Eastern Europe is still, overall, a budget destination. But prices are increasing as the tourist industry grows, and you might find that your trip to Eastern Europe will cost more than you're willing to spend. Try using some of these budget travel tips for your next trip to Eastern Europe. You'll find that you'll save a lot of money without sacrificing enjoyment.
1. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Stay Outside the City Center
In most cases, hotels located in the city center are most expensive. To cut costs, try staying outside the city center and using public transportation to see the prime sights of your destination city. In addition, you'll get more for your money when you choose a hotel that isn't smack in the middle of Old Town. What you spend on transportation costs won't even come near what you'll save on your room.
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2. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Stay with a Friend
If you know someone in your destination country or city, you may not even have to ask if you can stay with them for a couple of nights; it's possible that they'll offer without hesitation. If staying at a friend's place is impossible, your friend might know someone who can take you in for a night or two.3. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Use Your Student ID If You Have One
If you are a student, or if you have a student ID, many museums and other attractions in Eastern Europe will offer a student discount when ID is presented. When planning your trip to Eastern Europe, keep an eye out for opportunities to use your student ID and take full advantage of them.4. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Dine In
Instead of spending your money on costly hotel food or even at restaurants, consider buying food items that you can easily store in your hotel room. Small grocery stores are often located near hotels, and you can stock up on enough fruit, snacks, and juice that you can dine in more often than you dine out.5. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Avoid Tourist Areas
When you travel to Eastern Europe, you'll of course want to see the main sights in the tourist areas of your destination. However, when it comes to shopping for souvenirs or getting a bite to eat, avoid the tourist areas. The souvenir and food establishments in these areas charge higher prices that they know unwitting tourists will pay. However, if you shop or dine where the locals shop and dine, you'll pay what the locals pay.6. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Take Advantage of Free Attractions
Many attractions in Eastern Europe are free. Scope the freebies out before you go and make a point to visit them. For example, a major free attraction in Moscow is
seeing Lenin's body, but this is only one example. Other examples include touring destination cities' old towns, hiking at national parks, or attending local folk festivals
7. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Go It Alone
While you may be tempted to pursue the convenience and security of a tour group, paid tours are unnecessary expenditures. Tour guides in Eastern Europe often inflate their prices for Western tourists, and while you may get more information if you join a tour, you can learn the same stuff from a well-written guidebook. Going it alone also means being able to go at your own pace and see what you want to see, not what your guide has decided you will see.8. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Travel During the Off Season
Peak travel seasons in Eastern Europe include the summer months, particularly June through August. Traveling on the fringes of the tourist season, or during the winter and fall off-seasons, can potentially save you hundreds of dollars on airfare and hotel accomodations. Do your research before you go to see what deals you can score by traveling during the off season. You'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
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While haggling or bargaining in Eastern Europe isn't usually done, there is a time and place for it. You may be able to get by with haggling in touristy areas of Eastern Europe if you know that the prices are inflated ridiculously, or if the vendor seems to welcome bargaining. Just be careful when you try this tactic, as you can easily insult someone if you choose the wrong place and time to bargain.
10. Eastern Europe Budget Travel Tip: Pack Light
Domestic flights in some Eastern European countries have much stricter codes about luggage weight than do international flights. If your luggage is over the posted weight limits for a domestic flight, you can pay a hefty fine for the additional poundage. To be safe, pack light. You'll save on fines and you'll be thankful you don't have to lug around such heavy bags.
