Where to travel in Europe?

Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria.

That's an easy one....go see Portugal and Eastern Europe (in whatever order works best). I think you can find what you're looking for in any country in Europe. The added benefits of Portugal and Eastern Europe is they are easy on the wallet.

Go to Eastern Europe. Then catch Portugal by budget European airline, and depart for home from Lisbon.

Poland is beautiful and inexpensive.

You've asked two questions.

What are your top three countries/places to travel in Europe?

and

What are your suggestions?

My top three countries/places to travel in Europe are the UK, Spain and Rome but that doesn't answer your second question as you've already been to those countries.

Essentially you could pick any place in Europe and fulfill your interests however if thriftiness is an important aspect then consider central and eastern Europe (and Portugal which for a western European nation is surprisingly cheap). Stick a pin in a map of Europe and you'll struggle to go wrong but you'll find a wealth of different answers that may or may not assist you on this forum.

Romania! We went in September and it was beautiful and great for a thrifty traveler.

Portugal for sure fits your interests and budget.
Also Sicily could be on that list also if u can find a budget way to reach there. keep it on your list it is truly a great visit without mainland Italy costs.

Ken -For Eastern Europe, I would consider traveling to Prague, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Montenegro, Warsaw, and Riga. Tour the Algarve region when you go to Portugal. Portugal's most famous region, is known for the amazing beaches of white sand, warm waters, and picturesque villages.

Taking into consideration your interests and what you have not seen yet, I'd recommend... Poland, Czechia, or Slovakia.

My top pick by far would be Poland, because of the fascinating 1000+ year old history, very tasty yet very inexpensive food/beer, and the sheer diversity and beauty of natural landscapes. It's also very easy to get around the country and the local tourist infrastructure is quite well built up, yet 95% of the country is very untouristed compared to other European countries of its size.

For further reading - https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/top-5-reasons-to-visit-poland

Perhaps I'm a bit biased towards Poland because my maternal grandparents were Polish but I share Carlos' view. Whilst Warsaw was decimated during the war and most of the city is comprised of Soviet and post Soviet architecture the exceedingly well rebuilt Old Town retains a lot of charm and some of the best food I've eaten has been in Warsaw along with beer, a bar in Warsaw had over 100 different craft beers on tap alone and who knows how many in cans and bottles! There are also a number of exceedingly good museums and the city is worthy of several nights stay (I've visited three times and would have no hesitation in returning). Krakow is an absolute gem and a "must see" in my opinion. I've yet to visit the Baltic Coast but it's at the top of my To Do list when I have the opportunity to fit it in.

Consider Greece. In addition to the Mainland, there are islands scattered throughout the ocean. We just got back from Crete, where an even older civilization, the Minoans, thrived 4,000 years ago. Stunning scenery, including mountains, beaches, rocky coastlines, river gorges. Welcoming locals! And in addition to fabulous, inexpensive cuisine, lodging is much cheaper for the same or better quality, than you’ll find in much of the rest of Europe.

If part of Italy isn’t completely out of the question, have you been to Sicily? Another place that would meet your preferences.

In addition to JC's excellent descriptions of Poland, I'll throw in another Polish region, more off the beaten-path, the Masurian Lakes District. It can definitively rival England's own lake district. With 2000+ lakes, excellent canoeing, primeval forests, and quaint medieval Teutonic towns and castles, all strung together by all manner of waterways. You can read more here - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/poland/articles/island-hopping-in-polands-lake-district/

I have loved my visits to central/eastern Europe. I would caution, though, that all those countries are not created equal in terms of easy access to interesting food. Finding good food is much simpler (in my experience) in Hungary, Poland and Czechia than in Romania and Bulgaria. The latter countries are poorer and probably don't have large numbers of locals who can afford to eat out frequently. It seemed to me that some advance research would be a good idea in Romania and Bulgaria. I'd say the same of Ukraine once you get outside the three cities that get the most western tourists, Kyiv, L'viv and Odesa.

I do not mean that you will encounter bad food if you wander aimlessly into a restaurant, but the menus may be repetitive (I ate a lot of chicken kebabs) and the meat may not be top quality. Even in Poland, which has a rapidly developing food scene and a lot of good restaurants, if you go to an inexpensive place serving Polish cuisine, your vegetable choices may come down to potatoes, green cabbage or red cabbage.

Acraven, I'll agree with your appraisal of Romanian and Bulgarian food. I was quute disappointed with the food I ate in Bucharest, even at the so called best restaurant in the city. Equally with Sofia although I still hanker after the plate full of fried duck hearts I ate in a hidden gem of a restaurant.

I’d suggest Greece. Some of the very popular islands like Santorini are expensive but much of the country isn’t. Excellent fresh food, wine, great history and traditional culture, as well as natural beauty. I’d suggest Nafplio, Athens and maybe Crete (I haven’t been to Crete but it’s top of my list).

Sicily is another idea, if your Italy trip didn’t include it. Similar advantages to Greece with more of a melting pot culture (Norman, Italian, Greek, Arabic) which I find fascinating.

Also Southern Spain is another favorite for me. You said you’ve been to Spain, but in case you hadn’t made it south.

I’m going to Portugal this summer. Looks like it would fit your criteria.
Alas, I have not been to many places in Eastern Europe so can’t help with that side of things.

You don't say what kind of a trip you are considering. Length of time, choice of transport, that kind of thing.

If I had 6 weeks, I'd start in Athens, visit Nafplio, take a train to Thessalonika. From there I'd go to either Bulgaria or N Macedonia. I'd then hit Serbia, B-H, and go to Romania. That's trip 1.

On Trip 2, I'd go to Czech R, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, and Modavia.

In terms of acraven's comment about Romania, I think she's working on old info. We were just there in Oradea and Timosoara, hardly the biggest towns in Romania. We had no problem finding all sorts of decent restaurants. Perhaps in small towns there would be few options, but in any city of any sizable sort, there are plenty of decent restaurants. And they are not cheap. They are a decent value, but you do have to think carefully about food choices. I'm a bit mystified by the warning of insufficient choices of vegetables. We found plenty of options in those Romanian cities we went to. In Serbia, our main complaint was that we had portions that were excessively large.

Yes, four years can be a long time. I agree that Timisoara is quite westernized; that was the first place I ate quinoa, as a matter of fact. I didn't have a meal in Oradea, so I can't comment about it, but both of those cities are very near the Hungarian border. I was thinking more about my experiences in Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca.

My warning about the vegetables was meant to refer specifically to Poland. The kebabs farther south were normally accompanied by peppers, onions and tomatoes, so no complaints there.

Hi, acraven I usually agree with you 100%, but this time I must disagree about the lack of vegetables in Poland, sorry ;-)

Poland actually has a lot of great vegetable dishes stemming from its history of agricultural peasant cuisine, maybe this is not so present in the touristy menus, not sure. My favorite Polish vegetable dish is called Mizeria, which is a cucumber salad with dill and sour creme, very refreshing in the summer, perfect with local Tatra mountain trout. It's also becoming quite popular to have vegetarian menus in addition to the normal menus, I noticed this on my most recent visit over the summer.

For example, in southern Poland there is this fantastic chain of traditional, yet inexpensive, Polish restaurants called Karczma Bida (http://www.karczmabida.com/en/), which have a section of vegetable salads, and even a Vegan (wegan in Polish) Menu.

Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic. I have been to all of those and they are all great!

I split a two week itinerary between Poland and NE Germany in 2018, and learned that Poland alone could easily fill a two week trip. Likewise, I split a two week itinerary between Hungary and Czech Republic. I regret missing Pecs, Hungary; and could have used more time in Czech Republic too. Portugal is easily worth two weeks on its own. Don't fall in to the mindset that countery might not be good enough to focus on exclusively over two weeks. Well, Hungary might be a little marginal for two full weeks but you could also do ten days there and add on Bratislava and/or Vienna at the end. But then again, Gyor looks kind of interesting. I also visited Sopron Hungary and Eger (day trip from Budapest) and they were both great.

I spent 3 weeks in Hungary last year and didn't have time for all the places I wanted to go. Gyor is definitely worthwhile. I liked Sopron, too, but as I recall Gyor has a larger historic district. It also has several museums (mostly art-related) and is a good base for seeing the Pannonhalma Abbey.

Poland's larger; five weeks there wasn't long enough.

Too many places, not enough time.

Natural landscapes = Switzerland if you haven’t yet been. Absolutely spectacular.

You've already been to the three best tourist countries in Britain & Europe. However, unless you are unusually well-travelled, you probably haven't seen all they each have to offer. So, you could return to different parts of Britain, Spain or Italy.

However, if it has to be a new country then I'd suggest Poland, Greece or Portugal. Especially Poland - we went for the first time last year and loved it. Lots of brilliant & varied sights, good value, great food, easy to get around (mostly), friendly people and - outside some hotspots - few crowds.

Thanks everyone for your posts and suggestions! Based on your feedback, I’ve decided to travel to Portugal next spring (May’20) and plan to follow Rick’s book and route recommendations. I’m an independent traveler and prefer to rent a car to experience the countryside in between the larger cities. Slovenia and Croatia were fantastic and I look forward to Portugal next, then Poland/Hungary in 2021.

Keep on traveling! Thanks

You will love Poland, we went in the summer of 2018. We are looking to go to Portugal in October 2020.

Maybe re-visit some old friends. Perhaps some places in France and Spain you haven't visited yet as those two nations have multiple regions with different cultures. Then add Portugal and you're good. I also like the idea of Greece and Sicily and perhaps add Malta.

I’m going to give a third thumbs up to Greece. We just got back. Beautiful country and easy on the wallet. Add it to your list!
Also, I haven’t been, but it looks like you haven’t been to Turkey either.

Right now Spain and Poland seem the most affordable countries in Europe. You've been to Spain so try Poland.