How To Book Roundtrip Flights To Europe For Under $400

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  

Do you think travel to Europe is unaffordable?  I have some good news for you – this week I found two RT flights to Europe for under $400 – cheaper than many domestic flights!  I doubt these prices/seats will last too long, so if you’re interested, I’d recommend you book quickly and use these tips to start saving up!

The Details

• Departure: IAD or BWI (This is the Washington, DC area).  DC is about 5 hours from us, but at this price, if you’re within driving distance of DC, it is absolutely worth it to rent a car so you can fly out of there!
• Destination: Amsterdam 
• Airline: Icelandair
• Logistics: You’ll have a brief layover in Iceland.  We have used this option several times – a few with WOW Air that no longer exists and once with Icelandair and loved our experience.

How Did I Find These Deals?

• Major Airports – Sure, it’s more convenient to fly out of airports closer to us like Raleigh or Charlotte, but it’s usually not as affordable.  This dilemma led us to search departures from larger airports like BWI, which has been a treasure trove of cheap flights for us over the past few years.  We’ve also flown out of Miami once (we got a $200 one way ticket to Belgium).
• We use a combination of Kayak Explore and Hopper to find the cheapest dates, departure cities, and destinations.
• We always use gateway cities! Amsterdam, London, Paris, Brussels, and Barcelona have all seemed to be reasonably cheap to fly into recently.  For this deal specifically, if Amsterdam doesn’t sound like your cup of tea – no worries. It’s just a means to an end.  Once you’re in Europe, flying to other cities is incredibly cheap (usually around 40-80 Euros).  Check out Rome2Rio for details on transportation within Europe.  We’ve used a combination of trains, flights, and ferries for inexpensive travel within Europe.
• Flying on Tuesdays – not exactly convenient for maximizing your time off, but it tends to be the cheapest day to fly if you have some flexibility.

Once In Europe

I suggest you check out Intrepid Travel if you’re looking for a small group, guided tour while in Europe.  They’re currently running a $1 deposit promotion until February 15th, so this pairs well with the airfare deal!  Check out my thoughts on the Balkan Adventure Trip I took with them a few years back – amazing!!  Also, if you need some help with what to pack or how to prepare for your first international trip, I have some great suggestions for you in this post and on my Amazon Favorites List!

Thanks for reading!  Let me know if you snag one of these deals or if you have any questions – I’ll be glad to help!  Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Facebook to be the first to hear about more great budget travel deals!

Emily