To travel Europe on a budget, head east and south: Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Portugal and Albania give you the best value for money, often between 30 and 70 euros a day. The classic mistake when you chain several countries is to forget your data. Outside the European Union (Albania, the Balkans, Turkey), roaming can double the bill. A Europe eSIM settles that line in one go.
Europe has a reputation for being expensive. It earns it if all you look at is Paris, Venice or Copenhagen. But the continent also holds countries where 50 euros a day keeps you comfortable, with real wonders at the end of it.
Here are five destinations tried and tested for a smart trip, the real budgets to plan for, and the two or three costs that quietly wreck a bill when you are not watching them.
The 5 countries to travel cheaply
I rank them from the most economical to the merely affordable, with what your money actually buys on the ground.
1. Bulgaria
One of the cheapest countries on the continent, year after year. A hostel night runs about 12 to 18 euros, a local meal about 8 to 12 euros. Sofia, the capital, is walkable, and the Black Sea coast stays far kinder to your wallet than the Mediterranean. Aim for Veliko Tarnovo for history and Plovdiv for its old town.
2. Romania
A typical budget of 35 to 65 euros a day. Transylvania packs in castles and Saxon villages, while Bucharest surprises with cheap nightlife. The trains are slow but very cheap, and this is a country where you eat well for next to nothing.
3. Poland
Count 30 to 50 euros a day. Krakow is still the most charming city in the country, and one of the best-value in Central Europe. Warsaw, Gdansk and Wroclaw round out an easy loop, well linked by cheap buses and trains.
4. Portugal
A little pricier than the others, around 45 to 70 euros a day, but unbeatable for Western Europe. Lisbon and Porto stay affordable away from the most touristy districts, and the interior (Alentejo, the Douro valley) costs even less. Eat where locals eat, at lunch, with the set menu of the day.
5. Albania
The real surprise, and the cheapest stretch of the Riviera. The beaches of the Ionian coast rival neighbouring Croatia for a fraction of the price. A full meal often lands under 10 euros. One thing to watch for European travellers: Albania is not in the European Union, so your mobile plan does not work there without a surcharge. More on that below.
The daily budget, country by country
Here is a realistic marker for a budget trip: simple accommodation, local meals, regional transport and a few sights. Prices climb fast if you go for comfort hotels and restaurants in the centre.
| Country | Budget / day (eco) | In the European Union? | Strong point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 30 to 45 € | Yes | Cheapest, Black Sea coast |
| Albania | 30 to 50 € | No | Beaches, unbeatable prices |
| Poland | 30 to 50 € | Yes | Art cities, Krakow |
| Romania | 35 to 65 € | Yes | Castles, nature |
| Portugal | 45 to 70 € | Yes | Coast, food |
A smart itinerary often blends these countries: a flight into Sofia, a bus into North Macedonia, then Albania and its coast. Intercity buses do most of the heavy lifting here, and a long cross-border leg rarely passes 20 to 30 euros when you book a day or two ahead. That is where the border becomes a real subject, for the phone as much as for the wallet.
One more lever that people skip: the shoulder cities. Plovdiv instead of Sofia, Porto instead of Lisbon, Gdansk instead of Krakow in peak July. The sights are just as good, the rooms cost less, and the crowds thin out. You feel the saving most on accommodation, which is the line that swings a daily budget the hardest.
Where the money leaks without you seeing it
A country’s headline price does not tell the whole story. Three costs inflate the budget in silence.
- Badly costed low-cost flights. The 20-euro ticket quickly becomes 80 with hold baggage, seat choice and the airport transfer. Read the conditions before you click.
- ATM withdrawals. In the Balkans and Eastern Europe, avoid the Euronet machines often planted near tourist sites: their fees are high. Withdraw from a local bank’s ATM, and always refuse the conversion offered on screen.
- Roaming outside the European Union. This is the invisible trap for the European traveller. The moment you leave the Union, your plan no longer follows for free, and data can cost several euros per megabyte.
- Go off season: April to May and September to October give the best price-to-weather ratio.
- Book buses and trains ahead: fares climb as the date nears.
- Stay in hostels or guesthouses, and cook one meal out of two.
- Sort your data before you leave: outside the European Union, a travel eSIM costs far less than roaming.
Data, the saving most people forget
When you count every euro, the easiest line to control often slips through: the internet. It is what books your hostels, finds the night buses, compares prices and locates you in a city you do not know.
Inside the European Union, your home plan works without a surcharge, which is good news for Bulgaria, Poland, Romania or Portugal. But the moment your route runs through Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Turkey or Switzerland, you drop out of the surcharge-free zone. There, standard roaming often comes to 5 euros or more per gigabyte, sometimes much more.
A eSIM for Europe gives you data across the whole continent on a single plan, often a few euros per gigabyte, non-EU countries included. You activate it before you leave, and it follows you from country to country with no card to swap at the border. To see exactly what changes outside the European Union, read our guide One eSIM for all of Europe.
With Orange, the service used by more than 300 million customers, you keep control of your budget: 200+ destinations covered, human support 24/7, and fully refunded if you never use your eSIM.
One data plan for the whole trip, even outside the European Union?
