Frugal Travelling around the world

On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 18:44:37 -0700, "Bobby" <bobby RemoveThis @aol.com> wrote:

 >"JoeD" <joed RemoveThis @noemailreply.com> wrote in message
 >news:8U0Bc.7227$bs4.2449@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
  >> Hi,
  >>
  >> I am planning on retiring between 6 and 9 months from now and I would
  >> like to do some safe international traveling. I have been working all my
  >> life and and except for my early 20's European adventures, I haven't
  >> taken any extensive vacations since only those "escape from work"
  >> vacations. I was wondering if anyone would know what the average daily
  >> living cost might be for a single male age 55 who does not mind a
  >> roughing it a bit. I could either backpack it or even travel by bicycle
  >> to get around. I do that now to get to work (20 miles) and shop. I will
  >> have an annual budget of 15to 17K. I was hoping to travel 3 to 5 months
  >> months a year for the next 4 to 6 years. I would love to see Europe
  >> again, as well as South America, Australia and New Zealand, India and
  >> Southeast Asia, Japan, China and possible Africa, to name a few. The US,
  >> Canada and Mexico will come later. I am not interested in travelling to
  >> any country with serious and dangerous political turmoil even if one can
  >> live on $1 a day. I'm not that frugal.
  >>
  >> Thanks for any helpful suggestions.
  >>
  >> Joe
  >>
 >
 >You can travel by bicycle in europe for less than $15 a day if you free
 >camp.
 >Setting up a base in a major city like Paris or London will be very
 >expensive. The
 >vagabond approach is much more frugal.

That depends on the city, and where you look. Both places have
frugalp places to hang out, been there done that. Plus, I did not say
it had to be a major place. Additionally one will have to be carrying
camping equipment, which adds wiegh, and there are places you may want
to go which is not ?camp friendly".
 >
 >Eastern europe is much more frugal to travel than the west. Countries like
 >Hungary and Czech Republic have
 >very low prices for food, lodging, and sites and they are just as safe.
Agreed
 >
 >If you take the train you will zip past everything and all you see are the
 >tourist crap in the
 >mjor cities that the train stops in.

I live here, and traisn stop in the small towns and villiages as well.
There is virtially nowhere you cannot get to by train. You can just
get a pass and stop off when something looks good.
 >all the interesting
 >culture in between. Belgium, Netherlands, Demark, and Germany are most
 >suitable suitable
 >for bicycle travel with well established bicycle routes and flat terrain.
 >France has good roads
 >and accomdating drivers but no bicycle lanes. If you take a train anywhere I
 >would recommend
 >Spain, as the distances between towns can be long and if you're there in the
 >summer it can get very
 >hot.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Frugal Travelling around the world 

"Barbara Bomberger" <barbarabomberger DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ikaad09juu1moajtq3g321oefmnlp54vgf@4ax.com...
 > On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 18:44:37 -0700, "Bobby" <bobby DeleteThis @aol.com> wrote:
 >
  > >"JoeD" <joed DeleteThis @noemailreply.com> wrote in message
  > >news:8U0Bc.7227$bs4.2449@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
   > >> Hi,
   > >>
   > >> I am planning on retiring between 6 and 9 months from now and I would
   > >> like to do some safe international traveling. I have been working all
my
   > >> life and and except for my early 20's European adventures, I haven't
   > >> taken any extensive vacations since only those "escape from work"
   > >> vacations. I was wondering if anyone would know what the average daily
   > >> living cost might be for a single male age 55 who does not mind a
   > >> roughing it a bit. I could either backpack it or even travel by bicycle
   > >> to get around. I do that now to get to work (20 miles) and shop. I will
   > >> have an annual budget of 15to 17K. I was hoping to travel 3 to 5 months
   > >> months a year for the next 4 to 6 years. I would love to see Europe
   > >> again, as well as South America, Australia and New Zealand, India and
   > >> Southeast Asia, Japan, China and possible Africa, to name a few. The
US,
   > >> Canada and Mexico will come later. I am not interested in travelling to
   > >> any country with serious and dangerous political turmoil even if one
can
   > >> live on $1 a day. I'm not that frugal.
   > >>
   > >> Thanks for any helpful suggestions.
   > >>
   > >> Joe
   > >>
  > >
  > >You can travel by bicycle in europe for less than $15 a day if you free
  > >camp.
  > >Setting up a base in a major city like Paris or London will be very
  > >expensive. The
  > >vagabond approach is much more frugal.
 >
 > That depends on the city, and where you look. Both places have
 > frugalp places to hang out, been there done that. Plus, I did not say
 > it had to be a major place. Additionally one will have to be carrying
 > camping equipment, which adds wiegh, and there are places you may want
 > to go which is not ?camp friendly".
  > >

  > >Eastern europe is much more frugal to travel than the west. Countries
like
  > >Hungary and Czech Republic have
  > >very low prices for food, lodging, and sites and they are just as safe.
 > Agreed
  > >
  > >If you take the train you will zip past everything and all you see are
the
  > >tourist crap in the
  > >mjor cities that the train stops in.
 >
 > I live here, and traisn stop in the small towns and villiages as well.
 > There is virtially nowhere you cannot get to by train. You can just
 > get a pass and stop off when something looks good.
  > >all the interesting
  > >culture in between. Belgium, Netherlands, Demark, and Germany are most
  > >suitable suitable
  > >for bicycle travel with well established bicycle routes and flat terrain.
  > >France has good roads
  > >and accomdating drivers but no bicycle lanes. If you take a train
anywhere I
  > >would recommend
  > >Spain, as the distances between towns can be long and if you're there in
the
  > >summer it can get very
  > >hot.
  > >


True, some trains do stop in little towns but all the 'EuroRailers' don't
bother getting
off. Express trains between majors cities do not make many stops.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Frugal Travelling around the world 

On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 01:32:38 -0700, "Bobby" <bobby.TakeThisOut@aol.com> wrote:



  >> I live here, and traisn stop in the small towns and villiages as well.
  >> There is virtially nowhere you cannot get to by train. You can just
  >> get a pass and stop off when something looks good.
   >> >all the interesting
   >> >culture in between. Belgium, Netherlands, Demark, and Germany are most
   >> >suitable suitable
   >> >for bicycle travel with well established bicycle routes and flat terrain.
   >> >France has good roads
   >> >and accomdating drivers but no bicycle lanes. If you take a train
 >anywhere I
   >> >would recommend
   >> >Spain, as the distances between towns can be long and if you're there in
 >the
   >> >summer it can get very
   >> >hot.
   >> >
 >
 >
 >True, some trains do stop in little towns but all the 'EuroRailers' don't
 >bother getting
 >off. Express trains between majors cities do not make many stops.

So you just dont get an express train (and save a bunch of money).
There are regular trains out there that go almost everywhere.
 >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Frugal Travelling around the world 

 >
 >
 >True, some trains do stop in little towns but all the 'EuroRailers' don't
 >bother getting
 >off. Express trains between majors cities do not make many stops.

As a follow up, I am not advocating giving up the bike idea. I just
think that one can do both, and as a fifty something broad, although I
might camp for PART of the three or four months discussed, it would
not work every day.

Barb
 >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Frugal Travelling around the world 

Barbara Bomberger wrote:
<snip>

 >I live here, and traisn stop in the small towns and villiages as well.

<snip>

That's odd. I live here, but I haven't seen you around.

R,
Tom Q.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Frugal Travelling around the world 

Hey:

I don't have too much to offer in the way of additional advice, but I
did feel the need to reply just to say:

WOW! GOOD FOR YOU!

I'm impressed with and more than just a little envious of your plan to
dive back into travel after retirement. Little doubt you'll find the
experience was worth the wait.

Congratulations again,

Todd
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.wonderninja.com" target="_blank">www.wonderninja.com</a>
Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!

P.S. Okay, maybe two quick words of advice:

1. Obviously, you're going to have to do a lot of research, but there
are many decent "around the world" travel guides to get you started,
not only with practicalities (planning, preparation), but destination
descriptions to spark your interest. And speaking of destination
choices:

2. While most of the previous replies have centered on Europe, you
might want to give Southeast Asia some serious consideration. While
more "spread out", it's every bit as interesting as Europe, especially
if one of your purposes in travelling is to experience different
cultures. And depending on where you go, it can be just as safe, too.
Finally, there is the additional (huge) bonus that it's MUCH cheaper
to travel for extended periods of time in Asia, especially with the
Euro sky-high right now against the dollar. In many parts of Europe,
you may feel cash poor, but in many parts of Asia, you may feel like a
cash king. Anyways, worth considering.





JoeD <joed DeleteThis @noemailreply.com> wrote in message news:<8U0Bc.7227$bs4.2449@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>...
 > Hi,
 >
 > I am planning on retiring between 6 and 9 months from now and I would
 > like to do some safe international traveling... a single male age 55 who
 > does not mind a roughing it a bit...<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Frugal Travelling around the world 

Thanks. I am looking forward to this adventure.
I was hoping to get over to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand,
Phillipines, India and China and others.

Regards,
Joe

Todd wrote:

 >Hey:
 >
 >I don't have too much to offer in the way of additional advice, but I
 >did feel the need to reply just to say:
 >
 >WOW! GOOD FOR YOU!
 >
 >I'm impressed with and more than just a little envious of your plan to
 >dive back into travel after retirement. Little doubt you'll find the
 >experience was worth the wait.
 >
 >Congratulations again,
 >
 >Todd
 >www.wonderninja.com
 >Buy and Sell YOUR Personalized Services!
 >
 >P.S. Okay, maybe two quick words of advice:
 >
 >1. Obviously, you're going to have to do a lot of research, but there
 >are many decent "around the world" travel guides to get you started,
 >not only with practicalities (planning, preparation), but destination
 >descriptions to spark your interest. And speaking of destination
 >choices:
 >
 >2. While most of the previous replies have centered on Europe, you
 >might want to give Southeast Asia some serious consideration. While
 >more "spread out", it's every bit as interesting as Europe, especially
 >if one of your purposes in travelling is to experience different
 >cultures. And depending on where you go, it can be just as safe, too.
 > Finally, there is the additional (huge) bonus that it's MUCH cheaper
 >to travel for extended periods of time in Asia, especially with the
 >Euro sky-high right now against the dollar. In many parts of Europe,
 >you may feel cash poor, but in many parts of Asia, you may feel like a
 >cash king. Anyways, worth considering.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >JoeD <joed.DeleteThis@noemailreply.com> wrote in message news:<8U0Bc.7227$bs4.2449@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>...
 >
 >
  >>Hi,
  >>
  >>I am planning on retiring between 6 and 9 months from now and I would
  >>like to do some safe international traveling... a single male age 55 who
  >>does not mind a roughing it a bit...
  >>
  >><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Frugal Travelling around the world 

If you can find at least one other person to travel and share costs
with, a purchase/repurchase arrangement with AutoEurope can be very
economical for travel to almost everywhere in Europe (incl Turkey and
Morocco). Last year, the average cost for our little but reliable
Peugeot 106 was less than CAD 25/day (about USD 18/day), incl all
taxes and insurance. Sure, petrol/gas can be expensive but you don't
need to drive far each day, and try to stay off the toll motorways.
With a car, it is often easier to search out great budget
accommodation in out-of-the-way places, so there is a potential cost
savings here. Also, it's much easier to schlep around camping
equipment, bags and a picnic cooler, though we found it hard as the
devil to find block ice in most of Europe. Wife and I are both in our
mid-50s and we had a blast. Hope you do too. JOHN
 >> Stay informed about: Frugal Travelling around the world