Is A Trip to Europe Too Expensive?
Saturday October 28, 2006
There's an interesting poll over on About Travel with Kids about the biggest obstacles to a European trip for North Americans. At this writing, nearly half of all responders say the high cost of airfare is what keeps them from Europe. I find that a little surprising. Airfare deals abound, especially in the off-season and there are plenty of ways to keep costs down once you get to Europe. So why all the apprehension about airfares? Any ideas?
Comments
It cost my wife and myself over $4000, and you say that nothing to worry about?
Wow! Was that a last-minute booking or a first-class fare? Without knowing your destination or circumstances, it’s hard to know why you paid that much…but you can fly to Europe for a lot less money.
By the way, I’m not saying airfare to Europe is nothing to worry about. I’m asking if it is the main obstacle.
My trip to Switzerland in September, 2006, was quite reasonable with airfare at less than $800. I thought that was a very good deal & I do not live on either coast.
“a little surprising. Airfare deals abound, especially in the off-season”
Families with school-age kids generally can’t go in off-season, airlines ratchet up fares when families can travel together.
Most parents with school age kids won’t take extended vacations during the school year? If they are too young to be in school, they won’t remember the trip anyway so why pay. When they are old enough, school schedules require summer travel, which means twice the price. My trick is to use frequent flyer miles to get to a cheaper airport. I go to JFK for Europe, and Miami or Houston for South America. Then the tickets are often $400-$500 cheaper per person.
I scour the budget sites constantly for travel deals. I find out what the going price is and I book all my stuff online and I then relax.I never regret what I spend on travel. The reward of world travel is something that can’t always be measured in the cost.If you want to travel more, re-order your priorities. I drive a 12 year old car and shop at Goodwill.Oh yeah, let me mention one more thing, I travel for pleasure at least once a month because I got it like that!!!
Hmm, the wife and I just came back from London. Left on a friday afternoon, came back on Monday afternoon. Round trip air from DC plus lodging was just over $1000. I didn’t think that was so bad personally.
Greg makes a good point about the off-season and kids, but I’d also say this: One out of ten kids is now home-schooled in the U.S. Many more attend schools on year-round or modified year-round schedules, giving them two-week breaks at various times. The traditional summer vacation isn’t quite as standard as it was when many of us went to school.
I’m with Cathy on this.
My wife and I are flying to Munich next March (shoulder season) for a grand total of $949– from Richmond, VA! We will carry-on our bags and use public transportation in Munich and Saltzburg. A week’s car rental for the rest of the trip barely cracks another $200. You can be choosy about hotels if you can drive to the next village if you don’t like what you find in another.
You can hardly afford to travel in the US for that type of money. However, you really can’t do this very well with little kids.
it is my dream to go to Europe, but the cost with school age kids is prohibitive for me……Camping is the vacation we can afford at this point…but maybe someday…..
I travel to Europe once a year and take my dog with me. While I don’t believe airfare is prohibitively expensive, neither are there that many great deals, even in shoulder season. This doesn’t stop me, however, becauseI economize on everything else.There are thousands of wonderful B+B places to stay that are all good, and you can find them by writing or emailing regional tourism offices. I can spend three weeks in Europe for a total of $2,500. including air and everything else, which is pretty good. Even with the extra costs incurred by bringing my dog.
When I returned home I used a Dutch charter which was about $300 cheapper than well know flyers, there was no difference since I had flown KLM
I am dying to know about this Dutch Charter, Joop. I live in the Netherlands and travel to the U S at elast 2 times a year..Might be a great option for me!!!
I must travel on season as I work for a public school. I traveled to Europe for about $800 for the past 10 years. This year the same flight are about $1300. That a BIG increase.