dadie68

Hi,
I was informed yesterday that my son, who will be 17 in the spring has been invited to join a group of friends on a summer trip to Europe. My question is...if they were to be gone 2 weeks, how much would be a good estimate on the cost? There wouldn't be expensive hotels involved..but I don't know where to begin to guess how much money he would need. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Dadie68

degas

Really not enough info to give you a very accurate answer.

Where is he going? Will he be part of a tour group? Have you asked the adult who is leading the group about trip details?

dadie68

As I've just heard about this last night..I haven't gotten a bunch of info yet. I was trying to figure out if we were talking $2500 or $8000 before I considered it very much. There will be a set of parents going, and I don't know all of the destinations yet. He said they mentioned London, Paris and 2 or 3 other places. It won't be a tour group, just 6-7 high school kids and a couple of parents.

WillTravel

If they're doing this very cheaply, 50 Euros per day plus transport. If they're doing it on a moderate budget, 100 Euros per day plus transport. My opinion is that I wouldn't have a 17-year-old spend more per day than that. I'd look into whatever arrangements the group is making - they might not be the best value.

dadie68

I'm sorry to be a pain, but I don't know what a Euro is? How much is that in American dollars? I've never been to Europe, but would love for my child to have the experience. So I want to try and make it work for him. Thanks for the help.

ncgrrl

Euro is the currency in most European countries. Rates change daily so a site like oanda.com will help with the exchange rate.

I HIGHLY suggest you read up on European travel to help with this decision. General Europe travel books available at your local public library are a good place to start. Also, look at maps of Europe.

London, Paris and 2-3 other places in 2 weeks is a lot of traveling. Most people here like the idea of spending several days (at least 4-5) in one place before moving one. If you visit 5 places in 14 days (probably 12 days after flights), you will just skim the surface and not really see much along the way. Also, when traveling between cities, you lose time in each location.

Good luck. Also, you should start with the passport application process now. That can take a couple of months and since you son is a minor, more forms are involved. Over on the Caribbean forum, there is a thread about passports and has a lot of good information about children not traveling with both parents.

sandi_travelnut

go to www.xe.com and type in the dollar amount you want to convert to euro

wliwl

I agree with WillTravel's price suggestions.

As a family we did Paris and Rome for 144 Euros per day, per person (excluding airfare). Of course, you'd expect teenagers to do it cheaper - especially if they are traveling on their own and staying at hostels etc.

wliwl

I'm sorry (damn I wish Fodors had an edit thing) - that should have been $144 (dollars) per day!!!

capxxx

The Lets Go! series of travel books is especially oriented towards students and budget travel. It might give you/your son a good idea of what to expect.

$100/day, plus airfare, plus travel between major cities sounds about right to me. So $1400, plus, say, <$1000 airfare, plus extras ... call it
something above $2500 and below $3000.

nytraveler

You need to get a lot more info from the people leading the group. The price could vary tremendously depending on what sort of plans they put together. They should at least be able to give you hard #s for air fare and hotels. Food costs depend on how big an eater your son is - some I know are normal - but at that age my brother and one of his friends could empty the fridge in an hour.

Also - you need to allow money for sightseeing and nightlife (yes - in most of euope 16 plus are allowed to drink and go to many bars, clubs etc).

escargot

Is this a done deal, as you say your 17 year old "informed you yesterday" he was invited - I am really curious as to why the two parents - who are "chaperoning" and obviously doing the inviting, didn't call you direct with all the information so you could then make an informed decision.

Do you know these parents? Then I would call them first and get all the details, - how many in this "group of friends" with one couple and is that ok with you? It would be fine with me, but my son at 17 went to Spain alone with a group of friends, but he had already traveled solo in Europe and with us many, many times. He knew what a euro was and about international travel, hostels, all sorts of things.

Dont' get me wrong, I think it is great your 17 yr has this opportunity, I just think it's weird that the parents didn't call you - we've invited plenty of our kids friends along with us on trips, but I usually gave the kid all the info he needed to bring to his parents. Do we even tknow there will be hotels? Maybe with a group going they will rent an apt or home?

I agree with WillTravel, my son averages 100 euros a day, he can come home with no money, or lots of money, depending on pensions/hostels/ if they go on the cheap most of the way and splurge in a big city with what they have left over at the end, etc.
After all, at that age they need to have enough to eat (and they usually vacuum it up at that age), and drink at some cafes/ clubs, and they should be looking into, maybe: rail passes, make sure he has a student ID for museum passes, etc......

First, talk to these parents planning the trip
Then, start visiting web pages and the library
but yes, you need passport and this is personal preference, but I always add on w/ a travel insurance in case of medical emergency (which in many countries you need cash for)
and a credit/debit/ATM card for $...if he doesn't have one in his name.

escargot

My son got an international student ID card, aside from his college ID card, - I'm not sure where, and he is in europe now so i'd have to wait till he emailed me, but he uses that a lot and i'm sure someone here knows where to get it, or search the web

rex

As a parent who has taken the (high school age) kids of other parents to Europe, I'll go out on a limb, and assert that the traveling parents have a substantial obligation to answer your questions - - to the level of detail that you require. I never expected the parents of the kids that I took to "study up" - - either to make the decision to send their kids, nor to help their kids prepare. I think they owe you a detailed budgetary projection; after all, their decisions will influence 80-90% of the budget framework for your son. He cannot/should not be expected to follow a plan X for keeoping to a budget, if the other parents are dancing to tune Y.

I went a step further, and more-or-less guaranteed a total cost ($2800 for 17 days in 1998, if you want to know); in general, I think that the kids had $250-500 in separate additional personal spending money over which I exerted little or no control (but guidance when I sensed it appropriate).

You should also be asking questions about contingency plans for unexpected events - - cancellation fees if the whole trip goes bust due to unforeseen circumstances, plans for medical care if necessary and insurance if deemed appropriate (I never have advised the purchase of insurance), and any other concerns (real or perceived) that cross your mind.

For what it's worth, my experience taking 11 kids (our three daughters, six teen cousins, ages 14-22, and two boyfriends) was my first undertaking of such a trip (but my tenth trip to Europe) - - and it might be theirs, too. You need to gauge how well they know what they're getting into (and experience they have in relevant problem solving and planning), and decide your own comfort level.

For what it's worth, my 1998 trip was an immense success, and has resulted in doing ten more trips since, in one capacity or another, as a group trip leader/planner.

Best wishes,

Rex Bickers
Floyds Knobs, Indiana

ira

Hi d,

>It won't be a tour group, just 6-7 high school kids and a couple of parents.<

A. I wouldn't chaperone a group of HS kids anywhere.

B. Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age, but are these parents well known to you? are they trying to put together a tour group where one of them gets a free trip?

C. Before you commit to anything you have to know the itinerary, the hotels, how much the organizers are committing to supervising the kids.

This might be a great opportunity, or a disaster.

ncgrrl

Good points Ira. If the parents need a quota for a free trip, think long and hard about it. There's another post in to top 50 of Europe about a 12-year-old asked to join a high school group going to Europe. Mostly no's on that thread.

But you should still learn as much as you can before making a decision. Asking here is good, but reading up on the subject will help you understand more.


At one time, we (the non-Europeans here) were planning our fist trip to Europe and needed a lot of advice.

StCirq

There's nothing inherently suspect about 17-year-olds going to Europe with a couple of parents, but there's something WAY suspect, IMO, about you having to come here to ask the basic questions.

Anyone who puts forth such a proposal (and I've done it with my kids' friends and HS groups)is obligated to provide at a bare minimum:

1. A detailed itinerary, including contingency plans - that would include all info about transportation from one place to another, specific information on hotel accommodations, and what activities are going to take place where and when.

2. A detailed budget, again with contingency plans worked in.

3. Plans for supervision and plans for emergencies.

4. Packing information.

That's the absolute bare minimum the parents planning this excursion should approach you with. But apparently they haven't even approached you, except with vague generalities such as "there wouldn't be expensive hotels involved"(and not to be rude, but if you don't know what a euro is, how could you possibly judge what an expensive or inexpensive hotel might be?).

You need LOADS more information - and it's incumbent upon the parents organizing this endeavor to provide it to you, not for you to go asking. When I have taken groups of kids, we have not only emailed and talked on the phone but had at least two pretty long meetings, with everyone involved present, before even heading to the airport.

So, it's not up to you to "know where to begin," but rather up to these parents to make a detailed plan and then get your input and answer your questions.

escargot

My kids are well beyond High School by now, but if they were still in HS, I'd send them with Rex and StCirq if I couldn't go !!

And here's a thought, with all the questions about high school/chaperoned european trips - there may be one out there, but if not, I think Rex and StCirq should, with all their experience and clear suggestions, think about writing a small book for parents on what to ask, what to avoid, what to expect, etc from anyone when considering sending your child on such an excursion - or at least a web page on it !! That's my brainstorm for the day.....

janisj

Listen to what everyone above has said. You don't even have the <b>tiniest</b> bit of info to make any decisions about costs, etc..

The cost per day could be &pound;40 or &pound;50 (that is pounds sterling which is used in London -- approx $1.75 to the &pound or &euro;50 (euro used everywhere else he will go - approx $1.20 to the &euro or it could be a LOT more. It depends on what sorts of accomodations, what types of transport, and a lot of other factors.

You need to sit down w/ the other parents and find out EXACTLY what they propose.

LoveItaly

dadie, I don't know what the parents are like in the circle of friends that your son has but I can tell you that IMO some parents have gotten so lax regarding details that parents in the past seemed to zero in on.

My daughter has two sons. None of us can believe the number of times that they have had friends call up and ask to spend the weekend with my daughter and family. My daughter is always happy to have her son's friends over but often she has never met these youths parents. They know nothing about my daughter, my SIL etc. But the children spend the weekend with them...thank goodness by daughter and SIL are good responsible people. But what if they weren't?

My opinion, for what it is worth is this. Unless the adults that are getting this European trip together contact you for a meeting and at the meeting give you the information that you need to make a good decision whether your son should go on this trip or not..I would not have my son join this group. Again, my opinion, but if these adults are so lax and so lacking in communication skills I would not trust them to be trustworthy.
They obviously would not have the attributes that Rex and St.Cirq have. And that is what I would want.

If it doesn't work out your son will have lots of chances to go to Europe, and he will survive if it doesn't work out for him this time.

Best wishes to you with your decision.