Europe 4 weeks $30,000 budget
 

Hi Guys my Girlfriend and I are thinking of going on a honeymoon to Europe for 4 weeks and wanting to do a few stops, We would be flying in from Perth Australia. We don't want to do the backpacker style trip and thought we would treat ourselves to a more comfortable holiday now that we are both working and not struggling students anymore! We have about $30,000 budget including hotels and flights.
The Places that we are interested in are Paris, Spain, London, and Germany.
Any hotel info and tips on places would be greatly appreciated.

Matt

If your $30,000 is US dollars, you don't need a budget that large to have a memorable, sensuous honeymoon, but if you want to spend $1,000 a day, you easily can if you load up on luxury accommodations, fancy dinners, shopping sprees and taxis everywhere. (I don't know the exchange rate of Australian dollars.) But definitely buy first class air tickets. Between London and Paris, I would take the train and splurge on quality tickets.

As for hotels, if you are looking for luxury, you should read current reviews on Tripadvisor and booking.com for five star and luxury hotels, because reviewers in that price category tend to be very picky and you'll get a good idea if you are likely to get your money's worth. London can be extremely pricey in the luxury category with a poor record of delivering the goods. Boutique hotels can be the better choice (and they aren't cheap either.)

Both Spain and Germany are huge places, and without knowing what time of year you are honeymooning and what you and your bride-go-be like to do, it is impossible to suggest destinations inside those countries that would make any sense.

All that said, there are some beautiful, historically fascinating and delicious destinations in Spain that would be among my honeymoon picks: The Alhambra above all, and San Sebastian except for winter.

Friends are staying right now at the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London on the border between Knightsbridge and Belgravia. They LOVE it.
http://www.jumeirah.com/en/hotels-an...tel/The-Hotel/

You can have a very comfortable holiday for under $30,000 if you want to. If possible, with that much of a budget, you could stay longer! Two years ago we spent a month in Europe on our honeymoon, it was fantastic, and we only spent about $9,000.

Spain and Germany are huge countries and each could easily take up your whole month.

Based off of purely logistics, I personally would do either Spain, Paris, and end in London or Germany, Paris, and end in London. I would spend a week in London and a week in Paris and then 2 weeks in the other country. The time of year might determine if Spain or Germany is a better option.

Um - first class air tickets could use half your budget and IMHO are not worth it.

Also, top class hotels in major cities can easily be upwards of US $700 or $800 per night. So if you want to go luxury this budget is definitely not too high. (And it won't allow for shopping spress - since it could be the budget for a shoping spree alone.)

That said - you can have a very nice honeymoon without spending that much - if you shop carefully - getting centrally located 4* hotels at discounts where possible (unless you really want to stay at the most expensive place in town).

Don't know the US$ to OZ $ conversion rate - but for major cities we figure $400-500 US for a nice (not basic) room in a central 4* hotel and dinner at about $300, incluidng wine, for a splurge dinner. For regular dinners we figure more in the region of $100 to $150 for 2. And we do casuale lunches that are usually around $25 each.

Taxis are fine - but in some major cities yuo are beter off n tube or metro to avoid traffic at it's worst.

In 30 days I would do no more than 5 or 6 cities (not countries) - if you want to really get a feel for them

I'm assuming that as you Australian that you are talking about Aussie dollars....although thinking about it, there isn't much difference right now!

A disgusting amount of money to expend in wherever's dollars.
Essentially look to guide books, now that you can afford them, and do not rely on the erratic and eccentric responses on forums like this.

sorry for asking, but why Germany?
There are so many great countries ( especially for honeymooners) such as Italy or Greece or France .... ( not only Paris)

Aussie bucks and USD are at about 1-1 ratio now, so his 30K is the same as an American's 30K.

Blowing 30K in four weeks is a pretty high burn rate -- that's $1000/day. Even if the flights are $2k each, that's 26K in 30 days. You can blow that money at NY traveler's rate, but why do it? I think business class seats could be worth the money if you're determined to just burn cash because travel from Australia to Europe SUCKS, but not first class -- that's another layer of money on top.

Comfortable hotels in London and Paris abound and can be secured for 200 of the local currency per night or less (about 330 USD for London, 290 USD for Paris). Spending $400-500 is unnecessary. And you can easily eat well for far less than $50 per lunch and $300(!) for dinner -- those are high-end prices.

All that said, there is seriously no good reason to blow $30k on your trip. You could do it for 1/3 of that and have a fine time without anything resembling a backpacker adventure.

Matt,
If you are looking for a comfortable trip, not high end, 30K is more than enough, and you could even bring money home. You can save money without forgoing comfort if you are careful - look at apartments versus hotels - often cheaper for much nicer quality ..... leaving money for some nice meals out. Look at websites like skyscanner if you plan to fly from country to country - you can get some amazing deals. Trawl this website for accomodation suggestions in various cities - people are generous in sharing some great places. Enjoy the planning ..... and it sounds like the honeymoon is definately doable!

An interesting screen name to use, considering another Matthew Newton went to London with his girlfriend and beat her up.

Here's my hotel thread for Paris:
http://www.fodors/com/community/euro...ank-thread.cfm. The Right Bank thread is linked to it and vice versa. Happy Travels!

I agree with some of the other posters, don't blow it on first class tickets (or even business class IMO) - what a waste of money. Maybe think about Premium Economy instead.

If the 30,000 is Aussie dollars, remember you will still lose about 20% on the exchange rate for the Euro.

You can have a wonderful time on a lot less money. There are some really nice places to stay in the 3 and 4 star category, but as its your honeymoon, why not stay in some 5 stars here and there, but not every night, mix it up with some cheaper accommodation, so you are not blowing all the money away.

A friend of mine went first class on the Eurostar from London to Paris as a special treat and apparently that was fantastic.

One Australian dollar buys about 0.7 Euro, once you factor in the exchange rate and exchange fees.

First of all, if you can afford luxury, by all means go for it, especially on your honeymoon. Business Class air can make a difference with long international flights. Here are some hotel suggestions:

Paris — Le Meurice (some surprisingly affordable rates for a 5* palace hotel - and a guaranteed upgrade at booking through a Virtuoso travel consultant

Spain — Consider the Ritz and the Westin Palace in Madrid, the Mandarin Oriental in Barcelona

London — my favorite hotel is the Dorchester, but lots of very nice upscale choices including the newly renovated Four Seasons

Free breakfasts and upgrades at all of these, and you can definitely have a luxurious honeymoon within your budget!

"<i>If the 30,000 is Aussie dollars, remember you will still lose about 20% on the exchange rate for the Euro.</i>"

That statement makes no sense.

Matt_Newton: Are you and your fiance very well off and you normally spend thousands on vacations and fly in first? Or is it that you think AUS$30,000 is how much you need to spend to go posh/high quality?

Because Business class + pretty upscale accommodations (not the Ritz maybe but high 4 star and even some 5 star properties) could easily be done for $20k. give or take. And if you just want comfortable/moderately upscale - much less than that

I think you should spend the money and I know a personal guide who will come from the States and help you use it.
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I remember our honeymoon trip to Europe in 1972, six months for $3,000 plus airfare.

The hotel rate depends on what you're looking for. We don;t like mini-rooms but always go for an upgrade so it's a larger room with a comfy sofa/seating area - not just a room barely larger than the bed. We also like a good concierge, 24 room service, breakfast in bed etc. Certainly you can stay for less than that - but not a comfortably.

And I said $300 is a splurge - we usually do only once per city. Other nights are more like $100 to $0 - with the dollar rate - similar to what we would pay at home. And $25 for lunch isn;t a luxury - just a basic sit down dish with a glass of wine and a coffee. (Yes, you can picnic if you like - we don't.)

If these people want to really splurge and enjoy their honeymoon - there's nothing wrong with that. (I wish we could do the same - but just can;t get the time.)

If you think you need to spend 30K for your honeymoon to have a great one, you could of course do it for less.

But unless you are being irresponsible ( i.e.: putting it on a credit card that will be paid off, but paid off way too slowly) and you have allocated this money, free and clear, spend it the way you want to.

We travel luxury all the time and so your 30K while very generous it's not shocking. It's your money, have fun with it as you please.

You can really enjoy some very upscale hotels, shopping, dining, depending on what you like to do. Congrats and have a wonderful time.

I would however spend the time leisurely perhaps only 3 countries.

I'd do Paris ( you could work in one day trip perhaps to Reims: champagne country, very romantic)and perhaps rent a high end apartment like Paris Perfect and have a view of the Eiffel Tower; always romantic. Stay a week there and enjoy the romance!

Stay in a high end hotel in London like Browns, Claridges, Mandarin Oriental, Dorchester or one of the many really nice boutique hotels.

For Spain I would visit the south perhaps in Seville, Cordoba, etc.

Remember getting from country to country eats up time, so even if you have 4 weeks, you really have less to spend time and relax. And its your honeymoon!

And having just visited your country; I know the flight is a toughie. So remember that you will probably need a few days to just unwind. Don't plan on any major sights for a day or two and no huge splurge dinners for 1-2 nights until you settle in; you won't appreciate a fab over the top meal when your head wants to fall in it!

topping to mark for later comment!