With the poor health of our dollar, more and more people are asking, “Which places are less expensive?” My first reaction is to remind people: “If your travel dreams are taking you to Ireland, and things are cheaper for Americans in Portugal, your best value is still Ireland — it’s just essential that you travel smart.” Clearly, a good traveler can enjoy a better experience in an expensive country (such as Ireland) for less money than a sloppy traveler bumbling around in a cheaper country (such as Portugal).
Having said that, it is still worth considering the relative cost of traveling in various European countries. It does vary substantially, and we’ve worked hard on this chart to help travelers compare apples to apples.
When we embarked upon the project, I was sure it was a great idea. But in actually trying to put this together, we realized that it’s tough to truly compare apples to apples. I know hotel values in Paris are much better than in London…but the figures don’t bear that out. Anyway, here’s what we came up with. (Your suggestions on making this more helpful are welcome.)
*Many top museums are free in London.
Fine Print: All prices here are extremely approximate, based on the most recent edition of Rick Steves guidebooks to the areas (and assume the exchange rate €1 = $1.50). All hotel rates are for a double room with private bathroom, during peak season (typically June-Sept), and include breakfast. Train prices are for one-way, second-class tickets on regional (non-express) trains, and do not include reservations or supplements. For simplicity, some similarly priced cities (such as Copenhagen and Oslo) have been combined.
I heard him (Rick Steves)speak on NPR. These are comparisons of costs for hotels in various parts of Europe.
My daughter is going to Paris and London in June with her French teacher. Luckily we locked in with the payment 9 months ago, bacause of the falling U.S. dollar, we are forturnate to have saved some $$. Heard you on Talk of the nation today at NPR, great tips!
Don’t miss Timothy Egan’s column in The New York Times today, April 1, about Rick Steves. It’s titled Fresh Ideas for a Tired Crusade. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/opinion/01egan.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
Rick, great matrix. would suggest including the cost of 1 gallon of gas and what these category prices are in NYC, as a comparison.
Your splurge hotel in London looks very low. Actually, I think you could splurge for MUCH more money in several of these places! Plus its worth pointing out that you can stay in these countries but outside the capitals for considerably less. I’d vote for including the cost of a glass of wine, if necessary instead of a Big MAC – don’t even eat those in the US!
Your timing on this was perfect, we are off to Rome tomorrow, I feel better about the figures. We are just going to becareful and decide what is important to us to splurge on and what is not! It should be a fun challenge. Wish us luck! Judy
Nice blog and thanks to Helen for the NY Times link. Good article. I’ve passed it on to others. Ricnicks Rule!
I love the idea of adding a couple of American cities, just for comparison. Also, for a future project it might be interesting to compare high season and low season, to help identify where you can save most by going off season. Thanks!
I assume these prices are based on traveling during the high season. My wife and I visited Greece and Turkey in October and found the hotel prices much lower than if we had gone during the summer months. We stayed in a very comfortable hotel room on the Island of Santorini for about $35.00 per night. The weather was still warm (but not hot) and there were no crowds.
I like the idea of a beer/wine glass price and also adding a major West/Mid/East coast US town for comparison. Otherwise leave the Big Mac – which I agree is not what most americans eat in Europe – it does offer something to relate to (even if you dont eat them here!). A coffee may be good too if beer/wine is not appropriate!
I have to start saving my money for my next European vacation. Thanks for the break down of costs.
Wow, Rick, this is so interesting. Thanks for this info.!
I think that your costs for hostels are way off. I was just in London and I stayed in Picadilly for only $24 a night. I was in a 12 person room, but it was still sleepable. Currently I am in Dublin. Here I was paying $17 a night to stay near the Guiness Brewery. I had a 12 bed room here as well. There is actually a few places in Dublin that are even cheaper, I just booked late and didn’t get them.
You’re paying 11 Euros for a hostel bed in Dublin? I don’t doubt that you can find ridiculously cheap hostels, but typically these are either terrible or they fill up very quickly in peak season. 20-25 Euros (~$30-40) is a pretty good estimate for most major cities.
Hey, Rick, saw this article today and thought you and your readers might find it interesting. It appears Europe is starting to look at the US as “poor,” or at least poorer: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080407/lf_nm_life/italy_tourism_hemingway_dc
what the heck is up with the US dollar? i remember back in 03 when i took my first trip to europe and the euro was rated at 1.10. 5 years later its about 1.50 thats what the pound was rated in 03. sorry, i just need to vent. i want to take a trip to europe, but financially im feeling the pressure. Is the US ever gonna get it together again?
The cost of the one ride on a subway or bus for Munich is incorrect. I believe you used the cost of the 3 hour ticket, 2.20 euro ~ $3.50, instead of a short trip (within 1 zone) for 1.10 euro ~ $1.55. The website in english is http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/home/fahrgastinformation/tickets-preise/prices/index.html Happy Traveling!
Great undertaking Steve! As said at the beginning of the article, these prices are estimates only, but it is very helpful to at least get some idea of cost. As a teacher, the summer cost is the only one I can consider as well as the budgeting! I am working on getting a trip for my husband and I to enjoy!
Thank you for the up-to-date comparison of costs in Munich and Prague. We spent time in Greece last summer (on the cheap) and are glad to find that costs are comparable to that trip during the “shoulder season.” Soon we’ll be off to Eastern Europe.