kenny_Gua

Hello, I have to go Europe in coming spring at the end of May for 2 weeks. I have to go with my whole family including 3 kids. My budget is US$6000. Is this Ok if flight cost is approx. $3000. If this amount is not sufficient then How I can cut the days and restrict in this amount. Is it possible?

I have three options.
Option-1: France (3 days) , Switzerland (4 days) and Austria (4 days). Travel to Swtizerland and Austra from Train. How much will be the train cost?
Flight from Vancouver to France then return from Austria to Vancouver.

Option-2: Switzerland (4 days) , Austria (4 days) and Italy (3 days). Travel to Austra and Italy from train. How much will be the train cost?
Flight from Vancouver to Switzerland then return from Italy to Vancouver.

Option-3: Switzerland (4 days) , Venice (3 days) and Italy (4 days). Travel to Venice and Italy from train.How much will be the train cost?
Flight from Vancouver to Switzerland then return from Italy to Vancouver.

Any other advise?

Thanks

kenny_Gua

Please also advise the cities name which good to visit. I only mentioned the name of country.

travelerjan

Do you mean your entire budget is $6000 including $3000 for airfare to & from Europe --- which would mean the $3000 is all that remains?? For 2 adults & 3 children for 2 full weeks? And are those canadian dollars, which is much lower than US Dollar? Currently it takes $1.47 CAD = 1 Euro, vs. $1.10 USD per Euro.

No. Not possible. Not in Northern Europe, nore with the constant travel you describe. Traveling around gets very pricey, and the European countries you list are among the priciest, even if you stay in one place.

If you have no backgrounding yet, at this point I don't think we can try to convey Europe 101 on this forum, or to try to develop a budget. Far too complicated in this venue. To shortcut the learning process, maybe you could go to a travel agent and ask what kind of trip you could get for your budget. Then calculate that IF you were willing to do a whole lot of research and planning and If you could figure how to scrimp -- you might cut about 30% off the agent's amount.

If you are stuck with a budget of 3,000 CAD (= €2,030) for 2 whole weeks for 5 people, the only thing I could envision would be going to just ONE place, in a lower-cost area such as a less-known Greek island, and staying put for the whole time. Not as much sightseeng, but fun. Good Luck!

greg

Who make up the whole family? You + 3 kids and how many others make up "whole?" Even it is two adults plus 3 kids, you budget is very tight.

May is not the peak season, but starts to get expensive in all areas. You have to examine departure and return dates + destination airport combination very carefully to see which date/airport combinations give you what you are looking for.

Switzerland and Venice do not help your budget. In Venice, if you can stay in Dorsoduro, Cannaregio, or most places away from Rialto or San Marco would help.

Moving around a lot makes it harder also. www.sbb.ch for Switzerland train price and www.trenitalia.com for Italy.

kenny_Gua

Hi, I can increase my budget to US$7000. Is this OK or need to increase my budget. Please also advise cities of these countries to visit.

jamikins

Hi Kenny

You are going to have to do some of your own homework here.

I recommend getting some guide books and deciding what you are interested in seeing. This will help YOU decide which cities you want to visit based on YOUR interests and your family's interests.

Once you have the places you want to visit you need to determine budget. Go to a site like www.booking.com to give you an idea of what places will cost.

Then add in the costs for the sites you want to visit using their websites to get the prices.

Start with www.seat61.com for information on train travel.

This should help you with setting a reasonable budget.

jamikins

Also, start thinking in Euros, not USD. That is what all the prices will be in.

Heimdall

Still not clear whether your US$7000 is in addition to the $3000 air fare or not. All I can say is if I were on a tight budget I would avoid Switzerland, and try to keep travel between cities/countries to a minimum.

Many Europeans on a budget go camping, and there are many good campsites with full amenities. That would require tent and sleeping bags and probably a rental car, but that may work out less expensive than train or air fares for a family of five.

Envierges

Again, does the total budget amount of $7000 include your air fair or is it for your total on ground amount?

If the airfare is subtracted from the $7000 US, you are left with $285/day. This amount would include food, ground transportation, hotel, sight seeing costs. Assuming a family of five, you won't get very far on this amount especially in Switzerland or Austria.

As suggested above, your best bet would be to visit a travel agency and see what is offered for the amount you have to spend.

Your next step should be to invest in some guidebooks to determine what you want to see.

Your questions at this point in your planning are far too general to be answered here.

nytraveler

Assuming your airfare comes out of the $7,000 - and is this for 5 people and what airfares have you found so far. For many places $1000 is needed for airfare leaving next to nothing for travel in europe.

Can you provide more specifics on ages/gender of kids and if you can all stuff into one family room (which are quite rare)? What bed configuration do you need - can all 3 kids stuff into one double bed?

To save money head for Portugal, Spain and possibly Greece. But limit yourself to no more than 2 cities - or you will have to spend a fortune on train fares. Also you need to look at open jaw flights (into the first city and out of the second) to avoid wasting time/money circling back.

And you do need to decide which are YOUR must see places.

KTtravel

Since you seem to have no idea of where you'd really like to go, I would recommend seeking the advice of a travel agent and see what suggestions he/she can come up with. Once you have a better idea of how far your budget will take you, we can certainly offer advice and further suggestions. You don't have to stick with the travel agent or their plan unless you decide you wish to.

Travel between locations is expensive so one way to save considerably is limiting yourself to visiting just a few locations or staying in just one country.

nukesafe

Kenny, I think you have to get real here. The other posters are giving you good input by telling you that such a trip will probably cost way more than the budget you have given us. For example, all of you itinerary options include Switzerland. That country is one of the most expensive in the world. Here is a link to the costs there: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...ry=Switzerland

As you can see, even a McMeal would cost 14 Swiss Francs, that is $19.63 Canadian Dollars. If you have a family of five, that will break the bank pretty quickly. A Swiss Franc costs $1.40 Canadian on XE today.

Why don't you go through the list and calculate what it might cost your family for the four days you have planned for Switzerland and see what I mean. Come back when you have a better idea which lower cost countries you want to visit and what you want to see there, and we will try to help you.

StCirq

NO, kenny, you cannot take your family to Europe for two weeks on US$3000. You certainly couldn't do it even for 3,000€.

Get real, read some guidebooks, and make a financial plan for this trip. At the moment, it's enetirely unrealistic. Even if you took Switzerland (one of the most expensive countries on the planet) out of the equation, it would not be possible.

marvelousmouse

The only destinations that I can think of that would cost what you've budgeted for plane tickets- London, Paris, maybe Amsterdam. Vancouver is one of my "home" airports, and a May flight to just about anywhere else is more than 700 a person. For Rome, in fact, anything I see for less than 900 I'd consider "cruel and unusual, not even on a bet" scheduling. So that would be your first issue to problem solve!