Most places in Europe and beyond get pricier year after year — but not everywhere. There are still a handful of countries where a traveller on an average budget gets away more cheaply today than three years ago. Here are seven of them.
Why most destinations get more expensive — and some don't
Travelling has never been as complicated as it is now — and at the same time never as varied in price. Over the past three years, accommodation prices in Barcelona, Amsterdam or Dubrovnik have climbed by tens of percent. Eurozone inflation hit travellers' wallets twice over: once as higher prices in shops and restaurants, and again as higher flight and hotel costs, which had to cover their own rising bills. For the average traveller planning a summer trip the effect is simple — for the same amount that four years ago bought a week in Greece with meals included, today you pay considerably more or settle for a shorter stay.
The mechanism behind cheaper destinations works completely differently. The key factor is the exchange rate of the local currency against your own — for most European travellers, the euro. When a strong currency like the euro holds its value while the destination's currency loses ground — or when local inflation fails to keep pace with that strength — the visitor automatically gains purchasing power. That is exactly what has been happening for several years in Turkey, where the Turkish lira has lost more than 60% of its value against the euro over five years. A similar mechanism, though on a different scale, applies in Egypt, Georgia and Vietnam. In each of these countries a European traveller pays less in real terms today than before the pandemic — even if nominal prices in the local currency have risen.
The second mechanism is tourism overbuilding. Some of the destinations that boomed after the pandemic quickly saturated their hotel and restaurant markets. When the supply of beds grows faster than demand, prices naturally slow down or fall. Albania and Serbia are good examples of countries where construction has been intense, but tourist traffic — though rising — has not yet generated price pressure comparable to Croatia or Montenegro. The result is that an apartment on the Albanian Riviera in peak season costs about as much as a similar standard in Croatia outside the peak — and with far emptier beaches. If you want the full case for swapping a classic beach country for one of these, our guide on why you should forget Egypt for a cheaper, safer country like Albania goes deeper into exactly this trade-off.
The third factor is flight access. A few years ago, reaching Tbilisi or Tirana meant a connection and a whole day in transit. Today low-cost carriers fly there directly from major European hubs, which has lowered both the psychological and the financial barrier to entry. That turns destinations which used to be "cheap but hard to reach" into simply cheap — no asterisk.
The seven countries that made this list share a few common features. Each is genuinely reachable from Europe — by a direct flight or with one convenient connection. Each offers accommodation, food and local transport at prices that, set against Western European destinations, look like a photo from another era. And each represents a different type of trip: from beach idleness through mountain hikes to big-city breaks. There are no random picks here — these are places where your money works for the traveller, not against them.
It is also worth stressing that being "cheap" is not the same as being "cheap and nasty". Several countries on this list offer a level of cuisine, culture and landscape that competes boldly with the expensive destinations of Western Europe. The difference lies solely in how much cash you leave behind — not in how many memories you bring home.
Turkey — still cheap, but with an asterisk
Prices on the ground versus the lira exchange rate
For years Turkey has functioned in the travel imagination as a synonym for cheap all-inclusive on the Mediterranean. That reputation rests on solid foundations, but the reality today is more complex than the brochures suggest. The Turkish lira has lost more than 60% of its value against the euro over the past five years, which mathematically means a visitor paying in TRY has far greater purchasing power on the ground than in 2019. The catch is that Turkish inflation ran at tens of percent a year for a long time, so nominal prices in lira rose sharply. Net result — you still come out ahead of a few years ago, but not as far ahead as a glance at the exchange rate alone might suggest.
Concrete numbers help illustrate it. Lunch for one person in a decent Turkish restaurant — not in a seaside resort but in a local neighbourhood — costs around €18–29, including a starter and a drink. A beer in a bar is usually €6–9, though in places geared towards Western European tourists prices can double. A night in a clean, well-rated three-star hotel away from the strict centre of the popular resorts is €40–62 a night in season. Local transport is still very cheap — a bus between cities over a 300 km stretch costs around €9–16, and taxis in smaller towns are surprisingly inexpensive by Western European standards.
The asterisk in this section's title concerns a specific phenomenon: Turkey has become two-tier on price. Strictly touristy zones — the centre of Istanbul around Sultanahmet, the promenades of Antalya, the pools of Bodrum — have begun shifting towards Western European prices. Restaurant and hotel owners in these areas know perfectly well that their customer carries euros or pounds, and they price accordingly. That is not corruption, it is economics. But it means that all-inclusive Turkey booked through a tour operator and Turkey discovered on your own are two different countries cost-wise.
Where to go to avoid the crowds
The choice of region matters enormously in Turkey — both for the budget and for the quality of the trip. Antalya and Bodrum in July and August are places where European tourists turn up at every step. The infrastructure is excellent, the airports handle dozens of connections a week, and the all-inclusive hotels run like well-oiled machines. But prices in these areas — outside the hotel itself — start to resemble a popular Greek resort. Anyone who wants to feel Turkey and not overpay at the same time should look further afield.
Cappadocia is one of the most interesting examples of a touristically mature place that still hasn't broken through its financial ceiling. A direct flight from a major European hub to Nevşehir or Kayseri takes around three to four hours. On the ground, a night in a traditional "cave hotel" — carved into the rock or modelled on local architecture — costs €55–93 a night at a standard that in Western Europe would mean twice the price. The dawn balloon flights that are the region's calling card cost around €155–200 per person — it sounds like a lot, but compared with similar attractions in the Alps or the Canary Islands it is still a fair price for something truly exceptional.
Marmaris and its surroundings outside July and August are a completely different experience from the peak. June and September are the months when the water temperature still allows comfortable swimming, the crowds are clearly thinner, and accommodation prices can be as much as 30–40% lower than in midsummer. The same rule applies to Alanya — a town that for years was associated mainly with Russian mass tourism and is now slowly changing its profile. In May and October you can spend a week with full board in a four-star hotel here for a sum that in Barcelona wouldn't even cover three nights.
The practical conclusion is simple: Turkey rewards flexibility. Those who can travel two weeks before or after the peak and are willing to venture a few dozen kilometres beyond the obvious resorts will still find one of the cheapest destinations reachable from Europe by direct flight. Those who pack off to Bodrum in July and step out only into the hotel zone will pay a fair price — but won't necessarily feel the difference from Greece or Cyprus.
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Egypt — the sea for pennies, but that's not all
Egypt has held its position for years as one of the cheapest beach destinations reachable from Europe, but over the past two years that cheapness has taken on a new dimension. The Egyptian pound has fallen drastically — back in 2021, €100 got you around 540–585 EGP, today the same amount is well over 2,000 EGP depending on the day's rate. That means a visitor paying for food, excursions or small purchases in the local currency has, in real terms, more than three times the purchasing power they had a few years ago. In practice this translates into very tangible feelings: dinner in an Egyptian restaurant outside the hotel zone costs around €7–12 per person, a beginners' diving course with a PADI certificate is €155–210, and a one-day trip to Luxor from Hurghada — including transfer, guide and entry ticket — comes in at €40–58.
Hurghada remains the most popular point of entry and has logistical reasons for it: direct flights from many European cities, extensive hotel infrastructure and smoothly running optional-excursion offices. It is a resort city that doesn't pretend to be something it isn't — it has a long beach, a warm sea all year round and all-inclusive at prices that in Europe would mean a clearly lower standard. Hurghada's weak point is its aesthetics: the city stretches along a promenade of several dozen kilometres lined with hotels, the bars and shops are geared exclusively to tourists, and contact with authentic Egypt is severely limited unless you actively seek it out.
Marsa Alam is a completely different proposition — and for a certain type of traveller, a better one. Lying around 200 km south of Hurghada, the town draws divers and snorkelling enthusiasts from all over Europe, because the coral reefs here are among the best-preserved in the whole Red Sea. The tourist infrastructure is more modest, there are fewer all-inclusive hotels, but the diving base is at a very high level. Accommodation prices are comparable to Hurghada, but the atmosphere is completely different — calmer, less bazaar-like, more focused on the sea than on poolside entertainment.
It is worth knowing what is genuinely cheap in Egypt and where it is easy to overpay. The bazaars and stalls at hotel entrances are a zone where prices for tourists are set by a completely different logic than the rest of the country — souvenirs, scarves and "original Egyptian products" are priced there in euros or dollars, often at rates that have nothing to do with local reality. Diving, excursions through local agencies and food outside the hotel zone are the areas where purchasing power is really felt. Excursions booked directly through the hotel usually cost 20–30% more than the same offers bought a day earlier from agents on the promenade.
The table below shows how daily costs in Egypt stack up against two popular European destinations — Greece and Bulgaria — assuming a stay outside the all-inclusive system, with self-organised food and activities.
| Category | Egypt (Hurghada) | Greece (Crete) | Bulgaria (Sunny Beach) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (2 people, 3★ standard) | €36–53 | €71–107 | €44–67 |
| Lunch for 2 (local restaurant) | €13–22 | €36–53 | €18–29 |
| Beer / drink in a bar | €3–6 | €7–11 | €2–4 |
| One-day excursion (1 person) | €40–58 | €49–84 | €27–44 |
| Local transport (taxi, 10 km) | €2–4 | €6–9 | €3–6 |
| Estimated daily budget (1 person) | €40–62 | €84–124 | €44–71 |
Egypt clearly wins this comparison — and that's assuming a stay without all-inclusive. With a hotel package the difference grows even larger. A week-long trip to Hurghada with flight and meals through a tour operator is still one of the cheapest options on the market — especially in October and November, when the air temperature is 28–32°C, the sea is warm, and package prices drop by a dozen or so percent against the August peak. For anyone chasing sun, sea and the chance to dive without blowing the budget, Egypt remains hard to beat.
Georgia — the country that hasn't realised it's fashionable yet
Tbilisi: a cheap city, an expensive experience
Georgia landed on the travel radar relatively recently, but over the past few years it has been promoted from a geographical curiosity to a destination people talk about more and more loudly. For now, though, there is more talk than travel — tourist traffic is still modest compared with Turkey or Egypt, which translates directly into prices. The Georgian lari holds a steadily favourable rate — one GEL is about €0.31–0.33 — which, given local price levels, means that for around €45 a day you can live really comfortably in Georgia, not counting accommodation.
Tbilisi is a city that can surprise even an experienced traveller. The Georgian capital blends Ottoman architecture with Stalinist tenements, modern natural-wine bars and viewing terraces above the Kura. And it does so without charging European rates for it. A coffee in a trendy café in the Vera or Mtatsminda district costs €2–3 — and it is a coffee made by a barista who knows the craft, in a venue that wouldn't look out of place in Lisbon or Berlin. Lunch in a restaurant serving classic Georgian dishes — khinkali, khachapuri, lobiani — runs to €11–18 per person with wine. Dinner with wine somewhere with a view over the city won't usually exceed €27–33 for two.
Accommodation in Tbilisi varies but is generally cheaper than in comparable European capitals. A good hostel in the centre is €13–20 a bed, a private room in a guesthouse or small hotel in the old Abanotubani district is €40–62 a night, and an apartment rented through local platforms on Rustaveli Avenue or near the Dry Bridge Market — one of the favourite haunts of antique hunters — is €44–71 a night at a standard that in a comparable Western European city would cost twice as much. City transport is symbolic: the metro costs the equivalent of about €0.15 a ride, and a taxi across central Tbilisi comes in at €2–4.
One of the most popular attractions is the sulphur baths in the Abanotubani district — a private cabin with a hydrogen-sulphide pool for two costs €18–29 an hour. Museums are cheap or free, and entry to the Georgian National Museum on Rustaveli Avenue costs the equivalent of a euro or two. To someone arriving from Western Europe, Tbilisi looks like a city with the zeros shifted on the price list — to a budget traveller it is simply, fairly cheap.
Kazbegi, Batumi and the rest: what's worth it, and what only looks tempting
Kazbegi — or rather the town of Stepantsminda at the foot of the Caucasus, which everyone calls Kazbegi — is one of those points on the map worth seeing before mass tourism arrives and starts charging accordingly. For now the infrastructure is modest but sufficient: a dozen or so guesthouses, a few restaurants and a bar with a view of snow-capped Kazbek. Getting there from Tbilisi by minibus — a marshrutka — costs €3–4 per person and takes around 3 hours. Hiring a 4×4 with a driver for a full day, to drive up to the Gergeti Trinity Church in bad weather or visit the surrounding villages, is €27–40 for the whole car. A night in a guesthouse with a mountain view — €33–49 for a double room.
Batumi on the Black Sea is a different story. The city is expanding at a dizzying pace, with skyscrapers and casinos sprouting up, and prices in seafront restaurants and hotels already resemble Black Sea resorts more than quiet Georgian towns. Batumi is worth visiting as a stop — to see the old town with its 19th-century architecture and eat excellent fish by the port — but as a base for a week-long stay it is no longer as good value as Tbilisi or the Caucasus region.
It is also worth knowing that Georgia is a country from which it genuinely pays to bring certain things home. Not tacky souvenirs, but products that have real value here and a far lower price than back home:
- Georgian wine — a bottle of decent wine from a regional vineyard (Mukuzani, Kindzmarauli, Rkatsiteli) is €3–8 in a shop; the same wine imported to Europe costs three to four times as much
- Chacha — the traditional Georgian grape-pomace spirit, strong (55–65%), a 0.5 l bottle is €4–9 depending on the producer
- Churchkhela — a sweet of nuts coated in thickened grape must; a string costs €1–2, keeps for a long time and makes an excellent gift
- Spices and blends — khmeli-suneli, dried adjika, meat mixes — a 100 g bag is €0.70–1.80 at the Deserter's Bazaar in Tbilisi
- Wool and felt goods — hats, socks, bags handmade in mountain villages, with prices starting from €7–11 for a solid piece
Georgia has one feature that sets it apart from many cheap destinations: tourist infrastructure is growing, but it doesn't yet outpace demand. That means hotels and restaurants don't yet have enough reason to push prices up to European levels — because the alternative for the traveller is simply the place round the corner, which is just as good and costs the same. That window may close in a few years, once Georgia becomes as obvious a choice as Albania or Serbia are today. For now it is still the place your friends who "travel a little differently" talk about — and right now is the best moment to check it out for yourself.
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Vietnam — far away, but the budget surprises
Vietnam is one of those directions where the cost calculation can turn all your assumptions upside down. The flight is long and relatively expensive — that's true. But once you land in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, it turns out the Vietnamese dong is among the most favourable currencies for euro-holders of any popular tourist destination in the world. For €100 you get over 27,000 VND — and given local price levels, that amount has real purchasing value. Vietnam is no longer as cheap as it was a decade ago, when you could live a whole day for a few euros, but it still offers a value-for-money ratio that is hard to find anywhere in Europe, or even in most of South-East Asia. A long multi-stop trip like this rewards durable, protective luggage, which is why it's worth thinking through whether hard or soft luggage suits your style before you set off.
The question of flying from Europe to Vietnam sounds more complicated than it really is. There are no direct connections from central Europe to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City — at least not on a regular schedule. The standard route runs through one big hub: Dubai (Emirates, flydubai), Doha (Qatar Airways), Frankfurt or Amsterdam (Lufthansa, KLM) or Helsinki (Finnair). The journey with a connection usually takes 14–18 hours in total, and return ticket prices start at around €490–620 when booked several months ahead. Last minute or in peak season, that figure rises to €780–1,000. It sounds serious — but with a daily on-the-ground budget of around €33–44, the cost of the flight amortises within the first week compared with what an equivalent holiday in southern Europe would swallow.
Transport within Vietnam is a separate chapter that can surprise you with both its availability and its price. The country stretches over 1,600 km from north to south, so the choice of transport between the main points matters. An overnight bus between Hanoi and Hội An or Hue costs €18–29 per person for a journey of 12–16 hours — acceptable if you book seats on a sleeper bus, the standard of which can be surprisingly high. The train on the same route is slower but more scenic and comfortable — a second-class ticket with air conditioning is €20–36. The cheapest option for long distances is domestic flights run by VietJet Air and Bamboo Airways — the Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City route takes 2 hours and costs as little as €13–27 when booked in advance. That's less than many intercity train journeys in Europe.
The classic route through Vietnam runs from Hanoi southwards — or the other way around — with stops in Ninh Binh, Hội An, Hue, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, with an optional hop to the island of Phú Quốc at the end. Covering the whole route takes a minimum of two weeks, optimally three. Costs on the ground for such an itinerary are surprisingly low even assuming comfortable travel — without counting every cent, with good hotels and a mix of street food and restaurants. The table below shows what a daily budget looks like across three different travel scenarios.
| Category | Backpacker (budget) | Comfortable | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | €9–16 (hostel, dormitory) | €27–44 (3★ hotel, double room) | €78–133 (boutique hotel, resort) |
| Food (3 meals) | €7–12 (mostly street food) | €18–31 (mix of restaurants) | €44–78 (restaurants, hotels) |
| Local transport | €3–7 (Grab, bus) | €7–13 (Grab, tuk-tuk) | €13–27 (taxis, hire) |
| Attractions and entries | €2–6 | €7–16 | €18–40 |
| Drinks and snacks | €2–4 | €6–11 | €13–27 |
| Daily total (1 person) | €23–44 | €63–116 | €167–304 |
The comfortable scenario — the middle one — is in practice travel without sacrifice: your own room in a clean, air-conditioned hotel, food in restaurants with waiter service, using the Grab app instead of haggling over the price with every driver. At a budget of around €78–89 a day, Vietnam offers a standard that in Western Europe would cost three times as much. Vietnamese street food deserves a separate mention — a bowl of phở for breakfast costs €2–3, a bánh mì with a meat filling is €1–2, and fresh fruit juices at a street stall €1–2. Street food here is not a compromise between taste and budget — it is simply part of the culture and often tastes better than the same dish in an air-conditioned restaurant for tourists.
Vietnam has one significant downside worth bearing in mind when planning a trip: seasonality is more complicated here than in European destinations. The country is so long geographically that the rainy monsoon season covers different regions at different times. Hanoi and the north have the best weather from October to April. The centre of the country — around Hội An and Hue — is best visited from February to May. The south and Phú Quốc are most beautiful from November to March. Anyone travelling in July or August must reckon with rain and high humidity in some of the places they visit — it doesn't disqualify the trip, but it does demand flexibility in planning the route.
Serbia — the Balkans without the euro and without the queue
Belgrade: a capital that doesn't charge salty prices for itself
Serbia has one feature that, in a travel context, is worth its weight in gold: it doesn't belong to the eurozone. The Serbian dinar functions as the national currency, and although Serbia has been holding talks about closer ties with the European Union for years, joining the eurozone remains a distant prospect. For the visiting traveller this means a concrete benefit — the country hasn't gone through the specific price jump that hit Montenegro and Kosovo after they introduced or unilaterally adopted the euro. Prices in Belgrade are rising and tourists are arriving in greater numbers year on year, but the mechanism stays local and much gentler than in the western Balkans. For €100 you get about 10,400–10,800 dinars, and at local prices that amount comfortably covers a meal for one in a good restaurant with wine — with enough left over for dessert.
Belgrade surprises people who arrive without special expectations. The city is large, loud, full of contrasts — socialist architecture sits beside the Ottoman Kalemegdan fortress, Art Nouveau tenements on Knez Mihailova stand next to industrial districts that turn into one of the better club zones in Europe by night. And the whole city lives at prices that look like a system error to Western European tourists. Dinner in a typical Belgrade kafana — a traditional Serbian restaurant with live music and a long list of local wines and rakia — costs €13–22 per person for a filling, generous meal. A beer in a bar in the centre is €2–3, and a coffee in a café on Skadarlija, the famous cobbled street with 19th-century atmosphere, is €1.30–2.20.
Accommodation in Belgrade varies but generally sits below the prices of comparable European capitals. A good three-star hotel in the centre — around the Old Town or by the boulevard over the Sava — is €49–80 a night for a double room. A one-bedroom apartment in the popular Vračar or Zemun districts is €40–62 a night. A well-reviewed hostel in the strict centre costs no more than €16–22 a bed. Museums are cheap or free, and the Kalemegdan Fortress, with its view over the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, charges no entry fee at all — you simply walk in and sit for as long as you like.
Getting to Belgrade from central Europe is simpler than it might seem. Wizz Air and LOT Polish Airlines run direct connections to Belgrade, and the flight time is a little over an hour and a half. Ticket prices when booked ahead start from €44–78 return, though in peak season or at the last minute they rise to €111–155. An alternative is the bus — several companies run connections from central European cities to Belgrade; the journey takes around 14–16 hours and a return ticket is €44–67. For someone with a flexible schedule and no aversion to overnight rides, that is still a worthwhile option.
Beyond Belgrade: Novi Sad, Niš, Kopaonik
Novi Sad — Serbia's second-largest city, the capital of Vojvodina — is a destination worth considering especially in summer, when the EXIT festival is held here, one of the larger music festivals in Central and Eastern Europe. Outside the festival crowd Novi Sad is quieter and even cheaper than Belgrade — accommodation and restaurant prices are clearly lower, and the Petrovaradin Fortress towering over the Danube makes an impression even set against Belgrade's Kalemegdan. The trip from Belgrade to Novi Sad by bus or train costs €3–6 and takes around an hour.
Niš in the south of the country is the most interesting example of a Serbian city that Western tourism hasn't discovered in any serious way. Serbia's third city has its own fortress, the Skull Tower — a macabre and historically fascinating monument from the era of the fights against the Ottoman Turks — and an old district with kafanas where prices are even lower than in Belgrade. Lunch in Niš in a good restaurant is €9–14 per person. A night in a three-star hotel comes in at €33–49. Niš is logistically convenient as a base for anyone who wants to explore southern Serbia or push further into the Balkans through North Macedonia.
Kopaonik, in turn, is a proposition for those thinking of Serbia outside the summer season. The country's largest ski resort, set in central Serbia, offers lifts, slopes and hotel infrastructure in winter at prices that, in the Alps or even in a packed Alpine resort at peak season, would look like the deal of the decade. A week-long ski trip to Kopaonik with accommodation, a ski pass and meals comes in at a budget that makes an equivalent trip to Austria look like a line item from a different financial category altogether. For families looking for an alternative to crowded and expensive winter resorts, Serbia offers something here that few people are talking about loudly yet — and that is precisely its biggest advantage.
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Morocco — cheaper than you think, if you know how
Marrakech and Fez: medinas, riads and prices that surprise
Morocco holds a specific status in the travel imagination: a country associated with the exotic, but also with aggressive sellers, the chaos of the medina and prices deliberately inflated for European tourists. That picture is partly true — but only partly. The Moroccan dirham holds a steadily favourable rate: for €100 you get about 430–450 MAD, which, at local price levels, means real purchasing power far higher than in any European Mediterranean country. The key to a cheap Morocco lies not in the exchange rate itself but in the ability to tell tourist prices from local ones — and that skill can be acquired within the first 24 hours of your stay.
Marrakech is a city that never sleeps and never falls silent. Jemaa el-Fnaa square changes its face several times a day — in the morning the orange-juice stalls, in the afternoon the storytellers and snake charmers, in the evening dozens of restaurant stands from which the smoke of grilled meat and spices rises. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice by the square costs €1.00–1.30 — and it is probably the best juice you can drink for that money anywhere in the world. Lunch in a restaurant aimed at locals rather than tourists — chicken or lamb tagine, bread, mint tea — costs €6–10 per person. Restaurants with a terrace overlooking Jemaa el-Fnaa charge two or three times as much for the same dish, but they sell you a view that is worth every cent.
A night in a riad — a traditional Moroccan house with an inner courtyard, a fountain and decorated walls — is one of those experiences that cost less in Morocco than their aesthetics suggest. A decent riad in the Marrakech medina, with an air-conditioned room, breakfast included and a rooftop pool, costs €49–84 a night for a double room. Higher-end riads — with boutique décor, service at every whim and dinner served by candlelight on the inner patio — start from €100–155 a night, but compared with an equivalent standard in Tuscany or Provence that is still a fair price for something truly exceptional.
Fez is a different experience from Marrakech — calmer, more authentic, less geared to the tourist spectacle. The Fez medina is on the UNESCO list and is among the best-preserved medieval Islamic cities in the world. Labyrinthine lanes where a car won't fit between the walls, potters working with methods five hundred years old, tanneries dyeing leather in wooden vats — all of it happens here for real, not for the photographers. Accommodation prices in Fez are about 15–25% lower than in Marrakech, and the crowds are clearly thinner even at peak season. For anyone who wants to feel Morocco without feeling like part of a staged show, Fez is the better point of entry.
Beyond the cities: desert trips and the Sahara at a reasonable price
A trip to the Sahara is, for many travellers, the main reason they think about Morocco at all. And rightly so — the sight of the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunrise, a night in a camp under the stars at the desert's edge, a camel ride at sunset — these are experiences hard to compare with anything in Europe. The question is: how much does it cost? The answer is encouraging. A two-day trip from Marrakech to Merzouga — the gateway into the Sahara — with a night in a camp, dinner, breakfast and a camel ride costs €78–122 per person when booked through local agencies. Trips organised by Marrakech hotels are 30–50% more expensive, which is why it pays to look for an agency outside the hotel lobby.
The route from Marrakech over the Tizi n'Tichka pass in the High Atlas to Ouarzazate and on to Merzouga is one of the most beautiful roads in all of North Africa — hairpins above the precipice, Berber villages clinging to rocky slopes, palm oases in the river valleys. Hiring a car with a driver for this route — more comfortable and safer than driving through the mountains yourself — costs €44–67 a day for the car, which, split between four people, comes to a very reasonable amount. Flights from Europe to Morocco are run mainly by Ryanair and Wizz Air on routes to Marrakech and Agadir — return tickets booked ahead start from €89–133, though in peak season or on popular dates prices rise to €200–267.
Morocco does, however, have one peculiarity worth being aware of before you step into your first medina with your wallet at your hip. Prices for tourists and prices for locals are two parallel worlds that exist openly and without embarrassment. Below are a few practical rules that let you move between them without feeling systematically robbed:
- Always ask the price before buying — in Moroccan medinas there are no prices displayed by the goods; the figure quoted at the start is always an opening offer for negotiation, not a final price
- The first offer is usually two or three times inflated — a counter-offer around one-third to one-half of the quoted price is entirely acceptable and offends no one
- Food at Jemaa el-Fnaa in the evening — the stalls by the square are an attraction, not a bargain; prices are touristy and fixed, not open to negotiation; it's worth eating here once for the experience and seeking out later meals in the medina's lanes
- Fixed-price shops exist and are marked — artisan cooperatives with government prices are places to buy leather goods, rugs and ceramics without haggling, though without bargain prices either; in return they guarantee quality
- Mint tea as a prelude to a sale — if a seller invites you for tea, he knows what he's doing; it's a traditional prelude to a presentation of goods that's hard to leave empty-handed; you can accept the hospitality and politely decline the purchase, but it's worth being prepared for it
- Unlicensed guides — the medinas teem with young men offering help with navigation; their services are not free, even when presented as such; if you don't need a guide, a polite but firm "la shukran" — no, thank you — is enough
Morocco is a country that rewards preparation and punishes naivety — but with a little orientation it turns out to be one of the cheapest and most fascinating destinations reachable from Europe within a reasonable flight time. Three and a half to four hours from central Europe separate the traveller from a completely different sensory world — and from a daily budget that, with comfortable travel, comes in at €56–78 per person.
For the long haul: Peli checked baggage
When and how to book to benefit from the cheapening destinations
Price windows: when tickets are really cheaper
Planning a trip to a cheap country with an expensive plane ticket is a mistake that can wipe out half of a destination's budget advantage. Vietnam at €33 a day on the ground stops being a bargain if the flight cost €1,000 per person bought a week before departure. The mechanism of air-ticket pricing is well described in theory, but in practice it still surprises — because most people book either too late, or in the wrong month, or at the wrong time of the week. The optimal moment to book differs significantly depending on the destination, and it's worth knowing before you click "buy". And because things don't always go to plan once you're at the airport, it's worth knowing in advance what to do if you miss your flight.
For European and Mediterranean destinations — Albania, Serbia, Morocco, Turkey — the best ticket prices usually appear in the window of 6–10 weeks before departure. That's the range in which low-cost carriers haven't yet filled the planes and switched to dynamic peak pricing, but the route is already on a fully confirmed schedule. Booking a year ahead rarely gives the best price on routes run by Ryanair or Wizz Air — these airlines often release cheaper seats in promotions around 8–12 weeks before departure. The exception is popular dates: long weekends, Christmas, New Year's Eve and the turn of July and August — here it pays to act earlier, because the cheapest seats vanish fast and don't come back. If you're flying carry-on only with a low-cost carrier, it also pays to know the cabin-baggage dimension and weight traps before you pack, so a gate fee doesn't erase your saving.
For long-haul directions like Vietnam the rule is different. Full-service airlines — Qatar Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa — plan to fill their planes further ahead, and the cheapest Economy fares often appear as early as 4–6 months before departure. Buying a ticket to Hanoi 2–3 weeks before the trip is a straight road to overpaying by €220–333. Spring and autumn are the periods when prices to South-East Asia are lowest — March–April and October–November are the windows in which tickets from Europe to Ho Chi Minh City with a connection in Doha or Dubai can be available in the €490–580 range. July and August are the peak of demand and the peak of prices at the same time — anyone who must fly in summer should book no later than 5 months ahead.
Accommodation runs by a slightly different logic than flights. In the case of Georgia, Albania and Serbia the market is still fluid enough that booking 3–4 weeks ahead rarely ends in overpaying — the supply of beds is sufficient, and booking platforms don't apply the kind of aggressive dynamic pricing seen in Barcelona or Amsterdam. Turkey and Morocco are more seasonal: in July and August good riads in Marrakech and hotels in Cappadocia can fill up a month ahead, so it pays to act earlier. Egypt is specific — all-inclusive hotels are often booked through tour operators 2–3 months ahead to catch the best packages, but rooms available through Booking.com can be cheaper than operator packages even at the last minute.
How to track exchange rates and not be caught out
The exchange rate is, for the destinations on this list, almost as important a planning element as the ticket price. The Turkish lira, the Vietnamese dong, the Egyptian pound — each of these currencies can shift by several percent within a week, which, on a trip budget of €670–1,100, means a real difference of a few dozen to a few hundred euros. Tracking the rate requires no advanced tools — a few simple habits are enough.
The Wise app (formerly TransferWise) shows the mid-market rate in real time and lets you set an alert for when the rate reaches a chosen level. That's especially useful when planning a trip to Turkey or Vietnam — if the lira happens to be losing against your currency, it's worth having cash exchanged or a card loaded and paying locally. The European Central Bank publishes daily euro reference rates — a reliable source for comparison, though rates at exchange offices and banks differ from the reference rate by a spread that can run to 3–5%. The best exchange rates for exotic destinations are usually offered by online currency exchanges before departure, or by local ATMs accessed through a multi-currency account (Revolut, Wise) with no transaction fees.
The table below brings together in one place the key booking information for each of the seven countries — when to optimally book the flight, when the accommodation, and what to watch out for in planning.
| Country | Optimal flight booking | Optimal accommodation booking | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 6–10 weeks before departure; long weekends — 3–4 months | 4–6 weeks; Cappadocia in season — 2 months | Avoid all-inclusive in Bodrum in July — you'll overpay for the crowd |
| Egypt | 8–12 weeks; operator packages — 2–3 months | Through an operator 2–3 months; independently — flexibly | October and November are the best price-to-weather ratio |
| Georgia | 6–8 weeks; Tbilisi available year-round | 2–3 weeks are enough outside the peak | Flights via Catania or Vienna can be cheaper than direct |
| Albania | 6–10 weeks; summer — 3 months due to limited offering | 4–6 weeks in season; off-season — as you go | June and September much calmer and cheaper than July–August |
| Vietnam | 4–6 months; avoid last-minute booking | 2–4 weeks; popular places in season — a month ahead | Check the weather for the specific region — seasonality is complex |
| Serbia | 4–8 weeks; EXIT festival in Novi Sad — 3–4 months | 2–3 weeks are enough for most of the year | Belgrade is a great long-weekend destination — the flight is 1.5 h |
| Morocco | 6–10 weeks; winter break and Easter — 3 months | Riads in Marrakech in season — 4–6 weeks ahead | March–April and October are the best months climatically |
One rule that ties all seven destinations together: flexibility with dates can cut the cost of a flight by 20–40%. The Google Flights calendar view lets you see how the ticket price changes day by day across a chosen month — and it often turns out that travelling on a Wednesday instead of a Friday, or a week earlier than planned, delivers a real saving that on the ground can pay for a few extra nights. This isn't theory — it's a concrete mechanic of the air market, used by those who fly often and rarely overpay.
Summary: which cheap holidays make sense?
Seven countries, seven different travel logics — and none of them is a universal answer for everyone. A destination's cheapness has value only when it fits what you're looking for. So instead of a ranking from cheapest to most expensive, it's worth looking at this list through the lens of a specific traveller and a specific need.
Egypt and Turkey are the choice for those who want sun, sea and minimal organisational effort. Both countries cater to the traveller at every step, the infrastructure is tried and tested, direct flights are available from several European airports, and you can go with a ticket bought eight weeks ahead without the risk that something falls through. The difference between them comes down to character: Turkey offers more cultural depth and geographical variety, Egypt wins on absolute price and the quality of diving. Anyone after a week by the pool with good food for a reasonable sum will find it in both places.
Albania and Serbia are a pair for travellers who want Europe but don't want to pay for the brand of European resorts. Albania tempts with its wild coastline and the feeling of discovering something not yet in every guidebook. Serbia tempts with Belgrade — a city with real character, good food and nightlife, reachable in an hour and a half. Both countries work best as independent destinations, without operator packages, with a hire car or bought bus tickets. For someone who has spent the last three years in Croatia and wants something similar in feel but with a lower bill — Albania is the answer. For someone after a good city weekend for a reasonable sum — Serbia.
Georgia and Morocco are destinations for travellers for whom simply lying on a beach isn't enough. Georgia offers a combination of mountains, wine, culture and cuisine that has no simple equivalent in Europe — and it does so at prices that will stay on the traveller's side for a few more years, before mass tourism does its work. Morocco gives something Georgia doesn't: the proximity of a completely different cultural world in under four hours' flight from central Europe. Medinas, the Sahara, the Atlas — this isn't a trip to a similar place, but a leap into a different sensory reality. Both countries demand a little more preparation than Egypt or Turkey, but reward you proportionately.
Vietnam stands apart on this list — as the only long-haul direction that justifies the cost and time of the journey by its value-for-experience ratio. It is not a destination for a week or for a city break. It is a trip that only makes sense from two weeks upwards, ideally with a flexible itinerary and a readiness for a dozen-plus hours in transit each way. Anyone able to spare that time and find €560–670 for the flight gets in return a country that, for the next two or three weeks, will be more expensive only in that single category — because everything else there will cost less than at home.
Looking at the whole seven together, one clear trend emerges: the countries that offer cheap travel today often do so because they stand before the threshold of tourist popularity, not beyond it. Georgia, Albania, Serbia — in three or four years they may look completely different on price. Egypt and Turkey are already popular, but their weak currencies protect them — and that mechanism isn't eternal either. Morocco is growing in strength as a destination and is slowly starting to feel it in prices at the most touristy spots. Vietnam is maturing and getting pricier, but it's doing so slowly. The window in which these places are genuinely cheap for a traveller on an average budget is open — the only question is how much longer it will stay that way.
