Thanks to Eddie Schmid of WhereIveBeen.com (@whereivebeen on Twitter) for these great ideas for the baggage fees blues. If you missed it – check out the rest of the series Airline Bag Fee Headaches? Try “Backpacking” instead! | Backpacking through Peru | Backpacking through Istanbul

Find cheap flights to Top Cities in Europe from your home airport at FareCompare

Dublin reigns as the cheapest landing point for European travel, but let’s make it clear from the get-go: What’s the opposite of “shoestring?” Velvet rope? Purse-string? Unless Ireland is the sole reason for your trip, everything after the airfare may cost a shoestringin’ backpacker a couple appendages and their firstborn.

Dublin, while great in its own semi-affordable right, is well-served as the gateway to the continent that surrounds it.

More on this, and fares from Dublin – coming right up – keep reading…

Europe harbors a burgeoning number of budget airliners like Ryanair and Easyjet that offer dirt-cheap fares, often remarkably so; just to put it roughly into perspective, let’s check out some one-way outgoing fares from Dublin in November: Budapest, $60; Venice, $30; Prague, $30 — the list goes on, and it’s easy to book on the fly.

Be warned that some budget airports reside a hike from the city you desire; regardless, the network and growing efficiency for the price is unbeatable. For those willing to brave the offbeat, Eastern European cities like Tallinn, Estonia host gorgeous medieval scenery and friendly residents without the fanfare or high pricetag of the more bandied-about names, not to mention that their development has been accelerated a bit to fit EU standards. So by its nature, Europe doesn’t exactly make it easy for tight-walleted nomads, but backpacking via Dublin still remains one of the most cost-effective ways of seeing Europe.