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

[1ladybird]

Family of 5. 2adults 3 kids. Is £10k enough for flights and meals out for 10 days in US summer 2027?

Staying with friends who like to eat out- Boston. Possibly need car hire.

I thought this would be plenty as flights available £3k and we can stay with our friends.

However, we visited NYC (just me and DH). SO SO expensive!!!

US vs Uk economy reminds me of how rich British ppl felt visiting Eastern Europe 20+ years ago..! Now we’re on the receiving end!! Our economy is so poo and London seemed so cheap after visiting NYC Nov ‘25 😬.

After advice from families who travel to US regularly/ recently. TIA xxx

10k. No definitely not

No. Flights will be at least half that amount.

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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!

@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 ?

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.

Absolutely.

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

Nah, you will need more like £20K.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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 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.

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