extra costs on tour

It really depends on your personal travel style and what you do with those free times. Wander in the park with munchies from the hotel's breakfast is going to be a lot cheaper than splurging on a 5-course meal at a fancy restaurant.

I'm going to estimate that I probably spent about $25 a day outside the tour cost, which included extra meals, coffee, gelato, souvenirs, and entrance fees. Of course that doesn't count the day I skipped out of the tour and went up to Florence completely on my own dime. That was probably an additional $300 splurge.

Charles - Which tour?

To keep tour costs competitive they keep reducing what they pay for & supply, but as of 2 years ago every other dinner was on you, as were all lunches, and the beer/wine at the group dinners. Its easy to spend 5E a day on just snacks and water, or a beer on the bus. Depending on what tour you're taking you may get a museum pass or not (should say in the booklet, if not you can call and ask). I didn't travel as economically as Liz; I think I spent $40-$50 per day when averaging it over the whole tour.

My spending was more like Mike's (recently on the "Paris and the South of France" tour and loved it) and I spent more than that because I bought gifts and a few items for myself. (Had to check a bag on the way back!)

A few years ago my daughter and I spent a week in Florence "on the cheap" and we had a wonderful time but couldn't even go in a nice restaurant. I decided then and there that if it was maybe going to be my only time in that country, I would let myself spend a little more.

One couple told me that what they do is to rarely eat out during the rest of the year, at home, which means they can spend a little more on their restaurant meals, while traveling.

Getting sandwiches "to go" can way reduce your food costs. Or in Florence, bakeries sell slices of pizza that are delicious and such a good deal! You can "people watch" just as well while nursing a cappuchino in a cafe.

Charles,

I'm still compiling costs from my recent RS tour so I don't have a clear idea yet on what the "extras" cost me. I'll try and remember to post another note here when I have some facts and figures on hand.

I have one comment to make regarding something in the first reply. "Wandering in the park" using food taken from the breakfast buffet at the Hotel is probably going to be more difficult to do in future. On my trip this year, several of the Hotels I stayed in (which were listed in the Guidebook) had VERY strongly worded signs in the breakfast area stating that "NO FOOD IS TO BE TAKEN AWAY". There was always restaurant staff in the vicinity of the buffet, so it would have been very difficult to "sneak" any items away.

One other note that was provided at several Hotels was "We do NOT accept Traveller's Cheques". Again, this seemed like a very definite and seemingly irrevocable rule.

Cheers!

Ken--where were these hotels located? My tours were city tours in Italy and while I certainly didn't load my pockets with pastries, I don't recall there being any problems if I took the roll on my plate out the door with me.

I have many a time seen people prowling the breakfast buffet with a plastic bag at the ready, into which is sneaked the fixings for lunch. It is a gross thing to do, unfair to the hotel and embarrassing to fellow tourists. A trip to Europe costs thousands of dollars, surely some money for lunches should be factored in.

It really depends on the tour that you take and your personal spending habits. We just returned from Venice, Florence and Rome in 11 days and we spent more on this trip than any other. I just personally found more gifts I wanted to take back, or send home than perhaps I had in other places. Also, it was so, so hot that we spent way more money on cold bottled water than we normally would. Even if we filled up bottles at the drinking fountains it was warm before we knew it.

My Scotland tour was just the opposite. I think I came home with money.

Interesting comments about the breakfast. I don't think the poster was suggesting that anyone bring a feedbag and pack lunch for the rest of the day, but, I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a piece of fruit for your day back, or a roll for a mid morning snack. The breakfast isn't free- it's factored into the price of your room. I've never seen a sign like that in any of the hotels we stayed in.