The train may have cheaper tickets as you are under 15. 40 for each return rail trip. This tends to be a little cheaper than the normal train fare. Most trains are already full for those dates. You will find in most major European cities, people do not give one another as much physical space as you are probably accustom to. Be careful of pick pockets, they operate EVERYWHERE. When you sit at a outside cafe, have your bag handles around your arm or look around a chair leg to prevent your bags from disappearing. Use public transportation as much as you can.

You can get discount train tickets at AAA for some European connections before heading over. Always keep change in your pocket for bus, subway, tube fares. Most trains travel on schedule. Travel as light as you can. It will be the cheapest and easiest way to make phone calls. SIM cards once you are there.

Plug it in and good to go.

You might get a bit of sticker shock at some big cities. US currency has been loosing its value against EURO and British Pounds steadily in the last 7 years. The standard of living in some eastern European countries are different. It is the high season for tourism. For places to shop and dine, check out Time Out publications.

They have weekly magazines for some cities that you can purchase at newstands. For weekly shows, special events, coupons the magazine is a good place to look. They also publish books on restaurants, pubs etc. Eurostar or Eurailpass, which has fine print and comes with hidden supplemental costs such as reservation charges and disparity in fares for international crossings within Europe.

And most passengers tend to sleep in trains so, the beauty of the European countryside largely goes unobserved by foreign tourists. However, to travel budget air, you need to finalize your itinerary well in advance and adhere to it strictly. One advantage of budget air travel is you can save a lot of time and cover more countries than the railway passes can offer. And, you can also enjoy the flexibility of choosing your destination, unlike by trains, where youll have to go where the railway network goes. And the whole Eurozone has very high taxation rates. Food costs in comparison with the US, are rather high in the EU, especially at restaurants. However, several supermarkets do sell cooked local food in microwaveable containers, which are fairly inexpensive. The size of servings is also good enough unless you have a very large appetite. Youth hostels usually have a microwave. EUR50 because in most shops and stores, higher value notes are not accepted from foreigners as they can be suspected fakes. NEVER keep any of these in your jacket since it can be easily forgotten somewhere. Stolen passports of certain countries sell at a premium in one country across the Mediterranean and are used as a second identity by illegal migrants. Remember, you can get robbed in trains too, especially if you fall asleep on a rural or local line that halts frequently.