Budget for first time married couple in Europe

Muriel,My husband and I live in Tigard. We'll have to hook up. Our 3 week trip to Italy Mid October/ early November was $4,700 AND it was minimal spending. We walked a LOT!!! 9 hours on our first day in Rome. Nothing is cheap. Since it will be "high" season the B&B's etc. will be around 100 euro by now. Rome for us was 75 euro Oct and 70 euro our last two days in Rome. Check train schedules BEFORE you book any of your accommodations. We ate from street vendors, stayed in B&B's which only included a roll, maybe juice and coffee. Make sure you stay where you get more for breakfast so you can pack some for your lunch. You didn't say how long your trip will be. Don't try to go to CT from Venice. The train route isn't too friendly and you would give up a day of sightseeing. Stay in Rome, Venice, Florence at least 2 full days arriving the afternoon just before the two days. Just food for thought. This was our first trip to Italy.

Mariel....I think your final itinerary will also be dependent on how long you plan to spend in Europe. At, say, three weeks, that allows less than two days in each spot you want to visit, plus travel time. Once you subtract air fare from that total (maybe $1000 each, if you're very lucky), that only leaves about $2000. Even on the tighest of budgets, that's barely enough for two weeks. Maybe consider sharply narrowing your target destinations...to save money you'd spend on travelling...and to better enjoy the spots you do visit.

Mariel, Rick is having a Travel Festival in Edmonds, Washington in January. It might be of interest to you to go talk to some of the tour guides and sit in on their seminars/slides of the countries you are interested in. It is listed on this web page etc.My husband and I go every year. It has great resources and you get to talk to other travelers while waiting for the venue to start.

I would hit the biggies first. Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Florence, if you can, places that are fairly near each other. I guess you can throw in Germany, but I haven't been there, so can't speak to this. London and Rome are great but further away. Do the research, know the distances between places and the most efficient way to get there. Even if you only see a couple of cities, it will be great and worth it. You will return!
And I agree with your idea to not spend a lot of money on souveniers, and take pictures instead. If you have a decent camera, preferably digital with lots of storage, you can take and share wonderful pictures with family and friends. I have shared my photo albums online with everyone I know, and have framed pictures all over my house. You can create your own art that you will enjoy forever.

thanks to everyone for the tips. we have a few of rick's books, plus europe on a shoestring by l.p., so let the research begin! I also will readup on teh rail passes. i have a feeling we will have to eliminate some of my places - it's so hard to choose and unfortunately, no one can tell someone else what is and isn't worth it - I have a friend who hates London and another who thinks Paris is overrated. then you'll talk to a million people who would say otherwise. my husband and I are interested in history - all its blood, pain, beauty and love via politics, war, religion and creation. art history, philosophy and everything we "learned in school" will come alive for us when we can visually experience it firsthand. throw in a couple of days of relaxation in the cinque terre and I call that an adventure!

There is a non-stop flight to Frankfurt, Germany from Portland, Oregon. Subscribe to Lufthansa's newsletter and keep checking lufthansa.com. You can get really great deals for such a comfortable flight. Working Spain in? How about a three-day trip to Jerez, Cadiz and Seville? Check with www.ryanair.com and airberlin.com. Even though Ryanair's Frankfurt airport is an hour away from the real one there is a bus shuttle for just €12 one-way. Last time I booked a roundtriop to Seville it was €31 including taxes!! It's cheaper and actually much nicer and better to stay at some Jerez hostel and only day-trip into Seville. And Jerez is the most lovely and romantic place in the evenings - and it comes with affordable tapas ;-) - unlinke Seville. That tapas place right next to that Starbucks across from the cathedral... for that price an olive has to do much, much more than just taste well. I - at least - would have expected it to sing and dance on the plate.

My daughter and I did 27 days in Europe: London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Salzburg, Munich, Bacharach, Shannon, Dingle Peninsula, Edinburgh, Inverness, Edinburg, York, and London, in that order. It was both exhilarating and exhausting!

How we planned it was each of made a list of everything we wanted to see. Then we circled just those things we would have truly regretted missing. That gave us a route. When we started figuring out timetables, we eliminated several countries to come up with the list above. We were able to add plenty of "filler" sites and have a two day break in the middle which we needed. Of course, we tried to be creative so we took three flights in Europe, used a railpass, and rented two cars. 5 years ago it cost us $3300 each, all inclusive, so it would be about $4500-$5000 now. I hope this info helps! Have a great trip. And always plan to return to see whatever you missed; we did and we have!

Jo, I think their budget is for TWO, not each.

Hello Mariel. The airline tickets for flying to Europe in June will be very expensive. If the
$3800. that you can spend is for two people, the amount of money for each person to spend in Europe will be less than $800. (or less than that if you spend some of the money for travel bags and travel accessories). With that kind of a budget, I suggest go to only one country in Europe, be there for a maximum of seven days. If you want to fly to Rome, the lowest air fares that you can find now are probably the lowest air fares that you will ever see. Those lowest priced airline tickets will be sold out soon.

Mariel,

Rirfares in June will be the most expensive. 2 years ago I saved $400 on an airfare from celeveland, oh to Romania, by leaving on May, the 25yh or 26th .Also the time you stay overseas will make a difference in your airfare. For exemple if you stay less then 30 days , will save you some money. Delta has good rates now.Try to buy your airfare a few months ahead.
In 2002 , my boyfriend and I toured Weastern Europe by car. It cost us about $4000,including airfare, rent a car,hotels, meals,museum fees. We stayed mostly in budget hotels.WE started in Amsterdam, then Paris,Loire Valley, Golden coast, Chamonix, Benelux.
The most expensive hotel was in Amsterdam, and Bruselle, both EUR80.We stayed in France for EUR 30, and Nice for EUR 55. All the hotels were nice and clean. In Paris we paid EUR 40, close to the subway, but the room was really small. We had to move our luggage all the times to get around the room.The bed was a double, but looked like a twin size in the US.

Mariel,
I suggest you and your husband consider going to Europe during a different season. My wife and I just bought tickets round trip from Seattle to Frankfurt for $405 a ticket round trip for January 25 to Feb 3. The same price was quoted when I check roundtrip from Portland to Frankfurt. It is not the best time to be in Europe for the weather, however if you are on a strict budget and you want to see a lot of places then I would recommend trying to save on your airfare.

Well, everyone thanks for the tips. I still think it can be done. Nobody mentioned hostels - which is where we will stay to avoid those 100 euro hotels. Because of school and work restraints, we can't really go any other time but early summer. He is graduating from college then - plus it's our first wedding anniversary. Hopefully our family will give us some contributions toward Europe in celebration!

Anywhere in Europe, a bare-bones dorm room bed in a hostel is going to cost you at least $20 per person, per night....with maybe a dozen other people around you, and possibly separated from your husband. While hostels have improved considerably in the 35 years I've been travelling abroad (private rooms with ensuites...for which you pay three-star hotel rates), the dorms have not...they are still noisy, inconvenient, and at times, smelly places in which to sleep. You don't want to blight your experiences through a lack of sleep...you'll need it after walking all over the city. I would respectfully suggest again that you think about sharply reducing your list of destinations and the time you spend in Europe on this first trip to get the best experience possible at the spots you do visit. Don't worry...you will be back!