short European trip

Many large European cities are twice as expensive as U.S. travel.
But Budapest is relatively inexpensjve, and it is a very lively place.

It's hard to recommend anything specific without knowing more about what you consider "fun" and "not too pricey" (as well as where in the world you're traveling from and whether you have any constraints on the dates of this trip). But you might want to look at Gate 1 Travel, which has some good-value packages for off-season travel: You get round-trip airfare from the US to Europe plus 4 nights in a hotel for around $600-700 per person. They have sales every so often that knock the price down to $500-600 per person. On their website, they call these trips "6 day Rome vacation" (or whatever), because they count the travel days on both ends, but it ends up being a 4-day trip in Europe.

Four days is not a lot of time in Europe, especially if you're prone to jet lag. But when my family took advantage of one of these deals to travel to Rome in January, we found that it was enough time for each of us to see the city highlights that we were most interested in.

For a short trip, assuming you are coming from the us/Canada you want somewhere with easy flights (one connection max?) and transit. So not going to a small city 4 hours from the major airport. Often those are cheapest but not practical for a short trip.

May I suggest Madrid or Lisbon? Spain and Portugal are fairly cheap, except Barcelona is more in line with France as far as price, so more expensive.

Also Rome was surprisingly reasonable given it is so popular and has so much to do.

I found Berlin to be surprisingly inexpensive for a western European capital, but whether you can get a decent airfare I do not know.

I'd start by looking at what destinations you can reach relatively quickly and inexpensively, then we can comment on what nearby cities might be suitable for a budget trip. Google Flights will display round-trip airfares to many places if you set your destination as "Europe".

We also found Berlin to be fairly reasonable. Easy city to get around in 4 nights. Though would have loved to stay even longer, we felt as if we were able to see the main sights of the city without being overly rushed.
And, don't know if you've been there, but, in my opinion, there is always something to see and do in London. Not necessarily reasonable, but has some terrific free museums as well as so many beautiful areas just to walk around.

Also for 4 days the price of flights makes a real difference.

Let’s say destination A is pricey - a decent hotel is over $150 BUT the flight is $500. You pay $600 for lodging so $1100 including the flight.

Destination B is cheap - a hotel is $75. But the flight is $800. So $300 for lodging plus flight is..,$1100

Destination A will also cost more for food, but you can make that a pretty limited increase if you want.

So my next advice is to look at flights to a variety of options. A great deal could make a place more affordable.

Dublin is often one of the cheaper places to fly into in Europe, and hotel prices seem to be pretty reasonable. Also it's a shorter flight from North America than many other common European destinations.

I'd consider going to Lisbon. Smaller city with a lot to see and do. Reasonable prices. TAP Portugal Airlines usually quite affordable.

Hamburg, Germany

No way would I spend money on a flight to Europe for four days. By the time I got over the jet lag, it would be time to come home.

Also, transatlantic flights are long and not cheap.

Save your money and visit something closer. Alaska, a national park in the US. Hawaii, perhaps Montreal or Quebec City Canada.

4 days -- if you have the opportunity to fly nonstop from your US airport, you might like that.

Try not to take this trip in the summer as the North American mobs will be there and the hotel prices will be at their highest. If you have no choice but to travel in summer, I recommend Berlin, a European capital steeped in history that is affordably priced and not too hot either.

If you can travel in the autumn or spring, consider Paris (as we are), Brussels, Berlin, Munich, and Vienna. If you ski, consider a winter holiday and go to Salzburg to enjoy both the city and the wonderful Austrian ski resorts.

Also, transatlantic flights are long and not cheap.

Not from the east coast. The Big Apple to London, Amsterdam, or Paris is less than 8 hours and overnight so you sleep through most of it.

I've done a bunch of four day trips to the UK at the end of the year (when airfare is lower compared to summer months) when I haven't used up all my personal days at work. As long as you just stick to one city it's doable.

Hi,

For 4 days to a European city, do it. I would. Take that transatlantic flight if it's within the $500 range, regardless if from the west coast or the east coast. Depending on your travel style, level of expected luxury, how desperate you are to go, and what month is this 4 day trip is in, I would absolutely go. It is all a matter of priorities and travel style, what you are willing to cope with or NOT in order to get over there. I have a friend who insists on an en suite room in a B&B but does not want to spend for it...sometimes. Well, in my view, much as he wants to go, plus this demand, he's not desperate enough.

I would go to Berlin OR towns in North Germany and Eastern Germany, such as Lüneburg, Schleswig, Eutin/Holstein, Weimar, Meissen, etc. Pick one area and focus on one town and maybe a few hours in a second one, say Lüneburg, a day trip to Schwerin., ie Lüneburg to Schwerin via Hamburg...very easy.

In Berlin you can get a very decent room in a Pension in Charlottenburg (No English programming, no BBC or CNN), or in the east districts for a single for 45 Euro, but not en suite, likewise in Munich. ...both no AC.

Dublin - shorter flights and quite easy on the budget. Lots of fun, lots of sights, friendly people who all speak fluent English.

This is Melanie's first and only post and she hasn't replied to any of these many comments.

Although we get a lot of North Americans here on the Forums there isn't anything to say that Melanie is traveling trans-Atlantic. We get lots of readers from the Middle East and Asia so she could be from anywhere.

But we'll never know if she doesn't interact with the replies.

So sorry I have not replied yet. I have been enjoying all the posts. I am traveling with my husband from Boston Ma in September.

Melanie, there are a ton of good flight deals to Ireland from Boston, so that's what I would personally pursue.

You could try British Airways from BOS to LHR. Leaving the night before around 9:00 PM would put you into Heathrow about 9:00 AM. With an afternoon return flight; you would be back in Boston about 7:00 to 8:00 PM. With a 4 day trip, you can basically look at it as "drive by sightseeing" because you are not going to see anything in depth. As for price, this type of trip is going to be pricey just by its nature. I would recommend going somewhere within 3 hours of Boston so that you have some time. You could try Bermuda which is 2 to 3 hours non-stop from Boston!