13 secrets for stretching your travel dollar - Europe

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

13 secrets for stretching your travel dollar - Tips - MSNBC.com

13 secrets for stretching your travel dollar
Crewmember confidential: Tips to minimize costs when traveling abroad

By James Wysong
Travel columnist

updated 1:42 p.m. ET, Tues., June. 3, 2008

If you haven’t been on an international trip for a while, brace yourself for sticker shock. As many of us know, the dollar is at an all-time low against most currencies and there is not much relief in sight.

Should you call off that overseas vacation? No, hang on. If you are open to a little ingenuity or thriftiness, you could lessen the pain on your bank account.

I guess I am getting old when I can remember such classic guidebooks as "Europe on $5 a Day". Some inflation over time is inevitable, but if you add in the painful weakness of the greenback we are now talking about somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 a day, excluding airfare.

On some of my recent layovers I made a list of some of my shocking expenses:

London — Gas at $10.45 a gallon.
Rome — A pint of beer $9.75 and no, no entertainment was included.
Spain — A meal of Tapas came to $85 and I was still kind of hungry.
Germany — I paid over $12 for a cappuccino.
Singapore — A whopping $25 for a Singapore Sling.
Zurich — I went to Starbucks to buy a coffee mug for my collection, but when they wanted $33 for one normally priced $7 at home, I decided to pass.

continue.....

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Typical of MSNBC - not at all impressive, and overly superficial.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

Just got back from a business trip to Zurich. The prices for food are truly shocking. The Swiss Franc is essentially equivalent to a US $. A personal sized pizza (about 12 inches, but thin) is in the $22-26 range. A typical (not at all fancy) meal would easily cost $30 or more per person, no alcohol.

We were eating at the unsubsidized cafeteria associated with our office. A roll and orange juice for breakfast was $7.60 and a hot lunch was just under $20. Luckily we found a Migros supermarket that served prepared lunches, and a nice selection, for about 1/2.

How about the equivalent of a 20 oz. bottle of coke for $4.50!!!

Sue

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I'm not a happy camper!

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I just said to DH, 'we will be in Ireland this day next year' and his response was wondering if we would be able to eat when we are there!

My plan is to do a LOT of homework before we go - an example is this past week we were in Manhattan at the Marriott Marquis
The breakfast buffet at the 'regular' restaurant was $28.95 and Sunday Brunch at the View, their revolving restaurant was $70 . DH commented how could people vacation here? but if you leave the hotel and walk a block or two, you can get Breakfast for $8 at several local restaurants.
My kids live in NYC and while some things are expensive, many things are CHEAP.
So when I go to Ireland and Spain next year, I am going to be a 'local' and seek out the places locals go to save money and get a real flavor of each country. I had planned on 3 nights in Barcelona after the TS stay but have now decided to forgo that part of the trip due to cost concerns.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Pat, Good idea. I don't know about Ireland, but you'll find reasonable places in Spain. Some restaurants give you the Tapas for free, if you order a beer, or wine. Other restaurants were quite reasonable, and you got a free bottle of wine with dinner. Of course, you can spend lots of money as well, but if you look around, you'll find some reasonable restaurants.

Just pack your lunch the day you visit Puerto Banus . Oh, and no shopping in that port.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

One or two of the suggestions are simple common sense, but many others (or at least the headings) are misleading at best.
To call the places locals eat 'dives' is insulting. Wherever you travel in the world it is likely to be true that you will get the best value and best quality by eating where the locals eat. Calling those places 'dives' is totally inaccurate. To me virtually any fast food chain outlet is far more deserving of that title.
The suggestion to go all inclusive is anathema to me. I want to see the country and the culture and AI can severely limit the opportunity to do that. The quality of food and drink in AI setups is often dubious too.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

There are some good ideas for many people in there even tho many are kind of common sense, you may not think of them. If you have ever read Rick Steves books you know that he promotes eating where the locals do as both a way to save some money and for atmosphere and good local food. Calling them dives was probably not the best choice of words but we know what they meant and I think it is a very useful idea.
I do agree with Keith on the AI stuff, while you can sometimes save a bit of money that's not always true and you do lose the chance to experience a lot of the culture, We are not heavy drinkers (a little wine or drink at the pool) but I think AI is a better deal if you drink a bit more if drinks are included as drinks tend to be quite expensive all over now.
Anyway thanks for posting, if some gets one or two things from it, every little bit helps.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

One or two of the suggestions are simple common sense, but many others (or at least the headings) are misleading at best.
To call the places locals eat 'dives' is insulting. Wherever you travel in the world it is likely to be true that you will get the best value and best quality by eating where the locals eat. Calling those places 'dives' is totally inaccurate. To me virtually any fast food chain outlet is far more deserving of that title.
The suggestion to go all inclusive is anathema to me. I want to see the country and the culture and AI can severely limit the opportunity to do that. The quality of food and drink in AI setups is often dubious too.

"10. Go to the dives
The restaurants or taverns frequented by the locals are definitely the way to go. What it lacks in flair exceeds in authenticity, savings, and atmosphere. See the real country and the real people, not some vision of how a tourist thinks it should be."

Keith, I am sorry you feel insulted, that was not my intenet when I posted the link - the whole article had a rather 'cavalier' or 'tongue in cheek' tone.... but the basic tips were good.
The example I gave from my Marriott stay mirrors the same sentiment as the article - go where the locals go and not pay overpriced hotel meal rates.

I agree with you about the AI option, but some are choosing this option more and more in the Mexican/Caribbean market as a way to help control costs.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

"10. Go to the dives
The restaurants or taverns frequented by the locals are definitely the way to go. What it lacks in flair exceeds in authenticity, savings, and atmosphere. See the real country and the real people, not some vision of how a tourist thinks it should be."

Keith, I am sorry you feel insulted, that was not my intent when I posted the link

Pat,

I don't feel insulted. I feel that the term is an insult to the vast majority of places the locals eat in.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Pat,

I don't feel insulted. I feel that the term is an insult to the vast majority of places the locals eat in.

Good

It is, I agree - the tone of the whole article is 'flip'.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Pat,

I don't feel insulted. I feel that the term is an insult to the vast majority of places the locals eat in.

Good

It is, I agree - the tone of the whole article is 'flip'.

I have a feeling that the author was using the word "dive," the way one sometimes says local "hangout," or "joint." I don't think it was meant to be derogatory. Although, I agree that it doesn't sound very nice, and another word would have been a better choice.