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Old 12-01-2009, 07:13 PM
 
Location: Bike to Surf!
3,080 posts, read 11,036,258 times
Reputation: 3022

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Quote:
Originally Posted by oneyear View Post
Euro's and Europe{aka amsterdam} will rip you off!!

Just ask this Canadian that had a son and daughter travel for 1 week. Watch your baggage!! Water is 7 euros??? what?? Beer is cheaper than water? I don' t get it. It"s amazing the cost to visit the UK. If you are going to go, check everything online.
European travel is great. Water is 0.75 Euros per liter, a very big, very strong "cup of coffee" in an Amsterdam cafe will set you back about 2.50 Euros, but you could share that between literally 4 people. Watch out for special brownies, they are very potent.

Beer is not cheap. If you want to do Europe on the cheap, don't drink. Save that for Asia.

Trains are expensive, busses are cheaper. Sometimes there are deals on flights but that's rarely helpful to a traveller, better for the people who live there and can hop on deals when they come along.

Expensive camera equipment is a thief magnet, so are lots of other stuff. If you just don't carry anything of real value you won't care if it gets nicked. My friends and I never lost anything more than a few pairs of dirty underwear and a cheap backpack. Annoying, but no big deal.

Do go to Europe. All of Slovakia, Budapest, Prague, Athens, Lisbon; all these places are great value destinations. Germany is fun and efficient. France has lots of good food and friendly if self-absorbed natives. Spain is pretty cheap with more good food but awful trains. Portugal is even cheaper and has better weather. Switzerland is pretty but really really uptight and expensive.

Europe is fun overall.
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Old 12-01-2009, 10:46 PM
 
Location: San Diego
5,026 posts, read 15,248,350 times
Reputation: 4887
Quote:
Originally Posted by oneyear View Post
Euro's and Europe{aka amsterdam} will rip you off!!

Just ask this Canadian that had a son and daughter travel for 1 week. Watch your baggage!! Water is 7 euros??? what?? Beer is cheaper than water? I don' t get it. It"s amazing the cost to visit the UK. If you are going to go, check everything online.
A little over-dramatic, don't you think? I suggest you become a bit more travel savvy next time and pass that on to your children. We went on a 5 country, 6 city European road trip last year and didn't find the cost to be outrageous. We rented apartments in residential neighborhoods, instead of hotels in tourist traps, and bought a lot of stuff at the local supermarkets. I can assure you, a bottle of water at a local supermarket is not 7 euros in Amsterdam. You can act like a tourist, but if you think like a local, you won't be broke by the end of the trip.
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Old 12-01-2009, 11:23 PM
 
Location: Sputnik Planitia
7,826 posts, read 11,727,587 times
Reputation: 9045
Moderator cut: off topic, take it to P&OC
I was in Japan past few weeks and saw the dollar crash and burn against the Yen, it hit 85 and change. And this is from a high of 120 just several months ago and with deflationary pressures in Japan. Yikes! Confidence in the US currency is just non-existent at this point.

A big part of vacation expenses is falling for tourist traps like the previous poster mentioned. I mean in the tourist traps basic lunch was $20, in the restaurant in the side alley a short walk away, it's $8 ;-)

I actually ate good beef curry and soup lunch in Tokyo (near Shinagawa station.. a very busy area) for only 499 Yen.. amazing! The place was only filled with Japanese locals of course!

Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 12-02-2009 at 09:21 AM..
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Old 12-02-2009, 07:22 AM
 
Location: in the southwest
13,396 posts, read 44,911,906 times
Reputation: 13599
I think the falling dollar is a little bit more complicated than "Obama's policies," but I don't want this thread to end up in Politics and Controversies.

A vacation in Europe does not have to be ridiculously expensive.

A little bit of research, a little bit of planning, and a little bit of flexibility can make for a good trip.

We have gotten a bit into the Couchsurfing thing, too, which is an excellent way to meet locals, see off-the-beaten-path sights, and save money on food and lodging.
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Old 12-03-2009, 08:04 AM
 
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
1,410 posts, read 3,959,982 times
Reputation: 389
Yeah, this post doesnt make much sense. Its just complaining about one bad experience, one that seems to have stems from a lack of research and preporation for the trip.

However, i have no interest in going to Europe either. In my opinion, Central and South America are much more interesting and i like warm weather.

G Man
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Old 12-03-2009, 09:00 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
10,196 posts, read 17,762,421 times
Reputation: 13903
Quote:
Originally Posted by oneyear View Post
Euro's and Europe{aka amsterdam} will rip you off!!

Just ask this Canadian that had a son and daughter travel for 1 week. Watch your baggage!! Water is 7 euros??? what?? Beer is cheaper than water? I don' t get it. It"s amazing the cost to visit the UK. If you are going to go, check everything online.
Am I the only one wondering where exactly you're referring to that charges 7 Euro for water? On the flight? In the airport? At a restaurant? In a food store?

I find it hard to believe that in all of Amsterdam, you can not find a source of drinking water that is less than 7 Euro. I'm sure that your son and daughter could have simply chosen a different, less expensive restaurant, if that was the case.

Most airlines will serve you free beverages with the complimentary meals. Although an extra bottle of water may cost you depending on the airline, I usually find the free stuff is enough for me - or I buy a bottle of water at the airport before boarding.

Of course, airports can also jack up prices because once you're through security, you don't have any other choice. But that can happen anywhere in the world, same with whatever airline you're flying with. Such is capitalism - don't like it, don't fly.
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Old 12-03-2009, 09:48 AM
 
Location: DC
3,301 posts, read 11,683,287 times
Reputation: 1360
Quote:
Originally Posted by PA2UK View Post
Am I the only one wondering where exactly you're referring to that charges 7 Euro for water? On the flight? In the airport? At a restaurant? In a food store?

I find it hard to believe that in all of Amsterdam, you can not find a source of drinking water that is less than 7 Euro. I'm sure that your son and daughter could have simply chosen a different, less expensive restaurant, if that was the case.
My guess is some sort of fancy mineral water, but even that seems a stretch. If it really bothers you that much to pay for water, you can always just stock up on Cipro and Immodium and drink from the tap (or go to the countries where the tap water is fine).
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Old 12-03-2009, 04:24 PM
 
Location: Midwestern Dystopia
2,417 posts, read 3,550,158 times
Reputation: 3091
Quote:
Originally Posted by juniperbleu View Post
My guess is some sort of fancy mineral water, but even that seems a stretch. If it really bothers you that much to pay for water, you can always just stock up on Cipro and Immodium and drink from the tap (or go to the countries where the tap water is fine).
tap water is fine in europe for americans.
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Old 12-04-2009, 02:32 AM
 
Location: SW France
16,562 posts, read 17,332,581 times
Reputation: 29777
Stay at home and save money.

Get rid of the Travel thread- travelling costs money!
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Old 12-04-2009, 10:56 AM
 
3 posts, read 8,695 times
Reputation: 11
I am going to Europe next month. Well, if beer is cheaper than water, I'd rather drink it only.
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