Cost effective European Areas/Cities
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@Dashrender said:
I know Scott will love this - Go to Spain. Their economy is depressed which is keeping prices low, plus it's a beautiful area!
Great reasons to look at Spain. It's a wonderful, low cost, great history, gorgeous, safe, easy to handle country. It has everything.
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@coliver said:
@IRJ said:
I am getting married next year and would like to go to Europe for a honey moon. I would like to find a cost effective location because my fiance' and are very budget minded. We would rather enjoy scenery than the tourist areas.
We are postponing our honeymoon this year and will be going to Scotland next year. Probably not the most cost effective, but we will get to see my family homestead and a lot of other cool things while we are there.
We might be doing something similar. We were talking about going to Key West (4 hour drive) after we get married for a couple days. Then have a real honeymoon at a later date.
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@IRJ said:
@coliver said:
@IRJ said:
I am getting married next year and would like to go to Europe for a honey moon. I would like to find a cost effective location because my fiance' and are very budget minded. We would rather enjoy scenery than the tourist areas.
We are postponing our honeymoon this year and will be going to Scotland next year. Probably not the most cost effective, but we will get to see my family homestead and a lot of other cool things while we are there.
We might be doing something similar. We were talking about going to Key West (4 hour drive) after we get married for a couple days. Then have a real honeymoon at a later date.
That is basically what we are doing. I am surprising my fiance with a mini-moon, as my parents are calling it. We are going on a long weekend to Plum Island and staying at a nice B&B.
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@IRJ said:
@coliver said:
@IRJ said:
I am getting married next year and would like to go to Europe for a honey moon. I would like to find a cost effective location because my fiance' and are very budget minded. We would rather enjoy scenery than the tourist areas.
We are postponing our honeymoon this year and will be going to Scotland next year. Probably not the most cost effective, but we will get to see my family homestead and a lot of other cool things while we are there.
We might be doing something similar. We were talking about going to Key West (4 hour drive) after we get married for a couple days. Then have a real honeymoon at a later date.
That drive is for the birds! I did it last year. Rented a convertable - thought I put on enough sunscreen.. nope still burnt toast!
Though KeyWest was fun for the 2 hours we spent there.
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@Dashrender said:
@IRJ said:
@coliver said:
@IRJ said:
I am getting married next year and would like to go to Europe for a honey moon. I would like to find a cost effective location because my fiance' and are very budget minded. We would rather enjoy scenery than the tourist areas.
We are postponing our honeymoon this year and will be going to Scotland next year. Probably not the most cost effective, but we will get to see my family homestead and a lot of other cool things while we are there.
We might be doing something similar. We were talking about going to Key West (4 hour drive) after we get married for a couple days. Then have a real honeymoon at a later date.
That drive is for the birds! I did it last year. Rented a convertable - thought I put on enough sunscreen.. nope still burnt toast!
Though KeyWest was fun for the 2 hours we spent there.
Being stuck on a two lane road with water on each side is kind of frustrating especially when there is an accident. One thing about the Keys though there is literally nothing to do if you dont drink, fish, or dive.
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Places to consider in Spain:
Andalucia is an amazing region with a lot to offer at very low cost. Lots of cities to pick from here. But if you are going to visit only one, I think that I would recommend Sevilla. It is large enough to offer a ton and still be really easy to handle. Very walkable, nice bus tour, lots of food, nice river front, lots of late night activities (restaurants are actually open at night), great boulevards, driveable, really awesome parks.
And in a region so if you can take day trips away there is an amazing region around it that you can easily visit.
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@coliver said:
@IRJ said:
@coliver said:
@IRJ said:
I am getting married next year and would like to go to Europe for a honey moon. I would like to find a cost effective location because my fiance' and are very budget minded. We would rather enjoy scenery than the tourist areas.
We are postponing our honeymoon this year and will be going to Scotland next year. Probably not the most cost effective, but we will get to see my family homestead and a lot of other cool things while we are there.
We might be doing something similar. We were talking about going to Key West (4 hour drive) after we get married for a couple days. Then have a real honeymoon at a later date.
That is basically what we are doing. I am surprising my fiance with a mini-moon, as my parents are calling it. We are going on a long weekend to Plum Island and staying at a nice B&B.
I surprised @dominica with a surprise honeymoon in 2004 to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. We drove it all and it was awesome.
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My fiance really wants to go to Venice, but it may be just because of the PR that area gets. Is Venice cost effective?
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@IRJ said:
My fiance really wants to go to Venice, but it may be just because of the PR that area gets. Is Venice cost effective?
About as cost-effective as saying, if you want to visit America, go to New York.
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@IRJ said:
My fiance really wants to go to Venice, but it may be just because of the PR that area gets. Is Venice cost effective?
Okay, this is my number one "never go to" city anywhere, not just in Europe. I recommended to two different people already this week about this. The worst of everything. Everything that is wrong with a high cost, totally fake, just for tourist location without the safety and cleanliness that that normally entails. It is the worst parts of Disney World and the worst parts of a slum mixed together with no upsides. Literally the worst place I've ever been in my life. Venice is pure marketing and one of the most expensive cities because there are no locals, it is all fake just for the high price tourists.
And Venice is not near anything, so you burn tons of time getting to and from too.
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Stick to southern Europe, as it is much cheaper than northern Europe. Check out airbnb.com for some great deals on nice places to stay. We have had excellent luck with airbnb in Spain. If you want to do more of a whirlwind tour as a "once-in-a-lifetime" type trip, then check out ricksteves.com and look at his guidebooks for all-Europe "grand tour" itinerary suggestions and for single country itineraries. If you want to be more laid back, pick a city like Sevilla, Granada or even Barcelona and see everything there is to see in that place, and take day trips. doyouspain.com has great deals on rental cars, and there are lots of train options too.
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@Breffni-Potter said:
@IRJ said:
My fiance really wants to go to Venice, but it may be just because of the PR that area gets. Is Venice cost effective?
About as cost-effective as saying, if you want to visit America, go to New York.
Yeah.... and then only visiting Newark, NJ. It's dirty, disgusting and worthless.
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The only two places I've ever been to in Europe that I would say are actually not worth visiting, even if they were free and you were already there are Venice and Brussels. If I was to win a free vacation in either, I'd rather not take it than have to go to either place. They are that bad.
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We were not fans of Venice. It's overrated and dirty. If you really want to go, definitely check out Rick Steves' suggestions for getting the most out of Venice.
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Barcelona is amazing, but not exactly cheap and takes a bit more "work" than like Sevilla or Cordoba.
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@scottalanmiller said:
The only two places I've ever been to in Europe that I would say are actually not worth visiting, even if they were free and you were already there are Venice and Brussels. If I was to win a free vacation in either, I'd rather not take it than have to go to either place. They are that bad.
WOW - and Venice was on my list for next summer... now to reconsider.
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Cheap places I've lived: Sarajevo, southern Moscow, parts of Bratislava, many crappy towns in former East Germany, though still more expensive than a lot of places.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
The only two places I've ever been to in Europe that I would say are actually not worth visiting, even if they were free and you were already there are Venice and Brussels. If I was to win a free vacation in either, I'd rather not take it than have to go to either place. They are that bad.
WOW - and Venice was on my list for next summer... now to reconsider.
For some people, and I totally understand this, Venice is one of those things that you just can't resisting hitting as a "check box" as it is so iconic. I can understand. But the cost of doing Venice is enormous - both the financial cost of being in the city and getting to it, but also in the cost of time. You might give up several far better trips of awesome experiences in exchange for that one checkbox.
But I've hit that checkbox, so it would be unfair of me to say that there is no value to that. We were lucky, we arrived by overnight train, saw the city for about one hour on a boat and decided to just get on another train and leave feeling that there was nothing more to see in the city. Having the ability to just get on a train and leave to go on to our next place and having no ties to Venice (like a hotel reservation in town) allowed us to just escape.
If you are really into museums, Venice does have some. For me, travel is not about seeing famous sights which is all Venice has going for it. The value for me is mostly around people, culture, history and Venice is nearly vacant when it comes to that stuff. Yeah, it has cool history, but very little of it to see.
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Slight off topic but, Is Hawaii a good vacation place? seems to be popular but, I know a guy stationed there and he says it's a overcrowded and dirty place with really not that much to do.
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@thecreativeone91 said:
Slight off topic but, Is Hawaii a good vacation place? seems to be popular but, I know a guy stationed there and he says it's a overcrowded and dirty place with really not that much to do.
I have several friends who have done it and love it. It's anything but cheap and lots of it is fake. But if you are there for the sun, weather and Pacific ocean then it has a lot to offer. If you want to "do something" then it has very little.
