Experts only please - What is the average cost of a European vacation?
 

I know that airfare varies from Jan - Dec and I know it depends on ones accomodations and what type of dining is done. Could you give me a range in the Budget/Moderate catagory for a one week or two week vacation please. Anything in Western Europe from Portugal to Austria, England to Italy. Thanks.

Appx $1500 per person for a 10 day trip.

And it depends on your definition of "budget" and "moderate". Not to mention whether a "week" is 6 or 9 days and includes or excludes travel days. <BR> <BR>$50 to $100 per person per day on the ground. Travel to/from and days traveling are extra, as are rail passes or other intra-European travel (but a sense of local travel is included.) <BR> <BR>These costs could nearly be cut in half by some people, in some destinations. <BR> <BR>If you were to fly from the US to Europe your roundtrip airfare would cost anywhere from $350 (or less) to $1200 or so, for low fare economy tickets. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

One week Saturday - next Sunday 9 days including travel. Two weeks = 16 days. <BR>Budget/Moderate is lodging 2 stars <BR>Dining at regular local restaurants. Airfare from Chicago. No eurorail passes, just discovering a region with a radius of 300 kilometers (200 miles).

Jason Do you have a college ID you get great discounts

My family (2 adults, 2 kids 11 & 14) spent 2 weeks in the UK in June, one week in London, one week divided between York and Edinburgh. Round trip airfare Detroit to London was $2700, room in London (Travel Inn, budget place very basic) was $105 per night, room in other cities (B & B's) was $125 - $145 a night, Britrail and tube passes totalled about $500, spent about $3200 over the 2 weeks on meals(mostly simple meals, no fine dining), admissions to attractions, and souveniers (didn't buy very many). Total trip cost was about $8000. You could probably do better on airfare outside the summer season.

Jason, <BR> <BR>Figure $90-120/night for budget-moderate hotels, two people in one room (often one bed). <BR> <BR>Figure $7-15/breakfast; $7-$20 lunch; $15-50 dinner per person -- less if you are at a B&B or can survive on a coffee+pastry breakfast, less if you share, less if you are willing to pick up groceries at local stores and "picnic" for lunch, less if you go to small cafes for dinner. Upper end represents going to a "moderate" restaurant in a "moderately expensive" city. This is the category you are most likely to be able to keep under control. <BR> <BR>Then add $10-40 per day depending on whether you will spend much on tickets to tourist sites or tours, or on shopping to bring back trinkets. (You might not spend $15. every day, but you might spend $65 in five days for a pair of shoes, or a special bus tour, etc.) This is the category that is least foreseeable -- the one where I always have to revise upwards on my budget. <BR> <BR>Strongly recommend knowing ahead of time what train tickets or car rental will cost and separate that out of your "per diem" calculations.

the cost of our 3 most recent trips(all to italy) has come in at approx $2000.00/ea. this includes air from the west coast, food,lodging and ground transportation- trains and busses. each trip was 13 nights in-country, mostly 3 star hotels.

Jason, it really does vary alot by timing and destination. However: <BR> <BR>ITALY TRAVEL BUDGET---2002 <BR>by BOB the NAVIGATOR <BR>Independent travel to Europe continues to become even more popular with American tourists, and it seems that Italia has become everyone's favorite destination. This phenomenon is certainly not difficult to understand for those of us who have learned to savor "la dolce vita". <BR>During the past four years I have been fortunate to have planned more than sixty personalized itineraries for independent travelers to southern Europe----most of them to Italy. Understandably, one of the first questions I get from a prospective client is about the projected costs. My quick answer is the obvious one----" that depends on you and your preferred travel style". As we delve deeper it becomes clear that the style choices of would-be independents can vary widely-----from youth hostel backpackers to luxury five star jet-setters. We will ignore these extremes for now and concentrate on the more mainstream middle ranges. Here are some assumptions for our hypothetical itinerary: <BR> <BR>A. This is a 14 day [13 night] itinerary to Italy for a couple during the shoulder season months of April, May, Sept. and Oct. These are the best months for travel to Italy. <BR>B. Flying into Milan or Venice and out of Rome, or vice versa, with the purchase of tourist class tickets well in advance, or from a consolidator. <BR>C. The 2-star budget assumes rail travel. The rental car options include all insurance and unlimited mileage. Car choices are compact/manual [3-star] and mid-size/auto [4-star]. <BR> <BR>Now that we have our parameters set let's go ahead and plan our budget. Remember, this is for planning purposes only and is really controlled by you. You may decide to blow the budget on Murano glass, Florentine leather, or silk in Bellagio. But, I do feel this to be a realistic estimate of expenses for this itinerary, based upon an exchange rate 2200L/$. <BR> <BR>TRAVEL EXPENSE ITEM: 2 STAR 3 STAR 4 STAR ================================================== ========== <BR>AIRFARE--2 PEOPLE 1600 1600 1600 <BR>RAIL TICKETS--2 PEOPLE 500 N/A N/A <BR>CAR RENTAL--ALL INCL. N/A 550 900 <BR>* PETROL N/A 200 250 <BR>* TOLLS N/A 50 50 <BR>TOTAL TRANSPORT $ 2100 $ 2400 $ 2800 <BR>HOTELS & INNS--13 NITES 900 1500 2200 <BR>FOOD & DRINK 600 900 1200 <BR>TOURISM COSTS 300 300 500 <BR>GELATO & CAPPUCCINO 150 150 200 <BR>MISC. EXTRAS 150 150 200 <BR> <BR>LIVING & TOURISM $ 2100 $ 3000 $ 4300 <BR>============================================== ================= <BR>TOTAL TRIP COSTS: $ 4200 $ 5400 $ 7100 BUON VIAGGIO ! <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

HI! My boyfriend and I went to Paris this past April and will be going again in December. Let me give you and idea how much was spent... R/T tickets on Air France were $408.00 p/p tax included. We stayed at a two star hotel in a nice area (District 8) and we paid $500.00 for six nights, with continental breakfast. So just on fare and hotel $1300.00 was spent. We ate at some economic restarants and at some expensive ones as well, we went to many attractions..Louvre, Eiffel, Notre Dame, Many other museums, all the arches, etc.... One day we rented a car from thrifty.com and it was $20 a day insurance included (Gas is more expensive but when you calculate car/gas it was about $80 for the two of us which is a great deal) We drove to the beautiful medieval city of Brugge in Belgium (3 to 31/2 hours away). Anyhow, I think we spent about $2000.00 for the two of us, maybe a tad more. But we had one of the best times of our life!! Ingrid

Off season or with planning from most major airports (at least from the midwest or the East coast), you can find plane tickets for 300-500 each, to many locations in Europe. Decent lodging in most countries on the continent can be had for $60-80 per night (slightly higher for major cities). For London, double (at least) the price of lodging. Food and drink is flexible, depending on your tastes and the fanciness of the restaurant. However, assuming breakfast is included w/the hotel, $10-15 for lunch and $15-20 for dinner, each, in a sit-down restaurant. These amounts can be greatly decreased and increased.

If I stay in one city, with just an occasional day trip, I can keep it to $110 a day; once I start traveling from city to city, or do lots of day trips, I add another $50 a day for the additional transportation. <BR> <BR>This is one * hotels, no gourmet restaurants (pubs, bistros, trattorias are the mainstays), no taxis (subway, buses and lots of walking - no first class tickets, only second class), and mixing free stuff (spending a day wandering around Burano) with fee-based (a whole day in the Louvre). If I intend to visit a lot of fee-based sites, I buy a museum pass if available.

I paid about $1500 for an 8-day trip. I travelled by myself to Paris and Bruges in May-June of this year, stayed in 2-star places (paid around $75/night for a single in Paris, $50/night in Bruges), and that's about what it ended up being when I added everything up. Obviously if I'd travelled with someone and split hotel costs it could have been less. I generally spent an average of around $35/day on food and drink, including at least a glass of wine and lunch and dinner, and ate in very good bistros and restaurants for both lunch and dinner, mostly prix-fixe places (can honestly say I never had a bad meal the entire trip). <BR>Airfare $450 <BR>Hotels $475 <BR>Meals $280 <BR>Transportation & sightseeing around $300 <BR> <BR>I have been to Europe two other times for longer periods of time using Eurrail. In general I have found that I can travel very comfortably in Europe for an average of around $130/day excluding the cost of airfare (including hotel, meals, transportation and sightseeing), but again, it depends on where you're going. I find London to be significantly higher and southern Europe less (Greece was very inexpensive outside of Athens).

I recently did a deal on go-today.com -- Paris for 10 days (including airfare, hotel, pick up and drop off at the airport, and daily French breakfast [croissant, baguette, yogurt, tea/coffee/chocolate]) for $750 including tax and travel insurance. This was for individual/independent travel.

There are many variables to be dealt with in this problem: time of year, country, and city vs. small villages, among them. <BR>Airfare will be lowest from November through May and the bottom end of the range would probably be about $300 to heavy traffic destinations such as London or Paris. In season fares will be several times that, but with flexibility and the use of consolidators you would have a chance to get them as low as $600-$700, though this may take a bit of hunting. $800 to $900 is probably more likely. <BR>Budget hotels outside the cities may be in the $50-$75 range; in the cities figure at least $25 more, but that's a rule of thumb that will vary dramatically by country. Unless included in the room price, breakfasts in hotels tend to be costly. One can usually take breakfast at a cafe for $5 or less. Lunch purchased at a market or eaten picnic style might be $5 to $10. In an informal restaurant, expect to pay twice that. I think a moderate priced dinner would run about $15-20 in villages and at least twice that in cities. You've got to figure daily miscellaneous costs as well for things like buses, subways, etc. <BR>If you are extremely careful and travel off season, expect to pay $400 for airfare and at least $400 a week for lodging and food. On season, airfare will be about double and the cost of lodging and food may be slightly higher. Do allow a buffer for expenses you hadn't planned on. There are always some.

My husband and I usually get away with between $4,000 and $5,000 for 2 weeks.. thats total not per person. But we have been gone as long as 3.5 weeks on less then $3,000. We don't shop, stay in 2 star hotels, eat big b-fests lunch and light dinners, or just snacks. <BR>We usually have one big meal out and use our spending cash for seeing the sights!

My typical costs, based on mostly city travel (per person where applicable): <BR> <BR>Airfare = $400-800 <BR> <BR>Hotels = $560 (about $80 per night) <BR> <BR>Ground transportation (let's say trains, cabs, buses, subway) = $100 to $150 <BR> <BR>Food = $3-5 per day for breakfast, $7-12 for lunch, about $20 average for dinner <BR> <BR>Sightseeing - $200 <BR> <BR>Film = $100 <BR>Processing = $200(I am not typical in the photo expenditures - I would guess half for the average person) <BR> <BR>I think a good estimate would be in the neighborhood of $1,500-$2,000 per person. <BR> <BR>Souvenirs - $200 <BR> <BR> <BR>

My experience has been for a two week trip the total cost runs somewhere around $5,000 for a couple.

I am COMPLETELY amazed with the figures on this thread. My last 5 vacations -all in Europe (44 days of total vacation time) cost my family (wife and two very young children) approximately $5500 total and I am an American! We've been to Paris, Brussells, Brugges, Holland, Provence, Denmark, Sweden, Tuscany, & the Loire Valley.

My daughter and I spent four days in Germany, drove to Venice, spent three days there in a Grand Canal-front room, flew to Rome, spent three days there, flew to Athens and spent two days there, and then visited two Greek islands for six days in May. The total cost was about $5500.

Well, Jason, that's quite amazing if true. <BR>$5500 divided by 5 trips comes to $1100 for 4 people per trip. <BR>Or $5500 divided by 44 days comes to $125 a day, including airfare, for 4 people. <BR>Would you care to share your secret? <BR> <BR>Otherwise, my guess is: You bought no souvenirs, saw no paid sights (like museums), went camping, ate out of WWII cans, and travelled on U.S. Military cargo planes. :) It's doable! <BR> <BR>

I rarely complain about anyone's question, but am I really the only one who thinks this is a ridiculous question?

1998--5 people to England (London) and Denmark (all over) for 23 days for $85/person/day. Got two airfares free with Sprint points, stayed in hostels in Denmark, a student apartment in London, ate fairly low-budget. That price included EVERYTHING except souveniers. Prices may have gone up a bit since then, but the exchange rate for both the £ and DKK are MUCH better than they were then, so maybe could be done cheaper.

There are 3 secrets to my budget travel. 1. I'm an American living in Europe (no airfare needed) <BR>2. It's really only 2 people (my kids are 2 and 4, therefore free for everything) <BR>3. I don't stay in hotels, either apartments or rental homes. <BR>I asked this question hoping Americans would give me a good feel of how much my trips would cost if I were still living in the best country in the world USA!!! <BR>

Up coming trip to France. Est cost for two weeks and two people. Air: $1,700; Food and Lodging $2,500; Rental Car $500; gas $150; Total: $4,900

I would figure $100.00 a day plus airfair. In one month we are going to Italy and France for 21 days. All in all it will be about $2500.00 each. That includes $100.00 misc.and $100.oo for souvenirs and $100.00 for film, walkman batteries,& camera batteries. <BR>We will be in northern Italy, then on a drive yourself canal boat in the south of France for 1 week then in Paris for one week. We have learned that getting a short term apartment is very cost affective. It turns out to be about $50.00 a day per person. Then you can cook and it makes you feel more like a native and not a visitor. <BR> I hope this helps. I also am a travel planner and a travel consultant. Please feel free to ask me any questions. <BR> <BR> Janda Otavalo

$100.- per day <BR>Plus: Airfare, car rental, Train and souvenirs.

OK Jason, so if you had to buy airfare, assume you travel in off peak times, you'd still need to buy a ticket for each kid, so estimate $500 per ticket but change nothing else and you'll find you'd be spending about $3100 per week long trip. Puts you in the low budget category. If you left the kids home with Grandparents, you and your wife would have made those trips and been able to eat out more often and probably have visited some more adult-oriented sights/activities for about the same $1500 per person everyone has been quoting.

...and spent the extra $ on presents for the kids & grandparents!

Thanks Jason for taking the time to explain your figures. <BR> <BR>It makes more sense when you take airfare out of the total calculations. <BR> <BR>Also kids at the ages that you mention don't cost much in terms of lodging and food. Apartments and rental homes make a whole lot of sense for a family, but for those who want to run around the continent, it's not practical. <BR> <BR>Thanks again.

Everyone has their perception of an appropriate budget. IT has been our experience that it usually costs twice as much as we estimate, due to unexpected circumstances (can;t find a hote in our price range and must pay more, find something we just must "buy", an illness, travel arrangements go wrong, must lay over dur to weather, etc., and any other problem that may arise). Then there is always tipping on cruises, extra drinks, more wine than you anticipate, etc, and don't forget VAT, exit taxes, parking fees (high in Europe), and a lot of stuff you may not think about.

Last May my husband and I flew round-trip to Frankfurt for $400 each (from Priceline.com), stayed with friends for 7 nights and ate only breakfast with them. All of our lunches and dinners we ordered one entree and split it which was plenty of food (in Germany). The only time anyone raised an eyebrow when we did this and asked for an extra plate was in St. Imier, Switzerland. <BR> <BR>We did lots of shopping and shipped most of it back ahead of us, rented a Mercedes for the whole 17 days (about $1,000 plus gasoline), stayed 3 nights in Bern, 4 nights in a wonderful guesthouse in Pflach, Austria for only $55 per night including breakfast (only 15 miles from Neuschwanstein), 2 nights in Strassbourg, and the last night with our friends. We had thought we could do the whole trip for $4,000, but we did shop more than we'd planned, and spend a total of less than $5,000 including airfare and the purchase of 36 rolls of film and the processing of the same. (We have friends who spent more than that going to Orlando for a couple of weeks)

OK---everyone can quote a " gee whiz" example of budget travel. My friend Ed and I did 2 wonderful weeks in southern Italy and Sicily two years ago for about $3500 including EVERYTHING. My wife and I did 13 days in Ireland this past year for about the same total including a car--but that was a real special airfare. There are always the exceptions . However, on average, a 2 week trip in Europe will cost you somewhere between $4000 and $7000 depending on your style. I usually budget about $5200 and seldom miss that mark by more than 5%. [ see above ]

If you are looking for a cheaper way to travel, you might want to think about tours. <BR> <BR>Since tour groups buy in bulk, they can get cheaper rates. Don't limit your thinking of tours to being cramped in a bus with 40 loud Americans, many tour companies are seeing the light and offering "do it yourself" tours. On those tours, the company books your airfare and hotel, they give you a half day orientation tour and then just have a tour guide around to answer questions and steer you in the right direction. For example Globus offers a do it yourself week in London for $900 including airfare, hotel & some meals (that price is way off season, but you aren't going to swim in the Thames, are you?) <BR> <BR>Other budget ideas are to use hostels or bed & breakfast type places and skip restaurants in favor of buying bread & cheese in grocery stores.

So Jason, let me guess. You asked hoping the answers would make you feel less bummed out that you are no longer living in the greatest country? What do you miss most? :D <BR> <BR>For the record, I'm going to Italy end of Sept. 4 days rome, 3 florence, 4 venice. Hotels, air, breakfasts daily, eurostar tix and transfers total approx. $2,100/per person.

hi, <BR> <BR>i too am amazed at all these figures. we started planning a 15 day trip to london and paris for 5 about 3 months ago. thru the net and using many suggestions found here we were able to trim our original figures of $2500 per person for just air/trains/hotel to about $1400 per person. the difference is used for extras and meals and spending money. we have 2 double rooms and 1 single all at 3 star or better hotels. <BR> <BR>airfare $545 coach <BR>eurostar $170 1st class (london-paris& return) <BR>london hotel $378 (7 nights 3bed eff apt comfort inn suite) <BR>paris hotel $425 (single 6 nights) <BR>or $275 (double per person) <BR> <BR> <BR>now we have added a couple of things about $38 for both cities metro and museum (buying when we get there), a day trip for about $70 per person in england. metro/train for day trips in france about $30. <BR> <BR>just about everywhere we are going are covered under the metro/museum passes. we are figuring about $100 per person extras on admissions. <BR> <BR>all of our breakfasts are included with hotel so we are figuring about $25 dollars a day for food with one or two nice meals out. 14 days @ 25 per day about $350 per person. i have actually done both cities on about $20 a day myself because i am not a big lunch eater. i would save my $$$ for a nice sitdown meal at a moderate restuarant each evening. <BR> <BR>spending money: i never include this in the original budget because it's personal. if you are a souvenier junkie and shopper it's gonna be more. if not less. here's were your budget is blown. my first trip to europe was an escorted tour 16 days in uk. my spending money was blown the first week. i ended up phoning home. i will never be caught in europe with too little spending money again. depending on how much you like to spend on souveniers i would allot at least $300-400 a week per person just to be safe. <BR> <BR>so our trip: <BR> <BR> single double <BR>air 545 545 nonstop return <BR>euro 170 170 1st class return <BR>hotel 378 378 london 7 nights <BR>hotel 425 275 paris 6 nights <BR>totals 1518 1368 <BR> <BR>meals 350 350 @$25 per day <BR>daytrip 100 100 <BR>met/mus 38 38 <BR>extras 100 100 for extra admission <BR>spend 350 350 <BR>total 938 938 <BR> <BR>totals 2456 2306 <BR> <BR> <BR>i should be an online travel agent at these prices. <BR> <BR>

Most people who write to this forum are from the US. As I'm an Australian I'm always looking for replies from Australians as the answers would relate more to my situation. I have three questions: <BR>1.I'm contemplating a 3 month trip about August next year to the UK taking in England, Scotland and Wales and some European countries. Has anyone from Australia been for this length of time and if so, roughly what did it cost you overall. I realise there are lots of variables, but I'm just looking for a guesstimate. <BR>2. I'm also considering whether to take my mother-in-law or not. I'm 54 and she's in her late 70's and we're the best of friends, but I do know it will alter the trip for me considerably. I'm wondering if anyone has travelled with an elderly relative and what their experiences were. <BR>3.One of our daughters lives in London so I think it would be best just to organise the flight to and from Australia and then book all travel from London. Do you agree? <BR>

Maggie & Mimi, <BR> <BR>It's true I asked this question for a specific purpose. I wanted to know how much money I was saving by travelling in Europe by living in Europe and not my favorite country (homeland). If I were still living in the USA I would never think of travelling to Europe like I am doing now. Travelling with the kids isn't as much fun as travelling without them but it is the only way we can do it right now. We still get to see all the "cool" things and experience a different culture. We are currently running around Europe, but at a much slower pack than Y´all. A week in May, a week in June, a week in July, a week in September, a week in October, a week in April, a week in June, etc.... The thing I miss most about not living in America is the fact that I'm not "home". It's too hard to explain. Thanks you guyzis, guys, y'all!

On another thread regarding budget, I think Elvira and Bob the Navigator gave the best answers. Elvira spoke in terms of 'wiggle room' - i.e. over what items can one expect to exert control. Elvira believes, and I agree, that airfare and ground transportation are not items that one can control too easily; prices float daily, even hourly, with market demand. Not to mention that we don't all set out to Europe from the same place! In contrast, there's a lot of 'wiggle room' with respect to hotels and food. <BR> <BR>There is no such thing as average cost of ground transportation, since my idea of a trip is moving to a new spot every 2 days; I'm a 'nomad' kind of traveler. In a week, I'd travel 700 miles and have 3 hotel reservations! Others are 'homesteaders' who will spend much less on this item, because they want to explore one place in depth, or because like you they have young children. Incidentally, as one poster indicated, apartments aren't practical for us 'nomads' because they usually are rented by the week. <BR> <BR>Bob's answer is also very wise, because what is 'average' varies by the category of hotel and dining that one chooses. I particularly liked Bob's idea of extending the star system to ground transport and food. <BR> <BR>As far as food is concerned, we are 'grazers' - we eat small meals throughout the day. Is this average behaviour? It probably isn't, so our food costs can't be taken as average, even within a given category. Then there are the 'sitters' who prefer a plate lunch (one eaten in a restaurant) versus the 'picnickers' who eat lunch in every conceivable place imaginable, but never at a table! The latter is generally cheaper, 'on average'. <BR> <BR>When comparing costs of trips, some people include things like medical and cancellation insurance, film and film development, and even factor in the cost of guide books and maps! The answer 'not that much' doesn't satisfy me in this category; last time around we spent about US20 per day to cover these things. <BR> <BR>This variation is why I think Bob's answer is the best. And by the way, our trip costs were pretty well predicted by his low end scenario. (Good work,Bob!) <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

We usually budget $1700 - $2000 per week, per couple. That includes airfare from our western state, budget hotels, meals, sites, museums, etc. From that figure, we decide season, location, etc. Sometimes we change the above factors to fit the budget, and that's okay. We have a wonderful time wherever.