Croatia
Grabbing the eyeballs of true-blue travellers looking for some off-the-beaten-track travel action, Croatia on the edge of the Adriatic Sea in Central Europe has been on the ‘affordable destination’ map for the last decade or so. With a dynamic and fun capital city like Zagreb, the Italian-influenced city of Istria and sunny islands Hvar and Brac, Croatia has a wide and dynamic spectrum of travel spots on offer. Thanks to its amazing 5,835km of coastline, more than 4000km of which belongs to islands, cliffs and reefs, Croatia is a superb place for diving and snorkelling. Cities like Dubrovnik and Split are wonderful places to explore and are jam-packed with budget accommodation options and youth hostels that let out rooms for a night at a jaw-dropping INR1,500 per person, often with breakfast thrown in. Meals in cafes are feasts of cobanac [a shepherd’s meat stew with red spicy paprika] and strukli [a traditional pasta that is filled with cheese] for as little as `500 for two and you can add on an extra INR450 for a bottle of a very drinkable Croatian red wine. Though not much of a shopping destination, Croatia does offer a few cheap souvenirs like home-made cheese and local grape brandy called rakija from the many farmer markets such as the morning market at Gunduliceva Square in Dubrovnik.