Yes, you can. We have done it twice!
Here are some tips for serious travellers:
1. Book Into Hostels
You pay only a quarter of what you would pay for hotel rooms and hotel accomodation is exorbitant in Europe. Hostels are not just cheaper, they are often more roomy and homely.
2. Don´t Eat In Restaurants
Instead try Turkish joints - kebabs, rice, grills, pizza. You will pay half of what you pay in restaurants (including Burger King). Also cheap to eat at open markets. We ate pork knucles at only 3.9 Euro and the servings feed two!
3. Do Brunch and Dinner
Eat at 10.30 am and 5 pm. Get a snack for supper if you are hungry. You save some money.
4. Buy snacks and drinks from supermarts.
Drinks at food joints can cost double. So get your drinks, fruits and sandwiches from supermarts.
5. Buy three meals to feed four persons and share.
They serve food in quite big proportions in Europe. So just buy for three if four are eating together.
6. Carry ziplog bags
Then you can ta-pau what you cannot finish and eat it later. Food is kept relatively fresh because of the cold.
7. Bring your own ketchup, sambal belachan and wet wipes.
You pay for ketchap in Europe and they have no chilli sauce, so sambal belachan goes a long way and keeps you in touch with your roots.
8. Walk as much as you can
Train or tram rides are expensive. Get a city guide map at the Tourist Info counter at train stations and just keep walking to the places of interest.
9. Use the Student Card for discounts
If you are under 26 and are studying, apply for an International Student Card before you leave Singapore. With it, you can get discounts on trains, musuems and concerts.
10. Buy full day metro/tram/train tickets.
In bigger cities, where walking is not possible, it is cheaper to buy full day tickets then single trip tickets to run around. Full day tickets allow you to take unlimited rides at just one price. In Vienna, we bought a 24-hour ticket for 5.7 Euro. A single ticket costs 1.7 Euro.
11. If you must shop try H & M or New Yorker.
The prices are comparible to any department store in Singapore and the quality in good, especially if you are looking for winter jackets, gloves, scarf or cabs.
12. Fly budget within Europe.
Book early via the internet. Budget flights within European cities can be very cheap, especially in winter. For example, the flight from Brussels to Budapest cost us only 29.90 Euro per person, inclusive of tax and fuel charges.
13. Carry minimum luggage
It helps you move from place to place. You will need to move from trains to trams and then pull your luggage along. So travel light. You don´t sweat much, so clothes don´t smell.
14. Plan your own trip. Avoid tours.
It gives you greater freedom. You learn more and it is so much cheaper. Tour agents will charge $3900 for an 11-day three countries tour of Europe. You can do that on your own with half that amount, inclusive of airfare.
15. The journey is more important than the destination.
The purpose of holidays shouldn´t be just to see places. It should be to capture memories with loved ones and learn lessons that will bond relationships. So enjoy the journey, even if you never like the destinations you get to.
