Priceline Hotel: Best deals for Europe Dec 26 - Jan 4 (from Berlin)

[Otter7]

I hope it is appropriate to ask a question like this here.

Visiting family in Berlin for Christmas, then want to travel with the wife to somewhere for a week, then return to Berlin. We have not ever been to London, Brussels, Warsaw or any nation east of Italy on the Mediterranean. I've been looking at deals in London so far, seems interesting, but London is still pricey (and always will be.) London seems like a 5* would be around $150, a 4* half that. Brussels looks about the same price. Warsaw seems much better, Priceline lists a 5* for $91 in their regular reservation lists. What there is to do in Warsaw in the dead of winter? Where else might we get good deals that wouldn't cost us so much in airfare that our savings on accommodations would be lost?

[Romelle]

You might want to try www.flyertalk.com, plus some of the more touristy sites like Fodors and Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor.

Just searching on "Warsaw tourist" will turn up all sorts of interesting things.

In December, if my options were open, I'd head south for warmth. Sicily, Sorrento, south of France, coastal Spain, etc.

I particularly like Menton, France. It is one of the warmer areas along the coast. And Perpignan on the other side.

But I do understand the draw of the cities you've listed.

Searching on "Berlin budget airlines" I found:

"Low-Budget Airlines:

EasyJet: flight network throughout Europe to and from Berlin.

RyanAir: only between Sch

[Otter7]

Hello Romelle, thanks so much for your response. I agree so much about wanting to go somewhere warm. In all honesty, I only am going to Berlin because my wife is from there and her parents insist we bring our child to them for the holidays. (I understand from their point of view.)

The wife was pushing for Barcelona, but it looked to me like it was still very cool to cold everywhere in the EU, and even down into Morocco it doesn't look like beach weather. If we could get somewhere warm for the week I would go for that. I had figured if it was going to be cold, we might as well go someplace cold and cheap! :o (Actually someplace inexpensive that offered something we hadn't seen before.)

We have traveled to Madrid, Lagos, Lisbon and Marrakesh summer of 2008. That was great! But it was sunny on the beach in Lagos, adventurous in Marrakesh, and romantic in Lisbon. The Tapas cafes were open on the streets in Madrid. We flew EasyJet and rented cars for that trip so I am familiar with the limitations of the low cost carriers and it has been okay so far, but they seem to be pushing their luggage fees to the limit recently. They aren't nearly as low cost as they were. Still, they may be the best thing going. :)

London only came on screen because of the exchange rate being better than it has been in my lifetime and I've never been there. Still, a good deal on being cold and wet is still being cold and wet. Not sure I would be so thrilled there. Maybe...

We have traveled all across Germany in December's past, mostly to Christmas markets from Bavaria to the Baltic. We made a stop in freezing Prague too.

In the summer's past we have visited Paris, Dijon, Basel, Amsterdam, Rome, Genoa, Zurich, Salzburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Bergen, Norway, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Riga, most of Estonia, Hungary and the Czech republic. In the cities we liked sampling the local foods, the museums and the unique architectures, like the Hermitage and the Vatican. In the countryside we liked wine tasting and hiking. And at the beach, eating and drinking and lying in the sun for hours is A+! :) We really like meeting people from other lands as well. But as you can see from our list, we are running out of new places to go in the EU and with the exchange rate going over $1.50, going somewhere we have already been that is now twice as expensive to boot is not going to make me feel all warm and cozy, especially in the middle of winter!

I guess the appeal Warsaw had was a 5* under $100, hopefully cheap gourmet eating and things we haven't seen before.

You had mentioned several areas in the south. It is still only in the 40's for high's from what I see on Weather Underground's trip planner. What is there to do in these places at that time of year?

[Romelle]

I took a look at Menton and the average high the first 1/2 of January is 55. Malaga, Spain is 60. Neither sound warm, but not bad compared to 24 here for the same time period. Menton is one of those odd little microclimates different from the surrounding area.

I forgot to mention - quite a few more minutes of daylight the further south you get yourself. I spent some time late in November in northern Italy. Great trip but seems we were always driving in the dark, mostly lost.

"Of all the C