Top Ten Tips for Traveling Smart in Europe

When the economy is jittery and the dollar is down, there is no need to put your vacation plans to Europe on hold. One just needs to travel smarter in order to turn their trip into a safe, smooth, and affordable reality.

1. Fly "open-jaw" (into one city and out of another): Save time and money by avoiding a costly return to your starting point. Try to start your itinerary in "mild" countries (such as England) and work into the places with greater culture shock (such as Turkey) to minimize stress. Save countries offering the cheapest shopping — and greatest health risks — for the end of your trip.

2. Use ATMs rather than travelers checks: You will get your cash cheaper and faster using an ATM. Just keep in mind that while ATMs give the best possible rates, they do come with transaction fees. Minimize fees by making fewer and larger withdrawals. Store the cash safely in your money belt.

3. Shop cheap and interesting: Do most of your shopping and gift buying in the cheaper countries where gifts are more interesting and your shopping dollar stretches the farthest. The difference is huge: for the cost of a pewter Viking ship in Oslo, you can buy an actual boat in Turkey.

4. Adapt to European tastes: Cultural chameleons drink tea in England, beer in Prague, red wine in France, and white wine on the Rhine. They eat fish in Portugal and reindeer in Norway. Going with the local specialties gets you the best quality and service for the best price.

5. Consider driving as a group: Four people sharing a car travel cheaper than four individuals buying four railpasses. Even at $6 a gallon, cars get great mileage and distances between sights are short. A single two-hour train ticket can cost you the price of a full tank of gas.

6. Pay with local cash: While credit cards get you a good exchange rate, many places offering Europe's best deals — from craft shops to bed & breakfasts — accept only cash.

7. Explore no-frills flights: Europe's highly competitive no-frills airlines (i.e. Ryanair, easyJet) can get you from one city to another faster and cheaper than the train . You generally book the flights yourself by phone or Web. Beware though: cheap airlines often use small airports located far from the city center, which can cost a little extra time and money for transportation.

8. Go business: During summer and weekends year-round in Brussels and the Scandinavian capitals, you can get a fancy business hotel room at a cheap one-star hotel price. It's not unusual to score a $300 double room for $100. Ask at each city's tourist information office.

9. Don't over-tip: Only Americans tip 15 to 20 percent in Europe, even tipping when it is already included or not expected. Ask locals (who are customers rather than employees of a restaurant) for advice. Generally, 5 to 10 percent is typical if service is not included.

10. Buy museum passes: Passes save time and money. The Paris Museum pass, for example, pays for itself in four visits and saves you hours by letting you skip long lines. With a pass you can also pop painlessly into sights that might otherwise not be worth the expense.

Top Ten Tips for Overcoming Language Barriers

Some people are afraid to travel abroad because they fear encountering a language barrier. You need not worry.

Here are some tips to make it easy to communicate with Europeans:

1. Speak slowly, simply, politely: Speak with simple words, pronouncing every letter. Make single nouns work as entire sentences and begin each request with PLEASE (e.g. "Bitte, toilet ?")

2. Can the slang: American dialect has become filled with slang not familiar to most Europeans. The sentence "Can the slang," for example, would baffle the average European.

3. Use internationally understood words: Many Europeans will draw a blank if you say "vacation," but light bulbs turn on when you say "holiday." If you say "restroom" or "bathroom," you will get no room — "toilet" is direct, simple, and understood.

4. Be melodramatic and not self-conscious: Exaggerate the local accent and use hand signals and body language to communicate. In France you will communicate more effectively (and have more fun) by sounding like Inspector Clouseau (and the locals will not be insulted). Use whatever French you do know. In Italy be melodic and exuberant. You must be uninhibited. Self-consciousness kills communication.

5. Figure things out: Most major European languages are related and come from Latin. The French word for Monday (our "day of the moon") is Lundi (lunar day). The Germans say the same thing — Montag. Sonne is sun, so Sonntag is Sunday. If "buon giorno" means good day, "zuppa del giorno" is soup of the day.

6. Practice: Read time schedules, posters, multilingual signs, graffiti in bathrooms, and newspaper headlines. Develop your ear for foreign languages by tuning in to the other languages on a multilingual tour. It's a puzzle. The more you play, the better you get.

7. Use a notepad: Words and numbers are much easier understood when they are written. To repeatedly communicate something difficult and important (such as medical instructions, "I'm a strict vegetarian," "boiled water," "well-done meat," "your finest ice cream"), write it in the local language on your notepad.

8. Go with your educated guess: The key is to see most communication problems as multiple-choice questions. Make an educated guess at the meaning of a message and proceed confidently as if you understand it correctly.

9. Fake it: Faking it applies to rudimentary things like instructions on customs forms, museum hours, and menus. With this approach you will find that 80 percent of the time you are correct. And if you are wrong, it does not really matter (and your trip will become much more interesting!).

10. Relax: Don't worry about making mistakes, and just try to relax. You will be surprised at how well you can communicate with a 20 word vocabulary by just making an effort and breaking the ice.

Top Ten Tips for Sleeping Cheap in Europe

Here are some tips for landing a cheap (and yes, clean and safe) room in Europe:

1. Think small: Larger hotels are usually pricier than small hotels or B&Bs.

2. Consider a chain: More hotel chains offering cheap or moderately priced rooms are springing up. You won't find character, but you'll get predictable Motel 6-type comfort.

3. Business Hotels: In Scandinavia, Brussels, and Berlin, business hotels need customers in the summer and on weekends, when their clientele is away. And, the later your arrival, the better the discount.

4. Don't stray from your needs: Know the government ratings. A three-star hotel is not necessarily a bad value, but if you stay in a three-star hotel, you may have spent $50 extra for things you don't need (a/c, elevators, room service, porters to carry bags).

5. Check prices and discounts: Room prices can vary greatly within a hotel (i.e. a shower is cheaper than a tub). If you want a cheap room, say it. Some have a few rooms needing renovation without private baths. They usually don't mention them, figuring they'd be unacceptable to Americans. And, if you plan to stay three or more nights, or if you pay in cash, it's worth asking if any discounts are available.

6. If it's off-season, bargain: Prices usually rise with demand during festivals and in July and August. Off-season, try bargaining. If its too expensive, tell them your limit; they might meet it.

7. Travel with a good guidebook: To sleep well and inexpensively on a big-city bed, you need a good guidebook's listing of hotels and budget alternatives. It's like having a friend check places out for you.

8. Consider hotel runners: As you step off the bus or train, you'll sometimes be met by hotel runners wielding pictures of their rooms for rent. They are usually just hardworking entrepreneurs who lack the guidebook listing that makes life easy for small hotel owners. If you like what the runner says, and the hotel isn't too far away (many are), follow him to his hotel. You are obliged only to inspect the hotel. If it's good, take it. If not, leave. You're probably near other budget hotels anyway.

9. The early bird gets the room: If you anticipate crowds, arrive in the morning when the most (and best) rooms are available. If the rooms aren't ready until noon, take one anyway. Leave your luggage behind the front desk; they'll move you in later.

10. Let hotel managers help: Have your current manager call ahead to make a reservation at your next destination (offer to pay for the call). If you're in a town and having trouble finding a room, remember that nobody knows the hotel situation better than local hotel managers.