kerouac

The number of French tourists to Greece nearly doubled this year due to the wonderful new low prices (and also the fact that popular destinations like Tunisia and Egypt seemed unwise).

bilboburgler

Czeck Republic is ok but Prague is pricier than the rest of the country (for good reasons). You can do well in the backwaters of eastern Germany (Leipzig, Dreseden, Middelburg etc).

I've not been to Sicily but I hear the prices are good. They are very good in Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria. I like the first two most. The people are friendly the food and wine is excellent (very good if you are veggie) with hints of Greece and Arabia in the cooking. Most towns in Puglia were founded by the Greeks, then taken over the Romans before the Saracens and the Normans turned up so lots of wonderous old buildings to visit and even though there is a big Nato (read US) base there the place is not heaving with non-Italians.

Michael

<i>It will never happen but it would be nice if when thread makers use phrases like "less pricey" and "budget", they actually quantify their statement with a number and a currency.</i>

The alternative is to give actual prices if possible in the replies.

Odin

Cyprus is definitely not cheap.

BigRuss

<< France, Italy or England which I am imagining are the most expensive,>>

Your information stinks. The most expensive are the Scandinavians, Finland and Russia (unless you want to stay in a dump).

You need to define what is pricey and reasonable to you. Otherwise, you are using meaningless terms.

lauramsgarden

thanks everyone, I was hoping to keep total for food and lodging to around $300 USD/day. Thanks Bilboburglar, most helpful

bilboburgler

Even Finland gets pretty cheap once you get above the Arctic circle. Switzerland is very hard on the pocket especially the big cities, while Austria in the countryside can be reasonable.

xyz99

You won't need all that much in Slovenia - click on my name to find a trip report with pictures from last year

Christina

Spain and Portugal are probably your best bets. I don't find France particularly expensive, anyway. Sure, Paris can be, but not elsewhere, and Paris hotels actually are pretty decently priced to some other large cities. But if you like Spain and Portugal that sounds good.

You often can't get some some of those places as easily as western Europe, anyway, and the miles you need may be a lot higher.

adrienne

Is that for 2 people? You can easily do that in Portugal, Poland, CR (not sure about 3* hotels as I don't normally book those and don't pay much attention to star rating).

Portugal had wonderful food and very cheap. You can eat dinner for $15 per person including a half bottle of wine outside the Lisbon area. A bit more in Lisbon and environs.

I love the wonderful Polish and Czech breakfasts (hearty) that are normally included with the room. In Portugal I never found much for breakfast beyond sweet pastries which I dislike early in the morning.

Sightseeing admissions are cheaper in those countries too.

tailsock

portugal

Tabernash2

We loved Lisbon last Fall. It's a lively, friendly, and affordable place. Take a look at the Avenida Palace in Lisbon, for a wonderful hotel.

Leely2

I agree that once you get out of Paris France isn't terribly expensive. Food in Poland is cheap, and I am a major splurger when it comes to dining out. We were in Warsaw and Krakow and had a fantastic time, really loved it.

I spent a lot of money in Sicily. Perhaps it is an inexpensive destination, but I came home broke after that trip. It was worth it, though!

Gretchen

We have done that budget easily in France, including Paris.

adrienne

<< I'm astonished adrienne thought Croatia didn't have much sight-seeing. I'm wondering what she likes to see. Croatia has plenty of beautiful coast, islands, cute towns, history. >>

I thought Split, Dubrovnik, and Ljubljana were worth about 1/2 to 3/4 of a day each. Ljubljana and Dubrovnik were very pretty but so are a lot of places.

As to what I like to see...the list is large and is not limited to: houses, churches, most museums (not limited to art museums as there are so many other museums I've visited), monasteries, castles/palaces (although I've about had my fill of those), ruins (almost maxed out on these too), bridges, fountains, rooftops, flowers, clock towers with emerging figures, sculpture, frescoes, signs, shop windows, stained glass, mosaics, street markets, ceramic tile, music venues, gargoyles, sundials, etc.

welltraveledbrit

We spent a month in Lisbon this year and found it considerably cheaper than many other Europeans capitals. Overall Portugal is a good suggestion, history, countryside and train travel that you mentioned in the OP. The pousadas are very lovely and a great value, particularly for those over 55 (we don't qualify yet!) who get a great rate.

I've been to Croatia and while everyone told us it was very cheap we didn't find it to be so, on the coast in the summer they seem to have a lot of "tourist" pricing and we found it was more expensive than Rome which made no sense. Dubrovnik was horribly packed with cruise ship people and we could barely see the charm of the place. I would go back in January or late September but it's somewhere I would avoid in the height of the summer. I'm with Adrienne it's interesting but not compelling in terms of history and architecture etc.

I agree with some of the other posters that rural France can be quite reasonable, Puglia in southern Italy would also work. Your budget would go a long way if you rented a gite or a vacation house almost anywhere in Europe.

In terms of FF miles make sure you maximize them, remember you can plan an open jaw and some airlines will give you a stopover too.

Here's a link to our blog posts on Portugal which you may find helpful....

http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...label/Portugal

Leely2

Nice blog, welltraveledbrit!

welltraveledbrit

Thanks Leely2!

lauramsgarden

great blog - thanks, sounds like Portugal may be the winner this time...will make some inquiries and probably post again soon with more questions(and I am over 55 - yea!)

Michael

You might want to look at my Portugal trip report; click on my name to find it.