Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe groups 4 cities across 4 countries that share enough on logistics, weather pattern and currency exposure to budget as one block. The top-to-bottom ratio inside the region is 1.4× — Prague runs about 1.4× the daily cost of Bucharest at the same mid-range tier — which is a usefully concrete way to think about where in the region to anchor a multi-stop itinerary.

Eastern Europe has 4+ currencies in active use (RON, HUF, PLN, CZK, …). Assume an FX event at every border, lean on cards in cities, and only convert what you need for the next leg.

A typical 10–14 day trip across Eastern Europe works well as two or three anchors — e.g., Bucharest for slower, longer days and Prague for one denser city stop — connected by the cheapest regional links you can find. Daily totals shift between anchors by up to 65 USD, so where you sleep matters more than how many activities you book. The single most common Eastern Europe budgeting mistake is averaging the cities together: a 50/50 split between Bucharest and Prague doesn't cost the average — it costs whatever you actually spend in each, weighted by nights. Build the budget per-anchor, then sum.