Italian Riviera - Italy, Spring 2017

Every year around this time, I start throwing around 2017 trips and trying to convince my wife why we need to go back to Italy. She usually disagrees, so that we go somewhere new - which I appreciate. In any case, I wanted to put together a week trip in the Italian Riviera just in case she changed her mind :)

Below are some dates and actual costs (including euros converted to dollars) for a week long trip in the Cinque Terre, where we spent 2 nights this spring (I included a few pictures below). 

Dates: May 8th to May 15th (Monday to Monday)

Flights: Boston to Florence on Air Berlin - $776/person. Round trip out of Boston with one stop in Germany and total travel time of around 11 hours each way. We flew Air Berlin in 2013 and had a great experience. All seats come with built in TV entertainment for the long haul flight and I upgraded to an exit row (leg room) for an extra $50 a ticket.  

Accommodations in Manarola: Arpaiu B&B for 6 nights - $900. Amazing balcony views of the Cinque Terre coastline and only a short walk on cobblestone streets to local restaurants and gelaterias. 

Food and drink: We generally budget $150 a day for food and drink. We usually grab something quick for breakfast - pastry and cappuccino - and then split the rest on lunch, dinner, gelato and wine. We could easily do it cheaper (and possibly even more authentically) by shopping at the local market and swapping out lunch at a restaurant for a picnic on the Arpaiu balcony. 

Transportation: Trains from Florence to Manarola in the Cinque Terre run about 50 euro a person round trip (sometimes cheaper). This is the most economical way to get from the airport to Manarola and we wouldn't do it any other way. Once you are in the Cinque Terre, the regional trains pick up passengers in each village for less than $3 a ride to any of the 5 seaside towns. This makes it low cost and easy to explore if you don't want to hike (of which I would also highly recommend - the views are stunning). 

Total cost for 2 people = $3,452

$378 - Fly to Paris for a long Christmas weekend

This blows my mind a bit. In December, WOW Air will fly you from Boston to Paris for $378 (see details below from Kayak). There is a short layover, but it still fits the bill for short travel time at 10 total hours. Sure it's going to be cold, but it will be beautifully decorated and the crowds will be non-existent. 

Europe from Boston - Low cost and easy options

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!