I want to take the Boozilu family on a European vacation this summer – don’t really care where we go – the kids are 6 and 3, so I just want to get them exposed to “someplace else”.
How can I find out the cheapest place to visit? We’re in the Washington DC area, and I’ve tried using Kayak/Sidestep/etc to price various locations, but since I’m location-flexible I’d rather a way to check a bunch of fares by location.
Any ideas?
I’ve had luck pricing on http://www.europeandestinations.com. They have a good variety, at least; I’ve never used them, though.
Why Europe? If I was going for something cheap but “different”, I’d go with Cambodia, Thailand, Phillipines, or Vietnam.
There are great deals on cruises right now. My husband & I took one a few years ago, and hit Spain, Italy, Malta, Corsica, France, someplace else ;), Sicily, Monaco and Italy again. It rocked.
Countries that are having bad economic problems right now might have extra-good travel deals, to entice tourist dollars. Consider Iceland, Ireland, Hungary.
Consider Argentina. It has a very European feel vis-a-vis culture, but the prices there are much more reasonable. And you won’t lack for adventure, shopping or good food.
I know you indicated Europe, but as long as Argentina was mentioned, may I suggest a specific part of Mexico: within reasonable car/bus distances are Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, and Guadalajara. All safe, non-drug-gang areas, dirt cheap, and have remnants of Spanish civilization about them.
That’s what I was thinking. It’s cheap to get to Mexico, and it is definitely ‘someplace else’, from the language to the european-looking street signs to the topography to the jungle pyramids. Just stay out of the northern, border-influenced areas, and out of the cancun-like tourist areas.
Flying to Europe in summer won’t be cheap and the three year old probably won’t remember it. There are a lot of places that fit the definition of “someplace else” when compared to DC, even domestically.
When you’re checking flights, you can always use WAS instead of the specific airports, or sites like Travelocity give you a box to check for “search airports within 80 miles” but it’s only for domestic flights.
I feel like a broken record in mentioning this, but IMHO http://www.itasoftware.com has been and remains the airfare site to end all airfare sites. You can search between two locations for a month at a time or you can select to search for airports within 300 miles of your original departure or arrival locations. It’s the core technology that underlies most other travel sites on the web so they really hope to show off what their technology is capable of without limitation.
Flights from DC to Ireland have of late been at their all time lowest, albeit this has been in the off-peak time of year. Accommodation and food/drink are relatively expensive but most restaurants and hotels are doing some sort of deals to try to attract business.
With the Euro being strong this is not the best time to go to Europe. You would do better in Latin America or Asia.
Damn right. We’re going on one next week - Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Turkey, Egypt, Malta, for under $100 / night for a room with a window. Others are even cheaper.
My daughter is in college in Germany this year, and has been all over. Some hints from her:
Check out trains vs. flying. RyanAir is very cheap, if you go where it goes. She has actually found flying long distances to cost less than rail. There are also some odd rail pricing structures. In Germany there are tickets good for up to five people, at the price of two.
Check out hostels as a place to stay. I don’t know about their policy on kids. Many have private rooms available, as well as group rooms. She has found that almost all are clean, friendly, have good food, and internet connections.
When we went to London a while back we were able to rent an apartment near the University of London at a very affordable price - this was when the kids were younger. This only works if you are staying in one place for a while, but we did it for less than a week. Very good for kids, because there is more room for them to spread out, and you have a kitchen.
So, just don’t look at hotels.
None of this was done in the summer, when things are more crowded and no doubt more expensive.
In my younger days, I did Europe with a backpack and a small tent. You may not want to hitchhike like I did, but if you don’t mind camping, take a tent or two and stay in campgrounds. The rates are probably still cheap, and there are facilities like showers. That allowed me to stay cheaply in a lot of expensive cities, such as Vienna and West Berlin (as it was called then).
Europe on the cheap? Depending on the age and maturity of your family members, hostels may suit you. Hostels are not confined to youths anymore; at one point there was a program for retired people called Elderhostel, for example. I’m a lifetime member of Hostelling International and I haven’t stayed in a hotel for years. I have stayed in a ship and in a jail. 
I knew someone who actually asked the police in a small town in Germay or Switzerland if he could stay in the jail for the night, and they let him! Probably not good for the OP and his family, though.
Despite the name, travellers on Elderhostel programs do not generally stay in hostels.
My parents have been on several of the Elderhostel tours, which they have enjoyed.
Ed