This is probably completely pie in the sky, as we are going to Disney in May and every time I turn around we are spending more money, but I am toying with the idea of taking DS to Paris in July. I really do not have more than $2000 dollars to spend (whole thing, excepting souvenirs, and "Mom, PLEEEZE can I have one of those...&quot. This would be for one adult and a young teenager, and could be for as little as four days. We would be willing to sleep in a hostel, or a very modest hotel, avoid cabs, and skimp on destinations that require steep admissions. The non-negotiable items would be the Eiffel Tower, which someone has been agitating to see for years, and decent eating, particularily in the evening. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it needs to be in a restaurant, and should be a typically french 3 or 4 course affair. We both like to eat, and DS is nearly as fixated on french restaurants as he is on the Eiffel tower. In a really perfect world, Parc Asterix or Disneyland Paris would be part of the mix, but I think that would transform a highly optimistic budget into an impossible one.
Is this a remotely realistic budget, or can it just not be done for that money, especially in the summer? There is a potential larger family trip to Europe on the table for next year, although a trip with DH would be VERY different, and probably involve a package tour and no Paris, and I'm trying to figure if I should just save my money for that.

When you say "the whole thing," does that include airfare?

If it does, you should forget this idea right now, unless you're traveling from some nearby country.

perismmondeb - Does that translate into 'Perry's mom deborah'?
Never mind.
Cheap but very OK hotel accommodation in Paris is always The Ibis Hotel La Defense on a Friday, Saturday & Sunday night.
Not a sleazy neighborhood somewhere in a little side alley - but a beautifull open-air-kinda-place for 49euros a double room. Find them on the web. You won't go wrong Deb.

Airfare alone would likely cost $2000. If you're very lucky it will be $1700 looking at current fares so no it's not possible.

Yes, it's plenty for 4 nights in Paris doing what you've described IF you have already your airfare.

Yes, it does include airfare, probably out of EWR, and I know in this day and age, there's just so low you can go. If my budget were $2000+airfare, the questions I would be asking would be very different, although I realize that's still not really generous. I figure that even to do it as a very tight budget, airfare would need to be around $1200 for both of us, and at that we'd definitely be hostelling, as I figure food is going to be around $150 a day, even if we do not have a substatial lunch, or skip it all together. Fortunately, DS eats everything, and set menus would work for us.

It's actually an amalgam of "persimmon", an old college nick-name, which is a bright orange fruit, and "deb", which is, as you guessed, my actual name. My sister does have a talent for finding bargain airfares, but still... I realize July is expensive, and if the final bill were to be $2100 or $2200, I'd be okay, but $2800 or even $2500 is really not manageable. Now, according to Orbitz, if wanted to go now, they could package hotel and airfare for about $700 ea. July, however is closer to $1200, and we still have not eaten or seen anything.

No, you can't do it.

If you're willing to give up eating out, you could rent a studio apartment in an outlying arrondisement for about $500/week and prepare your own meals - so if you got lucky with air fare you might be able to pull that off for $2,000.

But also eating 3 or 4 course meals in Paris? No way.

$150 a day for meals for two seem pretty generous.

Nope....don't see any way to make that work. Have you checked out the prices of airfare in July? There goes your budget right there.

Maybe next year if you can keep saving.

To go for as little as four days would not be making sense at all, that would be wasting your money big-time.

You lose a day going.

You lose the first day there (Day Two of your trip) because you stumble around like a zombie (how well do you function at home during the day if you cannot sleep the entire night before?).

So Day Three is when you start to get your money's worth.

Right now the cheapest fares NYC-PAR (any airports) in the first half of July (that's before the European vacations start in earnest - all hell breaks loose after that) are $858 with Aer Lingus from JFK to CDG.

If it has to be EWR that leaves Air Canada at $984

Going for less than 7 nights just makes each day proportionally more expensive and the trip less worthwhile.

Put away those 2 Grand, don't touch them, save another 150 dollars or so each month, and go next year.

Here are some ideas on how to maximize (if you can solve the airfare dilemma):

Don't stay anywhere near the city center (Île de la Cit&eacute. Last summer, we stayed in a two-room suite at the Hotel Alixia in Antony for 69€ (Fri-Sat-Sun rate).

A 3-zone <i>Mobilis</i> daily pass will cover all your transport for 7,70&euro; (DS can get a <i>Ticket Jeunes</i> on Sat-Sun for 3,20&euro.

Eat street food (cr&ecirc;pes, panini, etc.) or buy picnic fixin's at a grocery store rather than eating at sit-down restaurants.

Do NOT, repeat NOT, buy drinks off the street or in a bistro. Get 2<i>l</i> bottles at the grocery.

Here's what I'd do:

Cancel the trip to Disney. Now.

Take the money you've saved and travel to Paris in May instead. You can do a day at Disney there (and even do Asterix as well), and having combined your budgets have a lovely (and longer) stay in Paris.

I don't think it is possible at all. Even if you were lucky enough to find airfare for $1200 for two persons, you would have only $800 for rooms and as you stated, a nice evening meal. I don't know the cost of hostels, but a cheap hotel room will cost more than the $800. Maybe you should go solo on this trip and take your son next year.

Cancelling Disney is not an option, both because we like Disney and are looking forward to it, and also it would be grossly unfair to cancel the main family vacation so that two people can go to Paris, expecially since DH has ABSOLUTELY no desire to go to Paris. DS might regard Disneyland Paris as an acceptable substitute, but DH would not, not to mention the large extended family group we are traveling to Disney with. Waiting till next year might make more sense, expecially if I can put a bit more by, but there's still the issue that since it's not the main family vacation, I can't budget or spend as if it is. DH is perfectly willing to send us off without him, but would be unhappy if it were at the cost of his own vacation. We may just do Europe as a family next year (was figuring about $6000 for that), but it is frankly, a bit of a financial stretch, and would likely not include France.
DS would never forgive me if I went without him, and obviously I can't send him by himself.
It is pretty clear that this is not really a practical plan unless my sister or I can find a miraculously low airfare. I was figuring $150 for food would cover coffee and rolls for breakfast, a couple of snacks in lieu of lunch, or a very modest fast food meal, and a moderate set menu ($25-$50 per person) for dinner. Dorm beds in hostels are often very cheap, and I was frankly, figuring this as a &quot;walking around Paris because that costs money&quot; budget. Still, airfare is really the sticking point.

Your $150 a day for food is about right, and isn't even what I'd call generous--unless the goal was to eat as cheaply as possible, of course, which yours is not. That's only 55 euro a day right now, and if you do spend 30 euro for a dinner (which is not a lot), that's only 25 euro for everything else all day.

But this is simply impossible because of the airfare, that's why. There isn't any way you can spend only $1000 per person for a trip to Paris in July and include the airfare. YOu've targeted $75 a day per person for food alone, and that's at least $300 of it right there, even if it were only four days. YOu can't even get hostels that cheap in Paris, they are around 30 euro per person per night, and that's in a group room. So that's another $40 per person per day or $200 for five nights. So that's $500 right there for only food and a hostel and for only 4-5 days.

Ah, now I see. I was thinking that the Disney trip was also just you and your son. Sounds like you will, indeed, be spending a very large sum on that trip.

There's really no way you're going to be able to take this trip with the budget you've got in mind---not even sleeping in the street would make it work. Lodging is the least of your problems, frankly.

Even if you save for the next year it's still going to be pretty expensive to go in July: highest airfares, etc. You could make it happen by going in low season (Jan-March), and that's actually a great time to visit Paris. DS will likely be in school, but you might be able to work around that if he's actually studying French and you could get it okayed by his school (and he'd likely have to agree to do some additional work). If you're willing to actually fly on holidays then you might be able to work it around his winter break.

I feel your pain---my husband is also not nearly so excited about traveling abroad as I am. We fixed this problem in my family by taking mostly separate vacations: he skis and camps with the kids and I take them to Europe. Sometimes he comes along with us, and sometimes I go along with them, but not always, and none of us worry too much about it.

What about postponing Paris until your son's winter school break? Early January, etc.

Yes, the weather will be colder, but it's still Paris.

Continental runs cheap R/T flights from EWR for about $500 during that time.

That leaves you with another $1K for cheap hotel, food, etc. Stay 5 days, that's $200 per day. Totally doable.

Paris can be done cheaply. You may have to cut back on the fancier meals and have a few crepes or falafel sandwiches for dinner, but you can do it.

^

Same idea at the exact same posting time!

You've come to the right conclusion, it's all about the air fare.

If Paris is a non-starter for your husband, maybe do the family European vacaton when the time is right and send rest of family somewhere else in Europe while you and son experience a few days in Paris, then join up again.

Make it a joint project of yours and DS to start saving. The older he is the more he will appreciate Paris and IMO don't waste money on a French theme park, particularly as you already are going to the largest in size and number in the world, I believe.

Two can eat on $150 following the plan you outline. You can save more by having your main meal at lunch.

Another solution--take him in late 2009 or 2010 during an off season school--air fares should come down some.