August 2007 - $3,000
 

My husband and I are thinking of going to Europe next August for 12 days. Our budget after airfare is $3000. Is this even possible? We know August is expensive, but that is the only time we can go due to my husband's school schedule. Destinations we have considered are: Northern Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, and Amsterdam (with side-trips). We want to avoid any areas that will be hot, we live in Atlanta and will be looking forward to an escape from the heat. I have been to London, France and Russia but this would be my husband's first trip to Europe. This trip is meant to be our last getaway before we start a family. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

That's $250 a day which is not luxurious but certainly doable -- provided you don't want to move around a lot. A few long train rides or even discount airfares between places will eat up the daily allowance pretty easily.

To stay cool and not blow the budget I'd think of somewhere like the mountains in Germany. You can rent an apartment for a week in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for example and travel and eat cheaply in that area. Throw in a little of Austria or Switzerland (which tends to be one of the most expensive European countries) and you've got a nice trip.
Amsterdam, the rest of Holland, and throw in Brugge and you've got another nice choice.

What about the Danish coast? The NYT just did an article on the area about a month ago, and it's supposed to have lovely weather in the summer. Some of the islands are only about an hour by ferry from Copenhagen.

Denmark is not so good for the budget, though. However, $250 per day for two is possible even in Denmark, but it might be a bit too spartan for some.

Northern Italy, depending where you go, can be quite hot.

There's no guarantee of non-hot weather practically anywhere in Europe, but the Baltic states might be a good, cheap bet for cooler weather. Get a cheap airfare to somewhere in Europe, and then take budget flights there.

With the budget constraints and August I would choose Bavaria and Austria. Ireland is possible but has gone up in recent years.

Also remember that the $3,000 is about 2,350 in Euros.

Speaking of Italy, it depends on what part of August you're going-August in Italy, even Rome, can be very very pleasant-(and even cold, as it was in August 2005)-but the weather has been about as perfect as one could hope for the last two years for me-generally mid 80's, low humidity, gorgeous-since August is exactly when I DO go there.

You are wrong about it being more expensive in August-August is LOW season in Italy, so hotel rooms are as much as 100 Euros CHEAPER than when high season starts-which is promptly on September 1st-when they zoom out of sight.

So I definitely think you ought to go to Italy at a minimum, in the second half of the month-you'll be able to get great room rates all over the country during this period of time, and the weather, well, you'll see-I think you'll be surprised. August is simply a wonderful time to be in Italy, it's far more relaxed, because so many people are on holiday, but all the sights are still open.

As far as theater/opera events, remember that in Verona, they put on live opera performances all summer until the end of August in the ancient Roman arena-so I definitely think if the arts and opera interests you, you might want to check this out in a combined trip to Venice. Italy in August is a best bet, what with low season rates, and will be easily doable during that period on your budget.

I agree that Switzerland tends to be more expensive but one thing, you can get decent budget accommodations in parts of Switzerland. To give yourself some idea if you could possibly afford it look at www.rooms.ch for examples of prices.

I wouldn't go ANYWHERE that uses the Pound Sterling as currency (unless the exchange rate gets a LOT better than it is now).

I think the combinations mentioned above are also good ones; you could possibly combine Northern Italy with a part of Switzerland as well.

I would recommend checking out Untours; definitely a great way to stretch your travel dollar! I, too, have to travel in summer, and sympathize with your dilemma. www.untours.com

I also live in Atlanta, and my husband and I have done two trips to Italy in August. One was the heat wave of 2003 when we toured mostly central and southern Italy. The next one was last year when I froze one night in Florence. The thing we noticed was the lack of high humidity and the fact that you're walking down alot of narrow streets with buildings blocking the sun. It just didn't begin to compare to what Hotlanta is like in August!

Toni-you froze last year in Florence in August, I remember Amarena-another Fodorite- said the same thing when she was in Florence last year, and while you two were freezing in Florence, I was in Venice with TWO sweaters on for 3 days the last week of August!

I did not need to use my air conditioning at all in my stay in Venice last year. (but it did warm up into the 80's towards the end of the week-just right).

This year, well, I was in both Florence and Venice the last two weeks of August, and all I can say is, the weather gods decided to gift me with some of the most beautiful weather I've ever seen in Italy- the no humidity, the completely blue skies, no rain (except for one night) the sunsets on the Grand Canal and from that now crazy Ponte Vecchio (really, my only complaint-Florence has got to do something to clear that space out and make it the beautiful more dignfied place it once was- I get there on the most gorgeous late August afternoon, and what is going on? Hare Krishnas dancing and singing all over the place, blanket vendors, mimes, everything but snake charmers on the Ponte Vecchio- it really detracts from the atmosphere considerably).

But once I squeezed in and tuned out those Hare Krishnas, (very hard to do!) that view of Florence's magnificent Renaissance palazzos in the late afternoon sun, all along the Arno, and the cool breezes, canceled my irritation, and swept me up-such an absolute precious jewel, this city-LOVE IT ALWAYS.

I saw your other post on the Canadian forum and as much as I would like to promote our fair country, I think a trip to Italy before having a baby would be perfect. There are budget accomodations to be had at the best of times, but August would be quieter and certainly not as hot as Atlanta.

Flights from Atlanta to Quebec, Vancouver or Halifax would certainly be easier to make with a child, than an overnight to Europe.....go now, before you have to plan holidays around a little one.

I'm sure you can do the math, but that's only 198 euro per day for two people to cover a room, plus food, local transportation, admissions, entertainment.

I think that's tight but do-able.

Realize that even places like Switzerland may be extremely hot in August. Twice I was caught in heatwaves 90+F in the Lac Leman area.

Forget the well beaten tourist path and visit Portugal, esp Lisbon. Yes I know it will be hot but trips to Porto on the train and discovering the Port wine houses and secret quintas and old castles in which you can stay, undiscovered (by tourists) Medieval walled towns on the spanish border and fantastic wines - ah the passion for Portugal is beginning to return to this wearied old traveller, I must open my front door and rediscover it all again.

And don't forget, Portugal is a lot cheaper than other european destinations, just ask anyone from Fodors who have been here this year...

Matt

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'm not sure it narrowed down our choices though :-) We are thinking about going for a shorter amount of time to make the trip less expensive. Maybe 8 or 9 days. Any further suggestions are certainly welcome. Thanks again!

Portugal would be my choice, too. We spent three August weeks in an apartment hotel on the coast some years ago and loved every minute of it. The people were friendly and helpful, the air air was warm and dry during the day and a bit cool in the evening, the food was wonderful, and the scenery magnificent.

I'd rather keep my daily expenses really low, than shorten a trip!

Wherever you end up, if you have a few days that you "do nothing" you can keep the costs down... picnics in parks, grocery store shopping, free concerts, walking or hiking (i.e. days with no or cheap restaurants, no transportation costs, etc).

If you take those strategies, and stick with hotels in the 80-100 euro range max. you could still keep your 12 days.

I am going to suggest Croatia, all other things being equal. Friends tell me that it is like Italy 20 years ago.

The Istrian peninsula is close enough to Venice for a day trip, close enough to the Dolomitic Alps likewise, easily reached from Austria, and full of Roman ruins and tuscan scenery (inland) and Adriatic seafronts. The more famous cities and islands to the south (Hvar, Dubrovnik, etc) may be too crowded and will be hot.

My wife and I shared a whole pizza and a bottle of water in Zagreb for $6.50, including tip, and Croatian pizza is famous for being delicious. There are signs for cheap rooms and apartments (sobe, zimmer)in people's houses everywhere. Street markets are filled with local vegetables, wines, cheeses, fruits, brandies, and by looking at menus, you can find inexpensive restaurants for one bigger meal per day. Busses go everywhere if you want to save on a car rental. One of the last great bargains in Europe, with friendly people who like Americans (we bombed their enemies, the Serbs).

Hi A,

I can highly recommend the B&B Peterson in Florence, IT. About 65E for a dbl w/ensuite bathroom.

(www.bedinflorence.it)

We spent 11 nights there.

You can visit Siena, Lucca and Pisa, Bologna as daytrips. We did an overnight to Venice.

See my trip report for more details:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

You might also want to consider Salzburg, Austria and surroundings.

((I))

As above, if you went one place, and had a hotel for that price, your budget now becomes fairly generous!

Thanks again to everyone for your helpful suggestions. I think we have decided on a 10 day trip to either Amsterdam-Brugges (with side-trips from Amsterdam) or Florence-Venice (with side-trips from Florence). Either of the two choices I mentioned would allow us to save money by staying in one place most of the time while seeing other cities and towns nearby. Any comments about or suggestions for travel to one of these locations would be great.

Thanks

Well, if you decide on Florence/Venice, get your hotel in Venice as soon as possible. Inexpensive options book up quickly. Or stay on the mainland in Mestre. (Can't believe I said that. Only do so if necessary.) In Tuscany, you might consider staying in Siena instead, taking the bus to Florence and other Tuscan destinations.

12 days in Amsterdam seems a long time. Bruges only takes a day or so. What kind of excursions were you planning?

As above I'd go with Italy for what you describe.

I am not a huge fan of Amsterdam and wouldn't need all that much time there. I've used it as a place to start off a trip, and sleep off my jet lag, and enjoyed it for that, but 4 days was enough for me there.

And for me personally, I'd pick Switzerland over either of these :-)

Switzerland has many good and clean hostels used by the young and old alike. Very easy on the wallet.

You need to reserve because they are quite popular.

Hi ACD,

>I think we have decided on a 10 day trip to either Amsterdam-Brugges (with side-trips from Amsterdam) or Florence-Venice (with side-trips from Florence).

I've been to all 4.

I strongly recommend fly into Venice and out of Florence FLR or Pisa PSA.

((I))

Ira - I have noticed that a lot of people arrive in one city and fly out of another...isn't that more expensive?

Mimar - If we go to Amsterdam-Brugges we plan to stay in Amsterdam for 7 days but do several day trips from there. Day trip locations could be The Hague, Haarlem, Leiden, or Utrecht. Then spend 3 days in Brugges relaxing.

Ira - One more question...Why would you choose Florence-Venice over Amsterdam-Brugges?

Here is a tip we learned before heading to Germany for a month.

Check the hotel sites - we found a great bargain on the Accor.com site where they were having lower prices if you booked early and in most cases you did not have to prepay. believe their hotels are throughout Europe and you can find a number of their Mercure properties at half price on their HNot Deals. In large cities when I knew my timetable - I used Priceline and it worked very well for Berlin, Vienna, and Salzburg.

Good luck and have a wonderful time!!

Hi AC,

It is often no more, and sometimes less, expensive to do an open-jaw than a RT.

Why Venice and Florence, two of the world's great repositories of Art and Architecture over Amsterdam and Bruges?

Because they are in Italy!!!!!!!! :)

((I))

PS either Brugge or Bruges, but not Brugges.

We spent five of our 21 days in Europe in Amsterdam this month and loved it. Den Hague is a side trip we should have spent more time on. Apparently we missed a lot. But one offbeat place that we enjoyed was Madurodam, which is a "minature Holland." I thought it would be just for kids, but it was actually pretty educational and gave us some ideas of what else we might want to see. http://www.madurodam.nl.
Haarlem was also really cool, with the huge church looming in the middle.
The Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam were both great, and the we also enjoyed a couple of great street markets there, but you do have to watch out for pickpocket scams at the markets.

I think there is plenty to do in amsterdam. I spent a week in Haarlem (10 minute train ride from Amsterdam) and wished I had had more time. You might even stay in Haarlem rather than Amsterdam. I stayed at the Hotel Amadeus right on the market Square with a single room ensuite.

Spent a day in Haarlem--Franz Hals museum, Corrie ten Boom House, canal ride. Then early mornings and evenings when I returned from out and about, I explored the little streets and out of the way places.

Agree with previous poster about Mauduradam and the Hague. Also went to Delft, Marken and Volendam, Einkhuizen, Zanse Schans, took a bus tour from the tourist office in Am. to the big dike and Friesland. Spent a couple of days in amsterdam itself and barely scratched the surface (luckily, I had been several times before and have been back since.)

The trains were frequent and not terribly expensive.

Go for it!

I don't think it's about amounts of time, or what there is to see or do, but more importantly which culture you are more drawn to. Amsterdam has a very different "feel" to the city and the people, than traveling in Italy.

Suze - I am very interested in both cultures, and I really want to visit Italy. I guess I am just torn over whether we should go to Italy now on a limited schedule and limited budget, or wait a while and go when we have more time and money and see the entire country. Amsterdam seems like a place we can see in our limeted time and still have time to relax. Does that make sense?

*wait a while and go when we have more time and money and see the entire country.*

The only way you would want to see the whole of Italy on holiday is if you had months, not days. It is a place to pick one or two spots for your 10 days and enjoy....and soak it all in.
Your idea about Florence or Venice/Florence with side trips would be perfect, especially if you could find budget accomodations in August. And ira's suggestion about flying into one and home from another is a must with limited time. We used Rome and Venice and were so glad we did.

ACD- Sure, it makes perfect sense. And I do think 12 days is plenty of time to see Amsterdam with some day trips at a relaxed pace. It's just for me personally I was less fond of that city than any other place I've visited in Europe. On the flip side, it is an extremely easy city to tour in and has little to no 'culture shock' imo.

Amy, in an earlier post, suggested www.untours.com. Two weeks in an Untours apartment in Swiss Oberland or Heartland in August is $2539.00 per person including airfare and rail pass. Without airfare it is$1399.00 pp.

In Leiden, just outside Amsterdam it is $2289.00 pp including airfare and 8-day rail, bus, and tram tickets. Without air it is $1399.00.

Check their website to see the apartments and August dates in Leiden..

Hi ACD,

>...whether we should go to Italy now on a limited schedule and limited budget, or wait a while and go when we have more time and money and see the entire country. <

As noted, it takes months to visit all of Italy.

You go, you go again, you go again, you go again.......

((I))

ACD,

I think Amsterdam/Belgium is a GREAT idea. Both are beautiful places. I'm sorry I didn't see this thread earlier.

There are lots of lovely B&Bs in Amsterdam that will really help keep your budget down. If you plan to be there 7 days, you can also look into renting an apartment.

Do either of you ride bicycles? If so, I wouldn't hesistate to do so to tour Delft and other nearby places. (And if you are really good on a bike, keep one in Amsterdam.)

Likewise in Brugge you can find a B&B. In a medieval town like that, it's silly to pay for a "view." (Of what?) The town is extremely small, so don't worry if you are not right on the main square.

Personally, I would go to Ghent or Antwerp, rather than Brugge, but that's because Brugge is more of a tourist town (not much else going on at all) whereas Antwerp is full of people working at all sorts of trades and Ghent is a univeristy town.

It is not worth it to spend a lot of money on food in Amsterdam. The local cuisine isn't all that good. In Belgium, good food doesn't cost very much.

I love Italy and I love Amsterdam and Belgium. I'd love to have a life where I spend half my time (the winter) in Italy and half (the summer) in Belgium and Amsterdam. Den Haag is great. (Be sure to go the Panorama Mesdag!) There is Delft and Haarlem and no end of great art all over the place. People in Amsterdam are very sweet, speak good English and aren't at all impressed by money. (I know that's an exaggeration, but they are very modest people and you won't feel out of place if you don't buy a new wardrobe to parade around in.)

Have a great trip!

OK, I just re-read my post and I know somebody is going to point out that one of the most beautiful parts of Amsterdam is the "millionaire's row" on the Herengracht canal. Yes, Amsterdam was once the richest city on the planet but I still feel people don't judget you by your wealth there, and no one will think twice if you make yourself a picnic lunch of cheese and bread and eat it in the park. (The cheese IS good.)