HELP!!!!! Best $ choices for travel late October 2017?

My go-to for a quick trip would be London and/or Paris but that might not suit you. Both of those cities are good places if the weather is less than fair. No idea what you might consider good airfare since I fly from the end of the line and always pay a premium for that.

Have you traveled to Europe before? Are you looking for sun?

AirBnB is an issue in Paris so I would go for a hotel, especially if you do 2 cities. Prices might not be bad that time of year in a hotel.

Thank u for your speedy response! London seems a great choice for many reasons- but is it as expensive as its always been?

Did you see the RS Paris tour that is on sale?? October 30 departure. I think it is $1595.

Well the US$ to £ exchange rate has gotten better. I've been there when it was $1.90 per £ and earlier this year at 1.30. So that makes London cheaper than it's been.

Take a look at Sicily. Weather should be decent and I found it reasonably priced. Lots to see and do. Good food. Only downside for me is that it's a bit difficult to get to and from. My friends ended up tacking a couple of days in Rome before Palermo to make the flights work better.

I like how Pissarro thinks. There are a few sale tours around the end of October. Give them a look; Paris is the least costly. If you can line up with one of the tours, your decision-making is substantially reduced.

If wishing to be connected to the euro, how about Portugal?

Barcelona & Madrid

Late October means school holidays for much of Europe, so places are going to be busy.

That time of year can be very wet in Greece.

If you don't mind cooler weather, then London has much to offer. If you want a better chance of warmer weather, then 10 days is a great time to cover Lisbon and Porto in Portugal and places in between.

Go to www.skyscanner.com and plug in the cities that fascinate you both! If it's a rural region, plug in the nearest city with a major international airport. See what bargains you can find! Traveling on a Tues, Weds or Saturday is cheaper than a Friday or Sunday.

Let your traveling dreams go wild and see what areas of the world fascinate you the most. Then you can find hotels and you WILL find deals.

What are the cheapest days to travel? Is it really Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday, with Friday and Sunday being more expensive?
A bit of noodling on a possible itinerary for mbnsyng revealed the cheapest days departing for a nine night trip towards the end of October from Chicago to Lisbon revealed the cheapest to the most expensive round trip airfares are: Sunday, Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Wednesday and Monday. For the following week using the same format, the airfares are Sunday and Thursday (tie), Friday, Monday and Saturday (tie), Wednesday, Tuesday. The same check/format was performed on a possible trip from flyover country where I live to Europe next spring, and the airfares revealed: Monday, Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday (tie), Wednesday, Friday. For the following week it was: Thursday, Monday, Friday and Saturday (tie), Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday. In short, the advice didn't hold for these trips.

You just need to play around with Kayak or Google Flights and see what destinations are meeting your budget if you don't have a specific country in mind. I lucked into RT airfare to Amsterdam for $380 this Fall, and I saw similar sales for airfare to Edinburgh and Dublin. If you haven't been, you could easily base yourself in Amsterdam in an apartment (take advantage of the owners willing to discount the rate for a stay of 7 nights or longer) and do a lot of day trips around the Netherlands and even Belgium via train, or you just spend a few nights in each location you decide on if you don't mind packing and repacking.

We had a great time in Alsace, Munich, and Vienna in late October-early November of 2015. We flew into Paris, spent one night there, and then made our way to Strasbourg, followed by Munich and Vienna. We experienced a bit of drizzle in Colmar on a day trip from Strasbourg, but otherwise the weather was fine.

We are in your age group, which sounds younger with each passing day! With 10 days, I might just do Paris and Alsace.

A trip you want to take is worth more than a trip you don't, so take that into account. I am a cheapskate, but for me the best $ cost is the one that delivers the most bang for the bucks, not the cheapest.

I think London is still a pricey destination, but if it calls to you it still my be that optimal choice. Up to you.

Wherever you go, educate yourself about traveling cheap (RIck's ETDBD book is a great primer), also buy an up-to-date guidebook and read it and make a plan before you go. That's how to have a smart $ trip, and how to avoid wasting a single $ of your budget.

Saving a couple hundred dollars on airfare isn't going to help the budget if you end up where you're spending twice as much per day on the ground. Paris and London are among the most expensive destinations in Europe. Think in terms of overall cost. In late October I'd look at southern destinations - northern Europe can look rather desolate with grey skies and leafless trees. Spain and Portugal are among the cheapest, Turkey is even less expensive and Turkish Air usually has very competitive airfares. Or maybe Ireland, since it's a shorter flight and Ireland is also a good choice for the budget-minded - and not as harsh a climate as the continent somehow.

Yes, go now, ie in October before the $ gets even worse thanks to..... The dollar now is worse than when I was there in May/June, which was worse than in Feb. Likewise with the GBP. I'll be back in Oct for ten days too, took advantage of the cheap flights on BA from here to London and return.

What about Spain?

I have found some great airfare deals and your dollar goes a long way, plus it's a great place to visit!

I have been to 80% of European countries and you can find many great places.

Generally, Switzerland and Scandinavia are the most expensive in Europe. Also, large cities like Paris and London are more expensive than smaller cities or towns.

Kayak is a great website for checking on the best hotel prices, airline flights or car rentals.

Southern Europe, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece as well as Eastern Europe, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia and more are generally cheaper than France, UK, Germany, Belgium, Germany and Austria.

If you love history, Italy is filled with history, art and some beautiful scenery.

Rome is cheaper than Paris or London and the weather is warmer. Florence and Venice would be options for something after Rome.

Spain is less expensive, Madrid, Barcelona and Seville are the key places to go. Portugal as well with Lisbon,Porto and more. Outside of Paris, Normandy or Provence in France are great places, mostly cheaper than Paris.