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

I looked up virgin for this August and that’s what I’ve based my prices on.

tbh I don’t want to get too fixated with flights. If they’re £5k instead of £3k then I will obs have to spend that extra.

its the cost of tourist stuff/ eating out a meal a day/ travel within etc I'm hope to glean more advice on.

Thanks that’s helpful about car and other info x

I went to Boston about 12 years ago and don’t remember it being any more expensive than the UK. However, having seen recent headlines that the UK is now poorer than the poorest state in America, things might have changed 😬

Yer I didn’t realise how much it had changed. About 20 years ago it was £1 to $2!! We’re worlds apart now!!

When I went to NYC in Nov with DH for big birthday it was a shock which has made me reconsider/ consider if family hol is worth it!! Really want to see our friends though.

Thanks for advice x

I looked up virgin for this August and that’s what I’ve based my prices on.

tbh I don’t want to get too fixated with flights. If they’re £5k instead of £3k then I will obs have to spend that extra.

its the cost of tourist stuff/ eating out a meal a day/ travel within etc I'm hope to glean more advice on from people who have been recently.

I looked up virgin for this August and that’s what I’ve based my prices on.

tbh I don’t want to get too fixated with flights. If they’re £5k instead of £3k then I will obs have to spend that extra.

its the cost of tourist stuff/ eating out a meal a day/ travel within etc I'm hope to glean more advice on from people who have been recently.

Kids ages will range from 6 to 12 at time of trip.

staying with friends and day trips into centre of Boston, Salem, cape cod maybe. Outdoorsy places as we have lots of kids between us!

10k isn’t enough, you need at least 20k. The flights are about to go nuts in price with the jet fuel shortage.

OP is going next year though, not this year. Who knows what will have hapepned by then, these things tend to be over fairly quickly, or Trump might be dead by then!

People keep talking about this jet fuel shortage but nothing seems to have happend

What are you planning to do for 10 days? Presumably you won’t just be sitting on your hands? What activities, travel etc?
And what age are your kids?

I’d say you’d be pushing it for 5 of you, especially with covering some of your hosts’ costs too.

Lots of people still do who are high earners.

We personally don’t ever spend this much. Which is why I’m asking for well travelled folks advice!

As it would ruin it for me if we went expecting it to be £10k all in and ended up being £15k or even £20k according to some people.

It’s a big/ important one off trip for us.

Also anywhere abroad family of 5 is a lot. All inclusive beach breaks are easily £5k + in school summer holidays. Best deals not available when you’re a family of 5 instead of 4!

We have some great US friends we really want to visit. Friendship has stayed alive by them coming to UK/ Europe. We really want to visit but cost of living between UK and US is a world apart now vs 10-20 years ago 😬

Obviously there are many who will never spend this much on a hol. I’m just asking the advice of people who do to guide me to a realistic budget!

How much do you think?

I’m after advice from people who have done similar breaks recently to share their budget with breakdowns. Then we can plan accordingly as we still have over a year.

Kids will be 6-12 yrs. Plan is out every day but some stuff local outdoors things. )They actually live in small town 10 miles from Boston) So Beach trips. Couple of tourist days centre of Boston. Trip to Salem. Day out at Cape Cod etc and open to suggestions!

I would add 33-50% onto what you’d spend in the uk per day for a similar trip. I reckon maybe £100 per person per day would be a reasonable budget to stick to in the uk so that’s up to £7.5k for your family plus flights. Plus whatever you want to spend as a thank you to your hosts.
what I don’t know is what kids meals are like in the US or if two kids can share. There is certainly a LOT of waste eating out in the US.

If you’re going to have some days just hanging out at your friends home or the local park just chilling not doing tourist stuff it might be less.

I live here and yes it is insanely expensive. Flights aside, a meal out in a decent restaurant will cost $500 for a family of five including tip. A Starbucks coffee+pasty for five will cost the best part of $70. A diner lunch will be $150+. And factor in activities - they are expensive here.

But why do you need to spend like this every day? Go to the beach, hire bikes, go to the Cape - not every day has to cost a fortune. And do you need to eat out every night? (Although a take-out for five will also cost well north of $100). With a bit of discussion and planning yes, you can have 7 days for 7k + flights.

I travel to the US every year, for between 7 and 15 days and I think it’s doable, especially given you’ve got no accommodation costs and will undoubtably do some meals at your friends’ house, and that you can take leftovers from any meals out and make them last two meals (hard to do in a hotel).

You might need to be mindful of spending while you’re there but definitely doable.

(I was last in Boston and New England in 2024, so not super out of date knowledge).

Oh, and the summer here is gorgeous. I also live about 20 miles out of town and it's a gorgeous area to holiday in.

I think you can build a budget yourself much more accurately as you’ll know what you like. Ask them for the names of some restaurants they like and build an order up - remember to add 20% minimum for a tip. Then look up prices for attractions x 5.

flights and cars (and food) likely to be maybe 10-20% more expensive by 18 months from now so add that on. Remember it will be crazy hot so not sure how you’d do with full outdoors days - you’ll likely want lunch inside to recover if you’re hiking etc in the morning.

groceries are maybe triple the cost (I’m American and our family is east coast). So whatever you spend on a normal shop maybe double it to account for eating out 1-2 times a day.

Lots will depend on what you usually do - starters, alcohol, car rental etc.

I lived in Boston for work (in the 1990's) and have been back a few times over the years.

Went most recently a couple of years ago and was absolutely shocked at how expensive everything had become.

DH and I had lunch on Newbury St and it was a nice but fairly basic restaurant-(not fancy) for lunch-think we shared a starter and had a glass of wine/beer each and I think it was well over £100!!!!! For lunch. think I had a caesar salad. It felt a lot.

Are you staying in self catering?
Could you have breakfast at your accommodation?
Stick to cheap and cheerful sandwiches on the go for lunch?

I think if that is what you can spend then you will have to manage/compromise and make it work, just beware!!!

OP I asked Gemini out of interest and it’s said £7500-£9500 for flights, food and entertainment. Might be worth having a play around with it yourself.

I was just thinking the same although haven't been abroad for a few years so I'm probably out of touch !

Sorry, it's not, if eating out x 2/3 meals and maybe doing an activity. I live here.

Thanks - super helpful!

If we can do those cost saving things/ not eat out etc we certainly will! I just want to budget in case. They are big on eating out when we have holidayed in UK and Europe with them. As we are at theirs we can’t dictate so want to be financially prepared!

They are our friends so of course we can tell them we don’t want to go to high end places all them time and ask them to go a bit easy. X

I know the area well and travel to the US every summer. I think you can definitely do your trip on your budget.

Here's what I do to keep costs down:

1. Go to the supermarket on my first day and buy food for breakfast and packed lunch. I wasn't shocked by supermarket prices last year - I didn't think they were hugely different to the UK.
2. Take my reusable water bottle and a couple of small tupperware containers with me - this means I can pack snacks like nuts and fruit to carry around during the day and never have to spend money on drinks.
3. When eating out in the evenings, the portion sizes are so large you can easily share courses or take home leftovers for lunch the next day. Keep alcoholic drinks to a minimum
4. Eat at home on at least three nights and buy wine etc to enjoy at home.
5. When out and about in the city, Whole Foods supermarket is a great place to grab a cheap and healthy lunch. They have hot fresh pizza slices and a hot and cold buffet you pick and choose from to fill a take away salad container. You can get a whole box full of healthy and freshly made salad, pasta etc for about $12 and this can easily feed two people.
6. Get public transport where you can rather than taxis - the trains and metro/bus system in Boston and its suburbs are very good.

Definitely go to Salem - it's amazing and the witch museum is so fun! - and Cape Cod beaches are a must. There are also loads of lovely small towns and villages in MA to wander around in and explore for the day if you have a car - you don't have to spend money on attractions when you can just enjoy exploring new places. Many towns in the US have amazing outdoor swimming facilities as well, and you can go and spend all morning/afternoon at one for very little money, sunbathing and swimming.

There are loads of amazing things to see in Boston, many of which are free, and just walking around and enjoying the views of the water, the beautiful old buildings, and the Common etc is an entertainment in itself. Museums/galleries are expensive, so choose just one or two of the ones that most take your fancy and check online when their free/reduced price days are - many US museums have a day a month when they're free. From memory the Boston Public Library used to do some really good free stuff for kids in the summer as well.

Have a fantastic time!

We were out last night - four of us - in the North End, to a good but not highly priced Italian. Two shared starters, mains for all, two shared puds. Only two drinkers but soft drinks for the kids. Didn't hold back but didn't splurge. $400+ tip = $500.

If you use food halls, get a weekly travel pass, get a go city tourist pass these will all reduce costs. Stick to drinking free water that you will be offered with every meal, take water bottles with you.
Food is expensive in the USA and Boston is an expensive area. 20% tips are the norm for table service but not needed for quick service.