In Santorini and Athens bargain for the 3-star traveler

13 Φεβρουαρίου, 2014 · by Business Travel blog · in ΠΡΟΟΡΙΣΜΟΙ. ·

Freshly updated and expanded for the 2014 travel year, priceoftravel ‘s Europe 3-star Traveler Index f(or 2014: 51 cities from cheapest to most expensive) should be very useful for travelers making budgets and trying to get the most for their money. As you’ll see on the list below, many excellent and famous tourist cities such as Budapest and Krakow are a fraction of the price of some cities that aren’t nearly as interesting or unique.

This year it added 4 new cities (Valletta, Malta; Vilnius, Lithuania; Santorini Island, Greece; and Interlaken, Switzerland) to cover the continent even more fully. Prices we mostly stable in most cities, so Europe didn’t jump up in price last year. A few currencies are worth noting, most dramatically the Turkish Lira, which has come down quite a bit in the past year so the whole country is a bargain at the moment.

How the 3-Star Traveler Index works

We take a fixed set of typical expenses that every traveler will encounter, and apply them to each of the 51 major European tourist cities.

Note: The 3-star Traveler Index is based on two people sharing hotel rooms and taxis.

Costs for each city

One night in the cheapest 3-star hotel available with a desirable central location and mostly positive reviews. Hotel prices are per person based on double occupancy, so the full nightly rate is double what is listed for each city here.
Two 3-kilometer taxi rides per day (one ride paid per person)
One cultural attraction, such as a popular museum, per day
Three meals per day using the top end of the range of our “budget meals” for each city
Three beers (or wine) each day as an “entertainment fund.” Non-drinkers might have dessert and coffee or attend a local music performance instead, so this is a general benchmark that should be proportional for each city.

Price of Travel’s European 3-star Index for 2014

From cheapest to most expensive

17 – Santorini Island, Greece

&lt;img src=»http://www.priceoftravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Santorini.jpg» alt=»Santorini» width=»280″ height=»152″ /&gt;Santorini is Greece’s most popular tourist island so it’s listed here to represent all of them, which tend to be mostly similar in price. Things like food and drinks are reasonably priced on the islands, especially if you don’t require a sea view at the same time, but renting scooters or water sports equipment can add up quickly. During July and August the hotel prices jump up quite a bit as well, so visit in the shoulder months if you can.

Currency: euro
Cheap/good 3-star hotel: Kokkinos Villas – 25.00/night
Transportation: 5.50
Meals: 22.00
Drinks/Entertainment: 15.00
Attractions: 3.00
Daily 3-star Traveler Index: €70.50 – US$95.27/day

20 – Athens, Greece

&lt;img src=»http://www.priceoftravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Athens.jpg» alt=»» title=»Athens» width=»280″ height=»210″ /&gt;Athens is another city that can be a relative bargain for the 3-star traveler, with some good and cheap hotels right in the main tourist zones. During summer the city does fill up, so it may not feel so affordable during high season. The recent troubles are keeping some people away, so it might be easier to find bargains this year, particularly with hotels.