Best Europe travel deals for Australians

The latest deals and all the tips on how to find the best prices yourself on your next trip to the UK, France, Italy and more.

As Australian cools down and the northern hemisphere warms up, we love fleeing to the sunnier climes of the Mediterranean and exploring historic cities in the more favourable weather. And if you take advantage of these Europe travel deals and follow our tips on how to get there for less, it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.

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How to get the best Europe travel deals

Finding cheap Europe flights

The key to finding the best deal on flights to Europe really is all about being flexible.

📆 Make the most of deal calendars. Airlines like Qantas, and flight aggregators like Skyscanner, offer a great calendar to see price availability over a month so you can see when the lowest price is available. For example, the below is for a search of flights on Skyscanner from Perth to Paris. You can easily see the lowest prices available across the entire month.

⏱ Be flexible about when you’re travelling. Avoid travelling during the European summer as this is when prices soar. Opt for the shoulder season (May to June and September to October) when weather is still nice (but may not be perfect) and prices are a lower.

Peak summer in Europe is mid-June through the end of August, and because of that these will be the most expensive times to fly there from Australia.

✈️ Be flexible about who you fly with. Getting the best price often means flying with airlines that aren’t rated five stars. But, when it comes to comfort and inclusions, it doesn’t mean having to give everything up.

For example, in this Amsterdam flight deal, the airline included in the deal was China Eastern. It included checked baggage, entertainment and meals. The seat pitch is actually slightly more on China Eastern flights compared to the more-expensive Qantas.

🗺 Accept, and make the most of a layover. It may take extra time, but booking a flight with a stopover can save you money. Lots of it. And with the flight to Europe from Australia being so long, it can be nice to break it up. Cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, and the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) all offer visa-free stopovers for Australians so if you have a long stop, you’re able to explore the city hassle-free.

📧 Sign up for deals newsletters from airlines to know when the sales are. Most major airlines offer an email newsletter that will tell all subscribers about the latest sales. Signing up for them can help you get in on the deals as early as possible before they sell out.

Getting a deal on Europe hotels

Like flights, European hotels tend to be the most expensive during peak season, which is lucky for you if you’re catching a flight deal then as you’ll be able to save on hotels too!

If you’re just looking for the cheapest option, we’d recommend starting with an aggregator like HotelsCombined or Kayak. They can show you prices of multiple hotels on a few different sites all at once instead of having to perform multiple searches.

We also like comparing prices of hotels to Airbnbs. Sometimes they do work out cheaper and give you a great local experience so you can get a taste for what it’s like to live in a European city.

Scoring the best price on tours

Day tours

It doesn’t always pay to book in advance when it comes to day tours. From experience, shopping around locally can sometimes get you a better deal. So, unless it’s something that sells out, we’d recommend waiting until you get to the destination. Ask the staff at your hotel, check out local sites and checking directly with an attraction or tour company what the price should be.

If you are booking online, there’s almost always a sale going on with sales like Klook, GetYourGuide and Viator. make sure to check out sites that will give you extra savings, like ones that give you discounts for using their app or a deal for signing up for their newsletters.

Multi-day tours

Multi-day tours are often the cheapest if you book them very far in advance or at the last-minute, but trying to match that up with a flight deal can certainly make things tricky.

But, like flights, tours are often cheaper outside of peak season. For example, this “Rome to London Trail” tour from Contiki is $104 cheaper if travelling before mid-June. With other tours, the price difference can be even greater.

Like day trips, checking out companies that will dive you discounts for signing up to a newsletter is a super-easy way to save a little extra on your holiday. Companies like Contiki and Trafalgar both sell multi-day tours in Europe and offer a discount for signing up.

Most tours companies also have sale sections on their sites that are well worth checking out. Here’s a link to a few:

• Contiki: 10-20% off tours worldwide, including Europe
• G Adventures: Up to 20% off worldwide tours
• Globus: Sales for savings of up to $1,000 off tours or bonus Qantas points with your booking.
• Intrepid: Last-minute travel deals for hundreds off tours.
• Topdeck: Last-minute deals and savings on off-season departures.
• Trafalgar: Save more than $1,000 on select departures
• TravelTalk: Frequent deals for up to 50% off tours

Looking for more tips and tricks to getting the cheapest trip to Europe possible? Read our guide on the cheapest times to travel to Europe.

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