U.S. currency may be struggling against the euro, but these destinations still offer reasonably priced hotel suites, ballets, and Michelin-recommended meals.
It almost goes without saying: When your home currency is strong, you have more purchasing power in other countries. But if you’ve been abroad in the past 10 months, you’ll probably have noticed the U.S. dollar is struggling against several currencies, chief among them the euro.
The U.S. dollar tends to work in your favor in Central and Eastern European countries, with a few exceptions. Some of these countries are in the European Union but don’t use the euro; others are not in the E.U. but have adopted the euro. Bear in mind that a European country using its own currency rather than the euro does not automatically equate to more buying power (looking at you, Nordic countries).
If the cost of a Dolomites hotel or a day of sailing on the Mediterranean is giving you pause, head east. To show you just how far your money can go, we’ve investigated the price of a standard-size bottle of beer and a four-star hotel in popular tourist destinations during high season.
Albania
- Price of a beer in Borsh: $3.50
- Price of a four-star beachfront hotel in Borsh in June: $156
- Currency: Lek (US$1 = ALL 82)
Vineyards, alpine hiking in Theth National Park, and 230-odd miles of Adriatic and Ionian sea coastline with one tantalizing beach after another—Albania boasts nearly everything its neighbor Greece offers, at lower prices. Though the more accessible stretches of sand here are nearly as crowded as in Greece, there are a handful of more tucked-away beaches with crystalline waters.
July and August are sweltering and crowded, since this is when domestic travelers take their beach vacations. However, you can swim comfortably in southern Albania until mid-October. Fall is also when, in high-altitude areas like Valbona Valley National Park near the border with Montenegro, the leaves tend to change color, and it’s also when the grape harvest happens. There are loads of vineyards in Albania; we’re fond of The Barrels Ms just outside Gjirokastër and Alpeta Agritourism & Winery, near the UNESCO city of Berat.
Poland
- Price of a beer in Warsaw: $4
- Price of a four-star hotel in Warsaw in June: $145
- Currency: Zloty (US$1 = PLN 3.6)
For a culture-filled European city break where your dollar goes far, start in Warsaw. The UNESCO-listed historic center reveals one beautiful heritage building after another. Eat in wine shop/restaurant Alewino, one of a few neo-bistros serving modern Polish food (wines by the glass from $8), then see an opera or ballet at the grand neoclassical Teatr Wielki (from $10). Take a turn through the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (from $10), which opened in 2024 and often hosts solo shows by women.
May through September is the best time of year to go to the Polish capital for long, sunny days and summer temps that don’t typically reach higher than 80 degrees. Though the winter days are cold and rather gray, the city gets a boost of cheer from late November to early January, thanks to a Christmas market in Castle Square.
From Warsaw, the train to the Baltic Sea beaches outside Gdańsk takes two and a half hours. As with all Northern European beaches, the water is chilly, but the air temperature is a pleasant 70-ish degrees Fahrenheit during the day in July and August. Stroll or cycle through Buki Mierzei Wiślanej, a nature reserve on the Vistula Spit—a sandy strip stretching from Gdańsk to the Polish-Russian border—full of towering beech, oak, and spruce trees.
Hungary
- Price of a beer in Budapest: $3.50
- Price of a four-star hotel in Budapest in June: $195
- Currency: Forint (US$1 = HUF 334)
Tickets to see ballet or classical music in Budapest—such as Swan Lake at the sumptuous neo-Renaissance Hungary State Opera House, and the Budapest Philharmonic at the equally handsome Vigadó Concert Hall—start at $16. Put your savings toward a four-course tasting menu at one Michelin-starred Costes ($110) and a soak at Rudas Thermal Bath overlooking the Danube (from $24).
Budapest has two big Christmas markets that draw winter visitors, but it’s June and September that best strike the balance between lovely weather and fewer crowds. Cycle around Hungary’s capital to ogle its spectacular art nouveau, baroque, and Gothic buildings. Bring your bathing suit so you can experience a couple of Budapest’s famed thermal baths (there are several cool pools, too).
For more swimming, take the train about an hour or two to Lake Balaton, the preferred getaway of Budapest denizens. The aquamarine water is ringed by sandy beaches, and the northern shore of the 48-mile-long lake counts more than a dozen vineyards.
Romania
- Price of a beer in Bucharest: $3.50
- Price of a four-star hotel in Bucharest in June: $145
- Currency: Leu (US$1 = RON 4.5)
Romania’s capital Bucharest delivers even more value for money than Budapest; consider combining the two by taking the CFR Călători, a comfortable night train that connects Budapest and Bucharest (there’s also a direct flight to Brasov in Transylvania). In the capital, have a drink in art nouveau splendor at Caru’ cu bere, dine on a seven-course tasting menu (approximately $85) in the garden of Noua, visit the exquisite Romanian Athenaeum concert hall, and stay in the old-world opulence of the Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest.
Get out of the capital to ramble through Romania’s tranquil old-growth forests and to visit castles, sucuh as those in Sinaia (a 90 minute-drive from Bucharest) and, of course, Dracula’s (fictional) home, Bran Castle.
Serbia
- Price of a beer in Belgrade: $3.50
- Price of a four-star hotel in Belgrade in June: $125
- Currency: Serbian dinar (US$1 = RSD 101)
One of Afar’s picks for where to go in 2026, Belgrade is full of vintage and antique shops, splav (nightclubs) playing a blend of folk and techno, and restaurants reinventing Serbian dishes. Even the priciest spots offer a financial relief compared to major U.S. cities: The Michelin-recommended Iva New Balkan Cuisine (mains from $18) serves plates of burek (a filo-dough pastry) with Đubek (melted cheese), baked apple gel, and burnt kale and, for dessert, cauliflower cake with salted caramel.
Hop on a train (search from “Beograd” on the Serbian website) for 35 minutes to the university city of Novi Sad, whose pedestrian-friendly streets are dotted with a number of handsome buildings, including the Serbo-Byzantine Bishop’s Palace and the neo-Renaissance City Hall. From there, a pretty springtime or autumnal side trip is Fruška Gora National Park, great for hiking amid rolling, iris-covered hills and 12th-century monasteries. Or hire a taxi to take you to the dozen wineries near Novi Sad, such as Verkat.
Montenegro
- Price of a beer in Petrovac: $4.50
- Price of a four-star hotel near the beach in Petrovac in June: $155
- Currency: Euro (US$1 = EUR 0,86)
Montenegro’s 182-mile Adriatic coastline is by no means a bargain, but—as is so often the case—avoid the ultrahigh season of July and August, and you’ll find more reasonably priced hotels and space on the sand to spread out.
Towns like Kotor, a popular cruise port, and Budva are always crowded and pricey. Instead, make your way to the Luštica Peninsula, particularly the very tip around Rose. For a base with more access to restaurants, try the towns of Herceg Novi or Petrovac (from there, visit Drobni Pijesak, a little pebbly bay 10 minutes up the coast).
Lace up your boots and romp through one of the country’s five national parks. Take a 90-minute train ride from Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, to Kolašin, the gateway town to the primeval Biogradska Gora National Park. Here, beech, fir, spruce, and sycamore maple trees surround glacial Lake Biograd, a peaceful spot for a picnic.
