Budget family travelers - International destinations that cost less than the US?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the suggestions. I agree airfare is what kills the budget, but at times it can cost $700 apiece to fly to Phoenix anyway (and I hate the desert), hence the idea to go somewhere a little more special if we get a deal on the fares. Is Airbnb a good option throughout Eastern Europe?

No. It never costs 700 to fly to Phoenix unless you buy last minute at Christmas. Use google flight and you can see airfare between Washington and any destination. Use the map search.

Also if your flexible try theflightdeal.com. they track cheap deals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kiev is a great interesting city and also cheap.

Prague Warsaw Budapest Vienna Belgrade Ljubljana Sofia.

Basically eastern-ish Europe.

Haha. Vienna is definitely not cheap.

[Anonymous]

We flew 450 rt from JFK to Milan over spring break

[Anonymous]

Slovakia is cheap (and pretty). Hungary (Budapest is no longer super cheap, but the rest is).

Parts of South America too. Bolivia-gorgeous and very inexpensive once you get there. Parts of Peru too.

[Anonymous]

We are a family of 5 and I totally get this. Often times we let airfare price determine our destination. For example when Air France recently had low fare sales to Paris with tix for $570, that determined our destination. Paris in April is not completely warm but nice spring weather. Worked out well for us for the week with perfect weather. Then we got a nice apartment right across le louvre for 1200. Exchange rates was 1 to 1 when we arrived so was perfect. We spent a total of 1400 for transport, going out to eat everyday and souvenirs/ excursions. I consider it a success for a family of 5, for 7 days for around 5k. We did similar trips to Ireland, Madrid and London. No we are not staying at the ritz and being served but these European trips are so busy and so much to see. We leave the apartment early and come home after dinner most days. With navigation and iPhones it's really pretty easy to get around. We used vbro often and have not had a bad place. Read up on the reviews. They are telling and pick the ones with the best reviews. We did similar trips to Caribbean with great success too! Set up a fare watchers for places you're interested in!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never used Air BnB, but I have traveled with family and stayed in vacation rentals plenty of times, using VRBO, Homeaway, Gites de France, etc. I've only booked through an actual agency once or twice (they are usually a lot more expensive).

My family is usually on a strict budget, too. Some of the travel discussions here on DCUM remind me of the old "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," because many posters have a lot more travel cash than I do. More power to 'em.

You can find perfectly nice, even absolutely charming, places to stay in Western Europe for far cheaper than what the Hampton Inn - Residence Inn - No Name In places charge when we travel for family obligations.

But yes, the airfare is the hurdle. Once you've got that covered, and you're willing to do "self-catering" (ie eat in more than out so you're grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning up afterwards) you can probably put together a great trip for less than you spend in the US. We do it all the time.

Good luck!

The difference is in Eastern Europe you can eat out at top restaurants. I went to an exclusive restaurant in downtown Kiev and the check for four was about 15 bucks. The cab is also laughably cheap - they drive you around for a whole day for 10 bucks. Hotels are also cheap unless you go Hyatt and similar.

Kiev is kind of an outlier.. Their currency took a dive after Russia annexed Crimea due to the political uncertainty. You're right you can live like a king there, but that's one of the few EE countries where you can find such a deal. Ok, I guess Moldova and Armenia too, but then the issue is flights -- there are no direct flights, so getting there may require 3 flights each way (cuts into travel time).

Southeast Asia is pretty cheap all around, like Thailand and Vietnam and also China, but it's a loooong flight. I suppose China is most feasible from here, as there are 2 daily flights to Beijing from Dulles, though the $140/person visa needs to be factored in also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 5 and I totally get this. Often times we let airfare price determine our destination. For example when Air France recently had low fare sales to Paris with tix for $570, that determined our destination. Paris in April is not completely warm but nice spring weather. Worked out well for us for the week with perfect weather. Then we got a nice apartment right across le louvre for 1200. Exchange rates was 1 to 1 when we arrived so was perfect. We spent a total of 1400 for transport, going out to eat everyday and souvenirs/ excursions. I consider it a success for a family of 5, for 7 days for around 5k. We did similar trips to Ireland, Madrid and London. No we are not staying at the ritz and being served but these European trips are so busy and so much to see. We leave the apartment early and come home after dinner most days. With navigation and iPhones it's really pretty easy to get around. We used vbro often and have not had a bad place. Read up on the reviews. They are telling and pick the ones with the best reviews. We did similar trips to Caribbean with great success too! Set up a fare watchers for places you're interested in!

How old are your children if you can just take off like that? Do they go to school?

[Anonymous]

13, 11, 10. We r ffx county. That is why most of our Europe trips are during spring and Caribbean trips summer. Be nice if we could do summer Europe and spring Caribbean but airfares would kill us. I hear you can do Guadeloupe for 129 during certain times in Jan- April on Norwegian out of Bwi.

[Anonymous]

It's much, much more expensive to fly overseas, and I doubt you would make up enough of that through cheap hotels or rentals overseas. if you have friends or relatives to stay with, that's a different story.

[Anonymous]

I think the only way to make this work is to rent out or "home exchange" your US place to make up the difference. For a weeklong trip the airfare is not going to be cheap enough to offset your costs on the ground.

[Anonymous]

United was doing was deep airfare sales earlier this week.

South African Airways offers some cheap fares, but you have to watch for the sales, usually around March/April. It's great down there in May-September, which is winter.

[Anonymous]

We've had good luck booking with HomeAway and TripAdviser (look for places that have many great reviews). Look for an apartment not in the city.

If you are willing to drive up to NYC you can find much cheaper flights.

[Anonymous]

I'll tell ya, flyover country is beautiful and cheap. The people, while primitive and backward in their political views, are quite friendly (if you're not brown). You can find quite filling fare - at affordable prices - at most McDonald's outlets which are prominently located nearby wherever you might be. Additionally, you can learn a lot about climate science and history if you visit the Creatoon museum in Tennessee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 5 and I totally get this. Often times we let airfare price determine our destination. For example when Air France recently had low fare sales to Paris with tix for $570, that determined our destination. Paris in April is not completely warm but nice spring weather. Worked out well for us for the week with perfect weather. Then we got a nice apartment right across le louvre for 1200. Exchange rates was 1 to 1 when we arrived so was perfect. We spent a total of 1400 for transport, going out to eat everyday and souvenirs/ excursions. I consider it a success for a family of 5, for 7 days for around 5k. We did similar trips to Ireland, Madrid and London. No we are not staying at the ritz and being served but these European trips are so busy and so much to see. We leave the apartment early and come home after dinner most days. With navigation and iPhones it's really pretty easy to get around. We used vbro often and have not had a bad place. Read up on the reviews. They are telling and pick the ones with the best reviews. We did similar trips to Caribbean with great success too! Set up a fare watchers for places you're interested in!

This is us too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll tell ya, flyover country is beautiful and cheap. The people, while primitive and backward in their political views, are quite friendly (if you're not brown). You can find quite filling fare - at affordable prices - at most McDonald's outlets which are prominently located nearby wherever you might be. Additionally, you can learn a lot about climate science and history if you visit the Creatoon museum in Tennessee.

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever read.

How do these flyover country people treat brown folks?