Suggestions and Advice for Europe

Tave · July 2009

I am hoping to spend no more than $3000 total on a honeymoon. However, I have never traveled outside of the country and am looking for recommendations and tips. I would love to visit Ireland, but am also considering Scotland, England, and Germany. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

shelliemarie · July 2009

I don't have a lot of good advice, other than to take into account the exchange rate. Right now, it's not that great. 3,000.00 USD = 2,110.24 EUR I would also not recommend renting a car. It's very expensive. The rates online may seem good, but you have to take into account the daily insurance you are required to carry, and it can double the cost of the rental. When we rented a car in Ireland, in addition to the insurance, we had to put down a huge deposit .

JenFridrich · July 2009

You've picked out some of the most expensive countires in Europe. Germany is not as expensive as the UK but it is still pretty pricy. The general rule is the farther east you go the cheaper it gets. Prague is a beautiful city and very romantic and it is one of the cheaper countries in Europe. I spent 4 days in London about 2 years ago with my FI and I spent about $1500 - just for hotel, food and activities.

JoaPata · July 2009

I agree with the above posters. You chose the most expensive countries and can't really visit them for $3,000 :-(. I live in Germany and it is the cheapest of all that you mentioned. I also agree that you should not rent a car. Gas is much more expensive in Europe. It can range $6-$8 or more per gallon. The exchange rate is not in favor of the US right now. This means that everything is much more costly. Hotels will cost a lot also. I had a friend come and stay with me and they spent $2500-$3,000 without hotels. The train is the best travel in Europe with metro in the cities. You can look at Eurorail.com for some of the deals I think. I also think Prague is a great location to look at. It is extremely romantic and beautiful and even though it is popular the prices are still less expensive then the UK and Germany. How long would you like to stay? The plane fair alone for you both will blow about half of your budget for a good priced ticket. Let us know if you have more questions.

JoaPata · July 2009

I agree with the above posters. You chose the most expensive countries and can't really visit them for $3,000 :-(. I live in Germany and it is the cheapest of all that you mentioned. I also agree that you should not rent a car. Gas is much more expensive in Europe. It can range $6-$8 or more per gallon. The exchange rate is not in favor of the US right now. This means that everything is much more costly. Hotels will cost a lot also. I had a friend come and stay with me and they spent $2500-$3,000 without hotels. The train is the best travel in Europe with metro in the cities. You can look at Eurorail.com for some of the deals I think. I also think Prague is a great location to look at. It is extremely romantic and beautiful and even though it is popular the prices are still less expensive then the UK and Germany. How long would you like to stay? The plane fair alone for you both will blow about half of your budget for a good priced ticket. Let us know if you have more questions

BreeZ1299 · July 2009

We did Germany, Paris (2 days) Rome (7 days) Vennice (3 days) for $4,000...but I also flew to Europe for $12, FI for $300, stayed with a friend in Germany and shared a room with that same friend in Vennice. GL!

BreeZ1299 · July 2009

For the honeymoon we are spending $2500 so far just in flights and hotels (it will probably be more like $2800 with our last flight that we need to purchase). We are going to Paris for 4 days, Madrid for 6, Majorca for 5 days (staying at an all inclusive resort for just $99 a night! yay!).

LucyD1029 · July 2009

I just got back from Croatia and Slovenia, which are supposed to be cheap, but we still spent a fortune. Croatia is still on the kuna, but it doesn't save you any money. You might be able to do Ireland on $3k if you can find cheap flights and stay in B&Bs, but you still need to think about food & travel expenses.

TerraandHarold · July 2009

We did 9 days in Europe for our late honeymoon/1st anniversary trip last fall. We used EVERY travel perk and discount we could. Here is what we spent Airfare RT LAX to LHR- $630 (ZED FARE) Airfare RT London - Zagreb, Croatia- $773 Hotel 2 nights London @ EasyHotel Paddington- $160 Hotel 2 nights London @ Royal Garden Hotel- $95 (exchanged Disney vacation club points and only paid processing fee)Heathrow Connect to get to Paddington- $30Oyster Cards for the Tube- $80Tickets to Chargers-Saints game in London- $320Tickets to Tower of London- $60Tea @ the Orangery- $50Dinner in Londons Chinatown- $75Souvenirs- $150Train to Gatwick- $60Gas in Croatia- $100Family Dinner in Croatia- $100Total so far- $2693.00We had no hotel costs in Croatia because we stayed with family. I have not included most of the food costs but we probably spent another $500 on food between the 2 countries. That would push the total to well over your budget of $3000. I havent even included the additional $230 that we spent on the trip back because we got bumped off the LAX flight and opted to go to JFK where we had to spend the night. Nor have I included the $80 for parking at the airport.

LarissaAnn · July 2009

Check my bio for my Ireland honeymoon story. We over $4K US, but a bunch of that was on food and souvenirs, we didn't try to cut expenses at all. Renting a car in Ireland, we were NOT required to put down a "huge deposit" or get insurance. At 100 or so Euro, I'd strongly advise the insurance, though. Just in case.

ashleyhurt86 · July 2009

I think it's very possible to have a European honeymoon for that amount but you might want to factor in extra for the flight. We're planning a trip next May 3 days in London a day in Bath and 3 days in Cardiff Wales not sure how much it's all going to cost yet but we've been busy researching it out. If you stay in one part of the country and don't country hop like everyone else here has then yeah it's possible. *if you want to country hop I suggest Epcot at Disney World

* Since we're staying in the Southern region and taking train travel this should be nice. BritRail often has discounts esp if you book in advance. Check out a variety of travel guides at the library for more info. Also visit local websites and tourist sites for deals and discounts. Don't be afraid to book an amazing deal online as long as you read the fine print. We've found some really charming smaller run hotels and inns for about $70-$100 per night USD which is great and offer probably more insight about what to do locally then the Hilton ever could. Also check out budget travel guides. These countries are hot spots for backpacking and there are lots of budget travel guides. Most hostels actually have private rooms as well. Maybe not charming but if you're like us you'll be seeing the sights anyways. Another option pre-arranged travel tours for the whole trip you can see a lot more for a lot less. We love history and want to explore many of the popular places in London but we're getting a London Pass card for like $40 each which gets us into many places free and ahead of the lines. Also go to each website of the place you want to visit I.E. Tower of London and sign up for any free enewsletters that will list deals and discounts. Another thing we want to do is off the beaten path stuff.We've planned a picnic in St. James Park and have applied to be present at the Ceremony of the Keys when they lock the Tower of London at Night *this is free* outside of your chosen countries there is a great little jewel known as Slovania it's on the rise right now as a tourist place but deals can still be had. Hope this helps and glad to know i'm not the only one doing a budget European honeymoon

KappaUCF20 · July 2009

If you stay in one part of the country and don't country hop like everyone else here has then yeah it's possible.Staying in one part of the country has nothing to do with it lol. It has more to do with factors like the exchange rate, cost of plane tickets, etc. As I stated in my post, it's definitely possible but not likely (my DH and I were able to stick to a small budget, but I doubt the OP would want to stay in hostels for her HM).p.s. I've been all over Wales, and it's a beautiful country! If you need any advice, let me know. Cardiff actually isn't that charming though so I'd recommend venturing out into the countryside. The Brecon Beacons has stunning scenery.

cembc99 · August 2009

I just got back from a trip to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, London and Paris. It was not for my HM but for research for my degree. That said, I can tell you that you could definitely do a trip for around $3000, but I think it depends on how long and you would need to limit the locale.For example, right now, we found the UK to be cheaper than Ireland because Ireland is on the Euro whereas the UK is on the pound. So, I would recommend maybe going to England and Scotland and skipping Ireland this time around. However, if you really want Ireland, depending on when you go the tickets are pretty cheap right now. We were there in June and the ticket was 700$ on Aer Lingus from Boston. You could probably do better in the fall, cause lets face it, you aren't going there for the weather. I know they can sometimes go down under 500$ for fall or early spring. There are plenty of 4 star hotels on sale right now for under 150$. If you got a good flight, and checked for a hotel on trip advisor, you could do a week to 10 days for under 3000$.Also, limit your time in Dublin. There is stuff to see, but the best parts of Ireland (and the most romantic) are out of the city. Galway, IMO, is the most beautiful part of Ireland. But, Waterford and the east coast is pretty as well. If you stay outside of the city you will reduce your costs.

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