How much are you paying?

Here's a thread that is almost identical with 61 replies..

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/is-europe-really-that-expensive

Looks like a good value to me.

Just go to Vegas - then you can see Venice, Paris, etc., see a show, and lose a lot of money at the casino at the same time! No passport required.

FYI, because I had to look up the conversion rate to understand the question:
AUD11000 = €6900 = US$8500 (rounding up).

Cost is only slightly higher than what i’m planning for next year’s trip to Italy just for me.

For trips half that length (we're Americans after all), similar per day, if just a bit more.

Interesting article on Yahoo Finance today on people's biggest expenditures from disposable income.
North America 34% of respondants spent most on Technology
Europeans 41 % on Fashion and Beauty
South America 17% on Fashion and Beauty
Asia 16% Food and Drink
Africa 18% Leisure Pursuits
Australia 24% Travel

Australians have the least amount of extra money to spend, stating that they have a mere 6% of their income, on average, to use after covering all their expenses.

Keep on travelin'.

For this year's trip, ie May/June, the flight is $500 r/t Oakland to Gatwick, the cheapest yet.

In past years the flight was $1500-1600 for a trip mid-May to early July, always in Economy, r/t or open jaw, SFO to either London, or Paris CDG or Frankfurt FRA. That's flying BA, United, Lufthansa or Air France, non-stop, 11 hrs or close to it.

When I get a chance to fly Singapore Air, I most certainly will take advantage of that opportunity.

We look at the basics -- won't spend more than $100/night on a hotel and we can stay at WONDERFUL often 4* hotels on that budget. If breakfast isn't included in the hotel, we'll pick up fresh fruit/yoghurt/breads for breakfast, make a picnic lunch from local grocery stores for lunch and go out for dinner enjoying house wines which are often a fraction of the price of non-house wines. We never rent cars; we'll take public transport and unless there is a physical injury one of us is enduring (like my recent surgery), we'll take pubic transport between the airports and hotels -- another savings for us. We look at museum passes or some type of attractions saving pass as well to both save time and money. Just some ideas on what we do.

steves_8, how much is the airfare part of your trip? That may likely be the biggest difference.

The airfare was AUD2160pp. This is economy class, Singapore Airlines, good time slots (with just one exception - a 23:30 departure from Changi to Milan) and including stopovers in Singapore each way.

So minus 11000 minus 4320 is roughly AUD 6700 or about USD 5200. For a four week trip 5200/28 = USD 188 per day. I'd say that was pretty good. Actually that sounds really cheap considering you're including car rental. Someone check my math.

"So minus 11000 minus 4320 is roughly AUD 6700 or about USD 5200 ... "

Your math is correct.

Still got gas, Italian tolls, Austrian vignette. You can probably dodge a Swiss vignette by taking the Fluelapass and down the Inn River Valley to Austria. Also parking, especially in Venice.
Airfare is about the same for summer airfares for everywhere except eastern seaboard (cheaper there) in the US going with a major carrier.

"Still got gas, Italian tolls, Austrian vignette."

Of course, and food, concert tickets, chair lift rides (to reach the best views and walks), etc.

I don't include any of these however, because I find that there is little difference in what we spend on those items whether we're at home, or on holiday. The principal 'extra' cost versus staying at home is flights and accommodation.

My trips are usually less than half that but I don't have to manage a trip from Australia, my last three round-trip flights to Europe (from DC) have been around $500. My next one is a splurge at $560. I know people from Australia typically plan more days. My next one is 19 nights, which is on the long side for American vacations. I'm hoping to mostly camp this trip, so nightly cost is about 30 euro (plus 100 euro for a tent, bag and pad). I did book an Airbnb for Bordeaux and hostels for 6 nights in Paris.