If you're still wasting your time going to Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, and every other travel site you can think of looking for the best prices, you need to get with the times. Check out my airfare writeup and see what the latest technology can do. Scan all the travel websites with one form and pick the best prices out of the results. Big time saver, big money saver.

Well a full guide to Eastern Europe is a bit out of the scope of this lense, but think twice before writing it off as the slums of Europe. Granted, there are a lot of not-so-nice areas but if you do your research, you can find some amazing deals!

One specific recommendation is to check out Croatia. They're still rebuilding, but it's a lot safer than its reputation and the beaches are absolutely beautiful! (Think that picture was taken in Hawaii? Guess again.) Right now is the best time to go, before people realize how much it has to offer!

Be warned that all of the most popular parts of Eastern Europe are going to be filled with tourist traps. I went to Prague, dreaming of 50 cent beers and two dollar meals. What did I find? 5 dollar beers and 12 dollar meals. What's the moral of the story? Find someone who knows the area to tell you where the locals go, because otherwise the tourist traps can be hard to escape!

For more information about Eastern Europe, check out Lonely Planet or one of the other big travel guides. Or, for better information, ask someone who used to live there.

If you're planning to stay in hostels, you're going to need a sleep sheet. What's a sleep sheet? Think of it as a sleeping bag made out of a regular old bedsheet. How do you make one? Take a queen sized bedsheet, fold it in half, and then sew up 3 of the sides. Obviously you want to leave one of the short sides open. Unless you're really short, and really fat, in which case you probably shouldn't be backpacking in the first place.

Lazy man's alternative? Buy a sleeping bag liner off amazon.

You already know you need it. Get a Eurail pass and don't look back.

On-the-train meal of champions (per person):
1 bottle of wine - 2 Euros
1 loaf of bread - .50 Euros
1 hunk of cheese - 2 Euros

A kickass train ride - 4.50 Euros

Cafes:
You have to be careful here. If you're in a tourist area, you'll pay through the nose to eat at one of these. Find one off the beaten path, preferably where the locals eat. Depending on the country, these can be great places to just relax, drink wine, and munch on appetizers.

Bakeries:
If you're the type that gets up at 6 am, you'd better find a local bakery for breakfast. Get there as the food's coming out of the oven and you'll be in heaven! Try a croissant (or two!) in Paris for .75 Euros. That's one good, cheap breakfast!

This could have gone under Food (it is, after all, liquid bread!), but this is far and away the most important ingredient for a good trip to Europe so it needed its own section!

Beer is expensive. Especially in Europe. Frankly, for your money you'll probably be better off drinking wine. But you didn't fly all the way over to Europe to get stuck with nothing but wine, did you? Fine, but at least follow a few tips -

1 - If you're drunkly wandering the streets of Paris with girls you've just met, looking for a place to get even drunker, check the beer prices before you order! This advice counts double if you're right across the street from the Moulin Rouge! The next day when you're skipping breakfast because you can't afford it, you probably are not going to think that those beers were worth the 50 Euros you paid for them. Trust me, I know.

2 - Unless you're in Germany (all bets are off in Germany) try to buy most of your beer in grocery stores. Common sense, really.

3 - Find a local hangout. How? Ask the people on the street!