EuroCheapo's Practical Info Articles

New York City bar
Tip your bartender at least $1 per drink. Photo: Caro Scuro

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 (6)
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 (17)
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
Bus and Coach Travel in Europe: Understanding the difference

Bus and Coach Travel in Europe: Understanding the difference

Okay, most folk at EuroCheapo HQ just love trains. And so do we. Exploring Europe by rail is generally civilized and convenient, but there are occasions when it just makes sense to hop on a bus or a coach. Several coaches each day speed from Riga to Tallinn in less than five hours. Just once » Read more

Comments (2)
Posted in Bus, City Transportation, hidden europe, Practical Info, transportation, United Kingdom
Train Travel in Europe: The substitute bus

Train Travel in Europe: The substitute bus

Rail travelers through Germany who have no great aptitude for languages usually manage to pick up the bare essentials after a few days. Among those essentials is the marvelously Germanic compound tongue-twister Schienenersatzverkehr (“SEV” for short). It’s not a word you’ll want to use a lot. And it’s not a word you’ll want to hear too » Read more

Comment
Posted in Alternative Transportation, Bordeaux, Bus, Finland, France, hidden europe, Practical Info, Train, transportation, Travel Smarts, United Kingdom
Barcelona: Where to find free Wi-Fi in Barcelona

Barcelona: Where to find free Wi-Fi in Barcelona

By Regina W. Bryan in Barcelona— Cheapos rejoice! There are plenty of ways to Tweet, Dig, Tumble and surf in Barcelona for free. While many hotels and hostels in Barcelona have free Internet access (or should, anyway), here are a few options for when you want to get out of your dimly lit hotel room. » Read more

Comment
Posted in Barcelona, Practical Info, Spain, technology