Which are the cheapest countries to visit in Europe?

How we chose the countries

We sorted all countries in the dataset by the restaurants-and-hotels index for 2024 and took the lowest eleven that are individual countries. Eurostat describes this category as covering restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars, canteens, hotels and youth hostels. It is the nearest published match to what a visitor spends on food out and a bed, although it is an average across all customers.

The list is a reading of one index in one year, so it is not our own ranking of destinations. It also says nothing about distance, flights, safety or how much there is to see. Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus and several other European countries are outside the 36 countries Eurostat surveys, so they cannot appear here even if their prices are low.

What the Eurostat index measures

A comparative price level index divides a purchasing power parity by the market exchange rate and sets the EU27 average to 100. Eurostat's explanatory article says the surveys cover more than 2,000 goods and services and are run by national statistical institutes in a three-year cycle, with prices from intervening years brought forward using consumer price indices. Purchasing power parities are also the basis of the World Bank's worldwide comparisons, where the Bank describes them as a way to convert GDP and its expenditure components into a common currency.

The index is built for comparing countries, not for budgeting a trip. Eurostat notes that service prices vary more than goods prices because wages differ so much, which is why restaurants and hotels spread more widely than food. It also cautions that where countries cluster closely, small differences in the index may not be meaningful and the order can change with the data used.

North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

North Macedonia has the lowest restaurants-and-hotels figure in the dataset at 49.5, and Albania is next at 52.3. Montenegro (65.5), Serbia (68.2) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (74.6) are higher but still well below the EU average. North Macedonia also has the second-lowest overall consumption figure at 49.6, behind only Turkiye.

Within this group the picture is mixed on food. Albania's food index is 98.7, close to the EU average, while North Macedonia's is 73.0. So the cheap restaurants-and-hotels reading does not mean cheap supermarkets everywhere. Our stays in Tirana and along the coast are listed on the Albania page.

Bulgaria and Romania: the cheapest inside the EU

Bulgaria is the cheapest EU member on restaurants and hotels at 53.2, and Romania follows at 68.5. Bulgaria's national statistics office, reporting the Eurostat 2024 results, also lists Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary as the three lowest EU countries for the category. Bulgaria's overall consumption level is 56.9 and Romania's 57.4, so both sit well below the EU average across the whole consumption basket.

Their food indices differ: Bulgaria is at 87.1 and Romania at 74.6, so groceries are relatively cheaper in Romania on this measure. Our Sofia and Bucharest listings offer a base in each capital.

Hungary and Czechia: cheap meals, different housing costs

Hungary's restaurants-and-hotels figure is 71.8 and Czechia's is 74.1, both about a quarter below the EU average. The two diverge in housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels: Hungary is 61.1, while Czechia is 103.3, slightly above the EU average.

That housing category reflects what residents pay for homes and utilities, not holiday rentals, but it is a useful warning that a country cheap for dinner may not be cheap for a long stay. Browse Budapest to compare what is on offer.

Turkiye: lowest overall, mid-table for restaurants and hotels

Turkiye has the lowest overall consumption price level in the dataset at 46.8, and its housing index of 24.1 is the lowest of any country shown here. On restaurants and hotels it reads 68.9, seventh lowest among the countries in this table. The gap shows why one headline number can mislead.

Housing, at 24.1, is one category that pulls the overall figure down, and it is a cost visitors seldom meet, so the restaurants-and-hotels reading is the closer guide for a short trip. Its price levels also respond strongly to currency moves, as they do for any country with a floating exchange rate.

Portugal and Spain: the cheapest of western Europe

Portugal reads 75.5 for restaurants and hotels, and Spain reads 83.9. On that category they sit below France (110.0), Germany (112.1) and Italy (106.9). Portugal's overall figure is 85.0 and Spain's 90.7.

These are the countries on this page where the gap to the EU average is smallest, so they suit travellers who want a lower price than the north without leaving the eurozone. A kitchen helps with longer stays, as our guide to cooking in an aparthotel kitchen explains.

The eleven side by side

The table shows three Eurostat price level indices for 2024, ordered by restaurants and hotels. Lower means cheaper than the EU27 average of 100. Food figures are in the sections above.

Limits of this list

The data are from Eurostat's COICOP 1999 dataset, last updated in July 2025, with 2024 as the reference year. Eurostat's current explanatory article, read in October 2026, refers to a newer 2025 reference year, which we did not pull, so a later edition may reorder close neighbours. Differences of a point or two, such as Romania against Turkiye on restaurants and hotels, should not be read as a ranking.

The index does not capture tourist-district pricing, seasonal peaks, city taxes or transport costs to reach the country. A capital's resort or old-town prices can sit well above the national average, and winter and summer rates on the coast can differ sharply. Use the figures to choose where to look, then check live prices for your dates.

Practical notes for a low-cost European trip

A lower index can offset a more expensive journey, so compare the total of travel and accommodation rather than the price level alone. Our guide to aparthotels in Europe covers what to expect from city-centre stays.

The table with our own median nightly prices for the countries above appears below, sorted from lowest, so you can see how our listings compare with the Eurostat picture. For some countries we may hold few stays, in which case the table shows fewer rows.