Is there such a thing as an inexpensive European vacation?

papa3x
papa3x Posts: 286
edited December 17 in Chit-Chat
My wife and Iwanted to visit Croatia... My buddy went about 7 years ago with his wife for 10 days and paid $3K for everything. We were just quoted almost $12K for our family of 4. That's not in the budget. I was thinking maybe Ireland, but again, wanting to keep prices down. And that wasn't even including spending money.

I was in England 13 years ago, and that was pretty darn expensive.

So, before I do any research, and waste too much time, are there any less expensive places to visit in Europe? Looking for 2013, summer, family of 4, from Philly.... would like to keep it in the $8K - $10K range including spending money.

And really, that's not cheap, but at least we can handle that... can't handle $15K with spending money.

Replies

  • 13519485
    13519485 Posts: 264
    I really hate to, but it must be done:

    mov203078.jpg


    Now to get serious...have you thought about Belgium? I think a holiday in Belgium might calculate to be within your price range. :wink: Or maybe the Netherlands?
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    Bulgaria is still pretty cheap, I think, and I have seen a few deals for Portugal.
  • Radcliffe83
    Radcliffe83 Posts: 82
    come to Cambridge mate, I have got some empty office space up stairs. I must admit there are no wash facilities... but it is cheap!
  • Hoakiebs
    Hoakiebs Posts: 430 Member
    Betcha could get a place in Greece dirt cheap right now!
  • jmatthews75
    jmatthews75 Posts: 525 Member
    Raise your right hand and let uncle sam pay the way. I toured all of the Med for free. Spain, Italy, Malta, France, Congo Africa...
    all for free. It only cost me 4 years of my life. and they have a great diet and exercise plan.
    Semper Fi
  • frankiesats
    frankiesats Posts: 114 Member
    I expect a lot of places in Europe will be very pricey this summer - London are hosting the Olympics and for us Brits (specially London commuters like me) we can't imagine anything worse than our flawed train and underground system being any busier so we're all trying to escape :)
  • sophiareal
    sophiareal Posts: 43 Member
    In all seriousness, I think Italy could be a good option. Generally very cheap compared to the rest of Western Europe, great weather, good food, cheap car rentals, lots to see and gorgeous beaches. Otherwise i would say the Balkans as well. And try and organise as much as you can yourselfnto save money.
  • GreatSetOfBrains
    GreatSetOfBrains Posts: 675 Member
    Cruises are fairly cheap if you go that route. It's just spendy to get to Europe. My husband and I went in 2009 to London and we only spend a aoubt 3,000 for nine days, including flight! Get the tickets really far out, stay at CHEAP places! Good luck! Are you part of a church? A friend went with church and took her two kids for fairly reasonable?


    I'm lucky! Im going to Chez, Austria, and Italy in May for 16 days for only $3,000 with my school. Then I get to do a Met. Cruise in August so I'll see Spain, France, and Italy again a 2 week vacation.
  • TheBakerGirl
    TheBakerGirl Posts: 151
    I can suggest places to stay in Ireland that aren't too expensive. You'd expect Ireland to be cheaper than it is…but it's still pretty pricey here. Check Aer Lingus for flights…they often have great deals to the US!
  • comet_wow
    comet_wow Posts: 180 Member
    Buy a tent and bring the family on a camping holiday to Scotland. Seriously, I would never ever have put tent and holiday in the same sentence before but we bought some camping gear a good few years ago and have had some of the best family holidays ever just going round Scotland. The scenery is magnificent and the camaradarie on the campsites is something I didn't expect. The kids really got into it and even now have asked to go camping with us this year and they're 16 and 17 yo girls :)
  • Marquism123
    Marquism123 Posts: 152 Member
    I live in Ireland and its great!! I think the trick is to do the leg work yourself and avoid the tour operators - book your flights independently - you should easily be able to get return flights from NYC to any number of European cities for less than $2000 for all of you - easily. Avoid hotels and book an apartment or a cottage as your base - there are loads of websites - www.holidaylettings.co.uk or www.holiday-rentals.co.uk are great. And negotiate on the rental price - there is a recession on and people will rent their properties for less to get them rented out. I personally would recommend somehere in mainland Europe as a base - that way you can hire a car and drive to all the different countries!! It is totally affordable - you just need to be careful! Enjoy!
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