(FORTUNE Magazine) – U.S. vacationers get value for their dollar in the three countries portrayed here. General advice: Bring phrase books and remember that German, not English, is the dominant second language. Count on using cash, since credit cards and traveler's checks are accepted rarely in the marketplaces where best buys abound. Flying off-peak will save you even more than the already low fares listed below.

Czechoslovakia -- CSA, the national airline, charges $757 for a New York-Prague round trip. Use Primo Agency (Zitna 17, Prague) to find an apartment to rent in the $40-a- day range; a good hotel costs $100. Best shopping bargains include china, particularly outside Prague. Go to Tabor -- a $1.50, two-hour bus ride. In the shadows of the old Town Hall you can find fine Cibula ware. A 40-piece dinner service for six goes for a mere $120. Save money on shipping by buying a hockey bag ($10 at department stores near Prague's Old Town Square) and carting the stuff home yourself. Before leaving, visit Prague's U Fleku beer hall (est. 1762) for homemade lager and dinner. Go for the pork with cabbage and dumplings ($1.75) -- it's the national dish.

Hungary -- Round-trip flight on Malev airline is $743. You can burn cash fast in ^ Budapest. The ritzy Vaci utca has high fashions for high prices. In the city park (Varosliget), treat yourself to the $40, five-course dinner at Gundel, restored to its prewar glory by Hungarian-born New York City restaurateur George Lang, 68. Bargain hunters shouldn't despair. Private apartments (around $50, half the price of a decent hotel room) are available through the Ibusz Hotel Service (Petofi ter 3). And for $4 for three hours, you can join other semiclad men and women in thermal splendor at the art nouveau Gellert Baths. Intrepid art aficionados can hunt for paintings at the Gypsy flea market, Esceri Piac. Take bus No. 54 from downtown.

Poland -- Visa required. Lot flies you to Warsaw and back for $767. Cheap private apartments are available here too, from the tourist information center (ul. Krucza 17). But the Maria Hotel (John Paul II Street, No. 71) is low-priced ($37) and comes highly recommended by U.S. business travelers. Try Blikle's doughnuts; they've been a feature on Warsaw's Novy Swiat for more than a century. Caviar lovers can save a bundle at the Bazar Rozyckiego, a flea market. The roe runs less than $10 for 50 grams (vs. at least $33 at Bloomingdale's in New York City). The splendiferous Old Town was rebuilt from the rubble of the Second World War by meticulous architects working from prewar photos. History buffs might try Gdansk ($18 by train, and three hours away). The first shots of World War II were fired here, and Solidarity was born in the Gdansk Shipyards -- when Lech Walesa worked there they were named after Lenin. -- R.T.