Is Europe Off Your Itinerary for 2008?

There’s been a lot of talk of late about the high costs involved in a trip to Europe from the US. Along with rising prices in Europe itself (some say that’s been happening ever since the common currency of the Euro was introduced), a weak US dollar has meant that a lot of tourists are finding the costs far higher than they’d anticipated when they started planning their vacation.

Over at Budget Travel there’s been a huge discussion about whether or not the average US traveler can still afford a trip to Europe. Recently about 50% of the responding readers said they had definitely changed their plans to skip Europe in 2008 and instead head to destinations like Asia, Latin America, and even other parts of North America that they have never visited. Others rightly suggest that the eastern European countries are still reasonably affordable and will head there instead of the usual France, Italy or Germany tours.

But if your heart is set on Western Europe, there are some ways to vacation there affordably. For example, you can set an itinerary that avoids the most commonly beaten tourist tracks and see some lesser known vineyard areas of Germany, a less touristy town in Italy or skip Provence and visit another area of the French countryside. You’ll still experience many of the same things - the food, the climate, the people, and the history - but likely you’ll be able to spend a bit less.