How to take a Couples Vacation in Europe for under $4,000

My husband and I just got back from a 1 week vacation in Europe and we did it all for under $4,000.  I'm here to share the tips and tricks that we used.  However, here's what you need to know first:

• We are very simple people
• We are "sports" people, not museum or art people
• My husband did an extreme amount of research and work when searching for deals and things we wanted to accomplish
• All pricing below has been converted in to American Dollars.  At the time of our trip the dollar is "weaker" than the Euro and much weaker against the pound (currency in London).  The exchange rate will effect your cost.

Our purpose:  We wanted to go to London to catch a Chelsea Football (soccer) match.  This was in celebration of our 5 year wedding anniversary.

Our Trip:  Thursday Feb. 19, 2015 - Thursday Feb. 26, 2015

Location:  London, UK and Venice, Italy

I will be breaking down the cost of all that we did by category, plus adding some tips on what we did as tourists.

TRANSPORTATION & LODGING:

So much space on our United Airlines flight!

AIRFARE:  Austin to Houston to London Heathrow was $721 per person round trip on United Airlines.  

Now this was a HUGE savings.  Tickets are normally $1200+ round trip to Europe.  We watched the prices for a few months, and on a mid-weekday we saw the prices drop and we pounced.  We flew there on Thursday and flew back on Thursday (non-weekend days helped).

AIRFARE:  London Gatwick to Venice, Italy - $168.50 round trip per person ($337 total).

This was also something we watched closely.  Flying out of Gatwick to another country in Europe was cheaper than flying out of Heathrow.  Also a weekday thing. We flew to Italy on a Monday and back to London on a Wednesday.  (Then we flew from London back to the States on a Thursday.)

HOTELS:

3 Nights in London at a 4 star Hilton - $124 / night (after taxes)

2 Nights in Venice at a 4 star Best Western for $85 / night (after taxes)

1 Night in London at a 4 star Hilton (last night before flying home) for $120 / night (after taxes)

I would highly recommend our hotel in Venice, Italy.  Here are the details:

Hotel Sant Elena Venezia

Best Western

I know what you're thinking.  I don't have the greatest image of Best Western hotels either, but this was incredibly different than any Best Western American hotel I've stayed in.  Breakfast was included. The rooms were cozy.  The bed was extremely comfortable.  And the people were extremely nice and the cost was very affordable.

This hotel was about a 15-20 minute walk to the main square.  However, hotels in that area can cost $400 or more.  This hotel was in a quiet part of town.

THE TUBE (LONDON):  Their underground system is incredible. It's fairly easy to navigate and this is the main way we got from place to place in the city.  We spent about $15-$20 per day on day-long tube passes for 2 people.  On our first night (airport to hotel) and last night we just bought a single use pass which is about $6 per person.

GATWICK EXPRESS (LONDON):  $50 for 2 people.  It was a 30 minute train ride that took us from a tube stop in Central London to the Gatwick Airport.  It's the most efficient way to get to the Gatwick Airport.

NATIONAL EXPRESS (LONDON):  $74 for 2 people.  This was a bus that took us from the Gatwick airport to the Heathrow airport.  About 1 hour travel time (depending on traffic and time of day).  We landed at the Gatwick airport from Italy, but stayed at hotel by the Heathrow airport to travel back to the States the next morning.

VIATOR BOAT TOUR - PRIVATE BOAT TO VENICE (ITALY): $110 for 2 people.  This was the transportation from the airport to Venice.  Boat is the ONLY way to get there.  In fact, when you land on the island, there is no other transportation.  No cars.  No vespas.  No nothing.  Just boats and gondolas.  This is a little bit more pricey compared to the "main" boat, however, I highly suggest it. It drops you off right next to your hotel and the people are very friendly.  There were 4 couples total on our ride there, and 2 couples on our ride back to the airport.  The night before you depart, they fax all the information to your hotel for you.

Stamford Bridge Tour

TOURISM IN LONDON & VENICE

This is what we did in each place.  Starting with London:

• Tour of Stamford Bridge (stadium for Chelsea FC) - $60 for 2 people
• Tickets to see Chelsea play - $160 for 2 people  <-- Remember, this was the main reason why we took this trip.



Chelsea v. Burnley Match

• I suggest you buy these in advance if you want to see a Football match (soccer.)  They always sell out, even for the not so popular games.

• Wimbledon Tour - $50 total
• London Eye - (cash)

  

  Top of the London Eye.

• This is a giant ferris wheel if you will.  But there are about 20-25 people in this bubble that views the whole city.  It takes 30 minutes to go all the way around, but the views are can't miss.  We spent extra for the "Express Line".  Worth it!  Otherwise you can be standing in line for 1-2 hours or more.
• Buckingham Palace - (free)
• We watched a changing of the guards. This happens about once a month.  And you can tour around outside and take pictures.
• Westminster Abbey - (free)
• You could pay to go inside, but we just toured the grounds outside.  This, the palace, Big Ben, and the eye are all within walking distance.
• Big Ben - (free)
• We didn't do an inside tour, just outside.
• London Bridge - (free)
• You can walk across it. It's about 2 tube stops from the London Eye.

And now for Venice, Italy:

• Best advice:  Don't take a map. Don't worry!  Just get lost!  Seriously, this is what everyone told us, but as Americans it's hard to do that.  The streets and buildings are so confusing, that it's easy to get lost.  You'll find great things, I promise.
• Gondola ride - 100 euro, about $130.  
• We paid this in cash (see below about money and what to take).  This was my personal dream come true.  They range between 100-120 euro for a 1 hour ride, and about 70-80 euro for a 25 minute ride.  This is for a personal gondola ride.  There are some that are less expensive when there are multiple small groups.

• Santa Maria della Salute - (free)
  
• This is the main (and famous) Catholic Church.  It's free to go inside and tour around.  

• Dal Moro's Fresh Pasta - FOOD



Dal Moro's

• Make sure you eat at this place!
• It's FRESH pasta and it's the best place in town.  It's hidden and difficult to find. We ended up using my husband's phone map to find it by connecting to wifi.  Here's the address: 
• Calle De La Casseleria, 5324, 30122 Castello, Venezia VE, Italy
• You have to eat it right away.

• Crazy Pizza - FOOD

  

  "Crazy Pizza"

• Another hole in the wall place, but with incredible pizza.  

• El Pinguino - Gelato
  
• This will be on your walk to the main square if you stay at Hotel SantElena.  This is the best gelato place we found, and most reasonable.  Get it in a cone!  Pay the extra 50 cents and you can have the cone filled with Nutella.  Incredible!  When we were there they had a Kit Kat flavored gelato.  No free samples here. 
• The Square
• This is the "main" area where there is shopping and food.  It's kind of like New York.  The closer to Times Square you are, the more expensive things become for tourists (food, hotels, etc.)  Same with Venice.
• High Tide 
• This didn't happen when we were there, but you'll want to Google it.  There are times in the year where there is high tide and the water comes rushing over the land.  Most people will walk in knee high water and carry on with their day.  The shops have built in doors that block out all the water while it's high tide.  It's hard to conceptualize, but it's a real thing.  You can rent "water boots".

MONEY & WHAT TO TAKE:

MONEY:  We took Euros & Pounds from the bank before we left.  200 pounds ($307) and 200 Euros ($223).  It's free when you bank with Wells Fargo, but only certain cites offer it.  Check into this in advance.  The above items that said "cash", this is what we used.  We used cash on tube transportation, most food, some souvenirs, gondola ride, London Eye, etc.

We got Travel Debit Cards as well.  We would carry these around, not our normal debit cards.  These you could put whatever monetary amount on them you wanted, without having access to your entire bank account.  That way, if lost or stolen, they wouldn't be able to wipe out your entire account.

PACKING:  We each carried 1 carry on item, no checked baggage.  We were only there for 1 week, but this is what we did:

• WEARING ON THE PLANE RIDE TO UK
• Comfortable stretchy / athletic pants
• Long sleeve shirt
• Scarf
• Tennis shoes (only shoes for whole trip each)
• Note: I had planned on buying a Chelsea sweatshirt in London on day 1 (which I did).
• CARRY ON #1
• 1 pair of jeans each
• 2 undershirts each
• 3-4 over shirts each (or sweaters or light jackets)
• Socks, underwear, etc
• CARRY ON #2
• 2 heavy winter coats
• Extra small compact carry on bag (this was to bring back souvenirs if we needed the space)
• Snacks for the long plane ride

I suggest this because it's much easier to travel Europe without a rolling suitcase.  Think about it.  We were on a plane, tube, train, plane, boat, plane, tube, plane again.  Plus a lot of walking!  And you can wear something more than once!

SOUVENIRS & FOOD

Where we spend our money, might be different from yours, depending on what's important to you.  We spent:

Crepe by the London Eye

• $200 at the Chelsea Shop
• $150 at the Wimbledon Shop (my dad's a huge tennis fan)

FOOD IN LONDON:  We stopped at plenty of random places.  My favorite being a crepe place right by Big Ben.  For the most part we paid cash, but we did put about $80 for food on our credit card.

FOOD IN ITALY:  Same thing (place listed above for Italy suggestions).  With about $60 on the card between Italy and airport snacks.

After everything, it was just under $4,000 to travel (my husband and I) to London and Venice, Italy for a 1 week vacation from the States.

Overall it was an incredible trip and I'm sure we'll do Europe again (different countries just to switch it up of course.)  If you have any specific questions, feel free to comment below, or contact me on social media.  Bon Voyage!

Iceland

Oh, and by the way, you'll fly over Iceland on your way back to the States from London.  It's an incredible view!

In summary, here's our financial break down for two:

Airfare (USA to UK): $1442

Airfare (London to Venice): $337

Tube rides:  $60

Gatwick Express Train: $50

National Express (Bus): $74

Venice Boat Transportation: $110

Hotels (total): $662

Chelsea FC Stadium Tour:  $60

Chelsea FC Match: $160

Wimbledon Tour: $50

200 Pounds taken: $307

200 Euros taken: $223

Souvenirs at Chelsea: $200

Souvenirs at Wimbledon: $150

Food on Debit Card: $60 (rest paid in cash)

Total:  $3945