4 day cheap trip: Where to go?

[MissButterfly]

Hi everyone! So I'm trying to plan a little trip with my best friend, we originally booked a trip to Istanbul but unfortunately that didn't work out... We don't have that big of a budget and really just want to see a nice city in Europe, preferably a warm one because The Netherlands isn't generally very nice, haha! I really have no idea where I want to go and I don't think we really care because I haven't seen her in a year and we just want a nice getaway. So it's probably going to be something last minute (leaving June 14th).

Sooo.... Where in Europe would you go? Which cities are decently priced generally, and have some nice culture and places to see? I'm hoping to stay under 300 euros for flight and hotel, but that seems to be doable especially last minute. Just need to decide on a city, haha!

[Jess!]

Hey! Well, Portugal is super cheap. (My country!). If you book now a 2 ways flight with ryanair to Porto it must be under 100 euros. I did it to go to the Netherlands in June. and Portugal is warm ! Here you would spend less than 300 euros for sure!

Good luck with that

[80anthea]

most cities you can do on a budget if you look in the right places. As a student we did Stockholm, Prague, Madrid, warsaw, Dublin, Berlin all on a budget. What sort of things are you interested in seeing?

[mllebamako]

I'll second Portugal! I've only been to Lisbon and a few day trips right outside but I loved it and was really surprised at how much I loved it! Great culture, friendly people, delicious food, beautiful sights, and interesting places to just wander around!

[lucybelle]

I don't know it but how bout Greece? Warm, great culture, and recovering from economic turmoil!

[Tooki]

Estonia!

Seriously, Portugal makes a lot of sense for you. It will be warm, cheap and Portuguese people are lovely!

(I only recommend Estonia if you can get cheap flights. The expenses there are quite cheap.)

[MissButterfly]

Thanks for the input guys! I'd love to go to Greece but we're both vegetarians and the food there is really heavily meat-centered... So that's why I was weary about that.
Portugal sounds like a really good idea, but I don't know the country at all. Where in Portugal would be nice? What's a nice cultural city that you can spend 4 days in?

[Tooki]

Thanks for the input guys! I'd love to go to Greece but we're both vegetarians and the food there is really heavily meat-centered... So that's why I was weary about that.
Portugal sounds like a really good idea, but I don't know the country at all. Where in Portugal would be nice? What's a nice cultural city that you can spend 4 days in?

Lisbon would be the obvious place to visit. Apparently its one of the oldest cities in Europe so I'm sure that there is plenty of culture to soak up.

[MissButterfly]

Lisbon would be the obvious place to visit. Apparently its one of the oldest cities in Europe so I'm sure that there is plenty of culture to soak up.

Haha, obvious indeed! I've just been roaming Expedia and it all seems to be a little over 200 euros so that's really nice! Looks like a beautiful city, I'm super excited now

[dragonlady]

barcelona, de sagrada familia enz!! awesome!!

[mllebamako]

I spent 1 week in Lisbon with my brother and we lurrrved it. We rented a cute studio apartment on airbnb and it was really nice to have our own place. But I remember looking at hostels there and they all looked great- super hip, some were more like small apartments.

Lisbon was a great city to explore, so many different neighborhoods. Here, I'm just going to copy and paste some suggestions that I wrote to a friend on his blog:

-I recommend learning just a little Portuguese (my brother and I just wrote down some key phrases and practiced on the plane). People were genuinely excited when we greeted them or tried ordering food in Portuguese. Just knowing how to say good afternoon and how are you led us to some great conversations with locals.

-My favorite place in Lisbon was the Oceanarium (I am kind of obsessed with aquariums). Take the metro to the Oriente metro stop (great building too) and then you are in a park that was built a World Expo in the 90s. Lots of cool architecture and one of the best aquariums I’ve been to. https://www.oceanario.pt/

-Lisbon is a great city to walk around (although lots of hills). But the neighborhoods are really unique and I love the trams and elevators all over town.

-I found Belem to be a bit overrated, it was just so crowded that it felt more like cattle-herding than historical sites.

-I HIGHLY recommend a day or half-day trip to Sintra. It’s only about 40 minutes by train and it’s a gorgeous town with several palaces to visit. We only went to the “Quinta da Regeleira” and it was one of the best days of the trip. The palace is nice but the real treat is the huge estate that you can wander. There are beautiful lakes, fountains, towers to climb, AND hidden doorways, secret tunnels, etc. Don’t forgot to take a flashlight with you, descend into the “initiation well” and go through the tunnels.

-For food: lots of yummy pastries and cafes com leite, bacalhau (cod) dishes, chicken piri-piri, and vinho verde. (Although, I just saw you are vegetarian, so this advice only half applies to you Do you eat fish?)

[snow_girl]

I just got back from Krakow. It was so cheap! We had 7 vodkas and two beers for £10!! You could eat enough for a week for like 30 and our hostel which was more like a hotel was 100£ for 4 nights

[MissButterfly]

Booked the trip to Lisbon yesterday! Only 250 euros for 5 days, 4 nights flight and hotel, plus a 72 hour Lisbon City Card which gives us access to museums and transportation and stuff, so I'm really happy and excited!

[mllebamako]

Booked the trip to Lisbon yesterday! Only 250 euros for 5 days, 4 nights flight and hotel, plus a 72 hour Lisbon City Card which gives us access to museums and transportation and stuff, so I'm really happy and excited!

That is so awesome!! When are you guys going? If you have any questions on the tips I gave, feel free to ask. What an awesome price for flight AND hotel and the Lisbon card!

Can't wait to hear how you like it

[Jess!]

Yay!!!!
You won't be disapointed!
If you want I can write you some basics in portuguese^^