Eastern Europe Base for One Month

I believe you'll find a lot more to do in Vienna, Prague or Budapest than in Bratislava. I'm sure I'd be able to fill a month in any of the first three if I took some day-trips and/or weekends away. I haven't been to Bratislava. It's on my list for a trip in the next two years, but it does seem to have a more modest list of local sights. In terms of population it's roughly 1/3 the size of Prague and 1/4 the size of Budapest and Vienna.

Prague's Old Town is rather severely over-touristed (or was pre-COVID-19), but I wouldn't think that would be a major issue for a month-long stay. You wouldn't be spending a large percentage of your time in the Old Town.

I suspect lodging costs would be a bit lower in Budapest than in Vienna or Prague but have not gone looking for rental rates. You could get some preliminary info on booking.com. It does list apartments as well as hotels, though I suspect the rates you see may be 30 times the nightly rate. Still, the comparison from city to city might hold. Restaurant costs are probably a bit lower in Budapest as well.

I have traveled more in Hungary than in Czechia or Austria, so I'm not in a great position to say which option might offer more. However, I can say that there are some good day-trip possibilities from Budapest and some interesting (and varied) weekend destinations as well.

In the same situation I'd probably put Vienna at the top of the list (with Prague in second place), especially given your criteria of "We are tour takers by day and enjoy late dinners, some music, a drink and socializing with and learning about locals."

Of course the answer may depend to some extent on where you're planning to travel to from your "home base".

Just to be clear - and welcome to the Forums, clermontd - is it correct that the amounts you quote are in US dollars, or are they Euro or other currency?

Why not divide your month into two and spend two weeks in Prague and two weeks in Budapest. You can do day trips to Vienna from Budapest. I would expect hotel prices to be lower in Budapest than Vienna.

Having been to all 4 cities, more then once, I would choose Budapest first, Vienna then Prague. Budapest has more to see, is walkable, less expensive and has the baths, which we enjoy. They have a good bus system for getting to other cities. Bratislava is not that interesting for a month

Vienna has many music opportunities, not all are classical. We just went to 3 over a long weekend. Classical at the castle, beautiful church music with small orchestra and singing at the cathedral and a rock concert-all free. The city is centrally located to travel to all the other mentioned cities by public transportation. Prague and Budapest have a strong musical history but easy day trips are no more limited to smaller places. This may be a benefit to get to know a country. We were disappointed in our two night visit to Bratislava 10 years ago. I think Budapest is the most interesting city. With a month, purchase a pass to the big baths and soak every day with the Hungarians. Who knows what the restrictions will be in the next year or so. The choice seems to be central location in a royal city, Vienna or a city with lots of nooks and crannies showing its free, royal and communist past, Budapest. Thanks for getting me thinking of my travels in that part of Europe. Happy travel planning.

Thank you for your quick replies.

To answer some comments and questions:

1. From our home base we intend to travel to at least 2 of the other cities listed here.
2. I was indicating US dollars.
3. We have travelled in Europe and elsewhere both without a base or splitting the trip. However, we want to avoid the big pack and move preferring instead a weekend bag and mini-adventures. In the case of Split, Croatia the city became ‘ours’ where we got to know some of the cafe employees and the woman at the laundromat for example.

Thanks again.

Ufkak nailed it: Plus, you have a tight budget and prices in Budapest are reasonable to cheap. Wizzair will get you all over Eastern Europe for as little as $50 a leg and Budapest is the hub and Vienna and Prague are just up the tracks, but I would do a short trip to the Balkans and one to Ukraine before Vienna or Prague

I would definitely pick either Vienna or Budapest for month stay. I loved Prague but I don't think it's as well situated for weekend trips to the other cities. Logistically Vienna would be the best location if you wanted to visit the other three cities - Budapest and Prague for weekends and Bratislava you could do a weekend or just a day trip. Having been to both for 6 days each, my personal choice would be to rent an apartment for a month in Budapest, which turned out to be my favorite European city (except for Paris of course).

No matter what city you choose, you'll probably be happy with it. So don't overthink it.

However, if it was my trip I would go for Vienna. From a logistical point of view it seems like the best option, roughly halfway between Prague and Budapest and with Bratislava just around the corner. Any other places you'd like to visit for the weekend trips? Vienna has good connections to large parts of Europe. It is probably the biggest night train hub in Europe and there are both low cost airlines and flag carriers serving the airport. And if you don't speak any other language than English, Austrians are in general better English speakers.

Just remember to not refer to the area as eastern europe when you are there.

I have been in Vienna, Prague and Budapest. Budapest seemed more interesting to me. It was more photogenic with different levels of terrain and with more buildings in a variety of historic and architectural style. Vienna was more homogenized architecturally to me. I also thought the food more interesting and complex in Budapest. I was only an overnight in Prague so I don't have a lasting impression.

We visited Central Europe in 2019. Of the 3 locations mentioned up thread, hands down Budapest was our favorite. We spent 5 nights, but could have easily spent a month. We stayed in an apartment in District 6. Convenient to restaurants, Theater District, Jewish Heritage, groceries, public transportation & primary attractions. We hired a guide who met us at our apartment. We toured the Jewish quarter our first full day & were all set to explore Budapest following that. Budapest is magical.

When I spend 2 weeks in Budapest I will generally hop a discount airline for 5 days someplace else. On month trip, ill do two 5 day trips. The easy options include:

Ukraine (kyiv, Lviv or Odesa)
Bosnia & Herzegovina (Sarajevo)
Montenegro (lands in Podgorica, but Budva and Kotor are near .... fantastic country)
Macedonia (Skopje)
Albania (Tirana)
Bulgaria (best seen in a week long min driving tour)
Romania
Georgia
Armenia

Most under $100 each way, nonstop in under 2 hours). Most of these places you can get a guide with a car for under $200 a day.

Then by train or car, Slovakia which will someday be a big tourist hot-spot)

I've enjoyed each more than Prague, but my taste is more towards the undeveloped, or at least less developed)

I believe James got caught by auto-correct and meant to write:

Montenegro (lands in Podgorica, but Budva and Kotor are near .... fantastic country)

Yup, thanks

In the case of Split, Croatia the city became ‘ours’ where we got to know some of the cafe employees and the woman at the laundromat for example.

In Budapest, a year ago, I could have introduced you around. So many of my friends businesses have been devastated by lockdowns, I don't know what will be left. On the up side, the real estate values are way down thanks to the lack of tourism that you will be able to find a cheap apartment when things do open. I know, I'm an owner in Budapest.

I went to all 3 in 2012, Budapest 4.5 days, then the better part of 2 days in Vienna and 4.5 in Prague. 3 years later I opted for a long weekend in Vienna on my way to the Alps. In 2017 I went back to Hungary for 10 days. I spent the beginning and end in Budapest, went to Pecs, Szeged and Kecskemet in the middle (using trains and one intercity bus). I would go back to Budapest in a flash - in fact I had hoped to get there in 2020, but we all know how that went.

Why Budapest? It's the most interesting of the 3, architecturally, culturally and historically. The food is excellent and Hungarian wines are among the best in the world. It's easy to visit Vienna for a weekend by train and see most of the highlights. There are day and overnight trips in Hungary as well as those I mentioned. There are lots of musical performances and many many interesting sights in the city. It's very easy to get around on buses, metros and trams, much of the center is easy walking too. I found a lot of the locals were fluent in English and easy to chat with. It's also the cheapest of the 3.

Edit - just checked my records. I paid $117 for 2 nights in a roomy studio apartment and about €60/night for 4 nights in a delightful 1-bedroom flat. Both had full kitchen facilities and were very centrally located near the Jewish quarter and the Opera House.

That is a hefty budget (comparable to Manhattan monthly rents), unless you're looking for luxury accommodations. Central/ Eastern Europe is not that expensive per month - wages are much, much lower than Western Europe so you can find lovely accommodations for less. The city you choose ultimately depends which adjacent regions or cities you want to visit as day trips, etc....there are almost infinite choices there. But, using your list, I would definitely choose Vienna over Bratislava since Vienna is larger and simply has better access and connections - and you can still easily visit Bratislava from there.

I'm surprised you can rent an apartment in Manhatten for $2000 a month? Learn something new every day. Here in my hometown in Texas a small 1 bedroom in a nice part of town starts at about $1100 and the exclusive areas start at about $2000. I always expected Manhatten to be more.

Such is life. A nice short term rental in Budaoest, well located and modern, would start at about $65 in 2019. Compared to about $150 for an equivalent hotel room, so apts are a bargain. But expect everything to be cheaper next year until tourist numbers fill the hotels and apartments that are still in business. Then 2022 might be expensive as there will be a shortage thanks to covid bankruptcies

I'm surprised you can rent an apartment in Manhatten for $2000 a
month?

Perhaps you should read all the OP's responses before making comments, James.
The OP said $3,500-$4,000 in USD for a monthly apartment rental, if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, $3500-$4000US. Inside Diocletian Palace area of Split we paid $3200 for a nice though not luxurious 2/1 for the month. Location demanded the price. We felt it was very fare.

Ok, group, I have been educated here that Bratislava is not the choice. A lot of love for Budapest so it seems like a front runner. Vienna, of course, is the most well known to westerners I suppose and is a classic European city.

Possibly coloring our thoughts was we changed trains in Vienna once and encountered decidedly unfriendly people working in 2 different train station shops. Don’t be coming around here with those Polish Zlotys or your English only. Anecdotal, I’m sure the people are wonderful. But in such an international city I was surprised at surliness we haven’t encountered anywhere else. (Except maybe that one Serbian working in a gas station in Croatia who’s town was hit by US planes 25 years before.) That said no one here seems to have a problem with Vienna’s hospitality so indeed this would likely not be encountered again.

Thank you all for your insightful comments, each post has been very helpful. I’ll check back for any additional comments and I’ll post again as we move along the planning process.

But in such an international city I was surprised at surliness we
haven’t encountered anywhere else.

I'm from Poland, lived outside Vienna, and live here (in the US) now, but can affirm that surliness is not uncommon in any train stations pretty much anywhere around the world because those workers there come into contact with tourists all the time and their patience wanes sometimes (after being asked the same things over and over) or they are having a bad day. Countries that were behind the Iron Curtain have staff of a certain mid age trained back in Communist times, and customer service and outward positive expressions are just not the norm (in contrast, younger people have a different vibe about them and are more "open" and patient, generally). I wouldn't take it personally, or extrapolate much from it. But yes, people do get annoyed if you attempt to use non-local currency and will send you to the exchange counter where you will get ripped off, or they will shoo you away. Knowing another language - even a few words in the local one - always helps and smooths things over. I would highly encourage learning the basic phrases to any foreign country and not rest entirely on English.

Agnes, yes I bungled that one.

clermontd, I had a sim experience in the Vienna station But, stuff can happen any place.

In Budapest I suspect (have no doubt) you can get a nice apartment on a one month lease for maybe $1500 to $1800. At least this year.

In Budapest I suspect (have no doubt) you can get a nice apartment on a one month lease for maybe $1500 to $1800. At least this year.

Actually James, I've seen some on Booking.com for lest than that. I saw two that were a bit out of the center (one was 1 mile and the other 3/4 mile) but both had easy access to metro/tram. Both were 2bd/1ba apartments for under $1000 for the month of October (of course that was 2021 so may be more expensive in 2022). I didn't dig deep to see exactly where they were located but it has me seriously thinking about a month or two in Budapest when travel is available again.

I like all three cities, but would have to pick Vienna as the base. You can do a round trip to either Prague or Budapest in a day from Vienna. You can't reasonably do Prague from Budapest (or vice versa) as a day trip. Plus from Vienna you have Brno and Salzburg, Bratislava, and Graz.

You can't reasonably do Prague from Budapest (or vice versa) as a day trip.

By train you are correct, Prague can't be done as a day trip from Budapest. However the OP was suggesting weekend trips to the other cities and Budapest has budget airline flights to Prague that would easily make a weekend trip possible.

Actually, Budapest to Vienna for 2 nights to Prague for two nights on the train isn't bad at all, then fly back to Budapest. Or make it the first or last journey on an open jaw ticket and spend the rest of the time in places like Pecs and Eger. Two most obvious but I know a few other Hungarian over nights by train that are as interesting like Mochas & Lillafured for instance. Or Tihany/ Balaton.

I would like to thank Agnes for her comments regarding knowing some language basics. We have certainly engaged in this on all of our visits.

On the trip through Vienna from Poland we had spent some time learning a few Polish words and short phrases. Vienna was merely a pass through to a brief visit to Slovenia and we had not learned any German. When in Croatia we also practiced some basics prior as it we feel it shows some measure of respect. We’ve learned, however, if you start with local language you will be answered in the local language and then we are exposed!

For language in Hungary, English will get you by just fine, but its nice to learn: Hello, yes, no, thank you and goodbye. In Hungarian, thats a pretty big accomplishment.

Hi Clermontd,
We are thinking of doing something similar and are leaning towards Budapest as the starting point. We are however thinking we will spend a week in Budapest, a week in Prague and a week or so in Austria. Are there reasons why you did not want to do it that way vs. choose Budapest (or any city) as a base.
Please let me know
Thanks,

Why not Warsaw? Wonderful metro city, totally English-speaking, booming expat scene, cheap and good accommodations, awesome cultural life, quite central when it comes to travel?

My vote would be for Budapest out of the ones most mentioned. While Vienna is a wonderful city, it’s significantly more expensive than the other countries. If you’re going to be basing yourself for a month, it makes sense to pick somewhere with inexpensive food and accommodations so you can splurge more on traveling to other locations, experiences, and excursions. Along those lines, have you thought about Poland? Krakow is south enough that you could take a train to Brno or Olomouc in Czechia, Warsaw or Gdańsk in Poland are other train trips possible, but you would likely have to fly to other locations. Budget flights are very cheap and often can fly return to other Central European cities for well under $100. A quick search on Airbnb shows plenty of options for monthly rentals between $400-600 usd in Krakow, compared to $1300-1700 in Vienna and $800-1000 in Budapest. Actually after looking at these numbers my vote would still be Budapest 😅 but Poland is definitely an underrated country.

I'd vote for Budapest. Beautiful city, very walkable with excellent public transit, affordable, excellent food. Bratislava is a nice weekend trip. Vienna is beautiful and full of museums but quite expensive. Prague, given level of tourism, seems less a living city than the other three.

Again, thank you to all who have posted such considerate replies.

ruchikajhalani had asked why we intend to base in a city and weekend travel as opposed to continually going from city to city. The answer is two fold. We have taken both approaches and find we like fully unpacking as if we live in a single place with brief side trips as opposed to continually uprooting all of our things. Secondly, there is work. We set up an office and it’s nice to just keep it set up to return to for the 3-4 days we spend working.

PerilsofP and Christina both mentioned Warsaw and Krakow. We have spent a week in Poland spending time in both cities. It’s where we first fell in love with Central Europe. Poland indeed is underrated as a destination for Americans. A terrible misjudgment.

We now plan to travel next May/June spending 10 days with American family in Ljubljana, Slovenia, an ancestral home before my wife and I move on to a base in Budapest for a month. The responses here seemed to indicate travelers who have a more emotional connection to Budapest while others favored Vienna more from a logistical standpoint. For us, Budapest it is.

We are becoming very excited thanks to the many enthusiastic responders!