Flying on a Budget

Getting around Europe got a lot faster and cheaper a few years back when budget airlines like easyJet and Ryanair started up regular short-haul flights at significantly lower prices. Recently more and more cheap flights around Europe are taking place in Eastern Europe and Russia and stringing together a few cheap flights can get you to otherwise unreachable places all in the same trip.

Some of these providers are "home-grown", based in Eastern Europe, and provide flights both to other eastern destinations and into Western Europe. Sky Europe, which started in Bratislava and was the first budget airline to be based in Eastern Europe, operates flights to and from many of my favourite destinations, such as Croatia's Dubrovnik or Bulgaria's beachside Varna, and to useful connecting cities including London and Paris. CentralWings, a Polish-based budget airline and subsidiary of national carrier LOT, links Polish cities like Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk with many different parts of Europe, from Ireland to Greece. Similarly, Hungary-based WizzAir runs regular flights to and from Hungary, Poland, Croatia and Slovenia to Germany, Britain, Holland and France.

For travelers heading east from Western Europe or entering Europe through main ports like London, Amsterdam or Paris, picking up a cheap flight from a local provider can often be the best way. In Britain, easyJet lets you fly from London to Bratislava, Budapest, Prague and Tallinn, with further destinations being added constantly; RyanAir rivals this with similar services. From Germany, Germanwings is a reliable budget airline with flights to many Eastern European destinations, and Germania Express helps you head to Moscow without paying a fortune.

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