Cheapest European cities for short vacations

A new study by global luggage storage provider Stasher reveals the cheapest and most expensive European cities for a weekend getaway.

The study analysed data from Hotels.com, Kayak.co.uk, and Numbeo.com to find out how much it would cost to make all the expenses needed for two people for a short trip in every European city with an airport, from flights and hotel rooms to meals and local transportation. These costs were then added to calculate the expected minimum cost of the trip based on the expected number of purchases for each expense.

Krakow, in Poland, takes first place with a weekend trip costing an estimated 617.79€. The price includes the average cost for a low-cost round trip from any airport in the UK, 217.30€, and the average hotel cost per night of 118.54€. Moreover, the average mid-range meal for two people is 42.36€, while the average one-way ticket on local transportation costs 1.15€.

While in Krakow, either on a budget or not, it’s worth checking out incredible landmarks such as the Rynek Glowny Central Square, St Mary’s Basilica and the Bazylika i Klasztor Franciszkanow.

Second is Bucharest, in Romania, where a weekend trip would cost about 655.17€. The city has the lowest hotel room price per night of the entire list, at 100.68€, and the lowest average McDonald’s meal at 6.98€. Bucharest is the home of the Palatul Parlamentului, the second-largest government building in the world, and other must-see landmarks such as the Stavropoleos Monastery, one of the oldest churches in the city, and the Ateneul Român.

Poland’s capital, Warsaw, comes third with a trip costing 656.59€. To stay in the bright and colourful city, it would be necessary to spend an average of 121.35€ per night and an average of 245.1€ for round-trip flights from the UK.

The city offers plenty of opportunities for sightseeing, and among the most suggestive views are the Old Town, called Stare Miasto by locals, the Palace of Culture and Science, perfect for younger tourists as well, and the Chopin Monument, for music lovers all over the world.

Further down on the list, Riga takes fourth place. A weekend in the Latvian capital would cost 676.86€, only 112.47€ of which would be for a hotel room per night and 59.6€ for a mid-range meal for two. Both prices are the second cheapest in the top 10.

Riga, like all European capitals, is full of history and culture, which can be savoured by visiting landmarks such as the Old City, the House of The Black Heads and the Town Hall Square.

Prague, Czech Republic, closes the top five with an average weekend trip costing 716.76€. The city in the heart of Europe offers beautiful scenery and plenty of attractions such as the Orloj, the Astronomical Clock and the Old in the Old Town Square, and Prague Castle, the seat of power of the country. It also offers the lowest round-trip flight cost of the top ten 197.48€, and the cheapest average inexpensive meal price of the whole list, 7.86€.

On the other side of the list, Zurich is the most expensive city to visit in Europe for a weekend, with a total cost of circa 1,382.67€. The costliest expense in the Swiss city being a hotel room, which would cost 350.90€ per night, and a mid-range meal for two being £105.72, the highest of the list.

Reykjavik, capital of Iceland, is the second most expensive, with a weekend costing 1,349.55€, while Cologne, Germany, takes third place with an overall cost of 1,260.97€.

Surprisingly, Edinburgh ranks fourth, meaning that sometimes is more expensive for Brits to travel abroad than within its own borders, as the price for a hotel room per night is of 366.13€ per night, the highest of the whole list.

The top ten continues with Geneva, Florence, Venice, Rome, Copenhagen and Milan, which feature from the fifth to the tenth place.

Anthony Collias, Co-Founder of Stasher, commented on the findings: “The data provides helpful insights into the European touristic landscape and can be easily used to plan your next trip abroad.

“With each of these cities providing plenty of opportunities for entertainment, as well as cultural enrichment, any destination can be the best fit based on your personal budget.”

This report was distributed by Journo Research on behalf of its client stasher.com. Journo Research operates as stasher.com’s Digital PR agency.

Methodology of Study:

• Hotels.com was scraped for prices per night of hotels available between 21/06/2024 and 24/06/2024 for two adults with one-day flexibility. These prices were averaged per city.
• Kayak.co.uk was scraped for return trip flight prices for two adults departing from any of the UK’s top 20 busiest airports. These prices were then averaged per city.
• Numbeo.com was scraped for average prices of various food and travel metrics per city.
• Two days of purchasing assumes one half-day on arrival, one full day, and one half-day on departure.
• The expected minimum cost of the trip was then calculated based on the expected number of purchases for each price. These prices, both in GBP and EUR, were then ranked from cheapest to most expensive.