Kaliningrad's South Station. Photo © hidden europe.

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries—

It is almost time for us to put down our quill pens and leave the scriptorium for the last time this year. Three weeks of quiet retreat are in the offing, a chance for us to recharge our batteries and plan a few journeys for 2010. So a good moment, perhaps, to look back and see what 2009 meant for travel in Europe.

We have over the past twelve months spent time in and reported from some twenty countries across Europe. The year has seen a lot of changes. We are pleased to see some governments across Europe beginning to levy heftier taxes on aviation, and we hope that 2010 will see more following in their wake. Higher plane fares within Europe will be a big incentive to encourage more responsible traveling. Britain has taken a welcome lead in this. We applaud the decision in Scotland to subsidize ferry fares on longer routes to the Hebrides - another important step in encouraging travelers to think twice before hopping on a plane.

Over the past year, travelers have benefited from Switzerland joining the Schengen group of nations and Slovakia adopting the euro. Iceland’s financial misfortunes in late 2008, with a slump in the value of the Icelandic króna, suddenly made the island nation much more attractive for travelers from North America and mainland Europe. In ailing economies in eastern Europe, and particularly in the Baltic States, tourism has been a key element in the fragile recovery now underway.

New travel opportunities

Citizens of some Balkan states are today much less well traveled than their parents. But that looks set to change with the new European Union visa regulations that came into effect last weekend, ushering in a more relaxed visa regime for visitors to the EU from Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. For Serbia, this is a tangible reward from the EU to the Belgrade government for playing the great game of European integration. Olive branches from Brussels are being offered to Minsk too, and we predict that 2010 will surely see some thawing of the relations between Belarus and the EU. That will perhaps in time make life easier for travelers bound for Belarus, which remains one of Europe’s most inaccessible and yet most intriguing countries.

Rail links and politics

A new train service would not normally be greeted as a major diplomatic event, but when the new service links Serbia with Bosnia via Croatia then folk do take notice. The Belgrade to Sarajevo route was severed during the conflicts of the nineties. Now it is back, with a very welcome once daily train from the Serbian to the Bosnian capital. The new service started in mid-December.

If train services are a mark of political cooperation, then we must mourn the demise of one of Europe’s key night train links - the daily service from Berlin to Kaliningrad. It ran for the last time ten days ago. The withdrawal of this train now leaves Russia’s Baltic exclave at Kaliningrad even more isolated.

Airlines that left the skies

Finally, a thought for all the staff and passengers affected by over a dozen airline bankruptcies in Europe in 2009. Casualties included the national flag carriers of Lithuania (FlyLAL) and Macedonia (MAT); discount carriers such as Sky Europe, Fly Globespan, and My Air; and niche carriers serving particular markets such as Sky South and KD Avia (with hubs at Shoreham and Kaliningrad respectively).

We shall be back next month, but meanwhile warm best wishes for the holidays from us both.

Susanne and Nicky run a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. You can read more of their writing in their regular e-brief and in the new Notes section on their website.

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We’re proud to announce the Finn-tastic launch this week of EuroCheapo Helsinki, our 29th city guide!

The new guide to cheap hotels in Helsinki takes us into exciting new territory, farther north and east than any of our other guides.

Sarah Silbert, a contributing editor who covered the city following her update of Copenhagen, was initially surprised by the high rates of hotels in Helsinki while planning her trip. “I had expected that, like other cities covered on the site, there would be a wide variety of budget sleeping options. But ‘budget’ in Helsinki is different than ‘budget’ in Berlin,” she explained.

While Helsinki has a few hostels and pensions to accommodate the most budget-minded of travelers, even these are a bit more expensive than the same type of lodging in other European cities. A dorm at the Hostel Erottajanpuisto, for example, costs $36 a night.

“In Helsinki,” Sarah said, “that’s really cheap.”

Bumping up a notch, a double room with shared bath at the Eurohostel runs $72-$84 a night. Despite its name, the property only offers private rooms, not dorms. ”I stayed at the Eurohostel and found it to be a good option, especially considering the steep rates at other hotels in Helsinki.”

EuroCheapo’s Helsinki guide also includes a number of three-star hotels, as well as travelers’ apartments and even one four-star pick. The city guide articles cover basics like Helsinki city transportation, expect to spend, and budget tips to keep it cheap.

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Our new hotel review design.

By Pete Meyers–

We’re celebrating some exciting stuff at EuroCheapo HQ today. At long last, we’ve pulled back the curtains on a new site design and have made a giant upgrade to our technology. That’s right, Cheapos, we’ve put on our “fancy pants.”

Here’s a sampling of what’s new:

1. Enhanced city pages

Our new city pages (for example: Paris, London, Amsterdam…) now include neighborhood maps, dynamic hotel listings, aggregated (and verified) guest ratings, and easy access to other city guides. We also included links to EuroCheapo’s Twitter and Facebook pages, along with an archive of previous blog posts. Want to see it in action? Have a look!

2. Smarter hotel listings

In addition to reading our hotel reviews, Cheapos can now view guest ratings from our reservation partners and read reviews written by verified hotel guests. Furthermore, you can see the hotel’s location on an interactive map and view other hotel picks located nearby. We’ll also show you nearby landmarks, and provide you with more real-time information in the pricing module. Sound tempting? Try it out!

3. Helpful hotel filters and sorting tools

We’ve included all “sorts” of new filtering and sorting tools to help you find the perfect budget sleep. You can now sort by “most viewed hotel,” “user rating,” and more.

For example, say you’re looking for a hotel in Paris’ Latin Quarter that costs less than $100. Now you can quickly sort our hotels by neighborhood, by price range, by property type (hotel, hostel, pension, B&B and more), by average guest rating, or by properties that are frequently viewed by other Cheapos. And just to help out a little more, we display all of this information on a big Google Map that displays proximity to public transportation and other points of interest. Want to see it in action? Here you go!

But wait, there’s more!

These are just a few ways our new “fancy pants” will help budget travelers plan smarter and travel cheaper. We’d love to hear your feedback–what do you think, and how can we do better? Tell us below!

Special thanks to the EuroCheapo Insiders who provided all sorts of helpful feedback and, of course, to our tech superstars, Mike and James.

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Pardon the interruption to our regularly scheduled “Daily Cheapo” programming, but we have an exciting announcement: We’ve unveiled a new release of our budget hotel search engine and think you’re going to love it!

Our new search engine includes all the Cheapo “bells and whistles” we could dream up to help budget travelers find the best hotel. Here’s a short list of what’s in store:

More Cheapo-Filters
We’ve added all sorts of nifty filtering technology to help travelers easily narrow down search results. Now you can filter by proximity to popular landmarks, user ratings, neighborhood, room rate and property type.

Looking for a three-star hotel this summer in Paris, near Notre Dame with at least a 7.5 user rating for less than $200? We have several suggestions!

Trusted Travel Advice
Can’t decide where to stay? Our editors have inspected thousands of European hotels and provide recommendations in 28 popular cities. Read editor reviews and check out our candid hotel photos. Need help choosing the right neighborhood? Roll over neighborhood names to read detailed descriptions.

What’s Your “CheapoFactor?”
Our search results rank budget hotels by their “CheapoFactor,” the site’s super top-secret algorithm that pushes the most interesting, central, highest rated, and lowest priced hotels to the top. Check out the creme de la (cheapo) crème!

Handpicked Hotel Listings
Our editors select every hotel that shows up in our search results. To be included, hotels must be central, have satisfactory user reviews, and always have budget-friendly prices. We don’t let just any hotel show up!

Hotel Price Comparison
Our search engine compares hotel rates from multipile reservation websites, allowing travelers to easily find — and book — the lowest rate out there.

Tell Us What You Think!
We’re proud of our budget hotel search engine and always want it to be as helpful as possible. So try it out and tell us what you think. What are we missing? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts, Cheapos!

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Recently Twitter, the micro-blogging service and current “it” brand of the web, turned 3 years old. Yet, while most three-year olds we know spend their time observing others and imitating their parents, Twitter is busy trying to create a new communication platform (and vocabulary) for the web.

Twittering from a Paris restaurant. Photo by Kmeron.

Twitter for budget travelers? 

So what does this mean for you, the budget traveler? Should you care? Do you really need to know about “tweets,” DMs and “followers”? Do you really want to introduce yet another social network into your daily routine?

Well, here is a primer to help answer a few of these questions and provide a proper introduction to Twitter… Cheapo-style!

The basics: what is Twitter?

Twitter allows members to send and read short messages (”tweets”) between themselves and other users. These tweets are text-based, frequently contain links to articles on other websites, and are limited to only 140 characters in length.

Twitterers are able to post tweets as frequently (or infrequently) as they like and on any subject they wish. As you might guess, there is a vast variety of subjects being tweeted.

Want to know if your cousin Larry just burned his coffee? No prob. Want to ask President Obama a question about the economy? Go for it. Interested in telling NBA great Shaquille O’Neal what to order at Dairy Queen and read other “random acts of Shaqness”? The list is endless.

Hmm… kind of sounds like Facebook’s status updates, right?

Well, sort of. One of the main differences is that anyone can “follow” someone else on Twitter without being approved by that person. However, you can only send direct messages (”DMs”) to Twitterers who are also following you. Get it?

Tweets for budget travelers

After an initial period of Twitter apprehension, we gave it a try and have to admit it: we’re hooked.

We’ve learned about last-minute travel offers from other Twitterers, had rapid-fire Tweets with several of our business partners in Europe and travel industry bloggers, and benefited from reading articles and posts that we otherwise would have missed.

Some tricks we’ve learned along the way include:

—Follow travel writers: If you have specific travel columnists, travel bloggers or other travel personalities you enjoy reading, look them up on Twitter. Most have a “Twitter presence” and reading their Tweets can add a fun, new dimension to what you read from them elsewhere.

—Only follow those who truly interest you: There’s a “beginner’s instinct” to build your list of followers by rapidly following others, but what’s the point? Twitter is most helpful and useful when you genuinely look forward to reading the Tweets being sent your way.

—Ask questions: Don’t be afraid to ask a question or request travel advice. We recently were looking for a budget hotel in Los Angeles and posted a Tweet asking for suggestions, and within minutes several Twitterers provided helpful recommendations. Tweet-o-rific!

—Share the love: Similarly, be on the lookout for Tweets where you can add helpful feedback or offer advice. It’s a two-way “Twitter Street,” and since we joined we’ve enjoyed the sense of community that builds over time from others in our network.

—Get airline info: Follow your preferred airlines for updates and offers for last minute deals.

—Stay in touch: Twittering makes it easy for the folks back home to follow your adventures abroad. Of course, you run the risk of overdoing it. But your followers may appreciate the chance to travel with you. Also, Twittering on the road permits you to ask your followers for rapid-fire advice on, say, a restaurant in Madrid.

—Get organized: For those who become hooked, consider using a Twitter “client” such as TweetDeck. These websites help manage your Twitter account, create individual groups, and make Twittering feel more organized and less manic.

A Few notable travel twitterers

twitter.com/eurocheapo - Surprise!
twitter.com/budtravel - The editors of BudgetTravel.com
twitter.com/jenleo - Updates from the LA Times travel blog editor
twitter.com/wendyperrin - Conde Nast Traveler’s very own Wendy Perrin
twitter.com/soultravelers3 - Updates from a family of three traveling the world
twitter.com/SEKeener - Follow Cheapo-friend and co-founder of BootsnAll.com, Sean Keener, while he travels throughout Australia
twitter.com/samdaams - Pithy updates from Sam Daams, the co-founder of Travellerspoint.com

Do you Tweet?

Do you have recommendations for using Twitter? Are there other travel Twitterers you enjoy following? Do you agree that Twitter can be helpful, or do you find it a waste of time?

Tell us in the comments below!

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I awoke this morning to hear a story on National Public Radio about the financial crisis affecting certain Eastern European countries, especially Latvia, Hungary, and the Ukraine.

Edward Lucas, of The Economist magazine, pointed out that Latvia’s situation is pretty dire: a bank recently collapsed, the nation’s debt is swelling, and the country’s economy shrank by more than 10% in 2008. Furthermore, violent protests this year led to the collapse of the coalition government in February.

Difficult times

I noticed this myself last month, when I spent six days visiting Riga.

Of course, I mostly concerned myself with inspecting hotels and visiting the city’s historic sights. However, one couldn’t escape the signs of economic strain: I saw very few tourists (granted, it was early February), restaurants were empty (or closed), and prices were cheap.

Here was a city that poured millions of euros into reinventing itself as a magical, tourist-friendly destination–and hardly anyone was there. That wouldn’t normally be a major cause for concern in February. But this year was different. There seemed to be an uncertainty about whether or not tourists would return.

Across town, I visited beautiful hotels, freshly renovated (or newly constructed), often with sizable rooms and lovely bathrooms. Many sported eclectic, “boutique” decor. In almost any of the other cities we cover, these hotels would have been out of our Cheapo price range.

Yet, they were quite affordable in Riga. When I asked hotel owners for rates, they often frowned. Should they give me last summer’s rates? The off-season rates? What are this year’s rates? The prevailing attitude seemed to be, “we’ll see.” There was, after all, a big difference between the posted hotel rates and the bargain rates being offered online by the same hotels.

A great time to travel?

I found it all a bit unnerving. To encourage budget travelers to visit Latvia because of ever-discounted prices exploits a nation grappling with an economic crisis. Yet, tourism plays an incredibly important role in the nation’s economy, and it would follow that Latvia would benefit from an influx of tourists, eager to pump their euros (and lats) into the nation’s struggling economy.

Hotel owners, waitresses, the cashier at the opera… people were very friendly to me and seemed hopeful that more tourists would return to the city as the weather heats up.

Upon my return, I’ve raved about Riga. I had a great experience and found it fun, educational, delicious, and, yes, a bargain. Despite my sensitivities, I find myself bragging about what a good deal the city is for visitors.

And yet, I’m cautious when describing the budgetary benefits of visiting Riga.

Something strikes me as distasteful about choosing a destination based solely upon what you can “get” for your money. That may be a great way to purchase a beach resort getaway or a family cruise, but it strikes me as an un-thoughtful way to choose a travel destination.

Isn’t traveling about learning and experiencing? Doesn’t it call for a little more compassion and a little less consumption?

What do you think?

I’m eager to hear from our readers on this issue. Have you every traveled to a foreign country while they were experiencing difficulties? Did that affect your decision to go there? Would you consider going to a country with a shaky economy in order to stretch your travel budget?

Let us know in the comments section below.

For more information about Latvia’s financial troubles, also see an article in this week’s Der Spiegel (in English).

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It sure feels like the travel blogging community has officially shaken off the winter doldrums and is back in the saddle. Our RSS readers are stacked full of interesting, quirky, and occassionally weird travel tales from around the globe.

So without any further ado, here are a few of our favorites to start off your weekend:

Looking for cheap but delicious souvenirs for your foodie friends back home? BudgetTravel.com’s post on food gifts from Paris had our mouths watering from the start. Mmmm… cheeeeeeeese…

Speaking of Paris, has anyone tried to rent a Velib bike but been declined because you’re using an American credit card? If so, don’t fret, for the NY Times Travel Q & A blog has the answer. Hint: keep trying.

Ever wish you didn’t drink that $7.50 bottle of Evian from your hotel mini-bar? HotelChatter’s “Hotel Room Confessions” series has a few suggestions for side-stepping the bill. (Yes, we know many Cheapos out there are scoffing at the very THOUGHT of a hotel room with a mini-bar!)

Perceptive Travel’s post on the ‘wichcraft sandwich kiosk in New York’s Bryant Park has us already dreaming about lunchtime. Too bad it’s so cold out, otherwise we’d walk on up to try it out!

For our fellow bloggers out there, we recommend this post from British pal Alex Bainbridge on “the case for and against gimmicks on travel websites.” Go Alex!

Over at USA Today’s Hotel Hotsheet blog, there’s a call for nominations for favorite hotel bathrooms as part of an annual competition. This brings to mind several shared restroom in hostels we’ve visited that will most certainly not make the list.

…and lastly, next Thursday, Feb 26th we’re hosting a “Farewell Winter” party at our office in New York. Send us an email if you’re interested in joining us, but hurry because space is limited!

Happy weekend, Cheapos!

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Ryanair, the wacky budget airline that offers intra-European flights at rock-bottom prices, today began offering inflight phone calls, text messaging, and Blackberry use. The service, dubbed “OnAir,” comes at a hefty price.

“OnAir” will first be offered on 20 of its airplanes, although Ryanair expects to roll it out to all 170 aircraft within the next 18 months. Interestingly, only six passengers will be able to call at once. (We haven’t been able to determine how many will be able to use their Blackberry’s.)

The cost?

Calls will run between €2.00 and €3.00 per minute, text messages €0.50, and email “sessions” are priced between €1.00 and €1.50. Hardly cheapo territory.

What do you think?

Do you think this truly is a step forward in aviation history? Is it really any different from the in-flight phone service that was largely ignored for years (remember those phones tucked above your tray?).

If this does catch on, are we headed toward a future of cellphone shouters, screaming ever louder to get through over the hum of the engines? Or does this really represented a step forward for business travelers, and those who just want to chat from 30,000 feet?

Would you use this service? Tell us what you think below.

Read more about the phone service on Ryanair.com.

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Note: EuroCheapo editor Tom Meyers is traveling this week in Paris, where he’s visiting and reviewing hotels. He’s checking in with the blog during his travels.

January 21, 2009–Greetings from Paris, where the mood is celebratory.

Here are the front pages of yesterday’s left-leaning Liberation and right-leaning Le Figaro (which published a 20 page special on the “Obama Attitude,” also pictured).  

And these are just a selection of yesterday’s papers. I’ve been here now since Saturday morning, and Obama has been a top story in almost all the papers every day.

The magazines have caught “The Hope of Obama” as well:

As for how this Cheapo celebrated the inauguration in Paris, I was lucky enough to score a free ticket to a viewing party at the Hotel de Ville, Paris’ historic city hall. My friend Rachel received two tickets from Democrats Abroad and invited me to join her (and 1,000 others) to celebrate the event in a pretty swanky setting. The crowd seemed overwhelmingly American, although many French attended, as well.

After waiting in a long line, tickets in hand, we passed through security and then headed into the Hotel de Ville. We followed these signs:

“Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Viewing of the Inauguration Ceremony of the 44th President of the United States, His Excellence, Mr. Barack Obama. Salle des Fetes, Second Floor.”

The “Salle des Fetes” is a sumptuous and golden grand hall, two stories high, vaulted, and lit by sparkling chandeliers. Where there isn’t gold, there are paintings depicting virtues or arts, and classical figurines seem to hold the ceiling in place. The room holds hundreds, and with one side mirrored, the reflected crowd seems even more impressive.

Just before the ceremony in Washington, the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe spoke:

To the right of the photo, you can also see United States Ambassador to France, Craig Roberts Stapleton, who addressed the crowd after the mayor. The audience, however, was restlessly awaiting the inauguration. Here’s the room right before the swearing in took place:

Obama’s ceremony was shown live on a giant screen, to much applause and some tears. Then, the crowd moved into other reception rooms for drinks, happy schmoozing, and to stare out at Notre Dame glowing across the Seine.

Can you tell that Rachel and I are happy?

Some danced, most drank, and many, like me, simply felt lucky to be there.

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On Tuesday, January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. The formal program begins at 11:30 AM EST and will be shown live around the world.

Americans abroad: Will you be watching the festivities? Whether you live abroad or will simply be traveling, we’d like to know whether or not you’ll tune in on Tuesday to the historic event happening in Washington.

If yes, please tell us where you plan to watch the ceremony. Which city? In a bar, community center, church, or other location?  Will you get there early? At home alone? In your hotel room?

If no, please tell us why not. Not interested? You can see highlights on YouTube? The line will be finally be short at the Eiffel Tower?

Tomorrow we’ll be posting a list of spots where you can watch the inauguration in Europe’s major cities. So please, leave your comments below! Thanks!

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