← Europe Travel FAQ

Quick answer

How much does a European vacation cost?

For most travelers, a ten-day European vacation runs $2,500 to $4,500 per person once flights, hotels, meals, and attractions are counted honestly—not the lowball number a flight ad first shows you.

There's a specific kind of dread that shows up about a week before departure: you booked the flight because it felt right, picked a hotel that looked charming in photos, and only afterward added up what the trip is actually going to cost. By then it's harder to change course. The honest range for ten days to two weeks in Western Europe usually lands between $2,500 and $4,500 per person—more in Paris, London, or peak summer; less in Portugal, the Balkans, or shoulder season.

That range covers flights, lodging, food, local transit, museum and monument tickets, and a buffer for the taxi you didn't plan on. Seeing it broken out by category before you book, instead of after, is what turns a vacation from something you're hoping you can afford into something you've actually budgeted for. That clarity is worth more than any single discount you'll find along the way.