Teenage travel tips to knock around in Europe on a budget

Do you want to travel all over the world at a young age? Then there are a number of things you need to consider to make that a reality.

And now that I am at the end of my teenage years and venturing into my twenties, I figured it would be a good time to be sharing my experiences in planning and taking my four-week trip to Europe in the summer of 2024.

I got to visit many places in Poland and Italy during a wonderful summer, but it took a lot of thought and hard work.

Formulating the plan

Every plan starts with a vision and how you picture yourself. It might be from a picture in a magazine, your own head, or the universe giving a sign. For me, it happened in the kitchen in my home surrounded by my best girlfriend Ada and my best friend Maja. It was January 15, the day before I was to head back to school after winter break, and we were talking about what we would like to do for the summer. Ada and Maja spent summers in Poland and I wanted to join them this time around.

I had a goal, a fun goal. I started to get my hopes up, and I began to romanticize this goal coming alive, but it felt too good to be true to even start planning something so big. I was 18 at the time and I thought it was going to be impossible financially.

This pushed me harder and harder to save money and to double check on what I was going to spend my money on. This is what really makes the challenge hard, but there are ways to change your mindset. And changing my mindset pushed me through.

When I would go out with friends to the mall or on any shopping spree, and I felt like I wanted to buy an item that is categorized under “stuff,” I would think. “Would I rather spend my money on another tote bag, or could I use this money to put towards a drink or meal while on my planned vacation?” The key is to really determine where your money is going and how it is going to serve you. Do you see yourself happy with what you purchased? Is it going to give you a temporary or permanent satisfaction?

“Money can’t buy you happiness” is one of the most debatable phrases that anyone can express, and in my personal opinion, it can! It just depends on what you use it for. I love to travel, whether it’s in this country or out into a completely different culture. I like to see what the world has to offer. All of that comes with a price.

I had made a pen pal from Italy back in 2021, I had never stayed in contact with someone for so long in a different country. Once the friendship started to build up, two years later Leo told me that he was going to do a multi-city American tour – Chicago, Washington DC, and NYC.

I had told him that I lived pretty close to NYC, and I decided to finally meet up with Leo when he got there. Once we met up, he already started to make plans for me to visit him in Italy. I was excited from the start and started to envision myself there. I became worried about the cost and traveling solo. I never thought, at the time, that it would be a reality. The offer was there, though, a friend that I have abroad wants me to come visit since I made him feel welcomed in on his overseas trip to the US.

Ada and Maja both have family and friends living in Poland, whom they visit during the summer months. Ada told her best friend from Poland, Karola, about me and Karola became so excited that she invited me to Poland herself. I became hesitant because I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to quickly accept the offer even though in my head I was screaming and jumping up and down.

Plans became more serious as Ada’s uncle said we could stay with him for a few weeks since it was only a 20 minute walk to Karola’s house. That accommodation and my pen pal in Italy provided great and inviting opportunities.

Spending tips

Yes I know you have been waiting for the actual tips of saving so here they are. So when this summer travel goal began with just an idea in January of 2024, it inspired me to work, a lot, and had me locked in until the day of my first purchase for the summer’s trip.

Since I was at a school in the middle of the nowhere in New England, that had no downtown, when I had no car, it wasn’t very hard for me to not spend a lot of money there. I was working for minimum wage at the school’s bookstore. I would work there every day after every class up until we closed, I would also take up weekend offers since the store was closed on weekends and special holidays to get more hours.

I was determined to save up as much money as possible and put the majority of my paycheck away so that I could pay for every last bit of that trip.

Instead of being in a cold miserable state of the current school I was at, I could indulge myself in daydreams with sunny beaches and gelato flavors overwhelming my palette, or date nights with my girlfriend in Poland. It’s all about envisioning these goals for yourself, and also awesome stories I could tell my nieces or nephews about my teenage years.

Limiting your spending, it might come off as a difficult challenge but you’ll then be proud of yourself when you buy that plane ticket or pay for that Airbnb that you feel so comfortable in surrounded by your friends and knowing that you did this with help but for the majority, it was because of your hard work.

If you’re worried about your parents saying no, when in doubt, make a presentation. Build up the trust and show responsibility if applied you have parents who are more strict or leery. Show them how passionate you are with your goals and why you should be allowed the privilege to travel. Show them that you can save up for these expenses and that you’ve done your research. Never expect a “no” out of anyone until you’ve shown them how passionate you have become of a goal.

Make lists and research everything, social media helps with all of the secret spots or the underrated places wherever you’d want to go. Pick people’s brains whether it’s an online friend or someone you might have met at school or wherever you may have ventured.

As a now 20-year-old world traveler, I have learned a lot from my teenage years and I’m going to miss them very much, a bittersweet moment if I may. I want teenagers to be able to explore the options that the world has to offer. Now just because you haven’t traveled far or anywhere in your teens, does not mean anything is wasted, people have started to travel even right before retirement! You are never too old or too young to travel, so have the most fun with it throughout your entire life and make fun plans out of planning.