Europe is more accessible than ever, in relation to both time and money. There has never been a better opportunity to hop on a plane and experience new culture, language and food - even for a long weekend...
You can fly out of Boston this September on direct flights to a four night adventure in Iceland for around $340 round trip. Want to spend more time? Add $10 and make it a week!
Care to trade craic with the locals in Ireland instead? Grab a $580 Aer Lingus round trip flight from Boston to Dublin for the same timeframe. We set out on a five night Irish jaunt in April and absolutely fell in love with the scenery and culture (details to come in another article, but check out our self-guided car tour in the pic below). Add in the fact that Irish B&Bs range from $70-$100 a night and you have an extremely affordable getaway.
***Flight in and out of Dublin - dashed line represents travel route by car
Lets say you prefer warmer weather. Thanks to the TAP Portugal airline, you can now cruise over to Lisbon or the Azores for less than $700, direct, round trip. If Lisbon is your destination, rent a car and take it down the coast to the Algarve region for a relaxing Portuguese beach stay - the sand in Salema is gorgeous and lodging is under $100 a night.
Now, saving money is great, but the value of time can't be overstated. All of these flights are 7 hours or less and are direct (Iceland is four hours and change). Any other destination in Europe is going to require a connection and 15+ hours of total travel time, or hundreds more dollars for a straight shot from the Northeast.
So we've removed money and time from your excuse list... :)
Slainte!