Comments on: Planning a frugal European vacation

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 08:38:38 +0000

I’ve been living in Brussels since last November, of course its not Paris! But it’s a good travel base for any english speaker. You can easily and cheaply (if booked in advance) Fast Train/commute to Paris (1Hr), Cologne (2hr),London (2hr). Brussels is super english friendly, and food and accommodation is less expensive….if your nice you can stay with us :)

By: Where we’re going & how far we’ve come

Where we’re going & how far we’ve come — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:08:03 +0000

[...] think back to last January when Tony and I started talking about our crazy plan to go to Europe. I wanted to make it happen, but I doubted whether we could save that much money in addition to our [...]

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:39:08 +0000

Hi there, I am a silent but avid reader of your blog.
I have been to Paris many times and would be more than happy to pass on the reccos I have been giving to friends for years. Lots of walks and shops to peek into and streets and parks that are must sees that will cost nothing, plus some places to eat that are well within budget.
Paris is my favorite place. You will love it.

By: Bobbi

Bobbi — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:17:58 +0000

Great Post. Another way to cut down costs is to search for someone who may want to come to the US for vacation at the same time. My sis ter did that and they have switched two or three times with the same family. I don’t know all the details, but there are websites. Good luck it all sounds like a good plan to me.

By: momstheword

momstheword — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:56:25 +0000

Good for you! I think there is nothing wrong with your planning. You are saving money by not having to pay for kids. After the kids come it does cost more. I quit working after we had our children which greatly reduced our ability to pay our then-debt (we are now debt free except for the house) but I have never regretted my choice. We are currently saving for a vacation. It usually takes us about four years to save up. We last took one two years ago. Our oldest is now 20 so we are taking another one in a few years when the youngest turns 18. momstheword’s last blog post..WHAT IS YOUR "ROOM OF DOOM" AND WHY?

By: Sarah F.

Sarah F. — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:41:50 +0000

Great post! My husband and I are in the same boat. We are approaching being credit card debt free, and are having discussions all the time about what we want to do next. We too would like to do some traveling before having children. Part of me wants to keep chopping away at the debt. But, even if we attacked our remaining non-mortgage debt of student loans with "gazelle like intensity", as we've been doing with our credit cards, that'd be another 4-6 years until payoff. To echo Kacie, "Being debt free is nice, but living life is even nicer". One way we'd cut travel costs would be to stay with friends. I have a good friend who lives in the greater Los Angeles area, whom we're planning on visiting this year. We also have a friend who lives in Switzerland, who's already invited us to visit! (Hmm, maybe you won't be the only one planning on going to Europe in 2010 ;)). Love your blog! Sarah F.’s last blog post..New Year, New Goals

By: claire

claire — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:24:31 +0000

the dollar is actually really high right now!! As recently as a few months ago it was £0.50 to $1.0. Now it’s £0.70 to $1.0.

Another way to do it on the cheap is to rent a flat for a week. It can be less expensive than a hotel room plus you can store some food in your flat rather than purchasing all of your meals out.

I like your blog b/c my husband and I are in a similar situation, but we don’t have any debt and we have an emergency fund in place. I work full time and he’s finishing a humanities phd. The plan is also for me to stay at home once we have children, so we’ll never make tons of money.

We are Americans, but living in England. Our plan is to do a 3 week tour of europe, financed with cash once he has a job contract. We’re keeping it cheap by staying in hostels and getting a good rail pass.

By: Money Funk

Money Funk — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:03:10 +0000

Ya, I came to that realization, too. That is why I decided to throw in the Hawaii Trip for next year. My kids will be old and have children if I waited to be completely debt free. lol! Well, maybe not that old. And we'll be doing it frugal, too. I think finding frugal ways will actually make the trip more interesting! Money Funk’s last blog post..Tax Deduction Laughters!

By: Carla

Carla — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:56:45 +0000

I think this is a wonderful plan. I can tell you without a doubt, planning vacations with kids, is definitely difficult. I have always dreamed of a European vacation but I can't imagine taking my f little peeps with me. Now, with kids, mortgage, grad school, and other debt, it will have to wait until retirement. :o( Carla’s last blog post..My birthday

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:09:56 +0000

Claire – We want to spend a week in London and a week in Paris. Since it’ll probably be years before we can make it back, we want to make sure we have plenty of time there.

I came up with that number by doing some research on the current cost of airfare, hotels, and making some rough estimates for the cost of food and entertainment.

I definitely rounded up. I would hate to plan for a low number only to find out later that I underestimated. I also want to account for any increases in prices (for airfare, hotel, etc.) that may happen between now and when we go (which could definitely happen). Also, if the value of the dollar remains as low as it is now (or goes lower), then we’ll have to account for that in our planning.

If it ends up costing us less than $6,000, great! We’ll put that into savings or put it toward debt. I’m just trying to be safe. :)