I want to travel to one of these cities in March but want to keep the trip as cheap as possible. Can anyone tell me what city would be less expensive in terms of food, shelter, transportation, shopping etc? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone?

Hi
Both of the cities are so diverse. What are your interests? I've been to both of them.

I think the best choice as far as price would be Istanbul. Food is reasonable, shopping is good, but two totally different cities.

I know they are very different. I was just wondering about over all costs. Thanks for the info.

And you are flying from where exactly? That will probably be your greatest cost as you can always stay in some dive of an hostel in any city in the world.

What sort of price range are you looking at? The cheapest for deluxe properties? Cheapest for fine dining? Please don't be so vague as you won't get any useful responses.

Whilst budget may be an important factor, it shouldn't be used to decide between holiday destinations right down to the last penny. After all, one travels to experience different cultures in different lands, not where one can squeeze the most value out of their money!

I leave tomorrow for Istanbul and will give you an update when I get back. It's been a while since I have been there and am curious myself about the expense.

I love both, but the sense of history in Istanbul has no comparison in the western world (maybe Rome or Athens).

Just got home last night from Istanbul. What a wonderful and beautiful city. The historical sites, the bazaars, the people, the food. All Beautiful. But if you are making decisions based on expense, Run Forrest, Run to Budapest. I can't imagine it being more expensive than Istanbul today. I do believe the exchange rate has a lot to do with $6 coffee, everywhere, $9 beer. We stopped at the Arasta Bazaar, four of us, had 1 coffee and 1 snack each and it came to $75. I know its a little touristy there, so we moved off the beaten path and still found little difference. We stopped in a small, local grocery store for picnic items for four and spend a little over $100. You can find a nice hotel for about $100 which is not bad, taxis are affordable, but food and shopping is extremely expensive and did take a little of the wind out of my sails.