Sofia Is Europe’s Cheapest Travel Destination for 2017 According to Backpacker Index
In its 7th annual edition, Europe Backpacker Index ranks 56 of the continent’s most popular cities from the cheapest to the most expensive, says the tourist portal PriceofTravel. This year Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria is listed as number 1 in the list as Europe’s cheapest travel destination.
How the Backpacker Index works:
Each city index is calculated on one night in the least expensive hostel with a good location and good reviews, two public transportation rides per day, one famous attraction per day, three meals per day, three cheap, local beers (or glasses of wine) each day as an “entertainment fund” or other kind of entertainment for non-drinkers. In this calculation Sofia ranks at the top with a Daily Backpacker Index of BGN 43.75 or $24.04 a day.
PriceofTravel reviews the city as: “Sofia remains a fantastic bargain among European capitals, with a very pleasant city center that is quite welcoming of foreign tourists. Prices of nearly everything are very cheap, except for inbound flights from other major cities. For this reason, Sofia is out of the way for anyone who isn’t doing an extensive tour of the region. Don’t expect any major checklist attractions, but you can expect a surprisingly lovely urban experience at shockingly reasonable prices.”
In top ten cheapest destinations Sofia is followed by Krakow, Bucharest, Belgrade, Budapest, Sarajevo, Kiev, Cesky Krumlov, Warsaw and Zagreb.
Another report ranked Sofia, Bulgaria as the cheapest holiday destination. On February 11 the airport transfer website Hoppa released its annual report on the cheapest and priciest holiday destinations in the world. The report was published in Business insider. The average cost of a one night stay in 84 destinations around the globe was compared to produce the ranking. The total cost per person includes the split cost of a hotel room, a meal for two with a shared bottle of wine, a shared 3km taxi ride, as well as a coffee, a cocktail, and a beer each. According to the report on- day stay in Sofia will cost $47.69 per person, while the most expensive place to visit in Hoppa´s list, Johannesburg, South Africa with cost $69.58.
