5 Reasons to Make Eastern Europe Your Next Holiday Destination

5 Reasons to Make Eastern Europe Your Next Holiday Destination

Please note this post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase something through one of these links I'll earn a small commission at no cost to you. Affiliate links are marked with an *. 

One of the most common questions that friends ask me is “I fancy a weekend away in Europe, where would you recommend?”. It’s a tricky question because not everyone is going to like the same places, and every destination has it’s own personality, ready to be loved by someone! Plus I’ve definitely not been to enough places to give a fair answer. However, the common theme when I’m recommending places to my friends is that my recommendations tend to be in Eastern Europe.

Trakai castle on a frozen, snow covered lake near Vilnius, Eastern Europe

Don’t get me wrong, I adore the likes of Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Venice and Dublin. But since I celebrated my birthday in Budapest a few years ago and got my first taste of Goulash and great value travel, I’ve had a soft spot for Eastern Europe. The majority of my travel since then has consisted of Eastern Europe, and I’ve since discovered the charm of Gdansk, Krakow, Warsaw, Cluj, Vilnuis, Sofia and Belgrade (sometimes defined as Eastern Europe, sometimes not). All of these have been rich in culture, history, cuisine and (most importantly!) fun.

So carry on reading to find out why you should make Eastern Europe your next travel destination when you’re looking for a weekend away.

You Get a Lot For Your Money

One of the most common reasons for choosing Eastern Europe over Western Europe is the price difference. I love to travel and have multiple trips to look forward to throughout the year, but I don’t have the budget to travel to expensive destinations. Price is therefore an important factor to me when booking a weekend away, and flights to Eastern Europe almost always tend to be cheaper.

My usual process of choosing a destination is to visit *Skyscanner, enter my nearest airport (including nearby airports of course), selecting the ‘Search Everywhere’ option and the month I’d like to travel before searching by price. More often than not it’s the likes of Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania that make the top of the list!

However, flight prices are by no means everything and if, like me, you enjoy pretending on holiday that you’re a princess and money is no object, then the cost of living should definitely influence your choice in destination. Visiting Eastern Europe can often mean being able to stay in the most beautiful hotels or apartments and being able to wine and dine like a queen (or king!) whatever your budget is.

Take Cluj-Napoca in Romania for example. Last year my boyfriend and I were lucky enough to stay in a stunning, newly converted (we were the third couple to stay there) studio apartment bang in the centre of the Old Town. Not only did the apartment have a super king sized bed, flat screen TV & mood lighting, it had an underground double width jacuzzi bath with it’s own television! Guess what it set us back? £29 a night!! I almost always use Air BnB to book accommodation as I find the best deals here, and if you haven’t used it before you can use this *link to get £23 off your booking.

Girl in bubble bath with flat screen tv on the wall behind in Eastern Europe

On average we were spending £1-£1.50 on a beer (although outside of the city I enjoyed a pint for 60p), £4 on an Espresso Martini in a fancy bar and £40 on a 3 course meal for two including a bottle of wine.

Man holding up a beer and a fan of notes to demonstrate how cheap beer is in Cluj, Eastern Europe

Great Flight Times to Eastern Europe

I’ve flown from Doncaster airport for my last couple of trips, with evening flights to Eastern European destinations on Thursday & Friday evenings, perfect for weekends away! This means that you can work on a Friday, go straight to the airport when the clock strikes 5pm, have a quick celebratory drink and board the plane. Yes this means that you’ll arrive late at night, but take a taxi to your accommodation, head straight to bed and wake up fresh in the morning, ready to start your adventure straight away. The first day is so much more enjoyable when you’ve just had a good night sleep rather than an early morning flight, and of course this means that you can maximise annual leave – which I’ve written a whole separate post about here.

It’s not just Doncaster with great flights either… I recently flew from Leeds Bradford airport to Vilnius, Lithuania, at 4.05pm meaning that I could work half a day in the morning and arrive just in time for a late dinner and a couple of drinks.

Eastern European Cuisine is a Dream

Eastern Europe is the home of comfort food: Hearty stews, warming soups and delectable dumplings are just some of the traditional food that locals are so proud of. My personal favourite is the Pierogi, a Polish dumpling filled with pretty much anything you can think of! The most common fillings are cheese, ground meat, mushrooms and cabbage, but sweet varieties are also popular. I found that a lot of places in Gdansk, Krakow and Warsaw offered mixed platters of pierogies, a dream for those, like me, who want to try them all.

A platter of pierogies eaten in Gdansk in eastern europe

In all of the Eastern European cities that I’ve visited, there’s been no shortage of authentic, family run restaurants showcasing traditional food, and the locals are happy to recommend their favourite local dishes. They’ll usually give you a sample of the local tipple before your meal as well if you’re lucky!

Plate of goats cheese pebbles at Baracca in Cluj Napoca

Eastern Europe Wins on the Wine

This one was a very pleasant surprise for me. I had no idea that these countries produced wine until I visited, and it’s AMAZING. Hungarian sparkling wine is better than Champagne in my opinion, and it was served unlimited at breakfast in our hotel so I had plenty of chances to enjoy it. Romanian wine is to die for, and I had one of the best reds I’ve ever tasted on my first night in Cluj. The white and rose were just as good! What I really loved in Budapest and in Cluj was that almost all of the wine served was local and they were really proud of it.

Girl with large glass of wine in restaurant in Cluj, Romanina

In Poland, local wine was harder to get hold of but it did still exist and in most cases we could still get our hands on wine from other Central and Eastern European countries. I even managed to try some Russian ‘Champagne’ in a very cosy pub in Gdansk, for about £10 a bottle!

Eastern Europe is a Bit Different

Finally, what I’ve really loved is that these places feel a little off the beaten track. Yes, there can be a few stag do’s taking advantage of the cheap booze, especially in the summer months, but in general there is less tourism than the likes of Venice and Barcelona. This also means that you can discover the destination yourself instead of being bombarded with recommendations from friends and travel guides.

Girl in front of barrel of wine

When the office small talk turns to where we’re all off on our summer holidays, I always feel a little bit smug when I say that I’m off to Lithuania or Romania and people ask my why on earth I’ve chosen to go there!

I would love to hear where you’ve been in Eastern Europe (and where I need to visit next!), and your favourite places to travel. Where has surprised you and where do you always recommend to friends?

Nell xx

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Please note this post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase something through one of these links I'll earn a small commission at no cost to you. Affiliate links are marked with an *. 


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