Forget expensive hostels in overcrowded cities. This guide reveals Europe's most rewarding budget destinations—places where your daily spending buys authentic experiences, not tourist traps. Discover mountain villages, forgotten coastal towns, and rural retreats where locals still greet strangers warmly and meals cost what they should. Learn proven strategies for stretching every euro: finding family-run guesthouses that cost less than hostels, accessing free outdoor adventures that rival paid tours, eating where locals eat for a fraction of restaurant prices, and using regional transport systems that tourists overlook. Each destination includes realistic daily budgets, seasonal pricing variations, and money-saving insider knowledge. From Romanian countryside retreats to Portuguese backroads, Albanian Riviera escapes to Polish hidden valleys, you'll find places where budget travel doesn't mean compromising on experience. These destinations reward curiosity over credit cards, offering the kind of authentic encounters and natural beauty that make backpacking worthwhile—all while keeping your savings intact for the next adventure.