That part of Europe with low-cost charm

LAST month, in an event celebrated all over Europe, eight countries of Central and Eastern Europe -- Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- joined Cyprus and Malta to become new members of the European Union, now expanded to 25 nations and 455 million people.

The world has just witnessed the birth of an extraordinary economic superpower.

What effect will this have on tourism? Will the eight former Iron Curtain countries lose their bargain appeal? Will their prices reach the level of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and England? The answer is a decided: “Not yet.”

A quick comparison of hotel and restaurant prices shows the usual differences between visiting Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe. Only deluxe properties reach common levels, and only the immensely popular Prague has summer rates approaching those in cities to the west.

Though the eight are now full members of the European Union, not one has adopted the euro as its currency; the tourist deals with crowns, zlotys and forints. (Even the euro has dropped a bit in recent weeks, though it still sells at $1.23.) For a fraction of what you’d pay elsewhere, you can continue to enjoy cities as awesome as Florence, Italy, or Paris, charming countryside with fairy-tale castles and fabulous beer and wine; world-class spas such as Budapest’s Margitsziget, and Karlovy Vary and Marienbad in the Czech Republic; lovely ski resorts in places like the Tatras and Krkonose mountains, also in the Czech Republic.

And you now reach these sites by efficient, low-cost air: Britain’s ultra-cheap EasyJet, www.easyjet.com, flies to Prague and is about to launch service to Budapest and Ljubljana (Slovenia), while Germanwings, www.germanwings.com, serves Croatia (not an EU member) as well as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

Equally important is the recent creation of low-fare carriers based in Eastern Europe, such as Sky Europe, www.skyeurope.com, and Wizz Air, www.wizzair.com. A major tour operator to Central and Eastern Europe is Paul Laifer Tours, (800) 346-6314, www.laifertours.com of Parsippany, N.J. From Nov. 1 to Dec. 12 and from Jan. 3 to March 23 of next year, his six-night air-and-land packages to Prague or Budapest will sell at $799 per person, including round-trip air from New York or Newark, N.J., on Czech Airlines, with an add-on of $260 from Los Angeles.

For more elaborate, escorted tours of Central and Eastern Europe, including the Baltic countries, a skilled and experienced company is Continental Journeys, (800) 601-4343, www.continentaljourneys.com, offering trips of six to 16 nights.