If you love to travel to foreign lands, now's the time to do it!

[CTyankee]

Tour companies are slashing their prices in a frantic bid to get your business. I'm on several companies' lists, having gone on several of their tours over the years, and I am inundated with offers from catalogs and on my email.

I've chosen to go with a group from a CT museum to Portugal. It is so attractively priced that it has sold out (and the trip isn't until October!).
I'm having to cut corners everywhere to afford to travel abroad but at my age I have a "bucket list" of places I want to go, mostly art and culture tours in Europe. Because the dollar is so measly compared to the euro, I won't be buying "stuff" for gifts. Instead, I'm bringing back some vacuum sealed meat and cheese and jars of locally made products. I've also found some nice small pieces of art by local artists and good reproductions of old maps.

I'm wearing out my old clothes andhave stopped going to a salon to have my hair cut. But I won't stop travelling unless I absolutely have to...

[Captain Hilts]

1. Cool!

Captain Hilts, former Connecticut type.

[Windy]

2. Good for you!!!! We have also sacrificed on things to travel.

We have been to England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Ireland. If you really want to go, there are ways to do it on the cheap. A lot of people spend more money to go to Disney than they would to go overseas.

[CTyankee]

5. I really want to go back to Florence next spring. I was looking at the deals to Florence

on Orbitz and they were great! I'm thinking about getting a group together of several gal pals who also are crazy about art and going next April, before the crowds come (and forget early May if you want to go to uncrowded museums as Italian school kids have their field trips then -- a mad scene in Venice last May at the Piazza di San Marco which I fled in an agoraphobic panic).

Hope the deals are still in force for my trip next spring!

[cobalt1999]

3. We are thinking about Iceland this Summer

With the collapse of their currency, it won't cost as much as a year ago. Plus, I've always wanted to see it.

I agree, keep traveling. The dollar is stronger than a year ago, there are better deals than a year ago, and it's not going to be as crowded.

[Zywiec]

22. Went to Iceland a few years back with the kids

It was awesome!

We went horseback riding in the mountains and then soaked in a heated stream.

Don't forget the Blue Lagoon. It's also wonderful.

:hi:

[Lisa0825]

32. I looked into that because I heard they have super bargains on lodging, etc, but

airfare to get there from here is :wow: :wow: :wow:

[ThomWV]

4. My wife's leaving for a month in europe next week - it sure don't look cheap to me.

I get to stay home, tend the garden, and watch the dogs.

[CTyankee]

6. Europe is not cheap once you are there. But I have heard of some fantastic

deals in places like Provence and even the French Riviera.

Where is you wife going? One place or travelling around? A month sounds heavenly. Wish I could do that...

[ThomWV]

36. I'm leaving on a jet plane

Starting out in Amsterdam to go to the Kuekenhof and the
Cafe's plus canal rides then to Rome, Amalfi Coast for a week,
back to Florence,tour of Tuscany by car and maybe a cooking
class then to Bologna and back to Amsterdam for 5 more
days..Yeehaw..All deals are greatly appreciated along that
route

[KittyWampus]

7. People can also look into flying for free as an Air Courier. It's usually just overnight though

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. I'm kind of stuck here at the moment, but Europe

is much cheaper than it was even last year.

In 2007, the British pound was at $2. Now it's at about $1.50. So the B&B that cost $100 a night in 2007 is now $75. The lunch special that cost $14 now costs $10.50.

That's significant.

[CTyankee]

9. Wow, that's good to know! I was in Northern Italy last spring and Northern Spain last fall and I

didn't see too many bargains. I am hopeful that Portugal won't be too expensive but I'm not going to worry about it. I can't wait to see Lisbon, since I love old European cities so much!

[xchrom]

10. kick

[yy4me]

11. I sure would like to go back but that is not in the cards. No $$$.

But,and most important, my lifelong travel companion, my husband, is gone. I miss him so much. We were lucky to go to France last May, just before he died. We paid through the nose for everything but I understand everything is now cheaper, not just the exchange rate. Food, lodging, lot's of things. Free days at museums too. BTW, all public museums are free in England.

My friends, if you have the time and the funds, go and enjoy the culture, food, people of any of the countries in Europe. The history, the sights, the people are amazing.

Don't wait, you never know. Tomorrow may alter your life.

[CTyankee]

13. Oh, bless your heart! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

My mother had been a world traveler for much of her life and she took me places when I was younger and kept wanting me to travel. However, I married young, had kids and couldn't go. When she died in 2005 at age 94, I vowed to do more travelling withthe money she left me. The time you have IS precious, I agree. I am travelling with a gal pal of mine whose husband was hit by a car back in 02, leaving him gaga and confined to a nursing home for 2 1/2 years before he died of complications. Like you point out, one moment she had a vibrant, successful, wonderful husband and in a flash he was never the same. She travels far and wide and often now and I don't blame her one bit...

[FirstLight]

12. I tend to think it is still too dangerous to travel...

the anti-american sentiment is still out there...isn't that a concern?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. Only if you act like an ugly American

If you're polite and respectful of the host country and its culture and keep snide comments to yourself, you may hear people criticizing the U.S. government, but in general, people will be nice to you face-to-face.

The only complaints about "anti-Americanism" that I see on travel websites comes from right-wingers who probably go around saying things like, "We saved your bacon during World War II" and "U.S.A. ruuuules, baby!"

[CTyankee]

21. I was very surprised that people on my Sicily trip actually trooped off the tour bus

in little Sicilian towns and headed to the little coffee bars just to use the bathroom and not buy a little caffe and not greet the owner behind the bar with a big "Buon giorno!" I was really ashamed of them. They ought to have known better...

[cobalt1999]

17. You need to actually travel

Despite what you might hear, most of the people overseas love to meet and talk to Americans. I've had great conservations in out of the way restaurants and bars away from the tourist meccas.

Go, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the reception you get.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. Yes, the right-wing propaganda machine wants you to stay home

so you can keep on thinking that America does everything better than anyone else.

Most places in Europe are LESS dangerous (i.e. less street crime) than the U.S.

[CTyankee]

18. I haven't found it in Italy or Spain. If anything, I think they like us a whole lot better now

than before Obama became president. I don't know about other places. I am interested in going to South America at some point (Patagonia and Buenas Aires) so I'll find out.

There was a terrorist hit on Pamplona just hours after we had left the town last fall but that was the Basque group and was not aimed at Americans.

BTW, you would be surprised at how many seriously armed uniformed soldiers there are in places like Rome and Madrid. I thought itwas just for guarding embassies as they are capital cities but was told that it wasn't just those places, but others. Spain of course had a terrorist hit at the Madrid train station so that makes sense. I'll bet London is, too, given their experience...

I feel safer in Europe than here, altho more vulnerable to petty pickpockets. It's a good bet tho that Lisbon will have lots of armed personnel very obviously on the watch in public...

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

29. Only if you act like an idiot

The three times I went to Europe I was told that they like Americans, but hate Bush.

[yy4me]

31. We have blown the "anti-American" thing way out of proportion.

On the trips we had been fortunate to take, we never heard anyone make comments to us or about
Americans in a negative way. We made an effort to speak with people of the countries we visited.

One German gentleman we met at a cafe in Colmar did tell us, after we all joined for dinner and wine, that he was amazed that we were friendly. That tells us something about our fear of making fools of ourselves. We struggled with some of the conversation. We with our English and broken French, the German gentleman and his daughter in broken English. Laughs all evening. It is one of the most memorable moments we ever had traveling and I will never forget it.

Just speak to those around you, strike up a conversation. Being liked is an international wish. Chime in with a smile and a Bonjour, Guten Morgen or whatever and see how well you are received. We tend to be, as travelers, in too much of a hurry. Slow down for a while, you'd be amazed at what you can see, do and learn and have fun. That is the purpose of travel, isn't it?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

14. A friend went on a cruise on the Mediterranean last summer on an American cruise

ship. The food was included of course and she didn't have to worry about the Euro.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. Also, if you like inclusive tours

(which I don't, but they're good for first-time travelers), Rick Steves has taken up to $400 off some of his tours.

[CTyankee]

20. Tours are good if you are going to several places and don't want the bother of schlepping stuff

all over. I've been on 2 Smithsonian art tours and they were great. They arrange for your entrance to museums and have guest lecturers. But I am going to Florence next spring and will make the arrangements on my own. We'll take several side trips by train. Cars are sometimes more of a problem than not. And I like European trains...

[CTyankee]

19. To me, that's a disincentive. I want to eat in local restaurants when I travel.

That's the fun for me (I even research on line beforehand so I know which restaurants look good and what they serve). I've had wonderful meals in places recommended by hotel desk clerks all over Italy, Sicily and Spain. I have a strategy where I get my euros at the ATM in the airport, enough to get me through half the trip. I use the safes in hotel rooms to stash an extra credit card and my ATM card and passport when I sightsee. I pay by credit card where I can. It's the best way, IMO.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

26. The price of restaurants, even in the smallest places was exceptionally high

for her and she just didn't have the money to do it. As it was, no matter which way she did it, she had a fabulous time. :)

[CTyankee]

27. It's great that she got to go. A dear friend and neighbor of mine took a long

Mediterranean cruise and for her eating on board the ship was great. The ship also took care of everybody's passports, collected them when they boarded ship and handed them back at the end. That's a good thing except there are some places that won't take your credit card without checking your passport. I ran into that problem in the gift shop of the Prado Museum in Madrid. I ended up just paying for my item in cash.

[Zywiec]

23. Don't forget Eastern Europe

That's where the majority of my trips have been over the last several years.

The cities are beautiful, the people are friendly, and they don't use the Euro.

There's nothing like watching fireworks in Kiev while sipping a 75 cent pint of beer.

:toast:

[CTyankee]

28. I'm looking into a Prague, Budapest, Vienna art program for a future trip.

Smithsonian has one but it's twice as much money as our Portugal trip and is far longer than I want to be away. But I became interested in Prague again seeing the pics of Obama there recently...

[Zywiec]

30. All three cities are beautiful

and you'd be happy in any of them.

I wish I had something planned for the summer. Good luck!

[Blue_Tires]

25. trying to get some $$$$ together now...

[Bucky]

33. I dunno, with the dollar so low, I wonder how much you'd really end up saving.

[cobalt1999]

34. The dollar isn't low compared to one year ago.

The dollar's value has been climbing all year compared to the Euro and Pound.

[CTyankee]

35. It's a problem but really, I don't care. It is what it is. I want to go to Europe.

I get so much from my trips that it is well worth it. After all, the treasures of the Renaissance and the Baroque era are pretty fabulous. I have seen so much that has given me so much deep appreciation and even thrill that I can't even calculate how much it has cost me. I do strictly budget on other things, that is true, but it's all OK. I can live on less, just please let me get to great world art!

[ThomWV]

38. Enjoy

I like your attitude

[InvisibleTouch]

37. Plus we have a President whom people like now, in the rest of the world! n/t