E Europe best for budgets of course but beyond that esp in summer month of Aug I just would not target Europe. June is fine but damn the heat in Aug!

I would look at the off the beaten path stuff. There's small towns in Italy and France even UK. It's a lot of research of course. Trains are so convenient around the world and you will find what a difference that mean when traveling whether Europe or Asia. My teens love going away out of the US specifically because it's just a simpler way of travel!

I would take the approach of giving yourself maybe in another trip opportunity plenty of time to uncover the beautiful smaller towns. It's also dependent on what you want to see and do of course but I'm not sure you get away if paying less than market to see a treasure if a place you know? There's no free stuff and all that in life. It is what it is but the truck is to mix it up. Often, I may splurge in a city because in a town that's less, $200 can get me a great deal still or there's less to really see and do so a pit stop for much less money of 1 night helps even out budget wise. If you're strategic, that can help.

Again - it's a lot of work to budget I think. It's one thing to simply go to a destination cheaper than another but good stuff will always cost you. Just a matter of comparisons but between $500 v $400 over 1-2 nights isn't that big a deal if it's value added for the former.

I always shake my head about wanting to travel to high market places to find budget accommodations - that kind of stuff is really far and few in between. You are so much better off looking at the big picture if balancing your budget with the priorities of what you want to see and do. You just can't have it both ways.

My neighbors just went to Iceland- direct flight from IAD ( Dulles Airport) for a week. If you want to go to Easter Europe, ffor example, keep in mind that there are no direct flights to Poland from Washington area. I would just go where you can take direct flight from Dulles Airport to Europe for an easier trip. August is probably the worst month to be in Europe, tons of tourists everywhere.

Colmar is SO close to Switzerland. I would do those together next year.

Portugal - Porto?

Iceland?

Anonymous wrote:What the title says -

My husband suddenly realized he cannot carry over some vacation days and wants to go somewhere in early August. I'm a sub teacher so our vacation schedule depends more on his schedule.

Where to go? We were planning for a trip to Switzerland next Spring so I had some vague itinerary but all those places - especially the Berner Oberland, have hotel prices through the roof for August.

I looked into Alsace region in France but that doesn't take up more than 3 to 4 days - Colmar, Strasbourg and the wine tour. Colmar is very reasonable at $200+/night.

Where else could we go and where to fly into? We have 10 days.

Just checking you realise that many of the trails and attractions will be closed in the Bernese Oberland in April and hiking can be a mix of mud, slush and snow at higher altitudes. That’s why the prices are much lower than in August.

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

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Prague or Dubrovnik?

In August?! Are you nuts?!

Prague looks pleasant in August.

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 wrote:What about Prague or Dubrovnik?

In August?! Are you nuts?!

What about Prague or Dubrovnik?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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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.