Last Updated: 02/10/20 | February 10th, 2020
When most people check out Europe they have a tendency to stick to the western and central regions of the continent. England, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy all see their fair share of tourists — and then some!
Travelers with a longer trip in mind will branch out a little more, maybe visiting the Czech Republic, Austria, or the stunning coastline of Croatia for some fun in the sun.
But few tourists head to far Eastern Europe.
I’m talking about Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. While Bulgaria sees a few more tourists because of its proximity to the Balkans and acts as a stop on the overland route from Turkey to Budapest, the farther north I went, the fewer travelers I saw.
In Ukraine, I only encountered us peace Corp volunteers and a handful of Europeans.
I don’t understand why — these countries are inexpensive and safe, and they lack the overwhelming crowds you find elsewhere in Europe. These countries are half the price of their Western counterparts. In fact, during my 46 days in these three countries, I spent a total of $1,876.50 USD. and that was even taking into account all the sushi I splurged on! That’s a terrific deal for 46 days in Europe.
While I would normally break down the cost of each country into a single post, I want to put these countries together, so you can see all at once how affordable this area of Europe is.
Tartalomjegyzék
The cost of Bulgaria
The cost of Romania
The cost of Ukraine
Végső gondolatok
The cost of Bulgaria
While in Bulgaria, I spent a total of 1,405 BGL in 23 days. That worked out to be roughly $1,000 USD, or $44 USD per day at today’s exchange rate. In the 23 days I was there, I visited all the major sightseeing destinations, including the expensive and way overrated Sunny Beach.
How I spent My Money:
Food: 475.90 BGL (cheap local meals, a few restaurants, and a lot of sushi)
Accommodation: 445.70 BGL (I stayed in dorm rooms and Couchsurfed for five nights)
Alcohol: 259.40 BGL (I partied pretty heavily, especially along the Black Sea)
Buses: 100 BGL
Taxis: 19 BGL (a few intra-city and airport taxis.)
Tours/Sightseeing: 53 BGL
Movies: 42.05 BGL
Water: 8.90 BGL
Chess in the park: 1 BGL
How much Can You really Do It For?
Ugyanarról. Excluding my sushi splurge, my daily average would have been around $38.29 USD. I didn’t spend lavishly in Bulgaria or really do anything beyond what the normal budget traveler would do. I used local transport, ate local meals, stayed in low-cost hostels. If you aren’t a sushi fan, budgeting $35–40 USD per day in Bulgaria should be adequate.
If you’re looking for nicer accommodations and more restaurant meals, you should consider budgeting $50–55 USD per day. and while these are not the rock-bottom prices you can find in other parts of the world, when comparing them to prices in Western Europe or Scandinavia, things are considerably cheaper.
How to save money in Bulgaria
If you want to save even more money in Bulgaria, here are a few ways to cut your expenses:
1. Couchsurf – Hostels are cheap, but if you want to save even more money on accommodation, you can Couchsurf and stay with locals for free. There are a lot of available hosts in this country. use the app to meet-up with locals as well, as it’s a terrific way to get insider tips even if you don’t want to stay with someone.
2. cook – There’s a lot of low-cost Bulgarian food, especially the pizza, hot dogs, and sandwiches on the street. cooking your own food will obviously make things cheaper too, especially since the markets have a wide variety of economical fruits and vegetables. If you plan on cooking your own food, groceries will cost around 70 BGN per week for basic necessities like pasta, vegetables, chicken, and other basic foodstuffs.
3. stay at Hostel Mostel – staying at Hostel Mostel can lower your costs because not only do they offer free breakfast but they also offer free dinner (which also comes with a free beer). staying here gets you two meals a day. They have locations in Sofia, Plovdiv, and Velinko Tarnovo.
4. Take buses – The trains in Bulgaria are more expensive than buses. use Sofia as your main hub for traveling via bus and you will have a lot of terrific options, with buses leaving hourly for the major cities in Bulgaria. A bus ride from Sofia to Varna is 32 BGN, to Plovdiv is 14 BGN, and Veliko Tarnovo is 22 BGN. stick to buses if you’re on a budget!
5. avoid Sunny beach – I’ll be honest: I don’t understand the appeal of a beach that’s both expensive and crowded with tourists. There are more beach chairs here than sand and it is way overpriced. Unless you’re looking to binge drink and party, skip Sunny Beach.
6. travel in the off season – June-September is the peak summer season in Bulgaria so you’ll see a larger influx of tourists then and prices will be higher. Winters are an optimal time for Bulgarian budget travel when you can enjoy less-crowded destinations, plenty of scenic beauty, and good opportunities for skiing in the snow (just avoid Christmas as prices will jump up).
7. eat at the bakeries – Bakeries in Bulgaria have a delicious and affordable range of pastries and foods which will fill you up in the morning. two of my favorite snacks were banica and krenvirshka.
The cost of Romania
Romania has been growing in popularity over the years, but is still relatively untouched. While here, I spent 1878.30 RON over 16 days. That works out to be 117.38 RON ($36 USD) per day. This covered the cost of travel from Bucharest through Brasov and Transylvania to Cluj-Napoca.
How I spent My Money
Food: 724.4 RON (sushi meals, a few nice restaurants, as well as cooking for three days)
Accommodation: 881 RON (dorm rooms and two nights in a private room)
Alcohol: 9 RON
Transportation: 113.9 RON (buses and airport taxis)
Tours/Sightseeing: 80 RON (Bran Castle, a bunch of museums, and walking tours)
Cold Medicine: 57 RON
Water: 13 RON
How much can You really Do It For?
You can do Romania cheaper than I did. I spent quite a bit on sushi and had a few nights in a private room. Moreover, I got a cold and had to spend some money on medicine, which upped my budget too. $30 USD a day is a reasonable backpacker budget for Romania, though you’ll probably spend more if you drink. You can likely do it for even cheaper if you use some of my tips below and really travel on a shoestring.
If you want a few nights in a private room, nice meals, and more sites, your budget will probably come close to $45-50 USD per day. If you only stay in private rooms, then simply triple the amount of money I spent on accommodation and that’s how much you’ll need to budget for a place to stay.
How to save money in Romania
I didn’t find that Romania offered amazing ways to save. There wasn’t really any single thing that I found and was like, “Wow! This is going to be great! My budget is saved!” outside the normal Couchsurf/cook/eat local tips that I mention above. However, there are a few things you can do to save a couple of bucks:
1. use rideshares – One valuable app you’ll want to check out is BlaBlaCar. It’s a ride-sharing app that is quite popular in Romania and a terrific way to get around the country. It’s not necessarily cheaper than buses or trains but it is usually faster. Plus, it’s a much more unique experience so I’d recommend trying it if you’re traveling around the country. You can also use it to check out neighboring countries as well.
2. Hitchhike – Hitchhiking is quite common (and relatively safe) in Romania. If you’re an intrepid backpacker and don’t mind thumbing it, definitely give it a try! (Just be sure to use common sense, take precautions, and trust your gut!)
3. shop at discount grocery stores – If you’re going to cook (or are just grabbing a snack), you can save money by shopping at discount supermarkets. These include Profi, Lidl, and penny Market.
4. stay at Balkan Backpacker Hostels – Balkan Backpackers have hostels all around Romania and the Balkans that are a part of the same hostel network. If you book directly with these and tell them you’re aware of the network you’ll get 10% off your stay.
The cost of Ukraine
My last stop in the region was Ukraine. While I was in Ukraine, I spent a total of 2377.95 UAH ($297 USD) in the seven days I visited the country. That works out to be a 339.70 UAH per day ($43 USD). I was in Kyiv and Lviv while I was there.
How I spent My Money
Accommodation: 740 UAH (I stayed in dorm rooms for about 100–110 UAH per night)
Food: 1122.50 UAH (mostly local Ukrainian restaurants and two fancy sushi dinners)
Alcohol: 261 UAH (two nights out in Kyiv)
Transportation: 219.20 UAH
Tours/Sightseeing: 10 UAH
Water: 15.25 UAH
Chess: 10 UAH (I paid to lose at chess in the park. It was fun.)
How much Can You really Do It For?
One of the reasons my budget for Ukraine was so high was because I went out for sushi twice. When you exclude those meals from my budget, my daily average drops to 251 UAH or $31 USD. I don’t think you can check out Ukraine for much cheaper than that. I was the ultimate backpacker here and stuck to everything cheap.
However, I suggest you spend more and not be so frugal. Splurge on sushi or drinks or a nice room every so often. This country is low-cost (the cheapest I’ve been to in Europe, in fact). megfelel várakozásnak. enjoy it, because after more tourists start to check out here (especially after HBO’s hit show Chernobyl inspires more tourism) prices will start to creep up. The Ukraine is currently one of the best value countries in Europe. Make the most of it while you can.
How to save money in Ukraine
If you really feel the need to spend even less money in Ukraine, you can do three things:
1. Couchsurf – If 140-280 UAH per night is too much for you, then Couchsurf and save yourself money.
2. head out of Kyiv – The country is substantially cheaper outside of Kyiv, as well as the closer you geT Oroszországba. (MEGJEGYZÉS: Jelenleg kerülje el Ukrajna és Krím keleti részét).)
3. Egyél Helyi – csak olyan helyi éttermekben étkezve, mint a Puzata Khata, akkor az élelmiszerárakat a lehető legalacsonyabb szinten tartja. Egy tipikus étkezés itt kb. 30 UAH (4 USD).
Végső jegyzet
Alkohol. Nagyszerű Kelet -Európában – és olcsó. Mindezen országokban 2,5 literes palack sört vásárolhat szupermarketekben és sarokboltokban 1–2 USD-ért. Hihetetlenül jó érték, és az út az olcsón. Ragaszkodjon ahhoz, hogy saját alkoholt vásároljon, ahelyett, hogy éttermekben és bárokban iszik. Noha a különbség nem tűnik nagynak, néhány hét alatt a pénz összeadódik. Ha költségvetéssel rendelkezik, ragaszkodjon ahhoz, hogy az alkoholt vásárolja az üzletekben, az éttermek és bárok helyett.
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Kelet -Európa a legjobb alku, amelyet a kontinensen talál. Ez a három ország sokkal megfizethetőbb volt, mint gondoltam volna, és az ide utazás határozottan segített nekem a Nyugat -Európa túlzott költségeinek és magasabb költségeinek kijavításában.
De csak a pénzmegtakarításon túl, ezek az országok gazdag történelemben és finom ételekben vannak, és kihívást jelentenek az utazók számára, amelyeket nem talál a jól viselt ösvényen Európa más részein. Nagyon örülök, hogy végre elkészítettem itt.
Megjegyzés: Lengyelország, a Balkán és a balti államok szintén csodálatos értéket kínálnak. Ne hagyja ki őket, ha Kelet -Európát vizsgálja! Az időkorlátozások miatt nem néztem meg Moldovát, de hallottam, hogy az ára megegyezik a terület többi részével. Nem mentem Fehéroroszországba, mert néhány száz dollárba kerül a vízumért, és nem éreztem, hogy elég időt töltök ott a költségek igazolására. Megmentem ezeket az országokat egy újabb utazásra!
Szerezd meg mélyreható költségvetési útmutatóját Európába!
A részletes 200+ oldali útmutatóm a költségvetési utazók számára készült, mint te! Kihúzza a többi útmutatóban található pelyhesítőt, és egyenesen a gyakorlati információkhoz kerül, amelyekre Európában utazni kell. Javasolta az útvonalakat, a költségvetéseket, a pénzmegtakarítás módját, a megverett utat és a látnivalókat, a nem turista éttermeket, a piacokat, a bárokat, a biztonsági tippeket és még sok minden mást! Kattintson ide, hogy többet megtudjon, és ma megkapja a példányát.
Foglalja le Európába vezető utat: logisztikai tippek és trükkök
Foglalja le a járatát
Használja a Skyscanner vagy a Momondo-t, hogy keressen olcsó repülést. Ők a két kedvenc keresőmotorom, mert webhelyeket és légitársaságokat keresnek szerte a világon, így mindig tudod, hogy a kő nem marad hátra. Először kezdje el a Skyscannerrel, mert ők a legnagyobb elérhetőségük van!
Foglalja le szállását
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and low-cost hotels. here are my favorite hostels in Europe.
Ne felejtsd el az utazási biztosítást
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. Kedvenc cégeim, amelyek a legjobb szolgáltatást és értéket nyújtják, a következő:
Biztonsági szárny (mindenki számára, aki 70 alatt van)
Insure My trip (for those over 70)
MedJet (további hazatelepítéshez)
Keresi a legjobb vállalatokat, amelyekkel pénzt takaríthat meg?
Nézze meg az erőforrás -oldalamat, hogy a legjobb vállalatok használják az utazás során. Felsorolom mindazokat, amelyeket pénzmegtakarításhoz használok, amikor úton vagyok. They will save you money when you travel too.
Looking for more information on visiting Europe?
Be sure to check out our eobust destination guide to Europe for even more planning tips!