Balkans or Baltic - Cheap week-long city holiday

Posted by ChairmanSunYatSen@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 16 comments

Looking to go abroad for a week, either a Baltic or Balkan state. Don't drive so want to stay in a fairly large city where I can keep myself entertained. I mainly want to see museums, historic buildings, landmarks, etc, as well as eating some nice food. If there's stuff outside the city easily reachable by good public transport that's also be good Where would you guys recommend? Flying from UK

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16 Comments

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gabieplease_@reddit

Athens, Greece the obvious answer.

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ChairmanSunYatSen@reddit (OP)

If I wanted to see real Ancient Greece, I'd go to Macedonia xx

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practical_mastic@reddit

Um, no.

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ChairmanSunYatSen@reddit (OP)

I don't need to steal anyone's identity. I'm British, and we are descendents of Brute of Troy Nah I was just messing with you.

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AppetizersinAlbania@reddit

IMO Albanian coast line prices are now comparable with western EU except for local transportation costs. The requirement to always pay in Albanian Lekes can lead to a lot of costly ATM surcharges. However, was able to use my cards in Tirana at some hotels. BH definitely has better accommodation prices.

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Techno_Nomad92@reddit

I just finished a 3 month trip through Albania, where are you getting there numbers that its on par with western europe? Airbnb was the cheapest i ever saw, food was cheap too. Eating out was cheap, public transport was cheap (around 10 euros for a trip that was 4-6 hours by bus) And you can avoid the ATM charges by just withdrawing a larger amount of cash at once? Albania was the cheapest country i have ever visited.

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AppetizersinAlbania@reddit

Naturally everyone has their opinion of cheap. My numbers are from Ksamil and Sarande in October for prices I paid for housing, food and buses. Yes, in Tirana there was definitely a larger variety of cost options for housing and food. Yes, you can withdraw a larger amount of money at one to time from an ATM. However, you can also be stuck with any extra lek’s you withdrew, as you can’t exchange them for any other currency. In multiple conversations with fellow travelers, from many countries, in both Montenegro and Croatia the overwhelming experiences were that the costs along the Balkan’s coasts and even some inland areas, were now comparable to western EU prices. Just last week a group of Polish travelers shared how prices had doubled in their country in the past 2 years.

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Thirstily2191@reddit

Did you go there during summer? Albania is wildly popular among Europeans during summer and many coastal cities have surge tourist pricing where they charge 2x or more what they usually charge.

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AppetizersinAlbania@reddit

Was in Ksamil and Sarande in September 2021 and again in October 2023. Restaurant prices were now double and triple what they had been. Hotels and apartments in Ksamil which had been below €15 night with a 5 night stay were now €35 and up. Large discounts for long term rentals vs short stay prices are not equal comparisons. In 2021 there was a lot of new construction in Sarande for foreign investors and part time residents. I’m sure that has created an oversupply of available long term rental properties in both Sarande and other locations. I found prices similar to US and EU prices for COMPARABLE housing and food.

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Thirstily2191@reddit

Uh...I'm not sure where in Western Europe it costs €35 a night for a hotel room. That's still definitely in shoestring territory. Yeah, it's definitely not as cheap as it used to be. Also I am still seeing TONS of hotels all over Albania including Sarande for under €30 a night in October. €20-25 is cheaper than pretty much any EU country in my book. Not to mention the cost of food and drink is still a small fraction of what you pay just about anywhere.

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Techno_Nomad92@reddit

I was in Tirana, Durres and Sarande. I rented a newly built studio in Sarande for 6 weeks for 570 euros lol. The ATM fee is anoying, but are you really going to complain about a 4-6euro fee a handful of times when you are on vacation? October is still Tourist season over there, so maybe thats why it was a little more expensive. Its a small country, with a small population that attracts HORDES of tourists in their season. So that could definately drive the price up so might have been that. But dammn, if people are complaining about an ATM charge of a few euros/dollars, dont go on vacation lol.

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Ifch317@reddit

Sarajevo with a side trip to Mostar by train.

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claireinmanchester@reddit

I would highly recommend Gdansk in Poland, it's on the Baltic Coast it's actually part of a tri city area (others are Sopot and Gydnia all very close together) there's loads to see. The museum of the second world war in Gdansk is one of the best museums i have ever been to

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ChairmanSunYatSen@reddit (OP)

Looks beautiful from the pictures, I'll give it a look. Have been to Warsaw before for a long weekend, an interesting place but a shame so much of the city was communist architecture

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peejay2@reddit

Balkans. Mountain and beach. Baltics can't compare.

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Danascus88@reddit

The Balkans is generally cheaper than the Baltics. Tallinn & Riga aren't particularly cheap and Vilnius is catching up. I'd recommend Kosovo, Albania, and Bosnia & Herzegovina for an interesting but budget-friendly trip.