Budget Travel - Budget Travel in Eastern Europe

Summer 2006: I am going to Berlin for the World Cup Finals in
July. Currently the trip will also include a visit to Prague and Budapest. I'd love to fit in someplace like Krakow and/or Bratislava as well.

I guess I'm looking for a few things:
- Cheapest way to get around Eastern Europe. The Eurotrain unfortunately forces me to buy different tickets because the countries fall into different groups. (Unless I'm mistaken)
-Good budget hotels in hip areas of town
-Nightlife suggestions
-Dining suggestions
-Small towns/villages along the way worth visiting
-I used to know Berlin fairly well while living in Stuttgart but I haven't been back in several years. What's new there that won't be priced out of control thanks to the Cup?

Thanks in advance for help!

I did my student exchange in Leipzig (Sachsen) back in 2001, and did some travelling around the area.

(i) Cheap ways to get around
I used train Leipzig-Dresden-Prague a few times, and I thought this was relatively inexpensive.

I recall some people used Eurolines buses http://www.eurolines.com/ - could be cheap, but I have no idea about schedules.

You might possibly want to have a look at their Eurolines pass:
http://www.eurolines-pass.com/index.php?id=113

Easyjet fly from Schönefeld to Krakow and Budapest
http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Planning/Destination/index.html
- obviously other airlines could work out for you as well

(ii) Sachsen: Leipzig, Dresden
I definitely recommend both Leipzig and Dresden if you have the time:
http://www.sachsen.de/
http://www.leipzig.de/int/en/
http://www.dresden.de/index.html?lang=eng&PHPSESSID=b1a6eda9655cec67195c5ef4e7b360a7

(iii) Decin
If you end up taking the train Berlin-Dresden-Prague, the first station on the Czech side is Decin. I once spent a night there - actually quite interesting, and there's also a national park at the border. Prices were cheap + the train ticket Decin-Prague is very, very cheap (at least used to be)

(iv) In Berlin
I've been there for 2 weeks once, but can't say I know the place too well. I would definitely recommend Potsdam and the Stasi museum unless you've visited them both earlier.
http://www.stasi-museum.de/

If you have any interest in aviation, architecture or possibly both - do visit the Tempelhof airport.

Eurolines is a good cheap way of getting around. Especially if you are under 26, you can get the Youth prices. It cost me €17 (Single Youth) for 4 hour trip from Vienna to Prague. It's €15 for 1 hour trip from Vienna to Bratislava (Return Youth). Prices from March this year.

I would suggest going to Bratislava, it's smiliar to Prague except without the
mass tourists ^

Eurolines is a good cheap way of getting around. Especially if you are under 26, you can get the Youth prices. It cost me €17 (Single Youth) for 4 hour trip from Vienna to Prague. It's €15 for 1 hour trip from Vienna to Bratislava (Return Youth). Prices from March this year.

I would suggest going to Bratislava, it's smiliar to Prague except without the
mass tourists ^
Dont be crazy
Bratislava-Vienna is 3,2€ by Blaguss for oneway
Bratislava-Prague is 15€ r/t by train or even bus(lux)

Bratislava is very good base to travel in Central Europe, even there are represented low cost carriers :Skyeurope, Easyjet, RyanAir in BTS, airberlin, germanwings in VIE. Even Czech Airlines have good promo fares to PRG, and UK from BTS (via PRG) (approx from 70€++).

Dont be crazy
Bratislava-Vienna is 3,2€ by Blaguss for oneway
Bratislava-Prague is 15€ r/t by train or even bus(lux)


Isn't Blaguss the same as Eurolines?
I went from Sudtiroler Platz to Bratislava and that's how much it cost then.
Where does the Blaguss go from?

And I was quoted 80€ (yes Eighty) for a single train ride from Vienna to Prague.

Isn't Blaguss the same as Eurolines?
I went from Sudtiroler Platz to Bratislava and that's how much it cost then.
Where does the Blaguss go from?

And I was quoted 80€ (yes Eighty) for a single train ride from Vienna to Prague.

yes, blaguss is Eurolines, austria prices and the timetable are here (http://www.blaguss.sk/ba_wien.php) look for "Bratislava, Novy Most(stop in the very center location just below of the "SNP bridge" and the U.F.O. (http://www.u-f-o.sk/)) - Wien 3, Erdbergerstr. 202"

And if you want to travel from Bratislava to Prague for example by "Zlty Express" - "Yellow Express" bus than the oneway ticket is cca 10€.
Or by train is about 17€ (Bratislava-Prague - Euro or InterCity train ) for R/T ticket without special offers like CityStar-ticket.

If you take the train from Berlin, buy the ticket only to the border, then buy it on the Czech/Polish side for your continuing trip. This way the latter part is dirt cheap. But it might be cheaper, as mentioned above, to take the bus or you could try and find a cheap flight, right now even LH and OK have EUR39+ fares between Germany and Prague.

David

Summer 2006: I am going to Berlin for the World Cup Finals in
July. Currently the trip will also include a visit to Prague and Budapest. I'd love to fit in someplace like Krakow and/or Bratislava as well.

I guess I'm looking for a few things:
- Cheapest way to get around Eastern Europe. The Eurotrain unfortunately forces me to buy different tickets because the countries fall into different groups. (Unless I'm mistaken)
-Good budget hotels in hip areas of town
-Nightlife suggestions
-Dining suggestions
-Small towns/villages along the way worth visiting
-I used to know Berlin fairly well while living in Stuttgart but I haven't been back in several years. What's new there that won't be priced out of control thanks to the Cup?

Thanks in advance for help!

My husband and I rented a small studio in Prague a couple of years ago...

http://www.accommodation-prague.cz

The owner is named Ivan Falta. We only stayed for a long weekend, but that wasn't an issue. The "Sleszka" apartment is closest to city centre and travelling around the city was easy.

It may be that Prague has become more expensive but it is not a city to be missed.

Bon Voyage!

http://wizzair.com/index.shtml flys a few eastern european destinations..might be worth checking out

http://wizzair.com/index.shtml flys a few eastern european destinations..might be worth checking out

http://www.skyeurope.com/in.php

I got back from a trip through Poland and the Slovak Republic a couple days ago (flew into Warsaw and out of Vienna).

First, most people that live there do not consider this Eastern Europe. And if you look at a map, they're right. Former Eastern Bloc, maybe, but some people seem to be insulted that someone would consider Prague (which is actually west of Vienna) part of Eastern Europe, which is probably truly Belarus, the Baltics, etc.

Anyway, I guess I'll respectfully disagree with those recommending Bratislava. It has been/is in the process of being steralized and Americanized. If you're looking for any sort of authentic experience, Bratislava is not it. The city center, while charming, has the feeling of an amusement park. In short, it feels like some American real estate developer bought the city and is "improving" it wholesale.

There are cool towns/cities in the Slovak Republic though. Zilina has potential. Check out a town called Trencin. Kosice, in eastern Slovakia, is supposed to be a great city, but I didn't have time to get over there.

In Poland, skip Warsaw, head to Krakow and spend as much time as you can there. It depends what you mean by "budget," but nice rooms in 3-star hotels can be had for less than 50 USD. If you're into the hostel scene (I'm not), the rates I saw were all around 10-20 USD for a dorm room.

I loved Krakow. It's totally a world-class city, and if you stay away from the things and places obviously geared toward the well-healed western tourist, it's really cheap. Like 40c hot dogs in the train station, 60c for 1 1/2 liters of water, etc. And it's beautiful without feeling sterile.

There are some neat towns in Southern Poland, too. If you're young and just looking for the party scene, then Prague and Bratislava are probably where you should head. If you're looking for something more, try Krakow and some of the other cities and towns between Krakow and Brat.

HeelLaw, you're young so I guess I'll cut you some slack in how vociferously I disagree with you about Bratislava. But calling this awesome city "americanized" is just so wrong. Simply put, there are hardly any American tourists in BTS, so there's hardly any motivation to "americanize" it. If there is any one thing that significantly detracts from the amazingly wonderful city of Bratislava, it's the low fare flights from the UK carrying in a depressingly high number of brits who come here in their never-ending quest to find inexpensive alcohol and drink as much of it as possible before the bars close.

What you have in the old city is a congregation of mostly high-end shops, bars, inexpensive restaurants that cater to the boozers and bingers, as well as higher-end restaurants that cater to the diplomats and other Slovaks who travel to BTS, the Slovak capital. There are also a significant number of tourists here from Austria and Germany, who make a weekend in BTS because of the world class opera, symphony and ballet at very inexpensive prices.

I'm not going to write a travel article here. Just wanted to pipe in. But if anyone has any questions about Bratislava, just send me a pm. I love it here, though I wouldn't recommend it to the sort of traveler who just wants to go to museums or view a high quantity of easily accessible historical sights. And, yes, if you do come here, you should venture out of the old city. It's quite easy to get around; rental cars and even taxis are cheap by european standards. Bratislava has the most incredible farmer's market I've ever seen, amazingly great and inexpensive food and drink, and some of the nicest, most hospitable people you're likely to meet.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I am currently trying to figure a way to fit in both Krakow and Bratislava, as well as a night in Dresden. It's going to be interesting. Any other tips are very welcomed and ridgeback, I'd love to hear more abot what to do in Bratislava from a local's point of view. Thanks!

Are you sure no railpass covers the cities you are interested in?

In 2003, I had a a railpass that covered (IIRC) Poland, Czech, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria. I had to buy tickets for the portion of my journey in Germany and Italy.

If you want, I can easily look at my used pass and let you know....

You are correct. I have found a pass to cover Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. And I will need a seperate ticket to get me in and out of Germany.

HeelLaw, you're young so I guess I'll cut you some slack in how vociferously I disagree with you about Bratislava.

I don't get the connection, but thanks.

But calling this awesome city "americanized" is just so wrong. Simply put, there are hardly any American tourists in BTS, so there's hardly any motivation to "americanize" it.

I guess we'll just agree to disagree. When I was there, last month, it felt to both me and a friend like Disney had purchased the entire old town and turned it into the Slovak exhibit at Epcot. After traveling through the rest of the country, it just didn't seem very real. Everything was renovated and sandblasted. Everyone spoke English. The food and beer was cheap. The food wasn't good. The beer was, but it was imported from the Czech Republic.

If a person hasn't been to continental europe before, Bratislava would be a very happy, cheap, and typical introduction. If a person has traveled much though, I think that they'll leave feeling unsatisfied. It just simply has the same sterile, made-for-tourism feel that all of those little enclaves feel like, whether it's Bratislava or Key West.

When we got out of old town, we found new, American-style shopping centers (one was multi-story with movie theater, bowling alley, and smoothie stand) and old, Communist-style apartment buildings. Walking around those was actually the coolest thing we did there.

I can see why Western Europeans like it. It's a lot like Western Europe, but cheaper. And perhaps safer. But if you're looking for any sort of other experience, stick to other cities in Slovakia or other countries.