: 4 ways to save on public transportation

By Nina Derham in London— London is a costly city in many ways, but public transport prices are really ludicrous. For Londoners and commuters alike, January is an especially sore point and outrage spreads on an annual basis when the January 2nd price hikes come into force. 2012 is no exception, as this year the » Read more

Comments (2)
Posted in Alternative Transportation, City Transportation, London, Practical Info, transportation, United Kingdom
Should you fly or take the train around Europe? It depends…

Should you fly or take the train around Europe? It depends…

By Tom Meyers— A few months ago I had to make a key decision while planning a trip from Paris to Berlin. Plane or train? I could take a €50 budget flight on easyJet and be there in about two hours. Or I could take the TGV to Germany, and then board an ICE train » Read more

Comments (12)
Posted in Airlines, Ask the Cheapos, Berlin, Budget Air Travel, France, Germany, Italy, London, Paris, Practical Info, Spain, Train, transportation, Trend Update
Amsterdam: 5 tourist scams to avoid

Amsterdam: 5 tourist scams to avoid

By Audrey Sykes in Amsterdam— Avoiding tourist scams is part of traveling, and Amsterdam, like any major city, has its fair share of rip offs. There are situations that feel like a scam because they’re simply disappointing (“tourist traps”), and then there are the ones that are downright scandalous (“scams”). We’re focusing on the latter » Read more

Comment
Posted in Amsterdam, Ask the Cheapos, City Transportation, Netherlands, Practical Info, Safety, Travel Smarts
Free Wi-Fi in New York: Where to go online for free

Free Wi-Fi in New York: Where to go online for free

By Desiree Browne in New York— Most visitors to New York these days bring along a laptop or a smartphone, handy for checking emails, finding things to do, and calling home on Skype. The trouble is, using these devices can be pricey, considering what many hotels charge to use their Wi-Fi. But never fear, the » Read more

Comment
Posted in Media, New York, Practical Info, technology, United States
Paris: Only buy your water at the supermarket!

Paris: Only buy your water at the supermarket!

By Tom Meyers— Here’s a quick tip for you: When traveling in Paris (or really in any city in our guide), buy your bottled water at a nearby supermarket and not at a newsstand, sidewalk vendor, or train station kiosk where they will have tacked on a steep mark-up. The supermarket is the obvious “local” » Read more

Comments (2)
Posted in cheapo by the day, Food, France, Paris, Practical Info, tips, Travel Smarts
Venice: 5 simple ways to save in Venice

Venice: 5 simple ways to save in Venice

By Jessica Spiegel— While Venice is high on the list of most visitors to Italy, it’s also one of the more challenging places to be a Cheapo – no matter how you slice it, this is one expensive city. After spending the bulk of your travel budget on airfare to Italy, which is always more » Read more

Comments (3)
Posted in Alternative Transportation, Italy, Money Matters, Practical Info, tips, Venice