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Prices in Europe UP

I have been Hungary for about 3 weeks now and the thing that is most obvious is the increase in costs.
5 years ago it would be hard to spend $5 for lunch with a beer a few blocks outside of the tourist streets. Now figure $10.

Hotels that were $90 are now $125
Taxi fares are up maybe 25%
It appears to be greater than general inflation.

Government run things like the metro are still about the same so that helps.

But that same $10 lunch in the states would probably cost me $15 so its still cheaper than home.

Anyone been in Europe on a return trip to a destination notice the same?

Posted by
7049 posts

Bloomberg has been reporting record Euro-zone inflation since last month. Plus when various countries wean themselves off Russian gas, costs of heating and cooling will spike too (they probably already have). Along with covid/labor shortages/etc, that's a LOT of economic disruption.

Posted by
2942 posts

It's gonna be a tough winter in Europe. My neighbors near Heidelberg would seal off rooms on the winter and just heat what was necessary. That was a shock coming from a young airman from West Virginia. The town was Leiman, actually. Anyway, previously high energy costs in Germany will soon be seen as a blessing.

Posted by
3938 posts

We were in Germany for the month of May and then the UK for 4 weeks mid July to August. We didn’t notice big price differences from month to month or country to country perhaps because the exchange rate was so much better than it is some years. A big difference we did notice was the price of groceries was so much less in these two countries than we ever pay at home. Since we stayed part of each of these months in private homes, the grocery prices were very budget friendly. When we ate out, always one meal per day, we rarely spent more than 40€ or £50 for 2 drinks and 2 dinners (correction, these are USD prices. We were checking our cc statements). This is a pattern we’ve seen over a lot of years and weren’t surprised by restaurant menu prices. The biggest inflationary thing we noticed in both countries were the gas prices that were the equivalent of $8.50/gal all summer.

Posted by
3938 posts

This is an example of how inexpensive grocery prices were for us. I looked at our receipt 3x. We went to a nearby Tesco on our first day in the house. We bought some food items for about 3-4 breakfasts, two lunches, one dinner and two bottles of wine. The total bill was £35. Many items were something like 49p or £1.19. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything in a grocery store here that cost less than a dollar. The same groceries here would have cost almost $100.

Posted by
14482 posts

I noticed that my two star hotel in Paris Gare du Nord is 125 Euro. Pre-pandemic it was never so high in the summer, which is always when I was there.

Posted by
6113 posts

Prices in western France were higher this year, but due to Covid, it’s been three years since we were there. We took our own car over and noticed that fuel prices were significantly higher, reflecting world markets - they rose more than 40c a litre whilst we were there. It was still cheaper than U.K. fuel.

French inflation is currently over 6% per annum. French supermarkets are always more expensive than in the U.K., other than for wine.

In the U.K., everything has increased, due to Covid and Brexit staff shortages and rampant fuel prices due to the Ukraine war. The cost of heating an average home for this coming winter is estimated to be £4,200 pa compared to £1,200 pa last year so this is going to impact on accommodation prices. Inflation is approaching 10% and estimated to go higher so wages are going to increase, causing a further jump in prices. Some basics in the supermarket have increased by 10-15% such as bread.

The hot weather this summer has been a disaster for many farmers, with many harvests likely to be reduced or failed crops, which will also push prices up. My local news reported yesterday that apples are undersized due to a lack of rain and the fruit is cooking on the tree due to the hot weather. Supermarkets are likely to reject the fruit as it’s not up to their standards.

Posted by
5239 posts

Grocery costs in the UK have risen sharply. What would typically cost me around £100 for a weekly shop for a family of four is now closer to £170. I noticed in Tesco yesterday that a pack of their finest bacon was on 'offer' for two for £8, a few months ago one pack was £2.75.

Posted by
2274 posts

"finest bacon was on 'offer' for two for £8, a few months ago one pack was £2.75"

In Canada, we're currently paying £5.20 equivalent for a 375g package of streaky bacon, £3.90 equivalent on sale - and have been for the past year, if not longer.

Posted by
7453 posts

Well, the price of a liter of beer at Oktoberfest is going up about two euro over 2019 prices, ranging from 12.60 to 13.80 euro depending where you park your carcass

Posted by
7049 posts

For most cooling costs wont go up (what cooling?)

Depends who you're talking about. Some businesses depend on refrigeration (grocery stores, etc) and air con (hotels, offices, museums that have to preserve fragile pieces, etc). Inflation hits tourists, businesses and locals differently - all depends on what basket of goods you regularly purchase and can't go without (your personal inflation gauge may be different than the broad term used by economists). I don't buy meat or cook or rent a car when I'm on vacation, so grocery or gas prices in Europe are not likely to affect me but labor shortages within the tourist infrastructure (airlines, airports, lodging, restaurants, etc) will. Most locals (including business owners) have to deal with supply shortages of goods and labor and the outfalls of the war in Ukraine. Tourists will deal with inconveniences that have already trickled down (flight cancellations....etc)

Posted by
709 posts

I've noticed a pattern in hotel prices I booked across 5 countries in April thru May 2023 and another country in September thru October 2023. It's a pat 200€ in nearly all of them. That's much higher than their 2022 prices.

Posted by
6386 posts

I remember before the EU and introduction of the Euro, it was very inexpensive to travel to Spain. After both events, there was a huge increase in prices and Spain was no longer as inexpensive as it had been. On my two trips earlier this year, I didn’t think prices had gone up too much, other than petrol. Prices in the U.S. have increased equally, so it’s not just Europe.

Posted by
2094 posts

You’re correct. Prices have increased everywhere. My medium coffee at Dunkin costs 18% more than it did 2 months ago.

Posted by
6386 posts

@no aku birds - on May 27, 2017 we stayed at a hotel in Santo Domingo de la Calzada at it was 142,2€. Surprisingly, we stayed at the same hotel on the same date and for the same type room this year and the price was less; 135,45€.

Posted by
378 posts

Is this a surprise? Headlines about inflation have been at the forefront of every major news outlet for months now.

We are all paying more for everything

Posted by
973 posts

Their GDP per capita has gone up by about a third over that period, it's not all inflation.