tomseeley

Is it anywhere near realistic to assume that a couple in our 60s who are past the point where we'd sleep in hostels but would not pass up pensions with a bath down the hall, and wouldn't SPLURGE on fancy meals more than say once a week, could eat and sleep while touring the art and historical highlights of Spain and Italy on somewhere around $100 a day, combined? Or is that the sound of hysterical laughter I hear behind my monitor?!

ribeirasacra

What is the dollar sign? are you American; Australian or one of the many other countries that use one version or another of the dollar...In Italy and Spain they use the Euro (€) may be you could give us an estimate in the currency we use please?

cheryllj

In addition, when you say Spain and Italy, do you mean the big cities like Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Madrid . . . or will you be traveling in the small towns and rural areas? And what time of year?

If you are talking $100 USD, then that is about 79 euros. That seems very tight for two people in the cities, with all food and sightseeing included. I'm not even sure that would cover the hotel room in Venice.

tomseeley

US $

cheryllj

I just re-read your post, and it's not clear to me whether you are asking about "eat and sleep" only, or if you are including expenses for museums and sightseeing also.

Either way, I think it's a tight budget for 2 people, even if you are talking hotel and food only, not sightseeing. Actually even if you doubled it, I'd say it would be tight, but perhaps doable. But I've never tried to get by on that budget and maybe it's easier than I think. I imagine you'd have to go to grocery stores and do the bread and cheese picnic thing, rather than eat in cafes and restaurants for every meal. I don't know how you would squeeze in any "fancy meals" at all.

nukesafe

Ask yourself if you could do that in your home town. Could you do that in any American big city? Perhaps we could come close by using Motel 6 and McDonald's, in small towns, but it would be tough to even come close in New York.

julia1

We (two) don't splurge on meals, though we eat most of our meals out, like a glass or two of wine with dinner but generally drink the house wine, stay in comfortable but not expensive small hotels, B&B's and pensiones, and usually budget about $1000 per week for the two of us when in southern Europe. Some weeks go over, some are less, but that's about where it averages out. Doesn't include car rental or much train travel.

I often use venere.com for accommodation. You can put in your dates and budget. I can usually find someplace acceptable and reasonably well-located for $65-95, even in the larger cities. Not fancy, but clean and comfortable, in smaller towns often family-run.

nukesafe

I hope we are not being too negative here. You obviously would like to explore Europe, and have a limited income. Each of us on Fodor's is in the same boat, but that doesn't stop us from going anyway; we just travel at different levels.

I might suggest you look into alternative ways to find lodging, since that takes up such a large percentage of our travel budgets. One way would be AirBnB http://www.airbnb.com/ which puts matches you with rooms in private homes, or http://www.couchsurfing.org/, which sets you share accommodations -- sometimes an actual couch.

nytraveler

Assuming you are talking about major cities and not small villages in the backwoods, $100 a night is for a budget hotel - that may have a bath down the hall and no AC. I can;t imagine there is any way you could also eat for that (even buying sandwich makings in a deli), or pay for local transit or entrance to sights or even sit down in a cafe for a drink.

A splurge meal for 2 would cost at least $150 - and up depending on what you order/wines you pick.

LSky

What part of Spain are you planning to go to and when?
Do you need sunshine or are you willing to have some cloudy days and a little rain?

Where are you flying from? Are you including airfare in your budget?
Is that price your absolute lowest or can you cut a few days or rob the piggy bank a little more.

lincasanova

hotels in spain with bath.. 50-100+E
pensiones.. 40-70E
daytime menu meals.. 8-15E
coffee 1.5 E at café
bottle of soft drink in supermarket.. 0.60E-1E
2Lwater 1.20 supermarket
bus madrid-valencia ( for example) 25E
valencia-Barcelona..25E ( but can get a 25% discount 15 days in advance

italy will be similar or a bit more expensive, especially in large cities.
buses will be cheaper travel.

kimhe

Just an idea that will meet your budget:

Seafront Nerja is an ideal base for exploring many of the highlights of Southern Spain such as Granada (Alhambra), Córdoba (La Mezquita), Sevilla (The cathedral/La Giralda, Reales Alcazares) and nearby Málaga (my favourite). Good and inexpensive public transportation.

In Nerja, you might stay in charming Hostal Mena close to the famous Balcón de Europa. Double-room with terrace, sea-view and private bathroom for 40-45€. http://hostalmena.es/

Great number of excellent tapas bars around that serve free tapas to choose with every drink (beer, wine, water etc.) for about 1,50€. The two of you could have a great night out with a four-five course tapas meal with ditto drinks for about 15€.
http://www.nerjatoday.com/barsandrestaurants/

At lunch-time you can have a full three-course meal with drinks included in popular local restaurants for a total of 16-20€ for the two of you. My favourite is La Marina, as good as you get a seafood freiduría in all of the South of Spain (menu del día, 9€): http://www.nerjatoday.com/barsandrestaurants/la-marina/

GREAT ACCOMODATION AND TWO EXCELLENT MEALS PER DAY WOULD THEN COME DOWN TO A TOTAL OF SOME 80€ FOR THE TWO OF YOU. Of course there will be some extras, but if you buy some basic groseries (bread, cheese, ham, fruit and drinks) at one of the close by local grocery stores, you'll keep your breakfast etc. costs to a minimum.

The spectacular Nerja caves are 2 miles outside town:
http://www.nerjatoday.com/nerja/nerja-caves/

Six daily buses to Granada with Alhambra, the Cathedral etc. etc. for 9€ (some 90 mins).

Buses every half hour to close by and vibrant Málaga for 4€. In the center of town, within some 300 mtrs. you'll find both the newly excavated Roman theater, the 8-11th century Moorish alcazaba (fortress), the 16th century cathedral as well as the new Picasso-museum and the birth-place of the Málaga-born painter. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/malaga/home.htm

Great information about Nerja: http://www.nerjatoday.com/

rialtogrl

Here is a budget apartment in Venice:
http://www.homelidays.co.uk/venezia/...-167988en1.htm

At today's exchange rate it would be about $80 per night... that only leaves $20 for everything else but if you cooked at home for every meal, it could be done.

Homelidays.com has some value apartments in other cities, too. It is worth checking out.

charnees

also try sleepinitaly.com or VRBO.com for apartments. VRBO is vacation rentals by owner.

When looking for cheap accommodations, consider that the cheaper ones will be farther from the centers where the sights are, and that it will also cost you time and money to get to the center from where you stay. If you can do it by bus, that's OK but if you have to take taxis that increases the cost of your accommodations.

And especially for the cheaper places, do look on slowtrav.com and tripadvisor.com for recommendations!!

ribeirasacra

Thank you for coming back and saying you are talking about dollars...but we use euros over here.
Most of us who live here think with prices in that currency. So we could help more if you told us what your monetary constraints are in euros.

krgystn

ribeirasacra, that is a cool picture on your profile-- is it a painting?

tomseeley

Thx for all the replies. This is the general guidance I was looking for. The short answer is $100 US per day is too tight to be realistic, even only for lodging and meals. That's ok. I'll just figure on a higher amount, and base my planning (dreaming?) on the higher figure instead of somewhere near $100 US/day. For now, since this is still just a dream, this is all I needed to get my planning started!

colduphere

Yes but before you go how many Euros is that?

kimhe

Keep the planning/dreaming alive! Not at all too tight to be realistic, more people should look out for such options. It would - I would say, of course - often turn out to be the most rewarding way to travel. You just have to do it in a more local way, and anywhere there are plenty of more affordable and interesting options as soon as you know more about the place and leave the footsteps of the most beaten track (for most of the time you don't have to go far).

My Nerja is definitely not the only place in Spain or Italy where you could eat and sleep while touring the art and historical highlights on somewhere around 100 US$ a day. But it would surely take you to point-blank range of some of the most impressive and alluring sights and experiences of a region that bear witness of thousands of years of history. Ancient burrial grounds, excavated remains from Phoenician and Roman times, Moorish fortresses, Jewish culture and thoroughly Christian and no-Christian Spain. Not to speak of the easy-going but opinonated locals, more or less to terms with their colourful and troubled past.

If yoy stay at Mena in Nerja, this would be your nearest beach... http://www.nerjatoday.com/nerjabeachguide/el-salon/

ribeirasacra

krgystn...No it is my house in Galicia.