European vacation?

[misle]

My parents are talking about going to Europe (probably mostly in England, but may visit Germany).

When are 'peak' seasons?
Anyone have a estimate on how much it would cost (flying from Kansas City or St Louis)?

I'm thinking about helping them out with the travel costs.

Thanks

 

[Scouzer]

$1500 to $150,000

That's my estimate.

You specified NOTHING.

 

[Ranger X]

That's a really broad question because vacations are as expensive as you make it out to be. If you want luxury and live it up, then obviously it's going to cost you a lot of money. If you want to go see Europe cheaply by backpacking and staying in hostels, you'll spend a lot less.

Considering how you're going with your parents, they'll most likely spend a lot of money, especially since USD isn't very strong against the pounds or the euros.

 

[McGyver]

try eastern europe, u only need a few nickles.

 

[Jawo]

I did two weeks in Italy in June with a tour group and it wasnt cheap ~$4,500 including everything. Decent hotels, coach airfare, etc

Now is the time to plan for a last minute fall trip, or a planned spring trip.Provide more specifics so we can help.

 

[eshtog]

go to eastern europe cheaper plus better looking girls

 

[Pikachu]

I'm going to guess, about as much as a decent Home Theater setup, which is why I'd never do it! Your parents already own a decent Home Theater?

 

[Lonyo]

Summer is peak in the UK.
Probably Autumn (October/November maybe) for off-peak.

Also, "England" is very non-specific.
Prices vary greatly across the UK, much like I expect they do in the US.
London is going to be more expensive than places further north.

 

[moshquerade]

" Look kids ! Big Ben ! Parliament !"

 

[sohcrates]

i just got back from 2 weeks in germany (munich). dollar versus euro is crappy these days so it's pretty expensive

i would image 1200 or so average to fly to germany / europe right now. summer is pretty peak season for germany

 

[misle]

Originally posted by: Scouzer
$1500 to $150,000

That's my estimate.

You specified NOTHING.

Very true. I did not specify anything. I am planning on giving my parents $3,000 to 4,000 for a vacation. I just want to know what that will buy them in terms of flight and hotel.

I am not going with them. My parents are not fancy, live-it-up type people. I think dad was talking about Wales, but I have no idea where they are thinking about going. My father's heritage is mainly English and Irish, so that's why he wants to go there.

I would guess two weeks, staying in hotels, possibly renting a car. A quick travelocity search showed about $1,600 per person for 2 weeks (in the spring). But I don't know how realistic that really is.

If I left any important info out, let me know.
Thanks

 

[misle]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Summer is peak in the UK.
Probably Autumn (October/November maybe) for off-peak.

Also, "England" is very non-specific.
Prices vary greatly across the UK, much like I expect they do in the US.
London is going to be more expensive than places further north.

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure where they want to go. Is the UK pretty miserable in the fall or is that more in the winter?

Originally posted by: Pikachu
I'm going to guess, about as much as a decent Home Theater setup, which is why I'd never do it! Your parents already own a decent Home Theater?

My parents barely watch TV. I was rather surprised when they bought a DVD player.

 

[mrkun]

My parents went to the UK from Los Angeles for 14 days (travel included) last June. They spent a total of 6 nights in London, four days in other parts of England, and four days in Edinburgh (with relativies, so they didn't pay for accommodations) and the total cost, including airfare, was about $5k per person. Their hotel/motel accommodations were Best Westernish and nothing fancy.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Scouzer
$1500 to $150,000

That's my estimate.

You specified NOTHING.

That's pretty close.

 

[drinkmorejava]

I had a friend just do it for 3k, 2weeks. I think he did, france, germany, and switzerland. I believe he was drinking more than running around sightseeing though.

 

[Mill]

1600 is probably not doable for two older adults. I truly doubt they want to stay in hostels or rough it. Your best bet is to find out WHERE they are going first, and then after that you should start doing your research. They should sign up for a Guest Rewards program with Hilton or Starwood, and try to stay in those brands of hotels. They could easily earn free nights for use in the US, or even while they are there. The Starwood Amex is a card they could apply for, and a lot of time they offer Starpoints for signing up. You can use a minimal amount of Starpoints and get a much reduced price by using an SPG50 reward.

Anyway, my best suggestion is to go to Flyertalk.com, register an account, and then post in the TravelBuzz forum. You will get more help there. Good luck.

 

[Descartes]

My burn rate while in Europe is usually ~$1500-2000 per week. Obviously the backpackers do it a lot cheaper, but the hostel thing isn't for me.

 

[misle]

Thanks guys. So, giving my parents $3,000 would be a good start for their vacation?

 

[Scouzer]

My father and I went over last year and we spent about $7k total for 11 days in Europe. France and Germany.

This is including a LOT of train tickets and travelling... we were in no place for more than 36 hours really...

Best Western type hotels.

I'd say it could be done for the 11 days we went for $5k total. But its a question, do you want to have fun, or do you want to pinch every penny? When you are getting older (your parents) you probably just wan to let go...penny pinching is a backpacker type thing

 

[49erinnc]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
" Look kids ! Big Ben ! Parliament !"

Great flick...

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Scouzer
$1500 to $150,000

That's my estimate.

You specified NOTHING.

try a bit more than $1500. thats about the cost of the plane ticket...

 

[dullard]

I spent 2 months in Germany with my ex for a total of $4700. That included everything - airfare, lodging, food, gifts, souveniers, entertainment, etc. It can be done cheaply. However, I'd wager your parents aren't out there shopping for the best deals. I'd guess they'd spend $4700 for their 2 week trip for an average vacation. They could spend a whole lot more if they choose to.

Originally posted by: moshquerade
" Look kids ! Big Ben ! Parliament !"

That is one of my favorite movies of all time. I wondered when I read the movie title in the thread title if anyone else would post about it.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Depending on the time of year you go and where you go your best bet is to get them a cheap flight to Chicago (which will run 100-150) and then from Chicago you can fly to London in the off season for +-400 (depending on current fuel sur-charges and taxes). Then hotels can range any where from 75 a night to 750 a night. I did a two week vacation in 2003 for about 1750 per person, but that was at cheap hotels and no fancy dinners, but now I'm getting ready to go to Spain for a a little under two weeks and it's going to run close to 3000 per person (1500per person of that being money for food and stuff).

 

[dr150]

Excluding airfare, you can easily get by with about $800-$900 every two weeks assuming you stay in bargain hotels, hostels and bang/buck restaurants. If you stay in hostels exclusively you can even get by cheaper.

The best way to define your budget is to look at the travel guides focused on budget. My favorites in order of preference are: Let's Go, Lonely Planet, and Rough Guides. Also visit Hostelworld.com for good prices. Also visit Tripadvisor.com huge and active forums (broken down by country, city etc) as real experienced travellers discuss the ins and outs on every travel topic under the sun. I've received GREAT advice on cheap places to stay, etc, etc.

Food-wise, it can be VERY cheap if you go to the local supermarket to buy some bread, cold cuts, yogurt, drinks, etc. Supermarkets and department stores in Europe even have really cheap/good restaurants in them if you want warm food. And of course, there's Mcdonalds and KFC. If you plan on going to restaurants on a regular basis, this will sap your $$ much more quickly. Also REMEMBER to factor in the Euro/Dollar conversion. Go to XE.com to use their up-to date FX calculator.

You can easily pre-budget what you'll need MUCH BETTER than asking your question here.

Do this exercise and you'll know what you need. I've done trips on the cheap at very nice hostels as a student and had a blast! As long as you're willing to go the extra mile, you can make it verrry cheap!!

Don't let money hinder your experience. If you're overly frugal to miss out on things (performances, clubs, events etc), you'll be doing a disservice to yourself by shortchanging on the lifelong nostalgic memories. IMO, if there's ever a time to carry a credit card balance it's when one is one vacation. I've learned this lesson the hard way when I first started going to Europe and missing out on fantastic things (which I later re-visited) b/c I was too damn cheap!



Good luck!

 

[shopbruin]

my friend and i are trying to plan a short trip to london and paris in mid to late october for about 8 days. right now we're trying to do whatever we can to get hotel plus air for 1000 each. i was HOPING not to spend more than 1500 on the trip, but damn stuff is expensive in those two cities.