How to budget for three popular retirement trips

Where is retirement going to take you? If you're like most people, you're dreaming of grand European tours, African safaris, maybe even Antarctica.

But even if you think you've budgeted generously for trips, you might get a harsh dose of reality when you see the actual price tag. A couple that puts aside $10,000 a year for travel may only be able to pull off one major trip per year, with maybe some left over for smaller jaunts.

What Patrick O'Brien, 71, and his wife Bobbie, 68, found out is that you can't get too far on that. So what the O'Briens have done is a combination of lowering their expectations and raising their budget. They nixed Australia from their list, but over the years have done about 10 group tours, including two weeks in Alaska this year.

Here's what three of the most popular trips for retirees will cost you:

GRAND EUROPEAN TOUR

How popular is the big European trip for retirees? Consider this: Viking River Cruises[VIKI.UL] (www.vikingrivercruises.com/), one of the largest riverboat cruise operators, will carry more than 250,000 passengers in 2014 with a median age of 55, and 75 percent of them will do one of their European riverboat tours. The majority of those will sail from Amsterdam to Budapest, or some portion thereof.

Cost: A mid-tier balcony stateroom for an eight-day Rhine cruise in the spring will run about $8,000 for a couple, not including airfare, which can cost $600 a ticket from New York. Excursions and food are included, but not tips.

Budget tip: Off-season cruises are always cheaper, but on this route, Viking marketing executive Richard Marnell says the late-fall Christmas market specials are a big draw. "It has a feel and a vibe - they are an artisans' heaven," Marnell says.

GREAT WALL IN CHINA

Thelma Tiambeng-Bright's dream retirement trip was to go to China, a feat she accomplished last year on a tour with YMT Vacations (ymtvacations.com). The 70-year-old retired teacher, who lives in Duncanville, Texas, flew to California to join the group, which then flew to Beijing. From there, she saw the Terracotta Army, cruised the Yangtze River, saw the Great Wall and then Shanghai.

Cost: Tiambent-Bright's 12-day trip cost about $4,000, including airfare. The current discount rate for a couple is $2,400, with $1,500 for airfare from a destination like Dallas.

Budget Tip: Travel with a buddy or significant other, if you can. Tiambent-Bright says she pays $600 to $800 extra on any trip she goes solo.

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

For Patrick and Bobbie O'Brien, their dream retirement trip was to see the extraordinary wildlife of the Galapagos Islands, off Ecuador. They took an 11-day journey with Road Scholar (www.roadscholar.org/), which was previously known as Elderhostel, a popular nonprofit group that plans educational trips for seniors.

One important feature for their budget was that the trip was all-inclusive. "We want to know how much money we will spend, and the nicest part is that there are no extra costs - you don't have to worry about tipping or side trips," says Bobbie O'Brien.

Cost: $8,000 for a couple, not including airfare to Quito, which will add $1,700.

Budget tip: When you want to go on the big trip, set it and forget it, suggests Peg Walter, a 70-year-old retiree from New York. "I cringe when I see the amount, because you pay for the whole thing in one lump sum," Walter says. But then by the time she goes on the trip, she's able to just enjoy herself because there are no extras involved on most of her tours.

"I call them 'SKI' trips - Spend the Kids' Inheritance," Walter jokes. "We're not rich by any means, but we say, let's try to use wisely what we have so we have memories."