Frequent travelers often have “bucket list” trips. It might take years before you can fulfill the vision, but most travelers would say it’s worth it. For 70-year-old Kerry (last name withheld to maintain anonymity), a communications professional, and her husband, the trip almost didn’t happen. They had scheduled a bus trip through Europe, but the pandemic forced them to cancel their travel plans.
As 2024 approached, they began thinking about rescheduling. “I received an email from Vacations by Rail about a train trip that took us to the same locations we had planned. It looked like more fun,” she said.
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The decision to book the tour led to what Kerry called a “once-in-a-lifetime trip.”
Also see 12 ways to travel in retirement without blowing your savings.
Total Costs of European Dream Vacation
Kerry estimated the trip cost roughly $25,000, with the biggest expenses going toward airfare ($7,617) and the actual train tour, with a total price tag of $10,590 for two people. Kerry also wisely invested in trip protection, which cost $1,023 for the train tour and $533 for air travel.
The train tour offered a two-week itinerary that included four-star hotel stays and many major tourist attractions. The train took the couple to London, a journey through the Chunnel to Paris, Switzerland, Venice, Florence and Rome.
Kerry said that the four-star hotels included in the tour were “all more than acceptable.”
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Adventures in London
Prior to the train tour, Kerry and her husband arrived in London to visit family.
“We added four days in London in advance so we could visit our niece, who lives there, and do our own ‘tourist thing’ in London before the tour began,” she said. “We toured what was important to us in London: the London Eye Ferris wheel, the Tower of London, a river dinner cruise, the Rolling Stones store in Piccadilly Circus.”
Most of the tourist attractions were under $50 per person. For instance, the Tower of London offers a senior rate of 28.50 pounds, or roughly $38. The London Eye costs about the same.
The couple stayed in the Park Plaza Riverbank for four nights in a balcony suite with a river view at a cost of 1,336 pounds, or over $1,700.
From Hard Rock to St. Mark’s Square
Breakfast was included at the hotels during the stay, which helped keep food costs down. Several dinners were also included as part of the tour. “The meals in restaurants weren’t as expensive as we had anticipated,” Kerry said.
The couple enjoyed dinner at London’s Hard Rock Cafe, a travel tradition when they visit any city, Kerry said. The flight included a stopover in Boston, where they ate at Legal Sea Foods, another mid-priced chain. “It’s my husband’s favorite restaurant in the world,” Kerry said.
Entrees at Legal Sea Food and Hard Rock Cafe often range from $30 to $50, according to various reviews.
Other highlight meals included a dinner cruise near the Eiffel Tower, which was part of the train tour itinerary, lunch in St. Mark’s Square, lunch at a sidewalk café in Rome and — one of the more expensive meals of the trip — a dinner in Rome that exceeded $100.
Ground Transportation
Kerry and her husband largely relied on taxis, as well as the buses that were part of the tour. “We tried the hop-on, hop-off bus for a couple of days in London. We thought it would get us back to our hotel, but the driver changed the route, so we got off and hailed a taxi,” she said.
London’s Big Bus hop-on, hop-off would cost 39 pounds, or a little over $50. London’s minimum fare for taxi cabs is 4.20 pounds, or just over $5, according to the fare table at Transport for London.
One aspect Kerry hadn’t considered was the amount of walking necessary on a European tour. Kerry, who told GOBankingRates she is “somewhat handicapped,” said she realized that Europe is not as friendly to people with disabilities. “Europe needs an ‘ADA,'” she said. “There was literally no place to sit … not in train stations [or] along walkways.”
Also, it wasn’t always possible for tour buses to pull up directly in front of the hotels, which led to even more walking after long days of sightseeing.
Paying for It All
Kerry said that they put a portion of the trip on credit cards but have no regrets about the decision. It meant cutting back on travel the next year, apart from a trip to Cancun in 2025, which they took to spend time with their son and his wife.
While the overall price tag of their train tour and London stop was more than $25,000, they might have spent more if they were to tackle a similar itinerary on their own, booking travel and meals independently. While the couple didn’t aim to keep costs down, they also didn’t choose extravagant restaurants or attractions, which allowed them to enjoy a longer vacation.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’m a Boomer Traveler: This Is the Most Expensive Place I’ve Visited (and How Much It Costs)
