DiscoverCars.com announced its annual ranking of the top budget-friendly winter getaway destinations in Europe, a study conducted in 2021 and 2022 and revisited to evaluate any changes in the findings.
The methodology involved a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including the average cost of a week-long hotel stay and the abundance of affordable dining options in each European city. Each location received a score out of 50 and was subsequently ranked based on these criteria.
DiscoverCars.com considered several factors, including the number of budget-friendly restaurants, the average cost of a one-week car rental, the overall average price of a one-week hotel stay, the average flight cost from London Heathrow, and the cost of the city’s most prominent attraction.
The company gathered data for ten renowned European cities known for attracting tourists during the winter months. The study was conducted based on the assumption that the reader would embark on a week-long trip, with data collected from November 22 to November 28, 2023, where applicable.
Google Flights was used to determine the average flight cost, considering the top 10 round-trip prices from London Heathrow to the nearest airport of each city. Then, TripAdvisor was the source for information on hotels, activities, affordable dining options, and details about the most significant attractions in each city. DiscoverCars.com also used internal data to determine the average car rental cost. In contrast, they used Expedia to establish the average cost of staying in each location for a week, taking into account the prices of the top 10 recommended hotels in each city.
Four Eastern European cities ranked in the top winter getaways for 2023, including Krakow (Poland), Prague (Czech Republic), Budapest (Hungary), and Tallinn (Estonia). For the top ten DiscoverCars.com winter destinations for 2023, see the infographic below: