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any help with cheap vacations in europe?

I am planning to go visit a couple of countries in Europe last week of August. Just for one week. I know one week is not enough for backpacking Europe. but are there any suggestions regarding visiting that time for cheaper ways to do it, and also visit may be couple of countries in West Europe. I will be coming from the USA now i am thinking may be amsterdam and brussels for the 7 days

Public Comments

1. You need a week to travel out of your country how do you gonna do that? Or do you have planes?
2. I just came back from a week in Amsterdam and London. Check a website call www.hostelbookers.com . Avoid mediocre expensive restaurants. Try to hit little markets and buy snacks an drink tons of water. Have fun!!
3. You don't say which countries you plan to visit. Note that there are NO cheap countries in Western Europe. Consider joining SERVAS (www.servas.org). It is an international network of travelers and hosts who have passed a background check. Even if you don't stay with a host, you will have local contacts just about anywhere you could go.
4. www.hostelworld.com- really reliable website that never steers me wrong. remember that if you are planning one week- two of those days will be spent traveling to/from europe. also, it's summer, so everything will be expensive. amsterdam is nice, so is barcelona, malaga, granada, etc in spain...the uk and ireland will not be unbearably hot, scandinavia will be beautiful (but very expensive)... i would recommend that you choose ONE country to go to, and concentrate on afew cities that you want to go to, that way you get quality time there instead of wasting time on trains and planes trying to pack as many countries in as you can. check out lonelyplanet.com, as well, for cheap things to do whereever you decide- and try to get a feel for the places you are going vs activities you REALLY enjoy...don't feel obligated to go to the top of eifel tower if you hate heights (you will save money, time, and nerves....), etc, etc. when in rome, do as the romans do, as they say, but also do what you LIKE to do- you will have a much better time.
5. The further south and east you go in Europe the cheaper it will be so Spain and Portugal, southern Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Slovenia are all options if you want to get more "bang for you buck" Your biggest money killers will be accommodation and travel. If you can do them cheap, it will save you elsewhere. Food is the next big one..... Look for hostels, if you don't mind sharing thats going to be cheaper for you. 1 week will barely get you anywhere to be honest...and maybe you should focus on 2 places (cities/sites) and see them properly as if you try and see more you will spend your time sitting in buses or trains and miss out on other things. If you want to chose somewhere as options maybe Prague (as its really lovely and cheaper than places like Paris, Rome or London)....I really like Croatia, but as there are only buses really to get around, it will take more time and you will spend hours a day in a bus. Its also cheap accommodationwise and food too. If you have your mind set on somewhere more expensive Paris is a great city to see...its beautiful buildings and statues are worth seeing and it has lots of art and things to see. I spent 5 days and felt I had done it justice...but take into account I see things quickly...but a minumum of 3 days really for these types of places and that leaves you another place maybe to visit....well it depends on what you like really, scenery, history (and what type), people, culture, coastlines or mountains. Italy would be a good option to spend the entire time in...you would really only see a couple of bigger places and gives you time to visit places nearby....Florence is lovely, but its expensive to stay in and has lots of places nearby to visit eg Pisa, Lucca, Tuscany in general, Sienna....... Its really up to you.....look for places that have the most things you want to see, look at accommodation (some options listed below) and figure out a way to see them.
6. Prague or Warsaw.... these r beautiful cities and Vienna is great!!!
7. why don't you make a tour round Balkans? Start f.e. in Croatia, than Montenegro, than Ohrid, Macedonia, than Greece and Turkey. have fun!!
8. A week is nor enough
9. The cheapest country in Western Europe is definitely Germany. It also offers good security (important for backpackers). Anyway here are some tips. 1) If you visit only for one week, try to fly with cheap airlines such as Ryan Air, Air Berlin etc... instead of trains which may even be more expensive and take ages compared to airplanes. 2)There are cheaper cities than others. I live in Leipzig, which is according to Mercer Management (a leading consultancy) the cheapest city in Europe, even cheaper than Prague and Warsaw. it is also a University city which offers plenty of nightlife at at least (and I mean AT LEAST) one half of the price than Brussels or Amsterdam 3) German Beer. German Beer is really good. Other people can tell you in Brussels they sell thousands of fruit beers bla bla bla. However why would anyone want to mix beer at all?? Do you see Alex Rodríguez playing basketball??? Also try Czech beer (it is sold in Germany) especially the original Budweisser (Budvar) MMMHHH LECKER!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4)Overall, Germany is cheaper than Holland or Belgium. 5)German Beer, it deserves to be mentioned twice. 6)Book as early as possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7)If you want to travel cheap dont travel in August Thats all I have time for but hopefully I helped you.