My trips to Europe (total of 5 for about 4 nights top for each), with airline benefits to boot, are still quite expensive for me. I'm grateful for even having the opportunities to go on these memorable trips with my husband, but I am seeing that we may not be able to travel like this in the future, due to finances. When I read about all of the trips that people take and the duration of some of them, I wonder if financially, they have saved money faithfully, are extremely wealthy, or have worked very hard in their lives just planning for their dreams of traveling? I wish that I could travel all over to see God's creation. I thankful that I have had the chance to visit some of it.

Hi Princess,

Where do you stay, where do you eat, how much is your bar bill?

All of these affect the price.

I save 300 a month for 10 months and do without a lot of things along the way. I will spend 3000 dollars for my 3 week vacation in Amsterdam, Venice, Florence and Rome in Sept/Oct.

Hi Princess,

I think if you're willing to do the homework, it's possible to find good deals and not go bankrupt traveling to Europe.

For example, in Ireland, you can stay at wonderful B&BS that are relatively inexpensive. You could also travel to places like Croatia and Slovakia without breaking the bank.

Even in Paris, if you reserve well ahead, it's possible to find hotels that are under $100 per night. The Hotel Jeanne D'Arc, in the Marais district ran just under $100 when I last checked, and puts you in a great area that is home to the 17th century Places Des Vosges and within walking distance ( about 15 minutes) to Notre Dame.

You can also rent apartments in major cities which will save you big bucks on your lodging bills.

Anyway, good luck! I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful info from others on the forum!
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My point is, do the resea

Princess:

In my case, I have a separate bank account "trip fund" that I faithfully put money into every month. Just like I was paying a bill or something. The amount I put in each month varies, but I make it a priority to put in SOMETHING. Every bit of extra money that is not devoted to a "real" bill or whatever is put in that account. When that fund gets up high enough that I can pay for a trip of some sort of trip out of it, then I start planning. I've used it for everything from an long week-end camping trip to my upcoming three-week European vacation. It just depends on what opportunities present themselves and/or how long I can hold out between trips!

One thing I do NOT do is put my vacations on credit cards. I just don't think it's worth it. But, that's just my personal opinion. To each his/her own. I just don't like to bring anything back from my trips with me except memories. The thought of receiving a bill "after the fact" doesn't appeal to me.

I realize I'm blessed to even have ANY extra money to put into a trip fund. However, I also consider very carefully whether or not I really NEED all those things I think I need . . . know what I mean? Like, if I see something and want to buy it, I try to always ask myself. Do I need/want those . . .whatever . . . shoes, let's say . . . as much as I want to see the Eiffel Tower. Or go to a friend's wedding out of state. Or . . . whatever. Usually the answer is no and, if that's the case, I'll put down the shoes, make a note of how much they cost and put that much money in my trip account. If the answer is yes, I'll buy the shoes and be comfortable knowing I've made a well-considered decision. It's kind of like a game.

I always tell my friends that travel is possible if you make it a priority! For example, one of my friends is a smoker (not that there's anything wrong with that! Ha-ha!). She is ALWAYS complaining that she "never can afford to go anywhere." (this was after a recent trip my boyfriend and I took to Las Vegas.) Well, I pointed out to her that if she'd quit smoking she could easily put the $25-$30 a week she spends on cigarettes into a trip fund. If she did that, within a year she'd have $1300-$1500 . . . enough for a 5-day Go-Today-like trip to Paris WITH souvenirs! See . . . Priority!

Jennie

To a certain extent it's a matter of priorities (e.g. $200 less a month going to a mortgage payment could mean $200 going into a European trip) but the disposable income of people also varies widely.

For me it's all a matter of priorities. Can I drive my old car for another year and have a vacation instead? Can I buy a new dress at a discount price and put the difference off to fund a cruise? Will I take dinner leftovers to work next day to save on a lunch?

And on a trip: do I picnic or frequent expensive restaurants? Do I "camp out" in a 2-star or stay at B&B?

Go off-season, everything is much cheaper. Go where the airline ticket costs less. I am poor, but maybe I am a good planner? Or maybe just obsessed with travel

When I travel to Europe I never stay at expensive hotels - always B&Bs and guesthouses. In Great Britain, we eat only 2 meals a day (the breakfasts are usually so ample at B&Bs). For lunch we just snack on a piece of fruit or a bun. We try to eat at pubs - much cheaper than restaurants. On the continent, we pickup some cheese and bread and fruit. This all keeps costs down. Also I set aside money every month - so that we can afford at least 2 trips per year (1 to the caribbean and 1 elsewhere (Europe, the USA, somewhere in Canada etc). A lot depends on one's priorities. We live in a small modest house. I am not a "shopper". We do enjoy eating out but try to do it no more than once a week. Basically I think at some point everyone has to decide what really enhances the quality of their lives - for me this has always been travel - so I make sacrifices in other areas to afford travel.

Hi
the FainaAgain hits the nail on the head for me.
We all make decisions every day about how we spend our money: buy a $3 coffee or not, buy a house or not.
Sometimes other people's decisions are mysteries to us: "How could someone possibly spend $250 on just one meal?"
"How could someone possible do without airconditioning in a hotel in the summer?"
Then there are the requirements like kids' tuition, child care,
health care, etc

Dfferent strokes

We also faithfully put savings into a "trip fund." The trip fund is more important to us than eating out, expensive clothing, brand new cars, or new furniture. What a lot of people typically spend on those items, we spend on travel, instead.

I don't go for the absolute cheapest trip, but I do try for a pretty cheap budget. On my budget, $50 US/day per person is usually enough for food, local transport, and lodging, even in expensive European cities. Attractions and theatre are extra (try $0-15/day, depending on the city). Then there is airfare, transport to and from the airport, and possibly train rides to and from different cities. It would be very easy to spend twice as much per day, but I doubt I would get twice as much enjoyment.

With only four day trips, the expense per day will be higher than for a longer trip, due to the cost of airfare.

I would ditto what's been said about priorities. We're not wealthy but do spend quite a bit each year on travel. But we're fairly frugal in other areas. Oh and we have no kids, that helps too. I have to admit that I do like staying in nice hotels, but I try to look for the best deals too through things like auctions. In areas where there's greater seasonal price fluctuations, we schedule our trips in the off season for maximum value. We buy tickets for less expensive routes and save our miles for longer distance travel. When we fly internationally, it's usually with FF tickets which reduces the overall cost of our trips significantly.

We have no kids, no debts and hardly ever go out to restaurants in our small town. We rarely shop for clothes (when we do, it's L.L. Bean!), never buy stuff like jewelry and keep our cars well-maintained so that they last for many years.
As Jennie said, we don't pay for our trips with a credit card that runs a balance - we use an AMEX card that we pay off every month.
I agree with those who said it's a matter of priorities. I know many people who could afford to travel if they did not spend so much on vehicles, clothes and partying at home. Travel is our one and only indulgence - we both work hard and save enough so that we can afford to take a big trip every few years without having to worry (much) about a budget.

JandaO, please tell us your secret for doing a 21 day trip like you describe for only $3,000. Does that include, airfare, hotel, food, transportation and admissions?

We worked hard (very hard!) and retired early, and now are lucky enough to be able to afford to travel pretty much whenever we want in whatever style we want. But this was not always true, and even when we had very little disposable income we managed to travel. It really is all about priorities.

Europe is now relatively expensive. The same budget will get you a lot more in Mexico or SE Asia, for 2 examples of other wonderful places to explore.

I agree that a lot of people really could travel more if they simply made it a priority. Like some other posters, we love to travel and we make it a financial priority. We live in a house below our means, without state-of-the-art decor, wear inexpensive clothes, and drive cars well past 100,000 miles.

We also travel simply but not frugally. On our trip to Italy in July, we stayed in mid-priced hotels, ate exclusively in pizzerias, drank nothing fancier than beer, had dessert at gelaterias, and spent less than $100 on souvenirs. Some would say that we missed a lot of what's fun and rewarding in Europe, but we had a blast. We also saved packing and lugging fancy clothes for fancy restaurants.

Oh Linda, tell me you didn't really eat in pizzerias every night! You can get such great food in small, inexpensive restaurants in Italy for very little money, and a bottle of delicious red wine can easily cost all of US$5. (Cheaper than beer!)

ChatNoir,
Hi, Yes the $3000 includes everything, even $200 for lost work I wont be paid for. I will have 21 days. 2 are travel days so no lodging needed for those. Here is the formula that works for me. I figure 100 dollars a day plus airfair. My airfair this time in $712.00. My lodging is about $50-60 per day. I spend around $15 per day on food. I go to delis or grocery stores and get bread, cheese, salami, fruit and a few veggies. I leave some $ for gelato too .... I am not a fancy person with fancy tastes. I am happy to eat my bread and cheese and people watch in squares. I get small glasses of house wine at a bar and mingle with locals. I do go to museums and I use public transportation or walk. This time I will spend about $280.00 on trains. I will scrimp where I can and find joy in the free things. Just wandering and looking at all the beautiful achitecture and fountains makes me happy.

Here is my budget
Airfair $ 712.00
Hotels $ 1080.00
Food $ 285.00
Train $ 280.00
Missed work $ 200.00
Souvenirs $ 100.00
Museums/Galleries $ 60.00
Film $ 100.00
Misc. $ 200.00
________________
Total = $ 3017.00

Hi Chat,

Except for one large splurge in which we spent $7000 for three weeks, my wife and I budget $6000 for two for three-week trips.

Fly cheap, sleep cheap, eat well.

Go Janda! I think it's great that you can find the pleasure in the 3 weeks of simple pleasures rather than envy those with higher budgets.

Same here - I don't do new shoes and fashion - I buy those for need not for pleasure. We don't have latest hi fi, portable MP3 player, whatever is trendy to splurge on these days.

Instead we spend on our priority interests: computer equipment both for our jobs and for play, travel and eating out.

We're not low low income but we're certainly not high income. We just know what we want to be spending it on and what we'd be happy to give up instead.