The travel experts at Bounce have revisited their City Break Cost Index for 2023. The team has analysed 75 of this year’s most popular city break destinations, on factors such as hotel costs, the price of a bottle of wine, and one-way transport rates, to find the most affordable destinations for your city break in 2023.
The top 10 most affordable city breaks in the world for 2023
Rank | City | Country | Hotel room (per night) | Meal at a restaurant | Draught beer | Bottle of wine | Taxi (1km rate) | One-way local transport ticket | Affordability score |
1 | Timișoara | Romania | $105 | $6.60 | $1.98 | $6.44 | $0.66 | $0.88 | 8.63 |
2 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | $285 | $6.82 | $2.00 | $3.35 | $0.40 | $0.15 | 8.22 |
3 | Baku | Azerbaijan | $163 | $8.82 | $1.47 | $7.06 | $0.65 | $0.24 | 8.18 |
4 | Yogyakarta | Indonesia | $67 | $1.30 | $3.26 | $9.79 | $0.65 | $0.23 | 8.08 |
5 | Tbilisi | Georgia | $174 | $11.45 | $1.91 | $6.11 | $0.76 | $0.38 | 7.73 |
6 | Brno | Czech Republic | $105 | $8.15 | $2.22 | $5.43 | $1.36 | $1.13 | 7.57 |
7 | Shanghai | China | $178 | $5.47 | $1.37 | $13.69 | $0.41 | $0.55 | 7.52 |
7 | Cape Town | South Africa | $256 | $9.21 | $2.11 | $4.21 | $0.65 | $1.05 | 7.52 |
9 | Cadiz | Spain | $131 | $10.88 | $3.16 | $4.62 | $0.94 | $1.41 | 7.39 |
10 | Bogota | Colombia | $106 | $3.65 | $0.97 | $9.75 | $1.52 | $0.72 | 7.25 |
Timisoara ranks as the most affordable city break destination in the world for 2023, with an affordability score of 8.63. A hotel room in the city costs $105 a night. Transport is also remarkably cheap in the city, with the average taxi price per kilometre costing $0.88. It’s easy to see why the city was voted Europe’s capital of culture in 2021.
Buenos Aires ranks as the second most affordable city break, dropping down to second place since 2021. The city still offers the cheapest price for a bottle of wine at $3.35 and it retains the title of the cheapest one-way ticket on local transport at $0.15. Not only is Buenos Aires seriously affordable, but this vast, bustling city has plenty to see and do.
The top 10 most expensive city breaks in the world for 2023
Rank | City | Country | Hotel room (per night) | Meal at a restaurant | Draught beer | Bottle of wine | Taxi (1km rate) | One-way local transport ticket | Affordability score |
1 | Los Angeles | USA | $342 | $24.00 | $8.00 | $14.99 | $1.71 | $2.00 | 1.56 |
2 | Dublin | Ireland | $397 | $21.76 | $6.75 | $13.06 | $1.90 | $2.18 | 1.65 |
3 | Oslo | Norway | $206 | $18.80 | $9.40 | $15.98 | $1.41 | $3.76 | 1.76 |
4 | Paris | France | $445 | $16.32 | $7.62 | $8.71 | $1.91 | $2.29 | 2.10 |
5 | Milan | Italy | $374 | $21.76 | $6.53 | $7.62 | $2.18 | $2.39 | 2.12 |
6 | Edinburgh | UK | $387 |