kenav

I've been looking at the price of some hotels in Munich and Berlin, and was in Dresden in Feb. and have found the hotel rates quite reasonable, especially compared to France. And yes, I know France is a big place and isn't all just Paris. We also found that Budapest & Eger were great money-wise for us <u>Americans</u>. Hungary isn't on the Euro.

So, where would you say you got the best bang for your buck?

MmePerdu

If you're asking which cities/countries are cheapest for travelers, just look on one or more of the index sites, like this one chosen at random:

http://www.priceoftravel.com/1979/eu...kpacker-index/

Most of the cheapest are central, eastern & s. eastern Europe, it appears, no surprise.

kenav

MmePerdu - Good site. I went to the page that was for people who want to stay in hotels, not hostels. I am definitely not a hostel person.

PalenQ

Well the time of travel in the year could be a factor in overall costs - I go to Itlay often in January and get hotels a fraction of the rate I do in summer - maybe cheaper in say Florence (35 euros with breakfast in a B&B - which would be about 100 euros in high season - could well be cheaper at certain times than say Greece or Eastern Europe.

Switzerland and Norway are by far the most expensive places I've been where even to take a wizz may cost $1 or more in a public trough.

bobthenavigator

Portugal is best in western Europe by my experience.

nytraveler

In the west Portugal and Spain are probably the least expensive.

In central europe - most except Austria are in the less expensive group.

We found Russia to be quite expensive for quality hotels and decent restaurants,

adrienne

Portugal is the least expensive of the countries I've been to.

Poland is very affordable except for wine.

Are you only looking for hotel prices or for other things as well?

What does Hungary not being on the Euro have to do with the prices for tourists?

travelgourmet

Best bang for your buck? Well, that depends how you define value.

If you mean the cheapest place in Europe, then Albania would probably be near the top I'd think. Most expensive would be either Norway or Switzerland.

flanneruk

"What does Hungary not being on the Euro have to do with the prices for tourists?"

The fact that, when translated into foreign currencies, local prices throughout the Eurozone are kept high because the Euro's value is driven by the strength of the German economy. In countries with an independent currency, its value is driven by the strength of its own economy

At then beginning of this century, the Euro was worth about 80 US cents. It's now worth about $1.25 - in spite of the economic crisis throughout Eurozone countries on the Mediterranean. Before they joined the Euro, Italy and Spain reacted to economic crises by devaluing their currencies, making their exports cheap and their hotel prices attractive to tourists.

The Euro deprived its members of this possibility. The countries suggested here as offering good value aren't cursed by being tied into the Euro's economy destruction machine.

bilboburgler

Portugal and Hungary outside Budapest (which is not very expensive but outside it gets very cheap)

vincenzo32951

I've always found Germany to be a good value. My guess is because Americans don't normally think of Germany to be a desirable travel destination, like Italy or France.

chartley

One of the tiresome consequences of the introduction of the euro is that Germany is now much more affordable than it was 30 years ago.

Hotel prices vary greatly according to the season. I have recently needed to book 2 rooms in Alicante for just after Christmas. The price looked good, but I then realised it was for two rooms, not the price per room, so even better.

adrienne

Portugal uses the Euro and it's very very affordable. Portugal is cheaper than Poland which does not use the Euro.

Another affordable country is the Czech Republic.

My ranking would be:

1. Portugal (using the Euro)
2. Czech Republic
3. Poland

DebitNM

We just spent 5 days in Prague and found it to be lovely and very reasonable for hotel, food, transportation, museums etc.

We are headed to Bratislava today, it is also supposed to be equally reasonable and they use euro.

RM67

Spent some time in the Eastern Czech republic in July and was pleasantly surprised at how affordeable everything was. Really decent hotel rooms (ie 4 star ish) for about £60-80 a night, cocktails £2-3, transport on the tram system really just pennies for a 30 minute ticket.

I guess this is central europe rather than Eastern, but you might like to take a look nonetheless.

Here's our trip report:-

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-mountains.cfm

kenav

For those of you who have gone to Portugal (I have not) besides the affordability of it, what entranced you while there?

chartley - "One of the tiresome consequences of the introduction of the euro is that Germany is now much more affordable than it was 30 years ago." Not sure what you mean. Why would that be a "tiresome consequence"? And why would the Euro make Germany more affordable for tourists?
RM67 - Will take a look at your report.

Agree with Palenq that time of year matters a lot as far as bang for the buck. But I would think it would for all the countries mentioned. We went to Dresden and Prague in February and got great rates. And the weather wasn't bad either, for winter. Much better than it was last Feb. here in NYC!

travelgourmet

<I>And why would the Euro make Germany more affordable for tourists?</I>

The euro is discounted relative to what a Deutschmark would be and inflated relative to what a Lira would be. Germany takes advantage of this phenomenon and exploits the less competitive countries in the euro area. They basically devalued their currency.

bilboburgler

"For those of you who have gone to Portugal (I have not) besides the affordability of it, what entranced you while there?"

Despite long periods of general poverty there has been little warfare in the country for many years so architecture is pretty original leading to say original Art Deco pieces you just don't get in Berlin. The people are very friendly, the railway stations are fantastic, the wineries are getting better and better and in the south (out of season) the Alentejo and Algarve is great for wildlife and the more normal holiday stuff (swimming, surfing etc) with the odd Roman building and a fair few walled cities. Plus, of course, Portugal is England's oldest ally.

MarthaT

Just spent 2 weeks in Poland in October and was pleasantly surprised at the prices.
I think Germany is also affordable.

chartley

kenav - the "tiresome consequence" is a reference to Flanner's post. It's that old British irony again.

Switzerland would be a cheaper destination if they made the very unlikely decision to join the euro. As it is, the Swiss cross the border to France or Germany to do their shopping.