I'm thinking about taking a 2 week trip to Spain or Portugal this winter. Probably fly from an East Coast city, either NYC or Boston. Will be traveling with 3 other adults and would like to rent a car. We are interested in traveling as cheaply as possible. Realistically what can we expect to spend for airfare and our whole trip?

J.W.: If we can assume that you are going "middle-of-the-road" with air, hotel, food, car, etc., then it could look something like this: <BR> <BR>Airfare should be anywhere from $400.00 to $600.00 (season and airline), R/T, per person; Hotel (with bath) might be around $100.00 for a double, inc. breakfast per night (no need to pay more); We rented a compact car (two people)in Germany for 8 days for $225.00 from AutoEurope, but you will need a larger one, so maybe $350.00; Food would consist of lunch and dinner IF breakfast is included with hotel and I'd say $30.00 for lunch for two and $50.00 for dinner (these prices are higher than what you would find normally when "menu shopping" outside of restaurants, I'm over-estimating); Purchases (keepsakes, fees, passes, etc.) should be charged on a credit card to take advantage of the better exchange rate; Buy film, toiletries, camera batteries, etc. over here before your trip and purchase maps over there at gas stations. <BR> <BR>Make your arrangements in advance, if possible. Map out your itinerary. <BR> <BR>This will keep your costs down and you may spend less than you would think. <BR> <BR>Have a good trip!

We too are thinking of touring Spain and Portugal and are weighing the costs of alternatives. The cheapest way seems to be to go with a group like Cosmos which provides hotels, food(not all your dinners), sightseeing and ground transportation for $628 or 9 days for $459. Air fare is extra. ABC travel out of N.Y. will get you there pretty reasonably i.e. $459 to Lisbon including 3 or 4 nights in a first class hotel with buffet breakfast daily, airport to hotel transfers, taxes and service charges. <BR>We plan to combine a tour and a week on our own in March or April. Let me know how you do.

I make about 5 trips a year and I never make reservations in advance. I have not had any problems finding good, clean double rooms . . . last fall in Spain, there were 3 of us and we paid around $50 per night and had really nice rooms (w/private bath) and we were right in the center of things. We used the Lonely Planet guide (I love Fodor's website but his guidebook recommendations are usually out of my budget) and Let's Go. Since the portions are very large in Spain, we usually bought two lunches and split them three ways and still had plenty of food. We ate sandwiches or something light for dinner. Most cafes have daily lunch specials and the menus are always posted outside. <BR> <BR>We rented a car from Kemwell and it was very reasonable (I can't remember how much but I can look it up if you want to e-mail me). We picked it up when we were leaving Barcelona and turned it back in in Madrid four or five days later. We flew TWA from Dallas/Ft Worth to Barcelona and back from Madrid and we paid $579 inc. taxes. <BR> <BR>I went to Lisbon a couple of years ago and it was cheaper than Spain. We had a very good time there. <BR> <BR>It's really a lot more fun to go cheaply, as you usually will have more contact with the locals. Happy travels! <BR>

Just bringing this up again.

I'm not sure from you're message if you are four single adults or two couples. If you are concerned about budgets (shouldn't be a problem in Portugal I hear), and you are all 'just friends', consider getting quads in youth hostels. Some of them are quite nice, offer cheap food services or guest kitchens, and are great places to meet people, and that's half the fun. <BR> <BR>Just a thought. Youth hostels are not only for youths, except in Bavaria. I shared rooms with elderly people in some of the hostels I've been at in Europe. <BR> <BR>On the other hand, I've seen great hotel deals for Portugal for this winter. It was in a travel agency in BC, though, so I don't know if you'd find the same one. But it was for 28 days at hotels by the beach, including airfare, for about 1500$ Canadian if traveling in fours. Cheap car rental options too. That wouldn't involve much moving around though. <BR> <BR>Just a few tidbits. Hope they helps.

I travelled in Spain & Portugal on a budget this summer and found the prices to be quite reasonable. However, I believe that our exchange rate has since dropped. <BR> <BR>Renting a car is the way to go. While it did cost $30 to fill up a tank of gas that costs me $10 in NJ, with 4 people, it's totally worth it and beats the busses and trains. Believe me. <BR> <BR> <BR>Someone mentioned $100 for a moderate double in a hotel. I stayed in quite a few nice places that were quite cheaper than this. $100 seems to be a high estimate.