EuroCheapo – They’ve Been There

October 3, 2008

In my ongoing quest to conquer and make sense of the web’s online content, I landed my browser (currently Google Chrome, for those of you interested) on Eurocheapo.  Their tagline, ‘we’ve been there’, inspires confidence, and for good reason.  The site has city guides on various European destinations, large and small, and these guides are – to put it succinctly – excellent.

Lisbon - A EuroCheapo Destination - Copyright by Andrew Hayes

City guide features include:

-          General City Information:  A standard guide includes Getting Into, Getting Around, Expect To Spend, Budget Tips, Car Rentals, Day Trips, Links, and Reading List.  That’s a lot of great information.  You might be lucky in some locations to get some extra-secret info in the ‘EuroCheapo Insider’ feature.

-          Hotel Reviews:  In addition to the ‘standard’ information on offer (hotel address, class, location, rates), editors have included reviews of numerous hotels in the target destination.    

-          Blog News:  On the right side of the city homepage is a listing of all the blog post related to the destination.  This is quite useful as you don’t have to search through the blog.  Posts are timely and useful, such as tips on free attractions, news, and interesting tips.

-          Neighbourhood Guides: Cities have a listing of neighbourhoods along with hotels that can be found in each neighbourhood.  This can help you get your bearings before travel, especially in large towns like Paris or London.

While EuroCheapo is very hotel-orientated, there are countless amounts of additional tidbits and information.  There is a useful cheap flights page but this is not linked in with the city guides so be sure to have a look.  There is also a railpass information page, but readers should note that these rail passes are not valid for residents of the European Union, the Russian Federation or Turkey.

I really like this site, although I can’t help but sometimes get lost in all the information available.  The site requires a lot of scrolling – but do scroll down as the ‘in the spotlight’ section contains some must-read details.

EuroCheapo currently has 26 city guides (although one of them – New York – is decidedly not a EuroZone country, although I am not complaining) and I would highly recommend it for travel advice.  Rumour has it more city guides are on the way.  Of course, don’t forget us here at Europe A La Carte for our own unique budget options and travel tips.

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