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Just curious, what specifically do people feel is the "hassle" in going to Europe as opposed to traveling domestically and/or to other continents?
1. You have to travel by air to get to Europe. Remember, many average Americans do road trips for vacations and rarely fly.
2. Jet lag.
3. You need a passport and (depending on destination) sometimes a visa for Europe, neither of which are required for domestic travel. Obtaining a passport for the first time is a cumbersome process.
4. The language barrier (although this isn't as big an issue as it used to be).
Clearly none of these are insurmountable hurdles to clear, but it's also clear that a domestic vacation is easier (and often cheaper) than a European one for most Americans.
I don't think it's about being able to afford the travel, but more about priorities. For me, travel is important. So, instead of spending money on dining, clothes, or bigger cars or house, I spend mine on travel. I have friends who make more money than me, but have never been outside the country. For them, other things are more important. I think it's a personal choice and is probably influenced by friends and family.
I agree wholeheartedly. Europe isn't necessarily that expensive - you can get flights to Dublin or London during low season at prices as low as $500-ish r/t, and outside of major business capitals such as London, you can find hotels at prices far lower than in most US cities.
For the amount of money that my coworkers spend buying stupid stuff on Amazon or upgrading their cell phones every six months to a year, you can have a great week or two in Spain seeing wonderful sights, eating amazing food, and drinking delicious, cheap wine.
Seems like a no-brainer to me, but to each his own.
4. The language barrier (although this isn't as big an issue as it used to be).
This would very much depend where in Europe you are. In countries like France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, very little English is spoken. Very few people in eastern Europe also speak English. In Scandinavia, the Netherlands or Germany, English is widely spoken and you spend weeks in these countries without having much of a problem.
Of course I suspect going to the UK or Ireland there shouldn't be too much of a language problem, , (well maybe in parts of Scotland with some of their accents it might as well be a different language)
This would very much depend where in Europe you are. In countries like France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, very little English is spoken. Very few people in eastern Europe also speak English.
Well maybe some hotel staff speak it but I was in AndalucÃa in Spain for two weeks in 2012 I think only one of the 10+ taxi drivers I had spoke English and he barely spoke it.
I went on my own which added to my woes, going into restaurants trying to order food was an utter nightmare, infact I keep skipping restaurants until I could find one that could understand English, or at least had pictures on their menu's.
Well maybe some hotel staff speak it but I was in AndalucÃa in Spain for two weeks in 2012 I think only one of the 10+ taxi drivers I had spoke English and he barely spoke it.
I went on my own which added to my woes, going into restaurants trying to order food was an utter nightmare, infact I keep skipping restaurants until I could find one that could understand English, or at least had pictures on their menu's.
Complete contrast when I was in Scandinavia.
Agreed. I've lived in Spain and was most recently back there last January, and I would say that English fluency is not terribly common there. People are rather more likely to have basic communicational skills in English than they were 10-20 years ago, but it's still not something a traveler can rely on.
Just curious, what specifically do people feel is the "hassle" in going to Europe as opposed to traveling domestically and/or to other continents?
I think that it is a variety of factors but mainly I think people think that international travel is going to be similar to domestic travel in terms of "comfort" which essentially means that it will be uncomfortable due to lack of leg room and no amenities (food, entertainment, pillows/blankets, etc).
Also at best a trip to Europe is at least 5 hours to some destinations and more like 8+ to the more popular destinations, then there are time zone differences that can affect some people drastically. This is before having to deal with language differences, dealing with currency exchanges, and having to be aware of cultural differences, for example in Rome a restaurant we went to charges differently for take out vs. eating in, we ordered a sandwich from take out and after waiting for it to be heated decided to just sit and eat and the staff had to tell us that we needed to pay more. Although my sister had read about that custom, she had forgotten about it. Although the staff was nice about it and we realized that we made a mistake, it's something that wouldn't happen if we were traveling domestically.
However in my experience I think that some of these "hassles" aren't a bad as most people think. I have flown both a top tier (Emirates) and low budget (Wow) carrier to Europe and while Emirates was an awesome experience, even in coach; Wow airlines wasn't bad either. In terms of seat comfort, I would rank Wow above many domestic carriers, the worst part was no on board entertainment and you had to pay for all refreshments including water but we were prepared for those issues.
While things like travel time and time zone differences are always going to be an issue, I think that most of the reservations have with traveling outside of the US and nearby countries are based on outdated beliefs (although I don't have experience flying a domestic carrier internationally yet so I'm not sure how bad it really is). I also think the biggest misconception people have is the cost of airfare, especially if you live near a major airport, it is possible to find airfare for less that $500 a person to many destinations.
The figures in the article are annual figures. I am 50 years old and have been to Europe 4 times (England, Germany, Spain, Sweden). My husband has been on a few more European trips than me for business. Now that the kids are older I can go with him when he travels for business so we spent a week in Sweden recently. I think lots of Americans get there a few times but not every year. If 3% of Americans travel to Europe each year and a typical lifespan is 75 years.....
So my question is, is it generally rare in America to say you've actually been to Europe? How rare would that be amongst your family and friends and social circle?
Almost everyone in my social circle travels internationally every year but not always to Europe. There are many other places to go (I just got back from China and Japan). But most of my social circle are retired and have the time and money to travel.
So for me and my friends it's not rare at all. It's common.
I suspect for many Americans the issues include;
1. High cost
2. Longer travel time
3. Not enough vacation time
4. Family priorities
5. Many many places to go in the USA.
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, (well maybe in parts of Scotland with some of their accents it might as well be a different language)
