Any Americans around re question on holidays abroad/Europe?

[redrascal]

Really fascinated to get some insight from Americans re their holidays and specifically travel abroad to Europe.

I will qualify this by saying I realise that everyone is an individual and that I am not looking to confirm stereotypes. This is not looking to bash or generalise a nationality either - really just looking for some insight please.

DH and I have just come back from a trip and met some lovely Americans - just for chats in bar or whilst queuing. It got us to wondering about how and when Americans visit Europe.

I once heard that they often save up for a "once-in--a-lifetime" trip but am not sure if that is still correct?

Do they wait until they have retired? I ask this as most people we saw were of retirement age or seemed to be intergenerational groups.

Do they also visit in large family/social groups? We saw quite a few with hoodies/sweatshirts which said ""2024 Tour of XX" for example.

Roughly how much leave would Americans get for a visit to Europe?

Just curious - thanks. If it helps we were in Ireland.

Well how do you view visiting America?

The main thing is the American tourists you find in Europe will tend to be much wealthier than average Americans, they can afford to travel so far.

Well, I need to save to go on a trip to America, I have been 3x in 25 years.

There is the fact that the US doesn't have a huge annual leave allowance. But again, this is not everywhere the case, our NY branch has a similiar one to London, they start with 20 instead of 25 days but depending on length of service can go up to 28 I think.

I would say you have a lot of younger ones who travel via hostel, cheap budget, night trains etc. Or you have retired people, often in groups. I also know some who are self-employed or work in academia and travel with family, often linked to a work trip.

These hoodies you mention: I only see them for youth/sport groups. Similar to some DD's school and other schools in our area do. Helps the teacher/guides to keep track of students.

The majority of Americans don’t have a passport and many never even leave their home State.

@boulevardofbrokendreamss - I don't that's why I was asking. I have heard stories re only a small percentage owning passports and limited annual leave availability. Most I have seen abroad seem to be older aside from those who may be studying or having a "gap" year. I have also read that many older tourists wait to do a visit to their "homeland" such as Ireland, Scotland etc as well as the main sights in France and Italy. I was hoping for some insight into if these views are still relevant or not.

I'm American and have lived in the UK for 10 years. America is HUGE and there's no single answer to your questions. Some Americans can't afford any holidays, much less one to Europe. Some are extremely wealthy and take multiple international trips per year.

I'd say the 'once in a lifetime' idea is outdated. Americans also don't tend to do gap years - it's more common to study abroad for a semester at uni.

I think part of the reason Americans don't come to Europe more often is simply that it's very far and there's a big time difference. Also, there's a lot to do in American alone, plus the Caribbean and Hawaii.

American holiday allowance does tend to be lower, but plenty of professional jobs do have similar holiday allowance to the UK.

I live in London and see plenty of American tourists.

It varies hugely. Some of DH’s family and friends have been here purely to visit us and stayed in London for just for a week or so (one of his old friends came for a weekend) with perhaps a couple of day trips to e.g. Bath and Oxford; while others try and “make the most” of the long flight and will also hop between a few of the best-known continental cities for a couple of weeks.

The “once in a lifetime” thing is relatively dated, as is the not having much annual leave. It might be true for people in minimum wage jobs, but most people who can afford flights and accommodation for a European holiday also have the sort of jobs which have good benefits and leave entitlements.

I suspect the “visiting my homeland” trope is mostly a thing for older people. I don’t know any of our friends in the US who particularly identify with the country their ancestors lived in in anything other than passing.

Thanks @ComtesseDeSpair and @sarahb083 - good insight and shows that my thoughts re "once in a lifetime" trip and annual leave were outdated.

As an American (guess my home state) living in the UK, I would say that the reasons for Americans travelling internationally are the same as any other nationality and specific to the person. Think of all the reasons you know why people you know travel and those will be the Americans' reasons too. Many of them are fascinated by other cultures and languages. Many are fascinated by history and love the idea of going where it happened. Many are fascinated by the planet and the range of geography/topography/climate. Many have family outside the US. And plenty of them are 'box-tickers': They like to say they've been to famous places.

That said, the geography and climate of the US are so varied that Americans can enjoy almost any topography/weather without leaving the US. (The beaches in Europe I've visited aren't a patch on the miles and miles of beautiful beaches in my home state.) I haven't seen any statistics lately but it's true that many Americans don't have a passport. However, they can drive for DAYS (my state is as big as your island!) and never approach an international border while visiting a variety of holiday options. When I was a teen, it was still legal to cross over into Canada or Mexico with a driver's license. And as PPs observe, travel outside the US is more expensive.

Small world @tarheelbaby - I'm from Chapel Hill!

@tarheelbaby thank you - I think if your username is anything to go by the UK is larger than your state by about 51% - but take your points and agree there are a myriad of reasons for travelling for everyone.

I suppose in comparison OP, it would be true to say that few British people “visit the US” in any meaningful sense: they may have been on brief holidays to NYC, or Orlando, or Las Vegas - and I’d imagine for quite a few of them, those would be trips they save up for for years and make only once or twice in their lives. A few more adventurous Brits may have done a road trip of the more exciting parts of Route 66, or travelled the Californian coast. But very very few will have, for example, spent three weeks doing a multi-city tour of the Midwest taking in Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, St Louis and Indianapolis with a couple of the Great Lakes and some National Parks tacked on for good measure - which is essentially the geographical and logistical equivalent of an American coming to Europe and visiting a handful of countries. So we’re not really so different in attitude when it comes to travelling!

I take your point but surely it's about more than geographical distance? Americans can spend weeks and months discovering their own states but they don't learn about different cultures or language doing so.