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

Nah, you will need more like £20K.

Absolutely.

Though why you’d choose to take children to the USA I do not understand

Flight prices can change by the hour let alone the year, 3k does seem very cheap for 5 passengers. We were going to go to Hong Kong this year but prices tripled because of the Iran war. It could be doable but as it’s so far in advance you will need to revisit closer to the time. Have you included travel insurance in your estimate? I had one night in hospital in the USA about 20 years ago, minimal treatment plus ambulance was 6,000 dollars. Covered by insurance.

@1ladybird How did you get 5 return flights to Boston for 3k?! Food is expensive , I paid $25-30 for a chicken Caesar salad in 2024 (San Francisco) . The tip situation is ridiculous, often they want 20% added . I think it’s doable but you’ll have to maybe eat in a couple of times ?

Massive and ridiculous exaggeration of the kind that really stressed me out in the run-up to my trip to the States last year and proved to be unfounded. Obviously you tip in restaurants etc but you don't have to tip 30% and you don't have to tip for 'everything' either. It's not cheap as a country and tipping is of course how it works, but you aren't expected to tip 30% for takeaway drinks and everything else - well, not in NYC, Washington DC and the various places I went in Virginia anyway.

If the flights stay those prices I think £10k will be enough with no accommodation costs. I spent around £7k last year for 3 people for 2 weeks including flights, accommodation and car hire. We did mainly self-catering though with some meals out. Personally I'd hate to have to eat in a restaurant every single day for 10 days but that's just me!

Little kids or teenagers eating adult portions? Are you planning many excursions/ activities that will eat into the budget?
It's doable especially if you eat some meals at home. If you want to treat your hosts, eat at fancy places and have alcohol with your meals you could easily blow that budget though.

Google some restaurants to get an idea of prices and don't forget to add at least 20% for tips/ taxes.

Remember to factor in 20-30% tip on everything you do out. It's ridiculous.

If you dont have accommodation costs at all you should be fine.
Id try and do stops at supermarkets and do lunch boxes so you eat out properly 1 x per day

Presumably you will have to take the hosts out to dinner a few times though.

Boring story as to why we cancelled but as a family of 4 we were going to go for 10-14 days this summer and we had a budget of 12.5-15k earmarked.

So if say 10k would work. Our flight were £600 each ... not sure what the iran war has done to that.

No accommodation costs it’s possible. We found America so expensive particularly when you add tips on every time you eat out.

Can't you say to your friends 'can we eat in/get a takeaway a few times because otherwise this holiday is going to cost such a huge amount of money'. I mean, £10k and it might not be enough? Will you be paying for their meals out as a thank you for the free accommodation? Might be more relaxing too, rather than having to be constantly 'going out' all the time too?

But I'd also make sure I'm making the most of huge US portions - share dishes, take leftovers to eat the following day etc. Basically, don't spend money on buying more food than you actually want to eat.

Who knows what will happen in 2027 but direct flights with Virgin in England School Holidays this summer are less than 600 so £3k for flights sounds about right. With no accommodation costs 7k for everything else sounds like enough to me, but I don't know what your holidays normally look like.

Does nobody read the OP? She literally said flights are £3k.

Also aren’t flights meant to be getting way more expensive because of the war / oil crisis… have you actually looked up the flight costs?

Flights for all 5 of you for 3k? Really? Are they infant triplets travelling on your laps? I think flights would be the best part of $5k depending on the jet fuel situation. Then $500/day would be loads given you don’t have to pay for accommodation. Realistically I think flights will end up somewhere closer to $6k but even then you’ll have enough left over.

So no accommodation costs?

It is doable. Flights will be around a grand each, so that leaves you roughly £500 a day spending money. Will depend on the type of places you eat and whether there’ll be any other spending. To enjoy it fully, you’d need a couple grand extra but otherwise, you’ll need to watch the spending when you’re out there.

No. Flights will be at least half that amount.

10k. No definitely not