What's the least expensive destination in Europe?
 

What's the least expensive destination in Europe for a 2 week stay in late November - early December for an active 50-something couple? Like museums, good local food (doesn't have to be elegant restaurant), interesting architecture, maybe beaches but not required. What's your opinion? Have been to Italy, Spain, France, Holland. Thanks.

Romania

I have heard Prague is very reasonable and beautiful.Its going to be the next city to be discovered I was told to get in early before it gets to be a tourist trap ,if that makes sense? Good luck.

I am afraid I would have to put Prague already into the tourist trap grouping. (We went in May about 5 years ago.) I will admit that most of the European "tourist traps" are lovely places, however. Prague is pretty inexpensive for food, but hotel lodging there is high. Entertainment in the way of wonderful classical music is very affordable.The city is supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful in the snow...(I would think Dec. would qualify for that!)

prague is beautiful but i wouldn´t call it cheap. i didn´t think the hotels were very cheap 10 years ago.( before i had internet)

Hi,
Although we haven't been to many countries, we've found visiting Austria and Bavaria in the off season (April, Oct.) quite reasonable. We usually stay in Pensions and the like which helps with the costs.

Paul

How can something be classified as a "tourist trap" and still be a lovely place? Seems like a contradiction in terms to me.

I went to Turkey in 2001. Back then you could rent a decent hotel room for $10, $15 if you wanted airconditioning. If you are trying to go on the cheap, you can bus everywhere. Great Mediterranean beaches. Lots of great hiking in the Kappodocia region. We loved it.

If you are American, you want to travel to European countries that don't use the euro yet--Czech Republic or Turkey, for example. You will get a better rate of exchange.

Prague is much cheaper than London, Paris, or Rome. Hotel rooms are not a bargain, but you can eat and drink for practically nothing. (A bottle of Czech wine, for example, runs about $6.)

Istanbul is also cheaper than London, Paris, or Rome, but it is also not a bargain. I was there last summer and a meal for two was never less than $60.

You want DIRT cheap????? Go to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The American dollar is worth 3 Argentine pesos. You can dine at Cabana Las Lilas for 1/3 what you would pay for a similar meal in NYC. It would also be warm in BA in November, because the seasons are opposite. BA has a very European feel--very similar to Madrid.

I LOVE Buenos Aires.

J Correa: I do not usually let myself get sucked into this banter on someone else's post BUT since you ASKED...My thinking is that a "tourist trap" becomes such because it has some particular charm to attract people in the first place, no? Sorry kywood...I am done. Go to Prague. You will also love the architecture...

Prague was "discovered" at least 10 years ago - and is now a standard tourist destination - with a very sophisticated and active tourist infrastructure. Also - hotels are not that cheap - since building/converting new ones has not kept up with demand.

I personally don;t know the lesat expensive - and you need to consider which areas you can live very modestly - or which you need to stay in better places to meet your minimum standards.

But I would guess you would be best off in Romania, bulgaria, Ukraine etc.

London.

Just kidding!!!

I used to think it was Greece!! Not sure now.

I know Poland may not be the best place "weather-wise" in November, but when I was in Krakow last September the weather was great and the exchange rate was about 3 Zloty to $1 US Dollar.

2 of us had dinner at a milk bar (think upscale cafeteria) for 26 Zloty which was just under $9 USD. The food was excellent and the portions more than adequate. And I thought Krakow was beautiful.

Good luck with your travel plans! :)

alanRow is right - Romania.

We saw world class opera in Cluj for the equivalent of $3 in fifth row center orchestra. Had great meals for $15... with terrific Romanian or Hungarian wine.

And it has beautiful scenery, architecture and people!

November is out of season in Croatia and Portugal - much better than Romania ( more exp., though)
Just because countries don't use Euro does not mean they are cheap ( Sweden , Great Britain).

Another vote for Romania, but also Slovakia and Ukraine.

Travelling outside Bucharest in late November or December is very tricky indeed. Winter can come early in Romania, and while trains function when it's snowing, the road system is hair-raising and planes can be cancelled.

Bucharest does NOT justify a two week stay. A few (actually quite a few) pretty Hansel and Gretel houses, shock and awe at the mediocrity of Ceausescu's architectural dreams, a couple of mid-ranking museums and a few cooks who can produce passable meatballs and polenta do not constitute a serious rival to Paris or Rome. Or even Poggibonsi.

Not Bucharest...ugh... Cluj and Transylvania!

Although you're right about the season.

If you limit your travel to continental Europe you will find a lot of “cheap” prices compared with “season” rates for hotels and airfare. I have traveled to Europe in the winter for bus and pleasure and find it less crowded for the activities that you want, even Paris.
Comparatively speaking, Portugal Greece and Spain are the cheapest in Europe in that order, but some hotels might be closed in some smaller places for the winter. I will be more concerned in taking the proper clothing for that time of the year. Otherwise you have choice of a whole continent on the “cheap”. Yes Rumania and some other eastern countries are cheaper but you get what you pay for mediocrity.

I'd say first figure out where you'd like to go, and then figure out a way to make it cheap, because you probably can.

PS: My experience is that Slovakia in early winter's not quite as bad as Romania - but it's still a bad time to go.

I've not been over the border to Ukraine in November. Because the snow made the roads leading from Suceava in Romania over to Ukraine impassable. So I'd forget about winter in Ukraine too.

I think the first step should be to choose where you want to go, and then find ways to economize your trip- rent an apartment, cook at home a meal or two a day, etc.

%%-

Given your interests and the places you have previously visited, I would suggest #1 Greece, #2 Ireland. These are not the least expensive but they have a lot to offer and are both a good travel value.

Disneyland!

Ireland is "not the least expensive". That is true; it's one of the most expensive destinations in Europe. For a few days away, I find it cheaper to pay an airfare to visit a destination in continental Europe than to drive to an Irish hotel 100 miles from my home.

As a general rule, for less expensive, go east and south. As a further general rule, go outside popular cities and resorts. But then you might not find much to interest you.

In my experience (not yet having been everywhere) I find Budapest very good value, and Croatia offers some inexpensive coastal resorts. I understand that my money would go a long way in Poland, and hope to check it out this year.

Prague is reasonable, but I agree get there before everyone around the world discovers it. I was there in February and was amazed at the crowds. I was expecting the streets to empty at this time of year, they were not. It's the most magical city in Europe. Try to avoid getting there through Paris (CDG) This airport is a NIGHTMARE!

Inexpensive is a relative thing. We stayed in Prague at the Hotel Kampa Gardens in November for about $65/night including breakfast and it is a very nice place in an outstanding location. See reviews. As others have mentioned, one can eat and drink cheaply in Prague - we found a cafeteria near the main square where we had a filling and decent meal for under $3 including beer. Prague is rightly popular. I would call it a popular tourist destination rather than a "trap" that has negative connotations.

Unless you know that you can use frequent flyer miles, the air fare is a huge factor in the price of a vacation. A big factor in the air fare is the season...fares that are $625 in March turn in to $1200 fares in June.

Think about it...if it costs two of you $1400 each to get to an "inexpensive" destination, and it would cost you $800 each to get to a more expensive destination, you would have to save $1200 on hotel, food, etc. at the "cheap" place to break even.

Look, I'm sorry to keep batting on about this, but you are talking about early winter, and most of Europe is a great deal further north than the USA.

With conventional tourism to Europe - to Britain or France, say - this doesn't matter, because the Gulf Stream keeps Western Europe surprisingly warm during the winter. That's why London (on the same latitude as Calgary) often goes through two or three successive winters without a flake of snow.

But nowhere in Europe has beaches you can do any more than have bracing walks along in December.

And the Gulf Stream doesn't help Eastern Europe much at all. Poland gets cold and miserable by November. Forget about Croatian resorts. So apart from the odd ex-communist (some people get tetchy if you say Poland's in eastern Europe) city with an awful lot to do (which comes down to Prague or Prague), Istanbul (which would be my vote) or Thessalonica/Athens, you're really reduced to conventional Western Europe.

Of which, only Madrid and Barcelona are in lower-cost countries and meet your criteria if you want to stay in one place. It's not a bad time, though, for driving round areas (like Provence or Andalucia) with lots of interesting places to see. And you can, as others point out, always put your energy into working out how to spend your time in London and Berlin on the cheap.

In both cases - as in all Europe's other interesting cities - millions of people manage just that all year round.

Winter in Eastern Europe FOR 2 weeks?
Cold, dark, dreary ....
I would rather take my money ( you do have to spend some)and go to a place in
Southern Europe, Northern Africa, South America, Mexico, Florida, just about any other place.

Prague is cheap if you're careful where you eat and drink. Stay away from tourist trap areas and you'll be fine. Budapest is also great value and there's plenty to do there. Like Prague - no beaches though!

Lisbon is a good bet - plenty to see and it's lovely. Very cheap and great food.

The cheapest place I've been to over the last couple of years was Estonia - but there's not enough to do there to make a two-week stay worthwhile. You could take the ferry from Talinn to Helsinki - thereby going from one of the cheapest to one of the most expensive European capitals in less than two hours!

My vote : Lisbon!

My vote

flanner - I agree with you! I was paying too much attention to "cheap" and not enough to "November", although I was thinking Crimea rather than the rest of Ukraine. I'd probably consider Morocco, or maybe Sicily, if I was traveling in November, unless I was going for a big city like London or Paris. There are ways to do them on the cheap, but not if you want fancy hotels and lots of restaurant meals.

nbujic- I second that! Mexico in November is warm has beautiful beaches, Great food and you get 10 pesos for your $1 USD...Can't beat that!

Right now Hungary seems to me to be the most bang for your buck! The country side is beautiful, the people gracious and welcoming (especially if you speak any Hungarian)...Visegrad, Eger...even Budapest, while some of the lodging is expensive there are B&B's that are very reasonable and restaurants that are supurb and not expensive. The architecture is beautiful, the history rich and the culture is wonderful.

I think Turkey is becoming quite a popular, yet cheap, destination.

I think that one could go to lots of places in Europe on a budget by doing a bit of advance planning. Staying in smaller towns away from the big cities will almost always be a big cost saver. Staying in apartments instead of hotels can also save lots of money.

We were in Croatia in November and found it quite lovely despite the fact that we were there during off season. The weather was fine, especially compared to what I'm used to in the US during the same months. The prices overall weren't too bad. Lodging was a little on the high side, but the food was inexpensive so it balanced each other out.

I think that Bavaria is also relatively inexpensive. We stayed in a lovely vacation apartment with million dollar views for about 50 euro per night. Buy buying some of our food at local grocery stores we saved even more money.

Just some thoughts.

Tracy

Another vote for Turkey. We were in Turkey in early December and wore light jackets. Lodging was inexpensive as was great food. The history of the place is incredible, the people warm and inviting. Go before they are accepted into the European Union which I am sure will change the cost of everything.

For ten years now I have kept a note of what forum readers say about prices in Europe. If I start with the cheapest, I get

Armenia, using home stay

(Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia and Belorus are hard to list here. In almost every other country accommodation costs are in line with other day-to-day expenses but not in Russia and most other states of the former Soviet Union.
Ukraine comes almost lowest in this order of tourist costs if you rent an apartment for a week, or can use one of the few two-star hotels.)

Ukraine, using home stay
Moldova
Bulgaria
Slovakia
Romania
Armenia, using a hotel
Albania
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Serbia
Poland
(excluding Krakow)
Czech Republic
(excluding Prague)
Hungary
Macedonia
Montenegro
(excluding Podgorica)
Croatia
Podgorica
Slovenia
Portugal
Southern Spain
Krakow
Turkey
Southern Italy
Greece
Prague
Northern Italy
Netherlands
Sweden
Finland
France
Austria
Ireland
Norway
Switzerland
Denmark
Ireland
Britain

Ben Haines
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I hear that Albania is hopping these days, after a few years of mafia massacres and lawless streets.

But to reply seriously to the question, I would say Portugal. But isn't it time to start thinking about Morocco? The weather is often still delightful in November-December.