Last minute travel - where in Europe that is not $500+/per night for family of 4?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would nto do budget travel to europe in august

Europe is a huge area and there are much more reasonable options as the many posts on here are pointing out. Go east. Transylvania is a fabulous suggestion. I strongly urge people to go there when they still can as it feels like a Europe that disappeared a long time ago with the collapse of the Austro Hungarian empire, you still get a sense of an old peasant lifestyle in the villages with their fortified walled churches. And the little cities are so pretty. Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara, Cluj Napoca. We went to Dracula's castle! (it was rather neat). When we went we relied on trains and hired drivers and it worked out well.

Another area is Slovenia if you want a taste of the Alps without the Swiss prices. Although I'm going to Switzerland in late August and made inexpensive bookings many months ago and Switzerland can be done reasonably with care. But probably not at the last minute.

Something to be said about finding a nice quiet coastal town or lake town for the week and relaxing there. Find pleasure in in shopping at local supermarkets and bakeries, a few local sight seeing, swimming in the lake/sea. And not overdoing it. Slovenia with Lake Bled could be ideal for this, with visits up into the mountains nearby.

This might be a good plan but probably not at Lake Bled. Lake Bled is gorgeous but it is one of the top tourist attractions in Slovenia and nothing about it is “quiet” in the summer. The Vintgar Gorge nearby had to require timed entries to manage its popularity.

I might try this plan at Piran before I tried it at Bled (although it will also be busy in the summer!)

Lake Bled is ridiculously busy in August, as is Piran and the rest of the coast. That’s why we spent September and October in these places, no crowds.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I was just in Colmar and while it was nice I wouldn’t describe the prices as reasonable. Also, keep in mind you need a hotel with air conditioning. It’s not standard, but it’s miserable without it.

OP here. I'm interested in your itinerary - did you need a car? How easy is it to travel in France without a car? What were the room rates like when you went? I didn't think to look into whether the hotel had air conditioning. Good reminder, thank you.

We took trains between Strasbourg and Colmar and hired a guide to drive us to for the wineries and towns, but in retrospect I think we’d have been better off with a car, as Colmar is touristy and the smaller towns are lovely. Our hotel was v nice and modern, but it was just two of us, so only one room. I paid with points so not sure about the rate. Probably under $300/night, but you’d need two rooms.

It was unimaginably hot while we were there and no restaurants or shops had a/c. If you go, research restaurants in advance because some of the meals we had at casual places were $$ and not good. It was hard to commit to fine dining in the heat though. Had a great time despite it all but would base in a smaller town if we go back.

Also, how old are your kids? The crowd seemed to skew older (retired people). Not sure if my teens would have found enough to interest them.

Early teens.

I do have 75k points on my new card I can use. Never done it before so it will be a learning curve. Which hotel was it if you don't mind sharing - I want to check with the portals.

My husband does not want us driving in a foreign country so we will have to take public transport only. My original thought was fly into Zurich, take the train to Strasbourg or Colmar and then back track to Switzerland. Since I already did the research, it was just about finding reasonably priced accommodations for Switzerland but now I have to start over again. If we had just booked the hotels 3 months ago we would have been good and within our budget.

Here is what we wanted to do and had to choose from:

Luzern - Titlis or Pilatus
Jungfrau if weather is good, Schilthorn/Grindelwald First, Wengen Mannlichen trail with the playgrounds for the kids, Lauterbrunnen valley hike
Oeschinense lake, Lake Brienze or Thun cruise
Zermatt + Matterhorn cog wheel train for the views
Golden pass express to Montreaux
Zurich Lindt chocolate factory or Gruyere cheese factory

These are all beautiful places, but transportation in Switzerland is extremely expensive, even with a Swiss travel pass, so if you’re trying to economize, keep that in mind. Also food is very expensive, unless you buy stuff at the grocery store and have a picnic. Switzerland is literally the last place I would go if budget is a concern.

[Anonymous]

What about Prague or Dubrovnik?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Prague or Dubrovnik?

In August?! Are you nuts?!

[Anonymous]

I recommend staying in Keyserberg over Colmar. Colmar used to be quiet and sleepy but it is now overrun with tourists. Rent ebikes and you can take the paths through the vineyards to go from town to town.

Consider Brittany and Normandy instead though. Saint Malo, Mont St Michel, St Mere Igles, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Prague or Dubrovnik?

In August?! Are you nuts?!

Prague looks pleasant in August.

[Anonymous]

How many times have y’all been to Europe OP?