Affordable land expenses

In Germany's Black Forest you can visit half-timbered old-world villages like Schiltach, Calw, and Gengenbach or more major destinations like Freiburg and Baden-Baden. There are several other smaller spa towns as well, and a lot of outdoor recreation. Prices tend to be very reasonable in the smaller villages - I've stayed in a few places for less than 20 Euros per person with breakfast, most a little more than 20. And your transportation around the area is free if you stay in any of the 130 villages that participate in the Konus promotion: http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/konus The list of participating towns: http://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/service/konus/was_ist_konus/uebersichtskarte/hier_erhalten_sie_ihre_konus_gaestekarte The Konus card will get you to Basel, Switzerland too. Transportation can be cheap elsewhere in Germany within regions on daypasses; figure about 21 Euros for one person per day, about 30 for 2-5 people traveling together: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/overseas/en/prices/germany/laender-ticket.shtml

In western Europe Portugal and Greece should be cheapest. But further east should be cheaper still, at least for food and transport. I really liked Ukraine, especially Lviv, but you could also look at Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. Check into couchsurfing for free accommodation.

Portugal, omitting Lisbon and coastal Algarve. Northern Spain, west of Santander. Turkey, outside of Istanbul. Morocco, with a cheapo flight from somewhere.

Dzien dobry. Don't forget Poland.

True, Poland is more expensive than last year - but so is everywhere else. It is still generally less expensive than most other European countries.

I agree with Russ. Black Forest. Beautiful area. Affordable accommodations and free transportation. You could probably stay there for less than €50 day. And this in a first world country. The €21 passes he mentions in Germany are Länder-Tickets, valid for transport in an entire Land (German state). In addition, for more limited areas, most Verkehrverbünde (metro districts) have their own Tageskarten (day tickets), valid for the entire district, for less. For example, the VRM Tageskarte, which covers the middle Rhein from just below, but not including, Bacharach to below Remagen and the Mosel to Bullay (up from Cochem), is €17 single.

"not a lot of money" is relative.. How many days do you want to stay and what's your daily budget?

...and what interests do you have? I don't want to send you to the Black Forest if you have a strong desire to see Giotto frescoes...or the Eiffel Tower...nor to Italy if you want to spend lots of time in a German biergarten... Have you seen Rick Steves' travel programs? They are available on his YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/RickSteves These will give you some ideas of 'what's where'. Also, I'd strongly suggest that you get a copy of his "Europe Through the Back Door" book for info on how to travel to and through Europe. Lots of valuable info! It's not a guidebook, meaning that it gives you hotel/restaurant/sight-seeing recommendations; instead, it explains how to buy train tickets and how to ride the trains, why you want to bring an ATM card, how and why to pack lightly, etc. How to save money that many first-timers waste because they just didn't know better. Then I'd suggest his guidebooks, along with a few others (depending on where you decide to go).

I agree with the posts about Slovakia and Turkey. I have visited both of these countries and there is plenty to see in both. Turkey is not part of the EU and is not on the Euro. It is substantially cheaper than Greece but places we visited accepted euros & dollars in addition to the local currency. Slovakia is on the euro, but is cheaper than most of Europe. I don't think that Hungry or the Czech Republic are on the Euro either. This may make them relatively cheaper.

Leaping all over Europe from one famous city to another uses too much money and time. Limit your range of travel to a smaller area. There is more to Europe than London, Paris, and Rome. Do your research and find interesting places near where you will land. Find ways to save on transportation, accommodations, food. Use public transportation. Renting a car gives you freedom - freedom not to plan ahead. It also costs much more than using the trains and buses, particularly if you look for advance purchase fares and regional passes. Look for small, family run accommodations, or privatzimmer. Use town websites, not the big, commercial booking ones. Town websites are often in English. If not you only need to know a few key words to find properties with their own websites, which will sometimes be in English. Learn some menu vocabulary. Beef is expensive in Europe. In Germany, Pork ( Schweines) Schnitzel is usually an inexpensive item on the menu. There are often local specialties that are tasty and far less expensive, like Currywurst, Maultaschen, or Käsespäztle in Germany.

Although someone mentioned the fact that they were able to use dollars and euro in Turkey, I would advise exchanging your money and using the local currency wherever you are. It is less likely you will be ripped off. They're only taking American dollars in Turkey if it is of great advantage to them.

If you are wanting to do things inexpensively, do not take any US money to Europe as that is the best way to get the worst exchange rate possible. You do need to add some more information to get better replies though. Can you get an DEBIT card tied to a CHECKING account to use at ATM machines in Europe? That is the best way to save money on exchanges into local European currency.

Budapest or Prague.