Exciting budget destinations?

boredinverness

Hello! I have decided that 2009 will be my year of travel; I want to go away as much as possible to get away from the :eek:monotony:eek: of everyday life!

Obviously it's less cost effective to have more shorter breaks than one long holiday, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for exciting and interesting places to visit, that won't break the bank to get there, and are quite cheap when you're there?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated and we can all dream we're somewhere else...!

boredINverness

markccfc

boredinverness wrote: »

Hello! I have decided that 2009 will be my year of travel; I want to go away as much as possible to get away from the :eek:monotony:eek: of everyday life!

Obviously it's less cost effective to have more shorter breaks than one long holiday, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for exciting and interesting places to visit, that won't break the bank to get there, and are quite cheap when you're there?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated and we can all dream we're somewhere else...!

boredINverness

I'll start the ball rolling with my choice of Riga.

hollydays

love italy-but definitely NOT cheap

smaysey

My boyfriend and I went to Italy reasonably cheaply at the beginning of October - we flew into Pisa with Ryanair, and stayed in Lucca for three nights. It was fantastic, we spent the afternoon we arrived in Pisa looking at the leaning tower and just wandering round the city, then took the train to Lucca which is one of the unsung delights of that part of Italy. From there (by train) we explored Florence, spent some time in the Uffizi and wandering down the river.

Our total trip cost us under £200 for flights and accommodation, we took £200 spending money (for food and everything else!) and had a lovely time. The local trains are very cheap too. Definitely worth looking into

I also went to Vienna with the girls in February this year - again, budget-airline'd it to Vienna, got a coach into the city which cost us about 3 euro and stayed in a (perfectly respectable!) hostel which was about 10 minutes by underground to the centre. That was mainly a cake-and-opera trip, so we spent a lot of time in coffee shops (eating cake) and saw Tosca for the princely sum of 3 euro - even though we did have to stand! I think flights and accommodation came to around £120, and we all took £200 spending money.

We're going to Barcelona this January (got to love the £5 ryanair tickets!) and I suspect that will be another trip like Vienna. They're all good fun and you really don't have to spend a lot to enjoy the places you go - loads of museums have weekend or week passes which work out cheaper, eating out doesn't cost that much if you don't go to high end restaurants, and as long as you're not too picky you can always find somewhere to stay!

maman

Following on from smaysey, I can definitely recommend Verona. The town (city?) itself is good and trains/buses are cheap to Venice, Vicenze, Lake Garda and other very interesting places nearby. Would also recommend Salzburg. We had cheap flights there a couple of years ago right at the end of the skiing season ( we weren't skiing just sightseeing). Often packages can be as cheap as putting together a holiday yourself. We had a very cheap week in Sorrento in October, just over £200 each including a half-board hotel.

BusPass_2

I'm with smaysey and maman on this one.

My wife and I now concentrate on short(ish) budget breaks.

We were recently in Spain (£20 flights with Ryanair, hotel paid for with Air Miles collected through Teco Credit Card), we're off to Paris in December (£1 Ryanair flights), Cologne in February (for the Carnival!) staying with a niece in Brighton in April so that we can watch our son run in the London marathon and we are planning a trip to Marseille courtesy of cheap Ryanair flights.

If you can, book on line, pay with Visa Electron (no surcharges), check in on line and take hand luggage only when travelling with Ryanair. It's amazing how efficient you get after a few attempts at it. Book your hotels independently using web sites advertising discounts. Take public transport when you are away (generally it is much cheaper and more punctual than UK), don't hire a car, eat where you see the local 'workies' eating, visit the free tourist attractions and you will have a very good time and come back with money in your pocket, guaranteed.

Can't wait to take a free wander down the Champs Elysee to admire the Christmas lights and soak up the atmospher just a few days before Christmas.

leanne2682

i recommend gdansk! beautiful city and oh so cheap!!

JAM1376

I can also recommend Pisa and Florence on £1 Ryan air. 2 nights hotel for £97, train to Florence and a wonderful cheap weekend (last October).

This Monday we will fly to Wroclaw for 1p each in each direction, got a double ensuite in a hostel for £94 for another 3 days away for £100 (plus spending money of course but as said, eat where the locals eat).

Just wish we had more days holiday from work!!

I tend to go where the cheap flights are and there is usaully something to see/do cheaply. Happy travels!

jaymac_2

If you want to get away as cheaply and as often as possible just book the cheapest flights you can find whatever the destination, stay in hostels and use public transport and look on it as an adventure.

sturll

France, many people think it is full of arrogant French people - and it is, but they have some amazingly beautiful places - particularly in the south Pyrenees region. Or the South East coast, there are hundreds of haven style parks in France - or if like me you love history then there are some of the worlds best preserved war memorials and graveyards around Northern France.

The best thing about France though is that you can get a crossing for a few quid and you can take the car.

markelock

paris is lovely. but expensive. some of the best examples of car parking I've ever seen.

budapest is great. and cheap.

apartments offer better value than hotels, although as above, it's possible to get much cheaper accomodation if that's what suits you.