Where wd u go

[LesleyA]

I’ve been given flights to London with my two teen girls 16,17 for July 2026 and I have 2k to go to Europe. We have about 10 days maybe stretch a bit more. Don’t want to do hot (summer)cities and history/museums rather beautiful scenery. Thought Amsterdam for one night or two, Switzerland, Italy and then 4 nights in Greece in the beach hopefully not swarming wuth tourists. My girls are not partyers more like scenery and stunning blue water /experiences. It looks do able on the eurorail although not sure abt costs of accommodation (can that be safe clean but cheap?) I’m assuming youth hostels aren’t for adults (myself). I know I can’t get accommodation and travel for 2k pounds but 1) thoughts on eurorail (maybe worth it just to take a peak at countries/or hot crowded boring)and whether that’s the route you’d do. Rail sleepers? All and any thoughts please

For scenery and so on look at Scandinavia. Norway, Sweden, Finland. Stunning.

4 nights in Greece in the beach hopefully not swarming wuth tourists.

Sorry, but in July, anywhere in Greece that you are realistically going to be able (and want) to book four nights accommodation with two teenage girls is going to be swarming with tourists. After all, you will yourselves be tourists (indeed, low-budget tourists).

Can I ask where you are based? You mention flights "to London" so I'm thinking you might be from outside Europe. It's not as small as many Americans/Australians sometimes seem to think. Amsterdam/Switzerland/Italy/Greece will be exhausting (and probably cost half of your £2,000 just on fares).

Also, can we get an idea of what the budget is meant to cover? Is it "Start with £2,000 in cash with no tickets and have 10 days holiday including travel, accommodation, food, drink, entrance fees, etc", or is it on top of what you might spend anyway on groceries and the occasional meal out? If it's the former then I think you are likely to struggle.

How about an Austria/Italy combo or France, Switzerland, Italy trip travelling by train?

What about Portugal? The Algave is stunning & Lisbon is incredible.

Thank you to everyone and sorry I disappeared. Have guests staying so difficult to get away to my phone which I was dying to do. Yes we live outside UK/Europe. I’m not sure what the 2k had to cover I guess I’m trying to find out much it will cover and then how much I’ll have to save, for example accommodation and excursions. We love far away so I guess I want to give the girls the blue water of Greece, the alps and a taste of Italy with the charm of the Netherlands as all these places are so different from where we live. But it sounds like I’m underestimating the size of Europe and the hoards of tourists at that time (and more recently the extreme heat). Sigh I’m so excited to show them such different places. Is the eurorail comfortable, fun and enjoyable or crowded and boring. I kind of hoped that the train journey would be like a visual tour. I can go to one place like Portugal but then they don’t get the taste of the rest. Please keep info and thoughts coming. I am writing down each and every idea

£2000 and all that travel is impossible! Getting a taste of multiple countries means flying or getting trains like Interailing. I’d look at just one country to be honest. A Greek beach is just a beach! I’d come to the uk and see the best of London and travel out on the trains to other cities. Then maybe look at Italy but it’s not going to be within budget to keep adding in flights! Or you could go to Spain for beaches and base yourself in Barcelona. Travel around from there in horrible heat!

I think you need to look at the cheapest inter rail type ticket you can get and focus on a few destinations. Forget the Greek islands but look at places like Prague and Turin. If you stick to the mainland you can use the train and avoid costs of flying. I'd use self catering options or 3* hotels. Heard great things about euro camps. You'll need to budget carefully, especially after London as it's extortionate. We found a Saturday night night there in June more expensive to book than Paris during the Olympics.
There will be lots of tourists unless you go off the beaten track but you're tourists too! There's always parks and quieter spots if you're willing to head out the main areas.

Adults can use hostels and I’d recommend booking rooms for 3/4 so you get your own room in them.

Your budget is way off. Maybe you could manage one of those destinations on the cheap but that wouldn’t include travel.

Thank you so much love getting all this info on the realities….

Another option for scenery and sea is Croatia/Montenegro.
Perhaps choose two or three countries that are close together.
I was on holiday in Switzerland and met some people from America who were visiting Switzerland, The Netherlands, Portugal and Greece and I remember thinking that’s an odd combination. Then I thought to myself why is it odd it’s just something people from UK are likely to do.?
Perhaps look on EasyJet and train websites and get a feel for travel prices and go from there.
I had a quick look at cruises from the UK but they were mostly over your budget.
Expedia is also good for putting trips together.

Go to The Hague in Holland. Its close enough to Amsterdam for a day trip, but has the culture and beaches. You can catch a ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland.

It will be travel costs from England to mainland Europe and back which will be expensive.

Can the flights be changed? It seems rather odd to 'give' a family flights nearly a year in advance with no thought for what they'll do with them or what they can afford, surely anyone who is close enough to give such an expensive gift would think about all the necessary add ons? Are you coming here for another reason or is it just the flights? Is there anyway you can persuade the flight donor to give you spending money up the budget?

If you're coming to London, then flying somewhere else in Europe is going to take a big chunk of your budget and means you'll end up always on the move and not really see anywhere or make the most of the holiday.

You might get 10 days AI in one single place in Europe (eg Portugal, Malta or Spain) for the 3 of you at that time of year for £2k but it won't be particularly luxurious (buffet dining, dated accomodation) and there will be plenty of things to do like watersports, castles, forest walks etc but you won't be able to travel all over Europe on that budget without epic planning of hostels and rail passes. Not sure why you'd want to either? Southern Spain is quite affordable and very varied - mountains, history, castles, cities, beaches, watersports etc. If you flew to Malaga and stayed in an apartment you could go to Granada, Cordoba, Fuengirola castle, walk in the mountains etc. Also see the Rock of Gibraltar and the military history, the Trafalgar Lighthouse (yes, that Trafalgar) - you could carry on to Portugal and fly home from Faro. But I'd imagine you'd struggle on £2k for accommodation/food/travel etc.

Definitely look at Eurrail/inter rail passes for travelling about (it’s Eurail if you do not live in Europe). There is usually a Black Friday sale where they are discounted. You will still need seat reservations for some trains and Eurostar charge pass holders to book seats. Sleepers are a good way to keep costs down because you’re travelling instead of paying for accommodation but you may not sleep as well. Worth looking at seat61.com for lots of help and advice for train travel and using passes. There are also active Facebook groups dedicated to inter railing with lots of people willing to offer tips and share their experiences.