Travelers can find good quality hotels for around $100 per night (or less!). If you’re willing to spend a little more money, you can stay in a place that would be considered a big splurge in Western Europe. Just remember to book early, because the top budget hotels in Budapest fill up fast.

Related: Search more than 6,000 hotels and vacation apartments in Budapest

Top budget hotels in Budapest

Budapest presents an interesting dilemma for Cheapos: When so many hotels offer reasonable rates, how can you choose the right place? We’ve gathered our favorite budget hotels in Budapest based on character, comfort, and cleanliness to help you book your Hungarian vacation.

We love the skylight rooms on the top floor of Abel Panzio. Photo: Booking.com

Abel Panzio

Neighborhood: Gellert-Hegy
Double-room average: $57

Light-filled guestrooms, complete with live greenery and real wood furniture, make the Abel Panzio feel like home. From the charming old vine-covered front door to the antique bar to the lush backyard, this hotel is welcoming and picturesque at every corner. Rooms feature modern amenities, including AC and free Wi-Fi. Read the full review

Rooms at Medos are well-suited for budget and business travelers alike.

Medos Hotel

Neighborhood: Erzsebetvaros
Double-room average: $94

While the style of the rooms at the Medos may be more suited to the business traveler, the location near trendy Andrassy út and the Opera House makes this a great home base for your Budapest adventure. Amenities here include flat-screen TVs, air conditioning, private bathrooms and free Wi-Fi. Read the full review

Enjoy a calming stay at City Ring hotel, near Margit Island. Photo: Booking.com

City Ring

Neighborhood: Lipotvaros
Double-room average: $99

For a refreshing stay, consider City Ring. Rooms are modern, bright, and utterly spotless, and the location near Margit Island means you have easy access to many thermal spas. Comforts like free Wi-Fi, a buffet breakfast, and even air conditioning are all included. Read the full review

Going on a romantic trip? Book ahead and request the Sissi room at Hotel Sissi.

Sissi

Neighborhood: Jozsefvaros & Ferencvaros
Double-room average: $100

With charming rooms and a peaceful location near the Danube, Sissi, the budget-friendly wing of the Corvin Hotel, has a lot to offer. Rooms are simple (unless you score the romantic “Sissi” room), but offer AC, televisions, minibars, and free Wi-Fi. Read the full review

Sleep in luxury at Leo Boutique Rooms without blowing your budget. Photo: Booking.com

Leo Boutique Rooms

Neighborhood: Jozsefvaros & Ferencvaros
Double-room average: $147

The Leo is more of a “splurge” by EuroCheapo standards, but you can still get a lot of bang for your buck here. Rooms are decked out in an extravagant style and complete with many modern creature comforts, like AC and free Wi-Fi. For a special touch, request a room with a view of the Franciscan Church across the street. Read the full review

Find more budget hotels in Budapest

Looking for more Budapest accommodations? Browse the EuroCheapo Budapest hotel guide for more ideas.

The post The top budget hotels in Budapest for 2025 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Though costume parties for October 31st are growing increasingly popular across the continent, most countries in Europe still do not celebrate Halloween in quite the same way as the United States does. Trick or treating has just not caught on yet.

To get your spooky fix on that next European vacation — whether on All Hallows Eve or any other time of year — check out one of these spine-tingling tours and attractions.

More spooky posts on EuroCheapo:

• EuroCheapo’s Spookiest Hotel Ghosts (7 photos!)
• Five haunted (and free!) spots in New York City
• Free haunted walking tours in NYC

Paris: The Catacombs

From the late 1700s to the mid-1800s, the remains of about six million Parisians were dug up from cemeteries around the city and reinterred in a central ossuary, known as the Catacombs of Paris, a site that should be on every traveler’s shortlist of must-see Paris attractions.

Visitors descend 130 steps beneath the Paris streets for a 1.2-mile trek through poorly lit passageways. Whoever designed the Catacombs definitely had a taste for the macabre: An engraving above the entranceway to the ossuary reads, “Stop! For this is the kingdom of Death,” and the bones are artfully arranged in mounds with scores of skulls on top that seem to stretch on indefinitely. Perhaps the creepiest thing about the Catacombs is the pile of bones at the street exit — the artifacts that visitors have tried to take home as souvenirs.

Details: 1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy. Admission is €13.

London: Jack the Ripper Tours

We may never know the identity of the UK’s most famous serial killer, but the legend surrounding Jack the Ripper still scares the bejeezus out of us. Tramping through the back streets of East London on a dark October night seems a fitting tribute to this grisly murderer.

Though many groups offer similar excursions, London Discovery Tours claim to have the “original” Jack the Ripper tour. With a published historian at its head, the company certainly promises a thorough background in the murders, the suspects, and neighborhood history. The two-hour circuit winds through cobblestone streets to point out sites where the victims lived and died.

Details: Tours start at the Aldgate East Underground station at 7 pm nightly. Reservations must be made in advance; the cost is £10 per person.

Exploring the spooky Underground Vaults in Edinburgh. Photo fw42

Edinburgh: The Underground Vaults

Many cities boast myths of people living underneath the streets, but in Edinburgh the legends are true. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, a veritable underground city of chambers, vaulted rooms, tunnels, and passageways existed below South Bridge. In these darkened, confined spaces thousands of people lived — and some say their spirits never left. Abandoned in the 1830s, the Underground Vaults reopened to the public in 1996.

Your guide into this underground world is Mercat Tours, who will lead you on a 1-hour and 15-minute tour of the haunted vaults.

Details: From October to March, Mercat offers tours daily at 3 and 5 pm. Reservations are £13 for adults.

Budapest: Nighttime Visits at the Labyrinth of Buda Castle (currently closed)

Located underneath Buda Castle, the Labyrinth is eerie enough in the daytime when it’s illuminated by electric lights. After dark, however, with only a lantern as a guide, the stone passageways are downright spooky. Personally, we’d steer clear of the Labyrinth of Love (where couples start at opposite ends of the maze and meet in the middle for a “romantic” rendezvous undisturbed in one of the chambers), but a Dante-themed program makes our skin crawl in a good way. Forty minutes alone in the darkened halls with visions of the Divine Comedy in our heads? Let’s not think about what demons may be lurking just around the corner!

Find your own way out of purgatory by booking your night tour in advance via the Labyrinth of Buda Castle website (hours and days vary by tour; the Dante tour is available Mondays at midnight, Wednesdays at 11 pm, and Saturdays at 5 am). Adult tickets cost 2,000 forints (about $9) and include one regular admission during daytime hours.

Note: the Labyrinth is temporarily closed and is undergoing government inspection — we hope it will be back open sometime soon!

About the author: Liz Webber is an associate editor at ShermansTravel.com, a leading site for hand-picked travel deals and expert destination advice.

The post Boo! Spooky places to celebrate Halloween in Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

There are regular comfortable EuroCity trains from Prague and Berlin; sleek, fast RailJet services from Munich and Vienna; for those with the stamina for very long journeys by day, it is even possible to travel to Budapest by direct train from as far away as Zürich (11 hrs 15 mins) or Hamburg (14 hrs 20 mins).

South towards Serbia

It is moving south from Budapest that demands a more sustained engagement with the timetables. There are perilously few trains across the border between Hungary and Serbia. Just two direct services run each day between Budapest and Belgrade—one by day and the other by night.

Take the day train if you are minded to come this way, for this is a journey well worth making. Leon Trotsky nicely identified the appeal of the route when—as he traveled south in 1912 preparing to report on the Balkan Wars—he observed in his diary that “although the railway from Budapest to Belgrade proceeds mainly in a southerly direction, from the cultural standpoint one moves east.”

The landscape is nowhere startling, yet it has a quiet beauty. Running south from Budapest to the border there are prairie-like grasslands, productive farmland, forests and occasional saline depressions. These are the landscapes of Sándor Petöfi’s poetry. An hour or two out of Budapest, the train stops at Kiskölrös, the town where Petöfi was born.

Entering Serbia

The first community in Serbia is Subotica, a place that packs a few surprises. It is famously multilingual and multicultural, a hallmark of Serbia’s semi-detached northern province of Vojvodina which has six official languages. Subotica is well worth a stop for its extraordinary feast of art nouveau architecture. Look out for the overly fussy town hall and the more restrained synagogue with its striking triple-tier dome and green glazed tiles. Beyond Subotica, it is a pleasant run south through Novi Sad to Belgrade.

Crossing borders

If you are traveling from Budapest to Belgrade, bear in mind that you’ll need to use one of the twice-daily long-distance trains to cross the border—although there is also a useful thrice-daily branch-line service from the Hungarian town of Szeged to Subotica.

The daytime train on the Budapest to Belgrade route is called the Avala. The journey takes about eight hours in each direction. Belgrade need not be the end of your journey. There are good onward connections to Podgorica in Montenegro and Skopje in Macedonia. This month has also seen the reinstatement of the direct train from Belgrade to Thessaloniki in Greece—only for it to be suspended again almost immediately due to flooding. However, the railway authorities in the region are evidently working day and night to restore damaged sections of track, so the through rail services that run south from Belgrade to Macedonia and Greece should be operating normally again by early next month.

Find out more about train times in the latest issue of the European Rail Timetable.

The post Exploring Serbia: Traveling by train beyond Budapest appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

When we last chatted with Tim back in June at the Travel Blog Exchange conference in Keystone, CO, he was hard at work wrapping up the latest edition of his book, The World’s Cheapest Destinations. We had plenty of questions for him then – as we do now – and love his perceptive, er, perspective on travel. We think you will, too.

Question 1: We’ve been fans of yours for years and appreciate you participating in our Q&A series. Can you first let our readers know a little about you and what led you into such an expansive travel writing career?

Like a lot of your readers, I took off on a round-the-world “trip of a lifetime” and had trouble stopping. My first trip was 20 years ago though, with my now-wife, and we circled the globe two more times, teaching English along the way and in my case, getting some toes in the door with editors as a travel writer.

I kept at it as a part-time writer for many years before finally quitting my day job and becoming a full-time travel writer and publisher last decade. I added a site here, a blog there until one day I woke up and realized I was a real business owner.

Question 2: Congrats on the success of “The World’s Cheapest Destinations.” It must be fascinating to see how budget travel has evolved since its first edition. What have been the biggest changes since the book’s initial publication?

The first edition came out 10 years ago and I’m quite embarrassed now when I look at it. The book is a lot better and meatier now.

The main changes in the world of travel though all stem from one trend: far more travelers. Every place is more crowded with tourists than it used to be, except for a few holdouts like North Korea, and while you can still quite easily get off the beaten path if you want, the flood of images on the web means there are fewer unknowns out there. Everything is easier and more organized.

There’s also 100 times more information about 100 times more places than a decade ago, which overall is probably a good thing. The world is wealthier overall, which is also a good thing, even if it does mean prices have inched up in some of our favorite places.

On the negative side, it saddens me to see four travelers sitting silently around a table, all exchanging messages with friends back home and posting status updates. Sometimes that goes on for a half hour, nobody talking to the person right across from them. There’s less experiencing, more sharing. Less reflection, more blabbering. Get the photo, upload, move on.

People seem unable to let go and just be in the moment, in the place, without immediately connecting to the home they supposedly left behind.

Question 3: Let’s talk Europe. You cover a lot of ground in this book and we’re interested in the trends you see shaping up across the continent. What destinations do you think should be on a Cheapo’s radar these days? Why?

My big destination change this time was removing Turkey and adding Slovakia. Turkey’s still great and I’m heading there later this year, but it’s definitely gotten more expensive as the economy has taken off and more cruise ships dock there—especially Istanbul. A decent value still, but not a great one for backpackers.

In Slovakia you can still feel way ahead of the curve. It’s beautiful Olde Europe with castles and historic architecture, plus surprisingly good wine in addition to the good beer, but it gets a tiny fraction of the visitors of the Czech Republic or Hungary. The main drawback is, because there aren’t many backpackers, there aren’t a lot of hostels and cheap day trip tours.

Although I’ve had Bulgaria in the book from the start, I was relying on third-party info and interviews. I finally made it there this past year and was blown away. It’s as cheap as some places in Asia and Latin America, with incredible scenery and excellent food. I’m itching to go back again and do some longer hiking trips, staying in mountain huts that are priced like hostels.

Cheapness depends a lot on exchange rates too, of course. Hungary felt less expensive this time I visited than it did four years ago, almost entirely because the dollar was stronger.

Question 4: What’s the next big trip for you and how are you doing it on the cheap?

I took my family to southeast Asia last summer, moving around as backpackers for three weeks, and it wasn’t hard to do it on the cheap there. Our budget was $150 a day and for that we really lived it up in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Nice hotels, three daily restaurant meals, frequent massages, etc. In the near future though I’m doing a lot of writing trips for articles, things where it’s not all on my dime. I’m doing a biking trip in Portugal in May though and am curious to see how prices there are looking during the ongoing crisis.

In the summer I’m moving back to Guanajuato, Mexico with my family though for two years and will be doing most of my travel the second half of the year there and in other spots in Latin America. I find Mexico quite affordable if you are in the interior rather than at the vacation resort areas.

I’ll probably get to Ecuador, which is another place you don’t have to try very hard to travel on the cheap. And oddly enough, they even use the U.S. dollar.

Sounds fantastic. Thanks for stopping by, Tim, and good luck with all your upcoming travels!

The post 4 Cheapo Questions for Tim Leffel of Perceptive Travel appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

The Eurolines network

The most convenient network of services for travelers looking to travel around Europe by coach is coordinated by Eurolines. This is not one company but a strong alliance of coach operators who coordinates their timetables and provide integrated ticketing for international journeys across Europe. This gives a continent-wide brand for marketing purposes and allows passengers to plan complicated itineraries that criss-cross Europe.

There are of course many long distance coach services in Europe that are not part of the Eurolines network. For example the Czech company Student Agency runs some two dozen routes from their hub in Prague. PolskiBus has a network of eight routes from Warsaw, the fledglng company’s growing network now also serving Vienna, Berlin, Bratislava and Prague. There are many itineraries where these non-Eurolines operators precisely fill a gap, but for its Europe-wide reach to over 500 cities, Eurolines has no serious rival.

Useful long-distance links

Eurolines does offer some intriguingly long routes. For example, service 350 operates thrice weekly direct from Amsterdam to Lisbon (“Lisboa” in Portuguese), a 36-hour journey that connects two cities some 1,500 miles apart. Even longer direct routes link cities in western Germany with provincial centers in the Russian Federation.

Good for shorter hops too

The Eurolines network thus often steps in with a convenient direct link on a routing that would require several changes of train. With Eurolines, you can board a bus in Switzerland and travel directly to Macedonia or Moldova.

But such long hauls may not be for everyone. And we find that Eurolines-affiliated services are also perfect for shorter hops, particularly in those parts of Europe where rail services are sparse. For example, comfortable long-distance coaches, most of them operating under the Eurolines umbrella, are far better than trains for journeys between the capitals of the Baltic States: Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

And there are times where it is just fun to travel by road for a change. There are several Eurolines coaches each day from London to Paris and other French cities. While most Eurolines schedules from London to France use the Eurotunel vehicle shuttle service, some are routed via the P&O Ferries link from Dover to Calais – always a great way to cross the Channel. And with return fares for the London to Paris run starting at just £39, the coach option can make good sense for budget travelers.

Book online

Bookings can be made online for most journeys, usually on the website of the Eurolines affiliate in your country of departure. But that does NOT mean that you need to know which particular company flies the Eurolines flag in each country. The organization maintains an excellent web portal, where you can click on the country of departure to be redirected to the relevant national site.

Here are some sample travel times (with the travel time of the fastest direct train shown for comparison):

• Brussels to Zürich: 9h 45m by Eurolines (train 8h 19m)
• Berlin to Prague: 4h 30m by Eurolines (train 4h 30m)
• Zagreb to Munich: 8h by Eurolines (train 8h 25m)
• Copenhagen to Stockholm: 9h 45m by Eurolines (train 4h 20m)
• Paris to Amsterdam: 8h by Eurolines (train 3h 19m)
• Vienna to Budapest: 2h 55m by Eurolines (train 2h 55m)

National partners

Although Eurolines coach services are principally intended for international journeys, in many countries you can also use Eurolines services for domestic journeys that cross no international borders. And many of the participating companies in the Eurolines family also have comprehensive national networks which allow you to switch seamlessly from international to national services.

For example the UK participant in Eurolines is National Express. And you can use the National Express website to book a through journey from many provincial spots around Britain to the continent. A single ticket (for example Manchester to Paris) covers travel on a National Express coach to London where you connect onto an onward Eurolines service for the continent.

More on Eurolines

Now that we’ve introduced Eurolines coach journeys, it’s time to take a little closer at their fares. Read our next post on Eurolines passes, with some tips on getting the best deals, and see how a coach pass can allow you to roam at will across Europe on Eurolines services.

Rail pass options

Interested in seeing a full list of rail pass options? Visit our booking partner, Rail Europe, to compare rates, destinations covered and see their latest promotions.

The post Eurolines: International coach journeys in Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

That was the challenge laid down by one reader when he commented on our blog post last week. So we accept the challenge. Why go to Macedonia?

What’s in a name?

Similar in size to Massachusetts and Wales, Macedonia is a country in the southern Balkans that would dearly like to cut a dash on the international tourist circuit. So far, so good… or perhaps not.

US readers may remember those full page ads in the New York Times a few years ago where the Athens government protested that its northern neighbor used the name Macedonia. So to pacify those ruffled Hellenic feathers, the international community dubs the country (at least when Greeks are in earshot) the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (or “FYROM” for short).

Sveta Sofia church in Ohrid

Cut through the politics surrounding the name, and the Republic of Macedonia is keen to welcome visitors.

Macedonian variety

But why Macedonia rather than Greece or Albania? If you are a dedicated culture-vulture, Macedonia arguably packs more into a small space than any of its neighbors. It is the juxtaposition of a rich Orthodox Christian tradition with a lively Islamic heritage that underpins Macedonia’s appeal.

Then there are other inviting aspects of local culture, such as the Torbeshi and Vlach communities in the hills, and Europe’s largest Roma settlement at Suto Orizari, and dedicated followers of European minorities can enjoy a Macedonian feast. Suto Orizari, for example, could be a good magnet for culturally sensitive travelers.

Throw in great fresh salads, superb wines (especially the hefty reds) and you have many key ingredients to make the Republic of Macedonia a first-class destination.

Byzantine style

True, you’ll find that same engaging cultural combination, particularly the mixed Christian and Islamic heritage, in Albania (though certainly not in Greece). But Macedonia captures that religious variety better than Albania.

The sheer density of fine Byzantine art and architecture in Macedonia is dazzling. Sveta Sofia church in Ohrid (pictured, above right) boasts subtle frescoes that give a beautiful tutorial in 11th-century ecclesiastical politics, when the Great Schism divided the Christian Church into its two principal branches, viz. Latin (or Western) and Greek (or Eastern).

The monastery of Sveti Jovan Bigorski (St. John the Baptist) has a world-class carved iconostasis. And whether it be in the crumbling monastery at Treskavec (so desperately in need of renovation) or at the tiny church perched on the cliffs by Lake Ohrid at Kaneo, Macedonia offers rich insights into the Orthodox tradition.

A rich Islamic tradition

Yet frescoes and icons, no matter how splendid, may not induce you to travel to the Republic of Macedonia. For us, the country’s huge appeal lies in other pilgrim trails which meld Byzantine glory with other aspects of culture. One day, the Macedonian government will wake up to the reality that the country’s mosques and Muslim culture may be a trump card.

Bektashi beliefs

Visitors to Macedonia who take the trouble to visit the country’s Islamic communities will begin to appreciate the various strands of Muslim belief in the country. This is a chance to see something of the Bektashi community, a relatively small sect often regarded as part of the Sufi tradition, which has a number of tekkes or lodges across the country.

The city of Tetovo is a good starting point, where you can see a very fine mosque (pictured, left) and a Bektashi tekke. Curiously, the Bektashis blend elements of Christian religious practice into their own faith, such as venerating the tombs of the dead. There are even examples of shared shrines in Macedonia where Christians and Bektashi converge on the same sacred spaces (though not, perhaps, always for the same reasons).

How to get there

The main airport at Skopje (named after Alexander the Great in a move that does nothing to appease neighboring Greeks who also assert ownership over Alex) has regular flights from Zürich, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Ljubljana and Belgrade. Wizz Air launches four times weekly connections from London on June 19.

The country’s second airport at Lake Ohrid reopened this week after a period closed for refurbishment. This spring and summer, Ohrid will benefit from direct flights from Ljubljana (Adria), Belgrade (JAT) and Amsterdam (ArkeFly).

The Bradt Guide to Macedonia

There are excellent train connections, with this summer’s schedules showing direct trains to Skopje from eight other countries. However and whenever you visit, take along Thammy Evans’ Bradt Guide to Macedonia. Her handling of the cultural complexity of the country is superb.

The post Why Travel to Macedonia? The Macedonian Question appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Discontinued services

First the bad news. A number of services have been axed, notably:

1. The overnight trains or through carriages from Munich to Copenhagen, Warsaw and Moscow.

2. The overnight services from Prague to Zagreb and Zürich via Linz (although the long established City Night line service from Prague via Dresden to Zürich continues just as now).

3. The once daily direct train from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Szczecin in Poland.

New links and improvements

But in a Europe where rail travel is becoming ever more popular, there were many notable improvements to services that came with the introduction of the 2011 schedules last Sunday. Some of the highlights include:

1. Dramatic improvements to services between St. Petersburg and Helsinki using sleek new Allegro trains that trim about 90 minutes off the journey times between the two cities.

2. More trains and faster journey times between Paris and Geneva, as the Haut-Bugey high-speed link through the Jura came into operation.

3. Increased frequency and faster travel times on daytime services linking Warsaw with Berlin.

4. More frequent direct services between Brussels and Calais on the French coast.

5. An additional daily service on the busy Paris to Amsterdam route.

6. Entirely new services linking Prague and Dresden with Szczecin in Poland.

7. New direct trans-Alpine trains from Venice to Basel (via the Gotthard route) and to Munich (via the Brenner Pass).

8. Better links from Hamburg with a new overnight train to Paris, and a new daytime service from Hamburg to Vienna via Hannover and Passau (complementing the existing daytime service via Berlin and Prague which continues just as in 2010).

9. An extra daily fast train on the Budapest to Bratislava route.

10. A new direct daytime train between Warsaw and Budapest (complementing the existing overnight service which continues as in the past).

In the weeks ahead

While most of the 2011 schedules came into effect this week, there are a small number of outstanding changes that will be introduced  in the weeks ahead. They include:

Effective December 19: An entire new Spanish high-speed route opens linking Madrid with both Valencia and Albacete. This will dramatically transform travel in eastern Spain, slashing the travel time from Madrid to Valencia by more than half.

On the same date a new high-speed link across the French-Spanish border will open, initially with just twice daily TGV trains from Paris to Figueres, where passengers must change for onward travel to Barcelona. With much reduced journey times, the new link will give much improved daytime connections between Catalunya and cities such as Geneva and London.

Effective January 7: New direct ski season services from Belgium and Luxembourg to the Tarentaise region in the French Alps and to resorts in both the Tyrol and the Salzburg regions of Austria.

You can review all the main 2011 rail schedules in each monthly edition of the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable.  The December edition, which is already available, contains over 500 pages of the 2011 schedules.  The January edition (published next week) includes the full schedules (including late changes which were not available when the December issue went to press) and a useful fares supplement.  That comes as standard fare in each January edition of the timetable, and we find it especially useful as it gives indicative costs for journeys within most European countries as well as for international routes.

The post European Train Update: 2011 rail changes appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

1. Pick the route less traveled

Paris, Vienna and Switzerland are luxury gems worth seeing when you have the budget, but penny pinchers should lean more towards Mediterranean marvels and Eastern European beauties like Dubrovnik, Krakow and Budapest.

2. Avoid travel packages

Seven-day bus tours and vacation packages are carefree ways to roam, but extra costs for meals and side attractions add up fast. Europe can be a traveler’s playground in most cases, so be independent.

3. Couch surf

The hotel industry, even in cheap Euro destinations, knows tourists will easily pay high costs for beds. Couch surfing communities, like couchsurfing.org, provide a network of inviting hosts offering their couches to travelers for free. The wave has notably hit Europe, and the option is a big money saver for the adventurous traveler.

4. Fly

Eurail passes are still good deals for backpackers on an unplanned continental whirlwind. Yet those with a decided destination can search dozens of low-cost airline companies carting passengers for pennies. Long-distance flights, like Istanbul to Morocco and London to Rome can be as cheap as $20 to $60 one way. Visit our flight section for budget airline information, and also check out the Skyscanner Web site.

5. Pack light

Those who’ve traveled in the past five years know that checking in luggage is an annoying extra cost. Strip your pack to less than necessary and throw it on your back. Aim to carry around 10 percent of your body weight. You can buy whatever you need upon arrival.

6. Take photos

The best way to document your journey is not through trinkets and t-shirts. Small digital cameras allow sightseers to capture hundreds of frames (and memories) while saving some precious cash. Plus, photos have a lifetime warranty!

7. No. 1 souvenir: Postcards

Everyone loves postcards because they’re a novelty, collector’s item and personal greeting all in one. The old-fashioned task of sending postcards only highlights the charming surprise one feels when receiving them. Postcards keep the souvenir tab low in cost but high in sincerity.

8. Two’s company

While three’s a crowd and solo style can get pricey, traveling with a buddy sheds cost in unexpected ways. From two-for-ones to special offers for couples, it’s surprising how much you can save when “going Dutch”.

9. Walk

Trams, buses, metros and taxis are a city’s biggest rip-off. Walking has so many advantages—exercise, more photo-ops, and overall a better and more exciting view of a city and its surroundings.

10. Eat light

Munching on smaller meals and going grocery shopping for snacks can keep your energy high all day, plus it keeps you away from big bills at tourist trap bistros. Don’t forget that ordering to go costs less, and eating in a park with a bottle of wine is more romantic than a busy terrace with sub-par service.

Bonus Tip: Avoid summer travel. Europe can be just as fun and beautiful in the spring and fall. Even the winter can make way for romantic wonderlands in the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Scandinavian Mountains.  Traveling during the off-season means cheaper prices—and less crowds.

The post Travel Tips: 10 ways to travel Europe for under $1000 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Each day, more than 350,000 cubic meters of hot water gushes to the surface of Buda and Pest. Thanks to government subsidies, admission fees to the city’s spectacular spas are surprisingly reasonable. The following list includes not necessarily the cheapest baths in town, but, from our own experience, the most picturesque and memorable.

As per local tradition, all baths offer multiple services at various prices. For the sake of clarity, we have listed only standard day-pass prices. Be sure to check bath schedules upon your arrival into Budapest, as most offer half-price days and “happy hours” and some designate entire days as male only or female only. Note that the Budapest Card offers 10 percent discounts to all baths listed below. Also, offering a refund for visits of less than two hours is a standard practice. So, be sure to store your receipt in a dry place before jumping into the deep end.

Lukacs Baths
Location: Frankel Leo út 25-27., II. district, Buda, bus 6, 86
Tel: (+36 1) 326 1695
Open: Mon-Sun, 6:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m.
Cost:  HUF 2,800 (about $15) on weekdays and HUF 2,900 on weekends

Opened in 1894, the Neo-Classical Lukacs Baths are located north of the castle in Buda, along the Danube. Visitors wade in the two outdoor swimming pools, get knocked around in the powerful Csaszar whirlpool and heat up in the jacuzzi. A marble tablet in the courtyard is etched with praises of visitors from all over the world.

Be sure to bring a swimming hat for the main pool, as they are required and rentals are pricey. A drinking hall, built in 1937, provides sulphurous water (thought to help digestion).

Gellert Baths
Location: Kelenhegyi út 4., XI. district, Buda, trams 47, 49, 18
Tel: (+36 1) 466 61 66
Open: Mon-Sun, 6:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Cost: HUF 3,500 (about $18) on weekdays and HUF 3,600 on weekends

The baths within the Gellert Hotel complex are housed inside and outside of a spectacular building at the foot of Gellert Hill. Non-bathers stop by to meditate on the craftsmanship of the tile-and-glass ceiling.

This maze of single-sex thermal baths and plunge pools opened in 1927. The wave machine is always a crowd-pleaser, and massage and therapy services are available as well. (Don’t get the steam bath confused with the sauna!) There’s even a salon on-site.

Szechenyi Baths
Location: Állatkerti Körút 11., City Park, XIV. district, trolley bus 72
Tel: (+36 1) 363 3210
Open: Mon-Sun, 6:00 a.m.-10 p.m.
Cost: HUF 3,400 (about $17) weekdays and HUF 3,500 on weekends

The Szechenyi Bath, located in City Park near the Budapest Zoo, is one of the largest spa complexes in Europe. Built in 1913, the bright yellow Neo-Baroque building recalls the Habsburg era. Pools and services runneth over inside the Szechenyi complex, and water gushes out into multiple whirlpools from 1,250 meters below ground.

When we last visited, we enjoyed three of the 15 different pools and multiple sauna rooms. We also got a kick out of the power whirlpool, which spins visitors effortlessly around a spraying fountain. Massage treatments and aquatic aerobics classes are available. A bar serves light snacks and locals like to play games on floating chess boards.

Rudas Baths
Location: Döbrentei tér 9., Buda, Erzsébet Bridge, I. district, tram 18, bus 7, 7a
Tel: (+36 1) 356 1322
For men: Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri: 6:00 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat-Sun: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
For women: Tue: 6:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Both Sexes (bathing suit is compulsory): Fri: 10.00-4.00, Sat: 6.00-20.00, 22.00-4.00, Sun: 6.00-20.00
Cost: HUF 2,100 (about $11) weekdays and HUF 2,200 on weekends

For a traditional Turkish bath experience, head over to the Rudas Bath in Buda, along the Danube. Sokoli Mustafa Pasha rebuilt this bath in 1566 and the traditional architecture still shines. A marble staircase leads into a dome-topped, octagonal thermal pool. Shafts of sunlight shine through the stained-glass cupola to create a gorgeous spectrum of colors.

Smaller pools surround the main dome, and range in temperature from icy cold to red hot. No swimsuits are allowed at the traditional complex (open to men on most weekdays and to women on Tuesdays). Medicinal waters are available to drink for an extra fee and the second floor houses a physiotherapy department.

Palatinus Strand
Location: Margitsziget, XIII. district, bus 26
Open: May to mid-Aug daily 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Last entry at 6:00 p.m.
Cost: HUF 1,800 (about $10) to HUF 2,200 with locker (adults), HUF200 (children)

Guests love the family-friendly atmosphere at the Palatinus Strand waterpark on the gorgeous Margaret Island, in between Buda and Pest. The complex is full of thermal springs gestating into three of the park’s 11 pools. A wave pool and a water slide with multiple tubes are favorites with the young at heart. Ping pong tables, pool tables and trampolines add variety and multiple snack bars provide nourishment. The Palatinus Strand is surrounded by playgrounds and parkland.

More information

For more information on the city’s bath scene, check out the Budapest Tourism Office’s article on the city’s baths, with videos and links to special events (including discos and bubble parties!).

The post Five of the best thermal baths in Budapest appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Edward Lucas, of The Economist magazine, pointed out that Latvia’s situation is pretty dire: a bank recently collapsed, the nation’s debt is swelling, and the country’s economy shrank by more than 10% in 2008. Furthermore, violent protests this year led to the collapse of the coalition government in February.

Difficult times

I noticed this myself last month, when I spent six days visiting Riga.

Of course, I mostly concerned myself with inspecting hotels and visiting the city’s historic sights. However, one couldn’t escape the signs of economic strain: I saw very few tourists (granted, it was early February), restaurants were empty (or closed), and prices were cheap.

Here was a city that poured millions of euros into reinventing itself as a magical, tourist-friendly destination–and hardly anyone was there. That wouldn’t normally be a major cause for concern in February. But this year was different. There seemed to be an uncertainty about whether or not tourists would return.

Across town, I visited beautiful hotels, freshly renovated (or newly constructed), often with sizable rooms and lovely bathrooms. Many sported eclectic, “boutique” decor. In almost any of the other cities we cover, these hotels would have been out of our Cheapo price range.

Yet, they were quite affordable in Riga. When I asked hotel owners for rates, they often frowned. Should they give me last summer’s rates? The off-season rates? What are this year’s rates? The prevailing attitude seemed to be, “we’ll see.” There was, after all, a big difference between the posted hotel rates and the bargain rates being offered online by the same hotels.

A great time to travel?

I found it all a bit unnerving. To encourage budget travelers to visit Latvia because of ever-discounted prices exploits a nation grappling with an economic crisis. Yet, tourism plays an incredibly important role in the nation’s economy, and it would follow that Latvia would benefit from an influx of tourists, eager to pump their euros (and lats) into the nation’s struggling economy.

Hotel owners, waitresses, the cashier at the opera… people were very friendly to me and seemed hopeful that more tourists would return to the city as the weather heats up.

Upon my return, I’ve raved about Riga. I had a great experience and found it fun, educational, delicious, and, yes, a bargain. Despite my sensitivities, I find myself bragging about what a good deal the city is for visitors.

And yet, I’m cautious when describing the budgetary benefits of visiting Riga.

Something strikes me as distasteful about choosing a destination based solely upon what you can “get” for your money. That may be a great way to purchase a beach resort getaway or a family cruise, but it strikes me as an un-thoughtful way to choose a travel destination.

Isn’t traveling about learning and experiencing? Doesn’t it call for a little more compassion and a little less consumption?

What do you think?

I’m eager to hear from our readers on this issue. Have you every traveled to a foreign country while they were experiencing difficulties? Did that affect your decision to go there? Would you consider going to a country with a shaky economy in order to stretch your travel budget?

Let us know in the comments section below.

For more information about Latvia’s financial troubles, also see an article in this week’s Der Spiegel (in English).

The post Riga: Thoughtful travels during uncertain (economic) times appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.