How to Tour Europe on Dollars/Day

First Class Holidays in Spain, France, Austria, Bulgaria & Andorra

Apr 16, 2008 Frank W. Hardy

Four star Western or European hotels, personal drivers, great entertainment and fine dining in Andorra, Barcelona, Bulgaria, Toulouse & Vienna at Wal-Mart bargain prices.

This is not about “backpacking Europe,” living in youth hostels and begging for food. It is about staying in 4+ star hotels or resorts, personalized transportation and dining in some of the best restaurants a city has.

Preparation: is the most important factor for a North American traveling Europe. With the Euro approaching $1.59 it is extremely important that the traveler prepare his trip well. The daunting part of this concept is that it will take the traveler considerable time, correspondence and effort.

Flexibility: second only to preparation, permeates every aspect of vacationing. Not the simple “off-season” special but understanding the power of daily or hourly flexibility. Airline departure times, hotel check-in dates, restaurant sitting times and entertainment language all have deep discounts available. From a simple taxi ride to a movie show, the time, the day and even the time of day is paramount. Here are four principle areas that require the greatest scrutiny.

Lodging – the #1 rule in the travel industry is convenience, and vacationers pay heavily for it. A June 1, 2007, Mintel International Group Ltd. Marketing Research Report, Cost vs. Convenience – Ireland, indicated that “convenience” is paramount for consumers. According to the World Trade Organization’s 2006 data, the travel business is a 7 trillion dollar industry with lodging the second largest part.

Travel agents, booking companies and online software are the “convenience” portion of the equation. One small company, Travel Agent Software Company of Vancouver Canada, creates software for small to midsize travel agencies. They alone boast 2.5 million agency customers.

Hotels, as with airlines, have a time sensitive commodity. A hotel room that goes unfilled is lost revenue. Unlike the airlines, few hotels have systems in place that “sell the room before it’s lost.” Yet, individual general managers, sales managers or district managers are usually amenable to this concept and will work with individuals in “difficult and critical” times. Your job is to find those times and contact the managers directly.

Food – is considered an uncompromising necessity; however, it is surprising how flexible restaurants may be. Fine restaurants catering in resort or business areas, have poor productivity times that hurt their bottom line. Examine the times, determine the after dinner or pre-closing lulls and negotiate flexible, repetitive discounts with the restaurant during these times. While your choices may be limited – flexibility can result in great discounts.

Transportation - when combined with vacation, normally inspires thoughts of airplanes. But huge discounts are available with knowledge. Direct or non-stop; connecting or through flights; one stop, multiple stops or connects; hub or spoke; interline or connecting carrier; one carrier, alliance partner or multiple carriers; illegal connects or off-city? Flexibility here can save the traveler hundreds of dollars relatively easily.

However, once in the town, how do you get around? Maybe the best deal on a hotel is 10-20 km from your chosen city. How do you get to the sights and attractions of the city?

One of the easiest ways is right from the start. When you arrive in the city, contact a taxi driver. You may have to wait a while for a driver that is fluent in English and the nation’s language, but then make a long term deal with him. Flexibility wil be based upon his availability. This usually will be on his days off or his off-duty time during the day; however very inexpensively you can have a driver for several hours a day, taking you to all the sites in town.

Entertainment – you might want to unwind at night in a different setting. Hotel bars and clubs may be over priced while establishments frequented by "locals" are usually reasonable. Be sure to check out theater, opera, and musical entertainment in languages different from your host country’s language: as in Richard Wagner’s German Tannhauser held in Barcelona’s Catalan theater.

With diligence, a month long European vacation is available for less than $85/day.

The copyright of the article How to Tour Europe on Dollars/Day in S Europe Travel is owned by Frank W. Hardy. Permission to republish How to Tour Europe on Dollars/Day in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.