2

I'm a solid 1 for accommodations and a borderline 2 for food. I'm still a student, so as much as I want to be a 4, student income prevents such 'excess'. However, for food, I really enjoy the street vendors, shopping at markets and the like. Honestly, I would put that sort of thing in the 1 category as well as the bread, cheese and pizza. I had the best gryo in the world in Rome for 2E from a street vendor and that most DEFINITELY is in the price range of your number one category!

After reading that many postings here, I start to doubt whether the categories will help for further references.

IMO, a good deal of the quarrels about "fine dining" and "decent hotels" also results from different levels of flexibility and the tendency to have a major fit about almost anything.

The &quot;Soy Latte Frappuccino with just a dash of Cinnamon&quot; people travel to Paris in November, and find the Ritz a total desaster because it rains outside. After they paid <b>that</b> much for airfare, and <b>that</b> much for that god-forsaken hotel, how does the weather dare not to be nice, and could - puleeeeze - someone do something against this line at the Louvre. You know, honey, we are not the waiting kind, we are active people.

On the other hand, you have people who travel to Paris because of Paris. They don't look for run-down hotels, and they ain't happy with mediocre food. But they think that traveling is a try-and-error thing. With some preparation, they win most times, they lose a few times. Big deal. Still better to sit in the sun on the Champs-Elysees with a Happy Meal, than at your local drive-thru.

I know that it's none of my business how anyone prefers to travel, and - frankly - I could care less.

Just some of these reports read so much like a desperate quest for happiness and fulfillment, that I sometimes ask myself what huge burden of expectations these folks put on a simple, innocent hotel or restaurant, or museum.

Someone way back up the thread mentions this... I would not want to be &quot;categorized&quot; here by what hotels I stay at or what restaurant I eat in.

Isn't travel about getting out into a different culture, learning a language, seeing historic sights, participating in local events???

A place to sleep and food to eat are necessities of going anywhere... but they are not the focus of my experience.

2

I am a category 3 for lodging and a category 2 for food.

I also don't fit because my eating habits and my aacomodation needs are not necessarily correlated.

I am a 1 for accomodation,
but eat out at a restaurant daily and am not opposed to splurging for a good meal.

Still, its an interesting question!

Regards,

Naxos

I'd say I'm between a 1 and a 2 depending on the country and currency. In more expensive places (ie, anyplace using the Euro) I will rough it and subsist on cheese and bread and tap water; spending less enables me to travel on my limited budget. I dislike having to spend more than $20 per night on a hotel and, as a solo traveler, this usually means hostels unless I'm in a less expensive destination. When traveling with a significant other I'd certainly be spending more and eating at better restaurants or cafes.

Like a lot of others here, I don't really fit specifically into any of those categories, either. We rent apartments as often as possible, or for overnighters stay in a 2* affordable/clean hotel.

We eat in some on trips, as well as eat out affordably, but also like to have a couple of splurge meals.

As for touring, we mostly go independent.

I guess you could say bottom line is that we prefer to &quot;live like locals&quot; wherever we travel to. If I had to choose a category from those listed, I'd most fit into #2, but also have some characteristics of #3 and #4.

Yes, interesting thread.

3

2

What Suze said.8-)

Accommodation: it depends where I'm going. These days I tend to aim for 4 star mostly in Europe, but usually the cheaper 4 stars in that town. I wanted to do 3 star in Switzerland this summer but my travelling companions insisted on 4 (and I shall be very annoyed if they drop out). In the UK (where I live), I've hardly ever stayed in hotels, maybe three or four my entire life. Here I usually go for (nice)B&amp;Bs or share renting a cottage. But I don't have a standard rate I'm thinking of, I look at what places in my chosen destination are going for and see what I can afford.

I never spend much on meals. It seems like such a waste. But I'm prepared to pay for a quiet, comfortable, safe night's sleep. I won't pay specially for a View or to upgrade to a nicer room (as long as I have my own bathroom).

hi julies,

like the idea of this thread a lot.

so far there is quite a lot of agreement - 2 &amp; 3 feature heavily, and I'm no different. also like others it varies, depending on where, with whom, and what.

eg - in SA last year, we splurged on accommodation, saved on food, in Iceland this year, we're being quite frugal with accommodation but envisage paying more for food.

looking forward to the results,

regards, ann

We are between a 3 and 4. Because we come from so far away (Australia) we do not go to Europe every year usually we tend to go every 2 years and like to &quot;do&quot; it as best we can. I never stint on accommodation but like also the casual bistro meals or bowl of hot soup!

We are hoping to start travelling at least every year from next year as our son will have finished school so maybe the category will drop a bit as the air fares from here are horrendous. Another category to add maybe is travel mode. We now refuse to go economy so have to pay big bucks for the business class comforts, but that is our choice. I am sorry but travelling for over 24hrs, in most cases nearer to 30 in economy just doesn't work for us.

Schnauzer

scatcat, I agree with location as a criteria...I would rather have a 2 star in a great location than a 4 star in mediocre location!!!!

Julies - thanks for doing this, I think it's interesting.

I guess I'm a 2.3

On most of my trips in the past ten years I've managed to average less than $100 a day (lodging, food, local transportation, admissions). I've virtually always been completely happy with my accomodations. This year though, with the horrid exchange rate for those of us from the US, I think I'm going to have to set my budget at 100&euro; (instead of dollars) a day. In looking at todays prices at hotels I stayed at 5 or so years ago I'm noticing about 10-15% inflation in prices, plus of course our crappy exchange rate.

2

Category 3.

Julies:

I'vebeen lurking a bit on my writing break, and you've once again started out a controversial thread...and intersting one,nevertheless.

Quoting Suze:
&gt;&gt;&gt;Isn't travel about getting out into a different culture, learning a language, seeing historic sights, participating in local events???
A place to sleep and food to eat are necessities of going anywhere... but they are not the focus of my experience...&lt;&lt;&lt;

Finally I got down to Suze's post above...and it says it all as far as my wife and I are concerned, and is the type of traveling I've done for the past six decades.

Also, as I've been saying several times when the subject of money has come up here,it's a very personal and confidential thing.

***But, if while traveling,you spend a bit over your budget, say, sliding up to a $200 lodging rather than one costing only $100, or once in a while popping much more for dining than usual...a short while after you get home and are enjoying looking at your digital pix, and you've gone through one or two cycles of paying your credit card bills, your lives will soon go on as it has and (yes!) you won't have to mortgage your spouse.
But you will amply add to your memories of a rewarding journey.
Please believe me on this one, kids.

Stu T.

(I'm going to celebrate my 79th birthday this Sunday by once more going to the local battng cage and belting out 60 baseballs..admittedly, I'm down to the 50 mph cage...c'est la vie.)