European Travel in March
 

My friend and I are looking to spend a week in late March in Europe. We are both in our 20s, but aren't looking to party too too much. We are on a budget, but don't want that to get in the way of our experiences wherever we end up. We are specifically interested in visiting Stockholm, Copenhagen, or Budapest. We are spending 7 nights where ever we go. At this point we are officially stuck! Sell these cities to us so we can choose!!!! XOXO Stockholm, Copenhagen, or Budapest???

How did you choose these three cities?
Stockholm and Copenhagen are expensive and are not usual choices for those on a budget looking for just somewhere to go. Obviously there might be compelling reason why it has to be one of these three, but that is not clear from the posting so far. If you can articulate the compelling reasons, you would be able to settle on a destination quickly. Without clear objectives, you will be tossed around by the ebbs of various recommendations.

All of those cities have real winters and are going to still be quite cold in March - are you prepared for that?

Not a problem for me, I love the cold. But many people don't or want only vacations in warm places.

You could easily spend a wonderful week in any of these cities including a couple of days trips, although you would have to check opening hours for some places so early in the year.

IMHO Stockholm has possibly the most to see/do but I think would be the most expensive. To me Copenhagen is a little more friendly and accessible with tons of wonderful sights (esp a whole range of castles and palaces) and may be a touch less expensive than Stockholm.

Budapest is going to be way less expensive than either and has a very interesting history/culture different than much of europe starting with the (fictional) founding by Attila the Hun - but a real influence on the local culture through being the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire, being overrun/ruled by the Russians and their pride in moving back into the greater european family.

Have you read a guide book or two on each - to see what your must sees would be.

We're going from cold to cold - couldn't be more prepared! These were narrowed down due to travel costs (which we already went ahead and calculated). We have airfare and lodging plans (though not officially booked) for these three. We want to go somewhere we haven't been (cutting out some of cheaper destinations unfortunately), and we want to have a choice of museums and sights. Currently looking at guide books and reviews (but I always like to talk to people too)

I've been looking more at Budapest and it seems beautiful and filled with things to do!

Budapest wins because you are on a tight budget. The other two will be much more expensive places to visit.

I agree that Budapest is the only likely option among your cities. Both Copenhagen and Stockholm are very expensive.

>>These were narrowed down due to travel costs (which we already went ahead and calculated).<<

Hi again :)

Not quite sure what you calculated/where you got your figures. Stockholm and Copenhagen would both be more expensive than Budapest (Stockholm - MUCH more expensive).

Or by 'travel costs', did you just mean specific airfares from your home?

If budget is a primary (or even slight) consideration, I'd avoid any Scandinavian city. Budapest would be more budget-friendly but many other cities would be as well. And depending on where you are flying from, other places could have much lower airfares.

Yes, by travel costs I meant round-trip airfare from home and lodging for 7 nights. Thank you all for your thoughts! This is super helpful :)

Lodging in Stockholm will be expensive -- they do have hostels but even the hostels tend to be more expensive than in many places. There are definitely exceptions, but often flying into Scandinavia is pricey too.

Where are you flying from?

7 days in Buda and Pest would be way too much for most folks - easy however to twin Budapest with Vienna - fly into one and out of the other and takes trains or hydrofoils in between.

Weather somewhat better and less sticker-shock.

7 days in Buda and Pest aren't going to be too much for us in mid-Octobre. We're going to extend the trip with at least 3 days in Bratislava also.

I'm usually in Sweden and Denmark during March and for the past couple years it has not been very cold. Stockholm and Copenhagen have the reputation of being very expensive but they are nowhere near as expensive as visiting NY as a comparison. I find NY expensive and I visit 2/3 times a year. I find NY much colder during winter than Stockholm or Copenhagen. As alot places in the world, you can go places you want on a budget/modestly if that's really where you want to go. You don't have to stay in hostels, there are inexpensive hotels such as Cabinn or Wakeup hotels or B&B places (private bathroom can be hard to find though). But I do agree that Budapest will be considerably cheaper.

>> I find NY expensive and I visit 2/3 times a year<<

No argument there -- visiting NYC is expensive.

>> You don't have to stay in hostels, there are inexpensive hotels such as Cabinn or Wakeup hotels or B&B places (private bathroom can be hard to find though). <<

Absolutely -- but the thing is - bare bones chains like Cabinn or B&Bs w/ shared baths will cost about the same as many 2 or 3 star properties in other parts of Europe.

Cabinn and Wakeup are 2 star hotels.

In a week I could easily divide that up between Copenhagen and Stockholm, taking the high-speed train between the two - 3 full days in each city - the whole time in one or the other may be too much for many.

For trains check www.seat61.com for info on discount tickets you can get if you book very very early.

Copenhagen especially has lots to offer for your ages and IME is cheaper or was cheaper than Sweden by a fair amount.

the weather in Copenhagen at least would be not much different than in Budapest - due to the effects of the warming Gulf Stream.

We're leaving from NY so the cold isn't much of a concern. I think we've settled on Budapest - there are more than enough museums and cultural sights to keep us occupied (especially looking forward to those thermal baths!)

Thank you for the train suggestion! We might look into it