A European getaway would not have to return with sky-high airfare. With many price range and legacy airways providing expanded transatlantic route schedules, competitors on pricing is intense. For frugal vacationers, meaning each extra choices for flights — and extra alternatives for offers.
Based on knowledge supplied to NerdWallet by Greenback Flight Membership, an airfare offers web site, sure routes supply constantly low fares. That makes cities like Reykjavík, Iceland; Lisbon, Portugal; and Barcelona, Spain, a number of the most inexpensive European locations to fly to from the U.S.
The most affordable common routes between the U.S. and Europe in 2025
Utilizing airfare knowledge from the ten largest U.S. airports based mostly on variety of passengers, Greenback Flight Membership recognized 14 routes the place common fares have been lower than $1,000 spherical journey.
These 14 routes (sorted by common fare) are:
Common fares have been based mostly on an evaluation of fifty,000 fares pulled on Jan. 27, 2025 for journeys from January by way of September 2025. The info included fares from a mixture of legacy and price range carriers.
Fares will fluctuate relying in your particular airport or journey date. However normally, figuring out these routes may be helpful in narrowing down the place in Europe to go. Iceland is likely one of the least expensive locations to fly into, making it a terrific alternative to ebook that bucket-list journey to see the northern lights or go to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa well-known for its ethereal milky-blue waters.
The most affordable flights to Europe in 2025
Common fares between Atlanta and Reykjavík, Iceland run simply $800 throughout the interval surveyed — and that’s simply the common. Precise costs can fluctuate by day. For instance, Greenback Flight Membership discovered flights on that very same route as little as $400.
Of the 50,000 fares that Greenback Flight Membership analyzed, right here have been another notable offers, damaged out by the ten largest airports within the U.S.:
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Atlanta (ATL) → Reykjavík (KEF) from $400, London (LON) from $480, Helsinki (HEL) from $545.
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Charlotte (CLT) → Rome (FCO) from $483, Dublin (DUB) from $545, Madrid (MAD) from $560.
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Chicago (ORD) → Frankfurt (FRA) from $435, Rome (FCO) from $450, Dublin (DUB) from $510.
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Dallas-Fort Price (DFW) → Amsterdam (AMS) from $525, Frankfurt (FRA) from $540, Rome (FCO) from $555.
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Denver (DEN) → Paris (CDG) from $480, Amsterdam (AMS) from $525, Frankfurt (FRA) from $540.
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Las Vegas (LAS) → Dublin (DUB) from $520, Madrid (MAD) from $535, Paris (CDG) from $550.
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Los Angeles (LAX) → Paris (CDG) from $430, Barcelona (BCN) from $499, Dublin (DUB) from $515.
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Miami (MIA) → Barcelona (BCN) from $410, Munich (MUC) from $412, Rome (FCO) from $420.
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New York (JFK) → Lisbon (LIS) from $405, Milan (MXP) from $440, Berlin (BER) from $480.
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Orlando (MCO) → Madrid (MAD) from $435, London (LHR) from $520, Rome (FCO) from $545.
Tips for touring cheaply in Europe
Be open-minded to lengthy layovers, stopovers and multi-city journeys
You don’t essentially should spend your European trip on the metropolis the place your transatlantic flight arrives or departs. These cities would possibly merely be beginning and ending factors on your journey.
Georgia Fowkes, an avid traveler and self-described “flight deal hunter” says she as soon as flew from her dwelling in Pittsburgh to São Miguel Island within the Portuguese Azores archipelago. A day-long stopover in Boston helped her get there for much less cash.
“It was a well-planned route with a built-in facet journey to Boston,” she says. “I used to be capable of squeeze in a mini-reunion with an previous high-school pal… and eat clam chowder.”
She paid $387 for the round-trip flight. Had she not been prepared to spend a day in Boston, her flight would have value practically $700.
Go throughout shoulder season
Summer season is usually a busy time to go to Europe as a result of children are out of college. Shoulder season, which is the interval between the excessive season and offseason, can supply the very best of each worlds, with delicate climate and seasonal actions nonetheless open.
Think about a late spring or early fall journey to Europe should you’re in search of decrease costs — and smaller crowds.
Save on lodging
As a substitute of staying at a lodge, think about a hostel. These are low-cost lodging choices, which generally have large rooms, bunkbeds and shared facilities, although many additionally supply personal rooms. Some hostels supply stays as little as 12 euros an evening.
Huge-name resorts are additionally including extra properties in Europe. Although they’re typically not the most cost effective type of lodging, they will supply alternatives to spend factors and miles, typically earned by way of bank card spending. Hilton Resorts & Resorts opened 10 resorts final summer time in Greece, Ibiza and Malta. And in January 2025, Hyatt Resorts Company introduced it will open resorts in additional European markets, together with Estonia, Iceland and Romania. The lodge model has additionally expanded its presence in Spain from simply 4 resorts in 2020 to 55 resorts as of the top of 2024.
After which there’s an ultra-affordable possibility.
“Couchsurfing continues to be alive and nicely too,” Fowkes stated. With couchsurfing, vacationers keep (usually without spending a dime) in locals’ properties, typically brokered by way of providers like Couchsurfing.com.
Journey by prepare by way of Europe
Apart from being a bit unconventional along with your lodging, transit doesn’t should be merely touring by air. Practice journey inside Europe is extra accessible than it’s inside the U.S. For instance, it takes lower than two hours to go from Munich to Salzburg, Austria, and you may typically discover fares for lower than $20. You may also experience in sleeper vehicles, for in a single day journeys, which may trim your lodge prices.