European costs for travellers vary widely. This is shown in the full table of day totals for each country
below:

This post is designed for independent travellers to plan and book their European trip. 

To discover how much it costs to travel Europe, check daily costs for relevant countries from the 37-country list below to see the individual prices, lower and upper estimates, and get tips on local price variations. Adjust the sightseeing, meals and accommodation choices to suit your own itinerary. 

Numbeo.com gathers prices supplied by website users, producing price ranges and averages for various items. Numbeo country figures for key items relevant to travellers are quoted in this blog post and used to complete daily spending estimates. 

To fully understand the Eurostat indexes underlying the cost bands and colour coding, see the Colour-coded plan to travel Europe on a budget section near the bottom of this post.

How to create your European trip budget – two-week example 

The tables below show realistic costs by country you need to plan your trip. These include food and beverages, accommodation, transport and activities for each country. 

To create a final trip spending plan, add the model daily budgets that correspond to your travel plan. 

Then add the cost of:

• Flights
• Intercity transport
• Accommodation taxes
• Travel insurance (recommended)
• Personal extras such as booklets and souvenirs

This way, travellers can arrive at a personal European trip budget. 

Spending levels by country

Using official figures published by Eurostat, with actual price levels sourced from Numbeo.com, Raven Guides has created five cost bands for European countries: 

• The most expensive countries are Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
• Ireland, Luxembourg, Finland and the Scandinavian countries come next.
• France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and the UK cost slightly above average.
• Germany, Estonia, Italy, Malta and Spain are average-cost countries.
• Most of central and southern Europe, notably the Balkans, are the cheapest countries in Europe to visit. 

Some countries are not touched by the Eurostat data: the United Kingdom, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican City and Kosovo (which is not recognised as a state by all EU countries). 

Numbeo's methodology confirms that its country-level figures combine entries from cities throughout each country, with cities weighted by the number of contributors. The Numbeo data broadly supports Eurostat’s overall cost levels while putting actual prices on items that can guide visitors. 

Not all cost levels align, such as Portugal’s typical daily total (with hotel) surpassing Germany’s despite Portugal being in a lower cost band overall. Wider cost ranges, usually influenced by expensive resort areas, can affect averages and overlap price ranges. This is also true in Greece and Slovenia, but the comparisons for moderately priced accommodation usually hold. 

Eating in some parts of Italy – think Miland or Venice – can be more expensive than in Germany. See the country notes for issues to note and further variations. 

Raven Guides has added the UK and Liechtenstein to the European list based on prices supplied by Numbeo.com. Costs in the microstates are heavily influenced by surrounding nations. 

Daily travel cost ranges

Every travel plan, like every travel ambition, is unique. We can budget it for our daily needs using standard building blocks.

Travellers need realistic national estimates to plan. But the price of every item and service varies by city and venue. In Austria, visitors find Graz and Linz are notably cheaper cities than Vienna and Salzburg. 

Raven Guides has therefore provided price ranges for each item, along with an indicative average figure, rounded and shown as ‘typical’. 

For cost figures listed by city, disable your VPN and visit Numbeo.com. Numbers of page views are limited for free users. 

National value-added tax levels influence each country’s averages and relative cost levels in certain consumer categories. This can make price levels in such categories appear uneven.

Costs of food & beverages

Raven Guides has selected these standard daily items as a base for food and beverage pricing: 

• Dinner at an inexpensive restaurant
• A regular cup of cappuccino
• A 0.33l bottle of water
• A 0.33l bottle of beer in a restaurant
• A lunch allowance based on an international hamburger fast-food meal

Ranges for these are provided at Numbeo, an excellent crowd-sourced indicator of consumer costs. Individual figures are constantly shifting and costs in destinations often vary from national averages. 

Bottled water and coffee can have wide price ranges and prices are likely to be higher in intensively touristed areas. Water is cheapest at budget supermarkets and many cities provide refilling stations. 

Even in relatively inexpensive countries, prices can be high in tourist-oriented areas, especially coastal resorts, broadening national price ranges. 

Self-catering and the use of apartments is a different style of travel. To research current prices for specific foods, go to Numbeo.

Room rates for hotels & hostels

For accommodation, Raven Guides has compiled cost ranges by researching standard booking sites (which are generally more expensive than direct online bookings). Surveys by AI agents show these, backed up by spot manual checks and comparisons of country cost spectrums. 

• The rate for one mid-week night in a typical single room at a three-star hotel (including breakfast), priced at Booking.com for low-season dates two months in advance. Peak-season rates will likely be higher.
• Accommodation in a private room at a city hostel (including breakfast), priced at Hostelworld.com and national hostel association websites. 

Accommodation estimates and averages are fraught. While cafes and restaurants set menu prices, hotel and hostel rates vary considerably. But advance bookings and fixed-date rates are the best cost-control tools. Hotel star standards used by most European countries denote availability of services rather than quality. 

Hostel private rooms tend to be rarer than hotel rooms and rates can rise rapidly as supply decreases. Early booking, therefore, is essential to save money. Booking hostel beds in shared rooms, or rooms with shared facilities, further cuts accommodation expenditure. 

Further accommodation types include guesthouses, inns, campsites, cabins and farm accommodation. Chalet stays in alpine areas tend to involve higher expense, but low-season rates can be affordable. 

Demand-based pricing lowers and raises room rates according to availability of beds and these are sensitive by season and days of the week. Local trade fairs, holidays or festivals often double or triple rates, depending on the size of the event. Date-specific observations are much more accurate for visitors’ circumstances. 

Accommodation rates should be considered as a guide to what travellers can get by comparison and research. Fortunately, you can get European hotels for cheap rates without choosing to reserve at global booking websites. 

Even in relatively inexpensive countries, room rates can be high in tourist-oriented areas, especially coastal resorts. 

Hotel and hostel rates provided here are for bookings about two months ahead of booking date. Advertised rates in Europe should include local bed taxes, but rates shown here exclude local taxes. Higher Friday and Saturday rates, or peak-season rates, should be expected. Separate breakfast costs, where offered as add-ons, can vary from €6 minimum to as high as €25.

Costs of sightseeing activities

Raven Guides has added daily expense ranges for adult visitors. These are: 

• A standard voluntary contribution (based on each country’s cost level) for a tip-based ‘free’ walking tour
• Two average city museum or palace/castle entry fees (or occasionally archaeological sites) are included 

Common contributions for most tip-based walks, according to GuruWalk, range between €10 and €20 per adult for a walk of about two hours. But joining walks means you contribute what you wish.  

Other attractions include amusement parks and zoos. Attractions that are commonly free include parks and gardens and churches. 

Some high-priced city museums have periodic free entry, particularly at evenings or on Sundays. Research these opportunities.

Transport costs in Europe

Raven Guides has researched the price ranges for 24-hour city public transport passes in chief destinations by country. Where necessary, the fares for their nearest equivalents are shown. 

Using multi-day tickets can further reduce expenses in large cities. But the costs and opportunities of multi-day combined admission and transit passes need to be calculated carefully. 

Intercity fares vary widely according to individual travel plans and have not been calculated. 

Lux = Luxembourg, L = Liechtenstein, BH = Bosnia & Herzegovina, M = Montenegro, N Mac = North Macedonia, K = Kosovo 

Europe travel cost lists for 37 countries

Prices in the tables are quoted by local currency and, where necessary, are converted to euro (€) for comparative purposes, using European Central Bank mid-rates (September 2026) where available, or alternative bank rates. Rounded headline figures, drawn from the tables, are provided. 

Albania

Eurostat cost index: 72.6
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €94 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €67 (equivalent)

Albania is one of Europe’s least-expensive countries. The capital Tirana is remarkably cheap to visit but prices at coastal resorts, now rising in popularity, are increasing. Hostel accommodation is comparatively plentiful. Data from Tirana, Berat and coastal destinations such as Shkodër and Durrës has been sampled.

Austria

Eurostat cost index: 113.0
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €215
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €147

Vienna and Salzburg are expensive by comparison with Graz and Linz, the other large cities. Accommodation in Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Krems an der Donau and Hallstatt were sampled. Accommodation rates in tiny but popular Hallstatt are relatively high. Fees to enter palaces, or leading Vienna or Salzburg museums, are sometimes €20 or more. Occasionally online bookings come cheaper. Transit tickets are not expensive by European standards.  

Belgium

Eurostat cost index: 116.2
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €215
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €157

Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Liège, Bruges, Charleroi and Leuven have been sampled. Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent are comparatively expensive cities for accommodation, but Liège and Charleroi are cheaper.  

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Eurostat cost index: 59.2
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €101 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €70 (equivalent)

Unusually, the marka is fixed against the euro (1.95583KM equals €1). Costs, including accommodation rates, are among Europe’s lowest, although in Sarajevo they are higher than in cities such as Banja Luka and Mostar. These three cities have been sampled. 

Bulgaria

Eurostat cost index: 62.5
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €113
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €82

For accommodation, Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo and Nessebar have been sampled. In this inexpensive country, costs in Black Sea destinations such as Nessebar tend to be marginally higher.

Croatia

Eurostat cost index: 78.4
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €159
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €110

For accommodation, Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek and the resorts of Hvar and Dubrovnik have been sampled. Hotels and hostels in coastal cities such as Dubrovnik and Split, and in the resort areas of Hvar, is significantly more expensive than in Zagreb, which is mid-priced by Croatian standards. Shoulder months such as May and September or early October are recommended.  

Cyprus

Eurostat cost index: 89.2
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €170
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €113

Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, Ayia Napa and Protaras accommodation has been sampled. Destinations such as Limassol and the resort of Protaras tend to be more expensive than Nicosia or Larnaca.

Czechia

Eurostat cost index: 89.4
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €143 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €101 (equivalent)

Prague and the small destination Český Krumlov are relatively expensive in accommodation terms and central Prague can seem like western Europe in its cost levels, particularly for food. But Prague prices are much lower away from the tourist centre. Prague, Brno, Plzeň, Ostrava, Olomouc, Kutná Hora and Český Krumlov accommodation has been sampled. Olomouc, Plzeň and Kutná Hora are less expensive and Brno mid-priced in Czech terms. Day public transit passes are quite cheap, especially when paid for in apps. 

Denmark

Eurostat cost index: 139.7
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €245 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €207 (equivalent)

Denmark narrowly evades Europe’s top expense bracket. Accommodation in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg, Viborg, Vejle and Roskilde has been sampled. Copenhagen has much higher cost levels for tourists than other cities, although modest inner hotels are fairly affordable when booked in advance. Using hostel accommodation saves money, but hostel private room rates, including at Danhostels, are high as a percentage of hotel rates. Odense, Aalborg and Viborg are considerably cheaper. Major museums sometimes ask more than €20 (equivalent) for adult entry. A range of day or multi-day passes help keep Copenhagen and Zealand transport affordable. 

Estonia    

Eurostat cost index: 101.2
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €155
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €123

Estonia, according to Eurostat, is the closest country to average European cost levels overall. But the rate difference between typical hostel private rooms and normal hotels is small by European standards. Raven Guides surveyed accommodation in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu and Narva. 

Finland    

Eurostat cost index: 120.8
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €205
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €161

In Finland cost levels are relatively high, but accommodation cost levels vary comparatively little by region. Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Oulu, Lappeenranta, Savonlinna and Rovaniemi has been surveyed. A Christmas cost premium applies in the northern Santa centre Rovaniemi. 

France

Eurostat cost index: 110.3
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €204
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €149

Raven Guides surveyed accommodation in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Nice, Nantes, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Rouen and Caen. Paris and Nice are relatively expensive for accommodation, while Toulouse and Nantes represent the low-cost end. Strasbourg, Lyon and Rouen are in the moderate range. Palaces often ask €20 or more for entry, and premium Paris museums and institutions top €30 in some cases. French city public transport day passes are moderately priced and Paris is compatible with London or Berlin. 

Germany

Eurostat cost index: 108.3
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €163
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €128

Germany is slightly above the European cost average. Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Dresden, Nuremberg, Bremen and Hannover accommodation has been surveyed. Munich is the most expensive city – especially during and around Oktoberfest – followed by Hamburg. Dresden and Leipzig are relatively inexpensive. Trade shows in key cities such as Frankfurt, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Munich, Cologne and Berlin claim beds and push up accommodation rates, especially during key events. Hostel rates can vary considerably between privately operated hostels and more traditional DJH-affiliated locations. To discover cost savings on transport, check out the blog on cheap German rail tickets. 

Greece    

Eurostat cost index: 87.4
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €195 
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €133 

Raven Guides surveyed accommodation in Athens, Thessaloniki, Nafplio, Heraklion, Chania, Rhodes Town, Corfu, Kos, Santorini and Mykonos. Coastal and island resorts such as Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu, as well as summer demand in Athens, push up the average cost of Greek accommodation. Room rates, and the price of restaurant meals, vary a lot. Travelling off season is recommended. Public transport, even in Athens, is cheap. 

Hungary  

Eurostat cost index: 77.5
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €143 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €103 (equivalent)

Hungary is one of Europe’s cheapest countries for travellers and accommodation rates vary comparatively little by region, although Balaton resorts such as Siófok tend to be a little higher. Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs, Győr, Szekesfehervar and Siófok accommodation has been surveyed. 

Iceland    

Eurostat cost index: 173.5
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €333
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €223

Iceland is clearly in the top three European countries for expense. Although its 11% VAT level for accommodation is reduced, room rates can be the highest in Europe. Reykjavík, Vestmannaeyjar and Akureyri accommodation has been sampled. 

Ireland

Eurostat cost index: 136.2
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €223
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €158

Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford accommodation has been sampled. For accommodation, Dublin and Galway are relatively expensive Irish cities. Irish city public transport, in contrast with overall costs, is quite cheap.

Italy

Eurostat cost index: 97.1
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €197
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €140

Italy is mid-priced European country, but the range of prices can be quite wide and generally higher in the north. Raven Guides sampled Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Venice, Ravenna, Trieste and Pisa accommodation. For rates, Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome are among the most expensive cities, pushing up the national average. Cities such as Naples, Turin, Palermo and Genoa are much cheaper and Bologna, Trieste and Pisa are in the middle range. Premium palaces or museums often charge €20 or more for entry and some attractions add a charge for visitors from abroad. Venice can be especially expensive in this category. 

Latvia      

Eurostat cost index: 83.2
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €120
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €94

Latvia is a low-cost place to visit. Riga, Daugavpils, Liepāja, Jelgava, Jūrmala and Ventspils accommodation rates have been sampled. Coastal Jūrmala, near Riga, is relatively more expensive for accommodation yet cheap by European standards. The number of hostels is limited. 

Liechtenstein

Eurostat cost index: Not available
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €312
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €222

Tiny Liechtenstein uses the Swiss franc and price levels closely mirror those of its neighbour, putting it in the top European bracket. Vaduz and Schaan form the only population centre and accommodation choices are limited.

Lithuania

Eurostat cost index: 82.8
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €132
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €97

Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda accommodation places have been surveyed and in these cities rates are inexpensive and relatively even. But the Lithuanian hostel market is small.

Luxembourg

Eurostat cost index: 131.5
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €231
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €137

Luxembourg is generally expensive, in the second rank of European countries, although city and second-class public transport within the country is free. Personal identification is the only transport requirement. Luxembourg is also comparatively inexpensive for museum and castle admission. Raven Guides surveyed Luxembourg City only. 

Malta

Eurostat cost index: 91.9
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €170
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €122

Malta is a mid-priced travel destination by European standards. Accommodation in Valletta, Sliema, St Julian’s, St Paul’s Bay, Buġibba, Mellieħa and on Gozo has been sampled. Valletta and surrounding areas form a more expensive accommodation centre than Gozo. 

Montenegro        

Eurostat cost index: 66.1
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €119
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €91

Montenegro is among the cheapest European countries for visitors. Podgorica, Cetinje, Nikšić, Bar, Budva, Kotor, Perast and Ulcinj accommodation was surveyed. The inland centres Podgorica and Cetinje offer the lowest accommodation rates, while coastal Perast and Kotor are relatively more expensive.

Netherlands

Eurostat cost index: 115.6
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €244
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €180

The Netherlands is at the upper-middle end among European countries. Raven Guides surveyed accommodation in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Amersfoort, finding a more expensive accommodation range in Amsterdam (partly due to city taxes). Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht are relatively mid-priced cities. But the hostel market is strong. Amsterdam art museums regularly ask €20 or more for admission. 

North Macedonia           

Eurostat cost index: 54.8
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €90 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €59 (equivalent)

North Macedonia is Europe’s cheapest country to visit for typical daily costs. Skopje, Vodno, Bitola and Tetovo accommodation was sampled, which found an especially cheap hostel market. 

Norway

Eurostat cost index: 128.6
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €249 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €198 (equivalent)

Norway is an expensive country to visit. Surveying Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, Ålesund and Tromsø finds high rates but lower-cost, limited-service accommodation options can ease price pressure on visitors. Using hostel accommodation saves money, but hostel private room rates are high as a percentage of hotel rates. Stavanger and Trondheim are generally less expensive than Oslo and Bergen. Central Bergen can also be an expensive destination for eating. Museum entry often approaches the equivalent of €20.

Poland

Eurostat cost index: 73.3
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €132 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €95 (equivalent)

Poland remains an inexpensive visitor destination, in the cheapest 10 European countries. A sample of Warsaw, Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, Szczecin, Częstochowa and Lublin shows a low-cost accommodation market where Warsaw, Kraków and Gdańsk are at the high end.

Portugal  

Eurostat cost index: 86.6
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €171
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €119

Portugal is in the lowest European cost band for visitors. Accommodation rates in Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, Lagos, Coimbra, Évora, Faro and Funchal, show that Lagos, Lisbon, Porto and the distant island Madeira are at the high end of an accommodation market with a wide price range.

Romania             

Eurostat cost index: 65.1
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €119
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €88

Romania is highly affordable European country with accommodation rates to match. Across the surveyed cities, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Constanța, Timișoara, Brașov and Sibiu, expect hotels on the Black Sea coast and in Cluj-Napoca to be slightly more expensive.

Serbia

Eurostat cost index: 68.0
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €96
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €68

Serbia is another low-cost European country with Belgrade at the high end of the surveyed accommodation market, including Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Subotica, Novi Pazar and Kragujevac. Hostels are harder to find outside the capital, but many three-star hotel options are priced similarly to western European hostels.

Slovakia

Eurostat cost index: 85.2
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €133
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €93

Slovakia is a low-cost European country with relatively little variation in accommodation rates. Bratislava, Košice, Žilina and Trenčín were sampled, finding the number of hostels, especially outside Bratislava, is low.

Slovenia

Eurostat cost index: 89.3
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €176
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €113

Slovenia remains just inside the lowest cost band for European travel, but the country’s visitor attraction is pushing it up the ranks. Among the visitor markets of Ljubljana, Maribor and Bled, the popularity of Lake Bled puts it at the top end of accommodation rates, although the price range there is wide. 

Spain

Eurostat cost index: 91.6
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €182
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €127

In low and mid-priced Spain, Raven Guides sampled Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Málaga, Córdoba, Toledo, Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza. This showed that Barcelona is clearly the most expensive city for accommodation and the island markets of Mallorca and Ibiza are not far behind. However Valencia and the popular Andalusian cities Seville and Córdoba are not pricey and Málaga, with Madrid, is in the middle range. Day public transport tickets are moderately priced. 

Sweden

Eurostat cost index: 121.0
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €175 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €142 (equivalent)

Sweden now has the lowest-cost accommodation of the Scandinavian countries. Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Lund, Uppsala, Linköping and Kalmar make up the sample. For hotels, Stockholm is significantly more expensive than Gothenburg, Uppsala, Malmö and Lund. Using the extensive network of STF hostels saves money, but hostel bed rates remain high by European standards. 

Switzerland         

Eurostat cost index: 171.3
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €287 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €180 (equivalent)

Switzerland is among the three costliest European countries for visitors, even though VAT levels are 8.1% or lower. The rate for accommodation is only 3.8%, but hotels are still expensive, which shows in the survey of Zürich, Bern, Basel, Lausanne, Geneva and Lugano. Some Swiss museums charge the equivalent of €20 or more, but on average they are not expensive to visit.

United Kingdom

Eurostat cost index: Not available
Daily typical cost (three-star hotel): €234 (equivalent)
Daily typical cost (hostel private room): €168 (equivalent)

The UK is an upper mid-priced country for travel. Sampling London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, Belfast, Bath, Southampton, York and Oxford accommodation shows that high London and Edinburgh accommodation rates push up the national average. Cities such as Oxford and Bath occupy the middle range. The caution for visitors to the UK is that hotel pricing can be extremely sensitive to major events. The Tower of London entry charge is expensive for adults at £38, Windsor Castle is expensive at £36, and Bath’s Roman baths charge £29 to visit. But admission to the giant British Museum is free.

Colour-coded plan to travel Europe on a budget

Having some sort of cost estimator is vital to affordable travel. But so is knowing each European country’s relative overall price level. 

Here is the model for this Europe travel budget estimator. 

Eurostat’s Purchasing Power Parities report creates an index of household final expenditure. This index is based on European averages. Eurostat is the official statistics agency of the European Union. 

Raven Guides’ colour-coded cost bands are based on Eurostat’s household final expenditure index, which show percentages of EU average price levels and were released in June 2026. 

• Red indicates countries with indexes of 140 and above
• Orange shows countries with indexes between 120 and 139.9
• Yellow shows countries between 110 and 119.9
• Light green shows countries between 90 and 109.9
• Mid-green shows countries below 90 

Liechtenstein and the UK are not part of the index, but Numbeo prices indicate that Swiss franc-using Liechtenstein belongs in the highest bracket and the UK in a high-cost bracket. 

It is impossible to make strict comparisons for Liechtenstein and the UK according to Eurostat’s methodology. Data for the EFTA countries Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and for non-EU members in the Balkans, lack indexes for recreation costs. 

Cost levels cannot be reduced to one statistic, but the Eurostat indexes offer a rough guide. 

The five European cost levels are also coded by colour into the map and the following table: 

Source: Eurostat Purchasing Power Parities report, June 2026

The relative cost levels in the five visitor-facing categories of accommodation, restaurant meals, transport services, food, alcohol and recreation and culture are also coded for visitor guidance.

Europe’s cost for visitors varies widely

Europe’s wide cost ranges can challenge visitors, especially those who want to cross borders multiple times. 

But the extensive data above can make expenses easier to count and plan for. 

To get 42 tips that help you meet your travel budgeting goals anywhere in Europe, check out the blog on How to travel cheaply in Europe. 

European travel costs FAQs