Cycling near Lake Constance, one of our budget friendly trips in Europe
Blog home / Europe On The Cheap: Eight Active Trips For Less Than £500
The best budget holidays in Europe that won’t break the bank
The Camino - from £495 per person
Did you know that you can walk the
Camino for less than £500? The route
from Sanabrés to Santiago is one of the oldest Camino routes. The quiet, rural paths predate Christian pilgrims, going back to when Celt, Phoenician and Roman traders travelled the lands. Their use of the trail resulted in many hospices, temples and monasteries being built, which complement perfectly the beautiful Galician landscape today.
Normandy - from £495 per person
Normandy is the land of William the Conqueror and this
coastal walk heads through the ‘calvados’ (apple brandy) heartland, where visits to the cellars and pressing sheds are an essential part of the local experience! For history aficionados, this cheap trip in Europe also offers the opportunity to trace the historic sites of World War II’s Battle of Normandy on a reflective walk from Arromanches, where the British forces established an artificial Mulberry harbour, to Bayeux, close to the British War Cemetery.
The Cotswolds - from £430 per person
Britain’s largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the
Cotswolds landscape features a patchwork of gentle hills dotted with picture postcard villages and rustic old pubs (perfect for leisurely lunches!). It is one of the most quintessentially English parts of the country and this trip, our cheapest trip in the UK, is specially crafted for anyone who wants a
soft introduction to walking in the English countryside, dotted with will ancient castles, manor houses, old abbeys and Roman villas.
Balkan Mountains - from £495 per person
A
walk in the Balkan Mountains offers the perfect alternative mountain experience in Europe, full of lush green valleys, sheer cliffs, peaceful forests and quaint villages. Teeming with history and beautiful natural landscapes,
Bulgaria is a land where time stands still: old water mills are still in operation, sheep graze peacefully in their pastures, farmers still make hay with a pitchfork and wooden carts pulled by horse are the norm.
Alentejo - from £490 per person
The Alentejo is a contrasting landscape of wild beauty, where tourists rarely visit despite endless beaches and authentic fishing villages: the region covers a third of Portugal’s landmass but only 4% of its population! The long-distance
Rota Vicentina footpath is an eco-tourism initiative developed to promote low impact tourism in this unspoilt corner of Portugal. It is split into two sections,
the Fishermen’s Trail and a
coastal walk in the Algarve to Cape St Vincent, Portugal’s southwesternmost point.
Mount Olympus - from £450 per person
The mythical
Mount Olympus, the alleged home of the 12 Ancient Greek Gods, is a landscape of mighty plateaus, ridges and gorges. It was the first ever National Park in Greece, with its lower flanks protected as a World Biosphere Reserve. On this
guided walk, you can expect spectacular vistas as you trek to various peaks – there are 52 in total! Depending on weather conditions you may even make it to Mytikas (‘nose’), the mountain’s highest peak at 2,918 metres.
Lake Constance - from £450 per person
If you are looking for a cheap trip in Europe, want to clock up the miles and have a good ride out with the opportunity to visit three countries in three days, this
cycling trip is hard to look past! Bordered by Germany, Switzerland and Austria, the circular path around
Lake Constance, Europe’s third largest lake, is ideal for leisurely cycling, with the amazing landscape of the blue water set against the stunning backdrop of the Alps.
Isle of Wight - from £470 per person
Pick up your hire bike at the traditional seaside resort of Ryde and let your
cycling holiday begin! The
Isle of Wight exists in many ways in its own time warp: half of the island is an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ and everything is on a manageable scale. There are no huge towns or big industrial blights but long chalky downs, sandy beaches and enchanting woodlands. You will find plenty of ice cream and fish ’n’ chip shops, but also traditional pubs, quiet paths, historical churches and gems of villages.