Editors' Travel Deal Review

European Winter Bargain Vacations from $90

Get free air credit, save $200 off, or snag low hotel rates

By ShermansTravel Staff

March 31, 2009 03:22 pm EDT

Book By: ASAP

Travel By: Spring 2009

With the economic crises now hitting Europe hard and the dollar gaining strength overseas, a trip across the pond isn’t such a stretch these days, especially when we’ve found ways to stretch your dollar. To compensate for poor bookings (hotel occupancy across Europe has fallen by 6% since last year), European hotels are offering lower rates and incentives, like air credits and euro-to-dollar price matching. Plus, winter airfare rates are as attractive as ever – it is the low season after all. Our editors dug up bargain deals running the gamut from $500 flight credits, $100 Amex card, free AirFrance stopovers, hotel rates from $90/night, and multi-city air-and-hotel combo packages from $635. 

Park Inn Berlin-Alexanderplatz, Berlin, from $90/night
Centrally located in Berlin’s Mitte district next to the landmark 368-meter TV Tower, the recently-renovated Park Inn Berlin-Alexanderplatz offers deluxe accommodations at value rates. A former communist-era high-rise, the hotel now offers a full range of amenities and services, including a rooftop bar, sundeck, casino, and several onsite bars and restaurants. Rates for a business-class room for two, with private marble bathroom, start at just $90/night.

$500 air credit: Luxury hotels in Vienna, Prague & London from $337/night
The crème de la crème of luxury hotels, we’re talking Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental, are offering a great deal available through Classic Vacations. Now, travelers who book a five-night stay at participating European luxury hotels will receive a $500 air credit towards the cost of their flight and a $100 American Express Gift Card. Our favorites include London’s posh Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park from $607/night and the classy Four Seasons Prague from $374/night. It’s hard to beat Vienna’s decadent Hotel Bristol for just $337/night.

Rome, Florence & Venice 6-night vacation with flight from $635 
Spend a week exploring Italy this winter or spring from just $635, thanks to EuropeanDestinations.com. The six-night jaunt to Rome, Florence, and Venice, includes 2 nights' hotel in each city, airfare from the US, breakfast daily, and train transfers between cities. If you want to see even more of Italy, try the nine-night Highlights of Italy package from just $829 per person, a cost that covers airfare, rental car, and hotels throughout Florence, Milan, Verona and more.

Royal Caribbean 4-night Mediterranean cruise from $349 
For a classic Mediterranean cruise, try this 4-night spring voyage aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. Embarking from Barcelona, this round-trip cruise docks for a day in Marseille and spends a weekend in Ibiza, for just $349 per person (oceanview cabins start at $529). Along the way, you’ll have opportunities to check out Barcelona’s renowned Las Ramblas promenade and Gaudi-designed churches, Marseille’s picturesque waterfront in the Vieux Port, and Ibiza’s trendy shops, historic Old Town, world-class cuisine, and famous nightlife.

Up to $200 off: European River Cruises with Globus
Discover Europe’s fascinating waterways and the cities that surround them with affordable river cruise tours on offer from Globus. Save $200 off the air-inclusive price on any 2009 Globus or Avalon Europe river cruise. Or, receive $100 off the cruise-only price. Just be sure to book by February 28. We’d recommend the 12-day air-inclusive Black Sea Discovery cruise from $2,849, or the 12-day Legendary Danube cruise sailing from Prague to Budapest for the low price of $2,399, flight included.

Free Paris stopovers on AirFrance: Round-trip flights, with Paris, from $564
Fly to any Air France destination in Europe, the Middle East, India, or Africa, and enjoy a free stopover in Paris on your way there, your way back, or both. Use this offer to climb the Eiffel tower, explore the Louvre’s remarkable collections, simply grab a baguette and some wine for a picnic along the Seine. At the time of writing, we found round-trip flights to London, with a free stopover in the city of lights, for $564.

Backpackers Secret: The Eurail Pass
Don’t neglect train travel when overseas. It’s a great way to get around on the cheap while enjoying the scenery. Plus, the new and improved Eurail Pass offers a series of options for convenient train travel between countries. A consecutive-day pass offers unlimited rail travel for a particular length of time, while other flexible options include a pass available for a specific number of travel days scattered over a longer time period. The Eurail Select Pass is a great bargain; it affords unlimited travel on the national rail networks of 3 to 5 bordering countries, and starts from about $419.

Taxes and fees are additional.

After your romantic European getaway, it's right back to your same old rountine.