Americans and Canadians traveling in Europe can be forgiven for feeling the effects of sticker shock every time they come to buy something. In planning our eleven-week trip between Costa Rica and China we often wondered how everything could be so expensive even in the dead of the off-season for tourism.

While still in the planning stages, we often had to take a break away from doing research as our heads would spin from looking for accommodations for less than $50 a night – even in hostels. We booked very little in advance figuring – as I advise in my book-in-progress – that cheaper places don’t advertise, appear on hotel- or hostel-booking sites, don’t have web sites, and are just generally harder to find.

We usually book our first nights in new countries as travel days are tiring enough without having to search for affordable accommodations. We found an inexpensive hotel ($US 20 each) with private room, double bed, shared bathroom in a so-so area of Lisbon, Portugal. Our meal out that night cost about $US 35 for local fish, steamed vegetables, potatoes and a couple beers. The lobsters in the tank were monster-sized but definitely out of our price range.

Our next place in Portugal was an apartment in a condo development we could never had afforded during the high (summer) or even shoulder (spring and fall) seasons. For $US 40 we got a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a gorgeous swimming pool. Unfortunately, it was too cold to swim and the restaurant/bar and little grocery store were closed for lack of business. The beach was still beautiful and the famed golden cliffs carved by erosion provided great scenery for walks along the Atlantic.

Spain has been suffering these last few years from a dearth of tourists and so we expected travel here would be more economical. I read recently that the land of Cervantes is the favorite international travel location for the British but recent times have greatly reduced their numbers. A TV news story last night showed the owner of a high-end hotel saying that they’re hurting so bad that they’ve reduced their nightly rates by 10 to 12 percent! I think they don’t understand just how expensive the Euro has become.

The best deal in a hostel we found in the center of old Seville cost us more than we wanted to pay but it did include breakfast and use of the hostel kitchen. We figured we saved quite a bit of money by making most of our meals and walking everywhere. That freed up cash for visiting the Seville castle of reigning King Carlos, the occasional meal out, and beer and wine for our meals.

We’re also found that traveling from city to city by bus is cheaper than going by train and we try to take subways rather than cabs when possible (e.g.: when we’re not loaded down with our packs) – or even better, walking. Not only are we getting great exercise but we are seeing more of the city than we would if we were riding in a car at any speed. We get to peek in beautiful courtyards, do tons of window shopping for local crafts, check out restaurants and bars for later reference and get a better sense of the cities that were built for walking.

Travel is not all about saving money, however, and so my next blogs will focus on people, food, music, architecture, language and a hundred other little details that make going abroad so much fun.

WHAT’S NEXT: three days in the Cadiz-El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain; decided not to go to Morocco (ferry too expensive and hotels nowhere near as cheap as we had hoped); skip over to Gibraltar for a day and then back in Spain; staying at friends’ apartment in France during the holidays; still hope to make it to Italy, Greece and Turkey. We’ll be traveling to China in early February in time for Chinese New Year; and settling in Wenzhou, China in February 2010.

NOTE: My “This Expat Life” & “Writing on Wednesdays” blogs are on hiatus until we settle down in Wenzhou in February 2010. Between now and then, I’ll be writing only about Baby Boomers Traveling. Hope you enjoy coming along with us.

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