Have you ever gone on vacation for a few weeks to Europe? DH were talking about going. We have no concrete plans yet, because we suck at making decisions. We just vaguely know we want to go to Disney Paris. I guess the number 1 question is how much does it cost? What are some cost saving tips? Someone mentioned flying into the cheapest airport and then train-ing to their destination.
If we wanted to go for 3 weeks, what would you estimate it would cost (so we can start saving.) We'd like to visit Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain.
Post by monkeybutt on Aug 23, 2012 20:33:34 GMT -5
We spent two weeks in Italy a year ago and I felt like we could have spent another two. I think you're being really ambitious to visit 5 countries in one trip.
Flights (in July) were $1500 each to Rome.
Renting apartments is usually cheaper than hotels and you can cook some of your own meals there to save.
Meals out are as cheap/expensive as you want them to be.
We don't always try to travel the cheapest ways possible, so I would estimate $10,000+ for three weeks.
So would you say the largest expense was the flights? I've been to all these countries before, except Belgium. I know you could spend months in one place and still not see it all.
We flew into Munich and did an 8 day road trip. We did a European delivery on a car so the dealer got us B1G1 airfare at $1600 I think. We picked up our car in Munich and drove about 2400 miles through 5 different countries (Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Germany). We probably spent about $7k total but we didn't exactly go cheap on hotels and stuff. Gas also cost us $1000 alone.
I'd say for 3 weeks, you're looking at least $10-12k since you're wanting to go to so many different countries and depending on what tours you'll be taking. I heard hostels are pretty cheap. Meals vary depending on what you want to eat. We hardly stayed in each city we stopped in so we dined out for every meal so if you got groceries it might be cheaper.
Post by Poeticxpassion on Aug 23, 2012 21:31:47 GMT -5
I would say that is a little much for just 3 weeks. I would focus on 2 or 3 countries and take your time to see them.
DH and I went to Disney Paris last December. It was amazing. So many people told me not to bother if you have gone to Disney World, but I'm a Disney nut so I went anyway.
Post by ILikeSloths on Aug 23, 2012 21:55:52 GMT -5
My H and I just went on our second trip to Europe this past spring. The first time we went to Italy and Spain for 2 weeks which was wonderful but we splurged more. This time we stayed 4 weeks and traveled through Central and Eastern Europe on a tight budget but still had a great time.
Some things that helped us save money: *Traveling in off or shoulder season (March and April) *Monitoring airfare like crazy beforehand; we managed to get roundtrip tickets for $840 a piece *Being flexible with our itinerary and which airports we flew in and out of; I compared the cost of various cities we wanted to visit *Choosing a less expensive area such as E. European countries. Some of the cheapest but great cities we visited were Krakow, Poland; Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary; We visited many others but these were the least inexpensive and some of of our favorites from this trip. *We didn't eat out much and shopped at markets often due to my food allergies, but it helped us save money as well. *We stayed in hostels this time and some of the private rooms were really nice and cheaper than hotels. B&Bs/pensions are always an option also.
Our total was about $6,000 for the 2 of us but we were very budget conscious, searched for the best deals and traveled in rather inexpensive areas.
The most expensive part will likely be airfare, especially depending on what time of year you'd like to go and your destination. The next will probably be transportation (train ticket prices vary greatly depending on which country you're in) and accommodations.
I look for packages, depending on where I want to go. If you Google Europe tour/vacation packages, you can find some good deals. For our honeymoon, we spent two weeks in Ireland for about $2500, including flights - we found a great deal through Sceptre Tours. If you want to hit that many countries, I'd focus on which cities you want to visit. Personally, I think that's a bit much for only three weeks. We're going in October, and we're taking two weeks to visit London, Paris and Amsterdam - but they're all relatively close to one another, so we can still spend 4 days in each city. You may be able to get great deals on flights in Europe - you can get some great deals on short haul flights through some of the budget airlines. Trains are easy, too, though. If you're really going to hit five countries, you might investigate Eurorail passes before you go (can't buy them in Europe). If you stay in one place for more than a few days, apartments are definitely the way to go in my opinion - we like vrbo.com. We also save money (and sanity) by traveling in the shoulder season (April/October). Weather is still nice on most of the continent, attractions are open, but things are much cheaper and much less crowded than the summer months.
Maybe look into some of the cruises offered.. Might help save some money if it hits some of the places you want to see, and it eliminates to time to unpack and repack every day if you are moving quickly from one city to the next... That is what I am currently planning. We want to see Italy and Greece, Paris (and Paris Disney), so my plan is to take a 10 day cruise from Venice that ends up in Barcelona, overnight train to Paris, and spend a few days there.
I've never gone for more than 2 weeks. We spent about $6-7k on ~12 days in Italy last year. My trips to Iceland and Ireland I was just paying for myself (I was traveling with other people besides Calvin), and I was there for less time, so those numbers are less helpful.
I've always been able to budget pretty closely what my European trips will cost by researching in travel books, looking at the rates for accommodations + ground travel + considering the exchange rate. I've been right about on, all 3 times. You will get better numbers with that approach than asking random internet strangers who went to various countries and spent money in different ways while traveling.
Post by keweenawlove on Aug 24, 2012 9:18:11 GMT -5
I agree that all 5 countries might be a bit too much to hit. Definitely look into flying open jaw to save some train time. Since you're flexible with where you want to go, start watching airfares and see where you can get the best deals. It depends on where you're coming from. I always hear of people finding great deals but whenever I've checked from the Midwest, they've been $1000+.
With moving that much, you might end up saving money to get a Eurail pass. We used www.eurail.com and www.raileurope.com to plan out how long our plans would take and what pass was the best deal to get.
We used Rick Steves to find a lot of our hotels. He includes everything from hostels to 5-star hotels. We found all of his descriptions to be pretty spot on.
DH and I went for 3 weeks for our honeymoon. We flew to Paris, then took the train to Tour, then Poitier, next to Biarritz, then Bordeaux, and then we flew to Geneva in Switzerland. We stayed there for 4 days and then flew to Denmark for 3 days. We finished up with 1 day in Ireland and then headed home.
Hotels are insanely expensive in Europe (in my opinion, especially for what you get) so I recommend either renting an apartment and staying at hostels. We stayed at a couple hotels (it was our honeymoon afterall), but pretty much stayed at hostels the rest of the time. The hostels were actually really nice, and included breakfast which was nice.
Food is expensive in France (but wine is cheap!), so I recommend buying and cooking your own food and then splurging on some good local stuff.
We spent 5k on our trip. But we didn't rent a car (walked or took the train), stayed in hostels, and cooked for ourselves. It definitely adds up, especially since there's so much to do, and see, and of course eat. Btw, France has great chocolate mousse, and the best chocolatieries are in Paris (I think we spent 100 bucks sampling...totally worth it).
I would look into cruises for the Italy and Spain portion of the trip. We got back from a 7 night cruise to Italy and Spain that was $500 a person for a balcony.
Also for getting between countries a discount airline can be cheaper than the train. (Ryanair, easyjet)
You can really spend as much or little as you want. I would try and go in the offseason when airfare is cheap. I've been getting emails for roundtrip tickets around $750 to major cities. I can usually find hotels in the $100 a night range that are pretty decent, but not super nice. But you can spend a lot more than that. I usually plan to spend around $200 a day on food and activities. We try and get breakfast included with the room and only eat one large meal. Lunch is typically a gelatto and cappuchino.
We just did Amsterdam/Paris/Barcelona and Reading/London for 18 day trip. We spent ~$7K on everything (although 5 nights lodging we stayed with my sister in Reading, UK) otherwise all of our lodging was rental apts. Flights are definitely the biggest expense. After that I'd say hotels/apts and transportation to/from cities.
Time of year makes a huge difference. We went in Mar/Apr and got great prices on our flights. Even though they were mult-city (flew into AMS and out at Heathrow), they were "only" $899 each. I have info in my blog on our trip if you're interested
how is your husband's job search going? has he started looking yet?
He's just kind of looking half-assed at restaurant jobs in the area. He's got a week and a day, and I'm going to kick him out. School started for him on Monday, but he's only got one class MWF, so he's got plenty of time for a PT job.
how is your husband's job search going? has he started looking yet?
He's just kind of looking half-assed at restaurant jobs in the area. He's got a week and a day, and I'm going to kick him out. School started for him on Monday, but he's only got one class MWF, so he's got plenty of time for a PT job.
If you are seriously considering kicking your husband out, why would you plan a three week vacation with him?
Not being snarky, it just doesn't really make sense to me.
He's just kind of looking half-assed at restaurant jobs in the area. He's got a week and a day, and I'm going to kick him out. School started for him on Monday, but he's only got one class MWF, so he's got plenty of time for a PT job.
If you are seriously considering kicking your husband out, why would you plan a three week vacation with him?
Not being snarky, it just doesn't really make sense to me.
I was wondering this too.
We did a 10 day trip to Paris & Rome. We really pinched pennies when it came to dining out & buying stuff and we still spent $5,500.
If you plan on going to a popular city, you'll pay for it in the hotel costs. I remember both of the hotels we stayed at were "budget" hotels and they were still $200+USD /night. Flights were just under $1800 USD for everything (May 2011).