smcast
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,319
Location: MN
Mar 18, 2016 14:06:38 GMT
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Post by smcast on May 16, 2016 19:38:47 GMT
Good luck! I love to travel. It is hard to travel to Europe and find "cheap" in my opinion. You have some good tips here. I hate to travel and miss out because of money. If I travel, I like to take in as much as possible for the full experience. Finding a home instead of a hotel and making more meals would help.
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rickmer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,123
Jul 1, 2014 20:20:18 GMT
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Post by rickmer on May 17, 2016 0:02:14 GMT
We don't go on group tours ourselves, but have found that by looking at the itineraries of some of the better group tours we can put together our own similar trip for less money. this is a great idea! you'll know, for example, which attractions are must sees, and which can be skipped. and i would say i found this in paris and amsterdam. we passed on the louvre and went to the musee d'Orsay instead. in amsterdam we didn't go to vincent van gogh museum but did go to anne frank house. we didn't have to do everything, we just did some things. and we did TONS of walking around... just so many beautiful things around every corner. fun to chat about...i really appreciate all your feedback. you have given me lots to look into. m
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AmeliaBloomer
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: USA
Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on May 17, 2016 11:40:52 GMT
Poland is cheap - cheap being a relative term. Kraków is a beautiful, very walkable city. A castle, a charming historic old town, and WWII history: something for everybody. And cheap food. It's often listed as one of Europe's underappreciated gems. Nearby day trips include Auschwitz and a salt mine.
You could combine Kraków with Zakapone, a lovely resort town in the mountains. Lots of outdoorsy stuff.
We recently spent two weeks in Berlin and London. London is fabulous, but very pricey. Berlin is cheaper than the big Western European cities, but not nearly as cheap as Poland. It's a very modern city; no vestiges of old world charm. Tourism leans very heavily toward WWII and Holocaust sites.
While planning any trip, I spend quite a bit of time on Trip Adviser forums. Also the Rick Steves forums.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 23:06:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2016 14:00:29 GMT
Wherever you go, look for an apartment through AirBnB instead of renting a hotel room. We found it generally much cheaper, with more space, plus you can save money by purchasing simple breakfast items to prepare/eat instead of eating breakfast out every morning. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a place that will sleep your whole family for about the cost of one hotel room. We did this in Paris and Amsterdam and were extremely happy with both. I can't say enough good things about AirBnB. We'll never stay in a hotel in Europe again, aside from single night one-offs here and there. One additional benefit not mentioned above is that you can often get a much cooler location for the cost than when you stay in a hotel. We stayed in a canal-side apartment in Venice a couple of summers ago for about the third of the cost of a canal-side hotel. We'll be in an apartment that looks right out on the Duomo in Florence in a few weeks. Also, one of our favorite things to do is shop for groceries in foreign grocery stores and markets, something you don't typically need to do when you're in a hotel. My daughter studied abroad in Florence in 2008...We stayed in a bed and breakfast that overlooked the Duomo and it was fantastic. Enjoy your trip.
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