AIBU to think £10k is enough for 10 days in Boston?

What flights are you finding?

The Boston Stump! Love seeing that.

@sorrynotathomeI checked couldn’t find any less than just under £5k, but maybe she has done better. She also said she may need to hire a car - which will be about £1k for a big enough one.
I’ve just returned from Boston. I stayed with relatives and did not need a car. Three of us and if you are planning on going out at all it’s £££. Food shopping is about a third more than here, though restaurants are a bit cheaper. We went to a baseball game and that was $100 each for tickets, $60 to park and about $20/each for hotdogs and a drink. So for five: $660 for one afternoon! Of course one can do it for £10k. But it means budgeting carefully, and as we only go on holiday in e every other year I tend to spend more.

Boston is more expensive than NYC in my experience.

Are you sure flights will be £3k? BA and Virgin for example haven’t released next summer’s flights yet. Car hire would be about £1000 for 10 days. That gives £6k left for 10 days. An average of £600 a day is easily doable if you don’t have accommodation costs. Bear in mind that excursions could be expensive though. For example whale watching might be around £250 for a family.

@Justusethebloodyphone I agree with you ref sharing - we shared quite a lot of 40 dollar mains in us and added on an extra good salad , plus shared a starter or deser etc - no one batted an eyelid and to be fair I genuinely could not have eaten many of the mains to myself - one night ata place that was reasonable in Santa Barbara I had a prawn and garlic pasta to myself and it could easily have fed 3 generous portions.

Depends what the expectations are on eating out - a few diner or Maccy D type meals would bring it down ‘a lot’ but if you are talking the kind of preppy people expecting 50 dollar mains every night it could be tight - drinking is particularly expensive - also are they expecting you to pay for them in exchange for accommodation - ? It’s very doable I think but not 300 dollar meals every night

I think you could do it with no accommodation costs. However, you’d need to treat your hosts to a few meals out.

10k is not loads, but it’s doable.

@Charlize43 honestly it wouldn’t surprise me if a UK Boston holiday after eating out, accommodation and travel would cost more than the US 😂

I did NYC/Boston with my mum last September.

IIRC an evening meal for the two of us, with soft drinks and one course, was about $60. For a family of 5, perhaps adding alcohol and desserts... I'd budget $200, including tip.

I'd say that you could probably do the trip for $10k or less, assuming you're not mega-extravagant. Things like coffees and snacks out aren't any more expensive than here we didn't think. And if you've got access to a car, you can easily go to a supermarket for things like lunches/snacks/breakfasts.

Have you thought of going to Boston, Lincolnshire, in the East Midlands, as it will be so much cheaper?

You can probably get there by National Express coach, although due to the Iran War and everyone saying that fuel is going to go through the roof, £10K should be enough (I hope!).

https://boston-england.co.uk

You also tend to have the benefit of it being deemed a package holiday when you book flights and car hire which gives more protection, welcome in these uncertain times!

We go to US every year as we have family over there and add a separate holiday onto visiting. We often share meals as portions are large. A couple of large pizzas is a great way to feed everyone. A good way to save money is to just drink water with meals and then have sodas or whatever from the supermarket in the car. Meals are filling and we often end up only eating twice a day and don’t need to snack. Not intentionally but it’s the way it works out.

Research cheaper eats before you go and have a plan in your head so you don’t end up eating in more expensive places because you’re suddenly starving and don’t know what the options are.

If you book flights make sure you book car hire with it as it’s much cheaper to book as a package. You won’t need a car in Boston but will outside.

We find the North East significantly more expensive than the West (have family in both) for eating out.

Accommodation is hugely expensive in Boston but luckily that’s covered.

Lots of people!

£2k each for a family of 5 is not outrageous. Plenty of people pay that for all types of holidays.

Lots of people…not many families are going to Florida for less than £10,000, and plenty of Brits are going to Florida still.

Yes it would be plenty depending on flights not going crazy, before this crisis I usually spent £700 max for a flight to the US but usually closer to £500 (but appreciate that will be a changing picture right now). It just really depends on what ‘eating out’ means, if your friends are dictating expensive restaurants every night you might be better off just getting an air bnb and doing some self catering/takeaways/fast food to balance the more expensive meals.

If you do that you'll need $1000 per hight for accommodation/travel/food/activities.

What on earth? Why do people exaggerate like this? Of course you could pay that but other options absolutely are available.

Yes, it’s plenty. Eating out is expensive, as is beer/wine when eating out, but remember, portions are huge so your kids can easily share a meal between 2. Transport is also cheap whilst you’re there.

(we were in San Fran over Easter)

10 days is a lot of time in Boston. Do you think you will be sleeping all 10 nights with your friends? Great friends, especially if they are happy for you to cook in their home to save money.

I think you might want to have a side-trip, eg down to the Cape, or up into New Hampshire. If you do that you'll need $1000 per hight for accommodation/travel/food/activities.

And as @Bjorkdidit says, portions can be huge (particularly in more casual family restaurants) and no one in the US blinks an eye at taking the leftovers home - all very standard practice!

And if anyone is not a big eater, just order 3 or 4 dishes and share.

Jesus. Im definitely on the wrong board...who spends £10k on a holiday. The middle classes who will be moaning about being squeezed.

Yes looking at prices in the US for eating out alone you're going to need more.

I think it is doable but as others have said be careful about how much money slips through your fingers with buying snacks, coffee etc when out and about. Also, sometimes staying with friends can be a blessing and a curse as you feel you have to take them out for meals all the time as a “thank you” which starts to negate the savings made from staying with them!

Boston is compact and very walkable so don’t pay for taxis to get around. Public transport pretty good and you can explore places like Cambridge (Harvard Uni) by metro.

So usual rules apply:big breakfast at home, packed lunches, don’t buy bottled water when out, try and limit takeout coffees, let your hosts know you are on a budget and offer to buy food and cook for them plus maybe one meal out to say thank you.

Oh and tipping is a bit of a pain but do not feel you have to tip for e.g. takeaway coffee even though the “option” will be given to you. And you can limit your tipping to 15-20% for a meal - just factor that into your budget.