Europe vacation on a budget. Is it possible?

[Lintasare]

I can tell you that a 6 and 11yo will have no memory of this trip. Better you make memories with your husband and leave your kids with Grandparents or Aunties. You will save enough on their air tickets that you and your husband could have a great time. Also difficult to find rooms with beds for four in Europe. You COULD find two apartments in two central spots and do day trips, allowing the children to have a home base-which is much more civilized for travelling with small children. I've sent loads of families to Europe. 6yo children do not do well getting on and off trains day after day.

You are kidding right? They will have no memory? I don't think you are giving her kids enough credit. I MOVED to Europe when I was 6 and I still remember the flight over. And this is almost 27 years later. So I do think they will remember it.

And it is not difficult to find hotels with room for 4 if you go with the major chains. If you stay at a local place then yes it will make it more difficult.

 

[712Alliance]

Young kids absolutely can remember trips to Europe, or any other trip for that matter. It's all in how you plan the trip. It's a matter of planning appropriate activities. We took our kids to Europe when they were 3 and 6, and at 11 and 14, they still talk about it.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We did not really enjoy Paris, except Disneyland Paris
The people were rude. Transportation hard to use, and dirty.
We are glad the kids saw the Louvre and Eiffel tower but wouldn't do it again.

I have to completely disagree; I love Paris and I do not speak any French. The Metro is extremely easy to use and is not dirty. I have used the subway systems in many European cities and the one in Paris is one of the best.

OP - It will be a much better trip if you don't try to do too much on one trip. Limit your travel to one or two countries. Be careful about purchasing multi-day train passes or museum/attraction passes; these are often more expensive than purchasing individual tickets.

 

[MomToOne]

I have to completely disagree; I love Paris and I do not speak any French. The Metro is extremely easy to use and is not dirty. I have used the subway systems in many European cities and the one in Paris is one of the best.

I agree - I adore Paris - it's probably the city I most love in this world. I've been several times, and am taking DD there next summer. The Metro is VERY easy to use and clean. I don't think the people are rude at all. They do get frustrated that Americans often walk in and act like everyone should speak English. Try and learn a few phrases in French - the French will appreciate the effort. And if you show you are willing to at least TRY to communicate with them in their language, they will often also TRY to communicate with the little English they may know. But if you don't try, why the heck should they?

Paris is about much more than the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Take time to just walk the city and take in the ambiance, stroll along the Seine and check out the bridges and artist carts along the way, take a day trip out to Versaille (personally I'd skip the buildings and just go to the gardens - they are AMAZING). Check out the other Art Museums - there are SO many - if you like a certain artist or period, research which museums are a good fit for what you like (I personally like the Orsay, Rodin and Marmottan-Monet Museum).

 

[Daisy'sMama]

I have to agree with several PP's:

- if at all possible travel in the off season. My favorite is Thanksgiving and the week after. All the Christmas markets in Germany/France/Austria open around Dec 1st and they are just magical.

-focus on one area. You can do all of Western Europe in two weeks, but I doubt you will seen much. Base 5+ days in one place if possible. We have based on the Rhine and on most of western Germany and France (including Paris). Another time we based in the Alps and visited Bavaria, Switzerland, and Austria. Holland is nice and compact, as is Belgium.

-when we travel to Europe, my family has required reading and movies. We like to know who built it, who conquered it, etc...

Have a wonderful time and PM me if I can help.

thanks
Stephanie

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

I agree that your kids will remember the trip. We took a Med cruise when ours were 7 and 9, and they still talk about the trip and how much fun they had. We're doing a Baltic cruise this summer and they're very excited.

My best tip for travelling to Europe on a budget, get an airline miles card, and put everything on it. Pay it off at least once per month, we do it about once a week. Those miles add up fast, and getting free airfare for family members really cuts down on vacation costs.

I also highly recommend a cruise, while you won't get to see everything you want to in all the cities you hit, you will give the kids a "taste" of that city, but only have to deal with luggage once, plus, the costs for breakfasts and most dinners are included in the cruise fare, so that's a known cost.

 

[scoutie]

The other posters have given wonderful advice, so I won't repeat it. I did want to respond to the poster who claims that the 6 and 11 year old will have no memories of the trip. Ludicrous. Of course they will.

What adult doesn't have memories of being 11 years old? Crazy.

I teach 11 and 12 year olds, and many have been to Europe and say it was amazing.

 

[wnissen]

The big expense, as others have noted, is the flights. If you can save on those, either by finding a sale, using miles, or some other way, you come out way ahead.

As far as expenses on the ground, big-city western Europe (including the UK) is basically as expensive as the US. Getting a closet-sized hotel room in NYC will cost you about the same in Paris and London. So, one option is to go somewhere cheaper. I love looking at the Economist's "Big Mac Index" ( http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index ) where you can see just how much cheaper eastern Europe is. If you have a Polish, Chzech, etc. heritage you might consider going there. Other options are the cheaper countries within the Euro zone like Greece and Spain.

If you have your heart set on western Europe (nothing at all wrong with that, I'm going with my family to France next year), the keys to budget travel are really the same as the U.S. In fact, Europe has much lower levels of violent crime than the U.S., so it's actually easier.

#1 is to stay outside of big cities when you can. #2 is to find private lodging, like vacation rentals. The French, in particular, have an extensive network of what are called "gites." These are typically privately owned vacation rentals that are inspected by the government to make sure they meet standards of habitability. See http://www.gites-de-france.com for a wonderful search engine. #3 is, as others have said, to eat from the market (though McDonald's is pretty cheap) and avoid the pricey restaurants near the tourist centers. Street food is also your friend.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I can tell you that a 6 and 11yo will have no memory of this trip. Better you make memories with your husband and leave your kids with Grandparents or Aunties. You will save enough on their air tickets that you and your husband could have a great time. Also difficult to find rooms with beds for four in Europe. You COULD find two apartments in two central spots and do day trips, allowing the children to have a home base-which is much more civilized for travelling with small children. I've sent loads of families to Europe. 6yo children do not do well getting on and off trains day after day.

I also disagree. I remember the trip I took to England when I was ten - in fact we are going in July and just last night I was telling DW to look up a place my parents had taken me because I thought she'd like it.

My DS16 spent three weeks in Italy and Greece 5 or 6 years ago and remembers it very well now and I'm sure will continue to do so.

I do agree with possibly looking into an apartment or villa. This way you will save on lodging and food as you can eat in for some meals. You could go all through Europe on the train, but it might be nicer (and less tiring) to base yourself in one area. You could get an apartment in Rome and explore Rome, then head up to Florence and Pisa for a day, go south to Naples, etc. There are so many day trips out of Rome (actually many cities are like that).

Go over to Trip Advisor and look at the way some families have done it. They will have tons of info. And also sign up for their airfare alerts as that will be your biggest expense.

 

[Daisy'sMama]

When we went to Paris, we only used the Metro a little bit, we got two day Batobus passes and it was awesome! They are boats along the Seine and they pick up and drop off at most of the big Parisian must-sees. It was touristy, but the pictures I got of Notre Dame at sunset, from the middle of the river were awesome.

 

[eliza61]

When we went to Paris, we only used the Metro a little bit, we got two day Batobus passes and it was awesome! They are boats along the Seine and they pick up and drop off at most of the big Parisian must-sees. It was touristy, but the pictures I got of Notre Dame at sunset, from the middle of the river were awesome.

I'm doing this, my next trip. I was so busy the last time didn't get a chance to do it.

Truthfully Paris is such a great "walking" city. One "carnet" of tickets and you could be good for the entire week.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

My DH and I did a 2 week Europe trip about a year ago. It was our first time there and it was the biggest travel planning challenge in my life thus far. We flew from Chicago to Paris, took the train to the Alps in Switzerland (Lauterbrunnen), took the train to Munich and flew home from Munich.

I don't have any tips for hotels or flights since we used my airline miles and my Marriott points (Except in Switzerland where I researched hotels on TripAdvisor and paid out of pocket.)

-You don't need to spend a ton of money on food. All of our hotels included breakfast (some just because I'm platinum status at Marriott) so we stuffed ourselves at Breakfast. Very "American" of us, as many europeans don't eat a big breakfast. For lunch, we usually got something "to go" from a food stand or market. And we ususally did a simple sit-down dinner. By the end, we were sick of restaurants and also at market food for dinner. We loved the crepe stands in Paris.

-I saved A LOT on my train tickets between the big cities. Once you pick out your itinerary, research on the travel forums the best train ticket options. I actually bought my Paris - Switzerland tickets on a French-language website (aided by screenshots on what to click on a travel blog). The same company had an English language site that charged more for train tickets.

-If you want to see attractions that require tickets, research your ticket options. In some cases, a "city pass" type option saves money, in other cases it does not.

-Spend a lot of time researching the best attractions to see in each city--at least you will be spending your money on the best there is to see.

This isn't budget related, but pack less than what you think you need. We made it two weeks (with one stop at a laundromat) with carry-on bags.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

Yes, you can do Europe on a budget! I went for two weeks in 1995 with my mom, sister, and her two kids. We went back again for three weeks in 1998 and took my dad too - and paid for him & mom as their anniversary present.

Rick Steves has a book about Europe with kids (I think it's him - I was watching the show on TV some I'm sure he wrote a book about it! lol). Do lots of research. We liked to visit out of the way places, not just the hot spots. We packed dark color (don't show dirt as much) loose clothes that could be layered (denim jumper, overalls), and wore very good hiking shoes. You're not going to be seeing the same people every day, so no one knows if you alternate the same few clothing items for several weeks. We also had a little clothesline and a small package of soap so we could do laundry and hang to dry in room. Oh yes - we brought our own toilet paper. You can photocopy pages of pertinent info from travel books - then toss the page afterwards to lighten your luggage.

Check the train passes for good deals, even for multiple countries. We rented a car in Germany once, and dropped it off in Paris. Learn the bus schedules of where you are - not all places have buses that run all the time, and many stores close at dinner time - some even close for lunch. We loved the little grocery stores and would pick up lunch items and have picnics. Check for local festivals, fairs and holidays. Watch where the locals eat - and go eat there.

For the buses/trains - if you have slower walkers, make sure you try to get on the next to last bus/train - that way, if your slow person gets really slow, you won't miss the last bus and have to take a taxi. I carried a little spiral notebook and wrote down departure & arrival times so we wouldn't forget.

We stayed in a time share for part of the time, and small hotels the other time. Felt lucky to get a room with a bath/shower on our floor, lol. There weren't many public restrooms, and many times they have attendants who want to be paid, or the doors have money slots on them.

We got tapes from the library on learning the languages so we could try to order food, and steer clear of stuff we didn't want to order; we used traveler's checks; save room in your luggage for souveniers; back packs are a necessity; also used those body belts to hold money & passports.

It's fun planning. Have a great time!

 

[Jill in Chicago]

You mentioned teaching. Do you already have a job lined up? If so, will you know the training/teacher meetings you will need to attend and their dates? If not, I would be nervous about scheduling a 2 week trip.

If all of the above is in place, I think it sounds like a great time! I believe there are "Unofficial Guidebooks" from the series that also does one for Disney, for places throughout Europe. That is where I would start. These should be at the library. I'm sure the bookstores are packed with guidebooks with information as well.

Also guessing here, but I bet there are web sites that focus on inexpensive places to stay in Europe.