Hi Chris,
I have just found your blog and love it. Thanks for setting it up. Have a big question though don’t know if can or want to answer it for me. My husband and I will be 51 and 48 next February 2009 when we plan to set off and travel from one end of Europe to the other.
We expect to have approx US$45,000 to spend and about 12 months. We are fit and though we may seem old to you we love all the interesting and out of the ordinary stuff. Not really into pubs but great food, good wine, fantastic sites, walking all that.
We have thought we might buy a small car throw in a small tent and head off. Would love to stay a week or more in different places, in pubs, hostels, convents, cottages, villas the odd camping ground(not my favorite) anyway good clean and reasonably priced. Of course we would also like to throw in the odd extravagant night or two in a more up market bed. We want to tour the Mediterranean as well.
Got any tips and is that enough money for 12 months or not? Is it feasible to buy a vehicle?
We are just beginning our planning so would really appreciate any help
Thanks
K.
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Hi K.
First off, thanks for compliments on the site. I’m glad you find it interesting and helpful. Your idea sounds wonderful and I’m sure you will have a great time!
A few thoughts I had:
* In terms of money, the cheapest I was able to travel around comfortably (no extravagant stops in wonderful hotels but stays in budget hotels and some hostels; always clean and safe) was for about 50 US dollars a day. That was last summer and the dollar of course is becoming weaker and 
weaker so things might change (lets hope for the better). This number (50) turns out to be about 35 Euros which I allot 25 to accommodation (per person) and 10 for food. Of course this will fluctuate a bit but I think it’s a good number. This turns out to be for 12 months $18,250 each(21,170 AUD). Remember this is bare, but comfortable minimum. Times this by 2 for you and your husband and we are at $36,500 (42,340 AUD). Add round trip flight, say for 700 each= $37,900 (43,169 AUD). Put gas on top of this, car purchase, site seeing and those 
extra stops in Belgium cafes for perfectly cooked waffles covered in chocolate sauce and whipped cream…you may find that 45,000 is a tad short.
Not to worry though. 12 months is a very long time…I have studied in Europe for that long but traveling…I don’t think I could pull that off and ever want to tell people about it…but each to their own. You might think about cutting down the time a bit. Every month you knock off your trip is at minimum going to save you 6000 and probably more. Don’t forget too, Europe is really not all that big. Germany is about the size of Montana and Spain is about twice as big as Oregon. You can see a lot of Europe in less than a year. Most of my bigger trips last about 30-40 days at a time and I
see one or two cities in 5-7 countries.
*You mentioned that camping is not your favorite. What you will generally find is that “camping” (although you have the tent option) is not necessarily what it is in the states (judging by your e-mail address you may be from Australia and regrettably I have not had the opportunity to visit in order to speak about camping there). Just check out the pics on this website for a place outside Rome (I have an article on it too) http://www.campingtiber.com/
This by the way is a nice way to save a few extra Euro a night.
* I’ve never purchased a vehicle in Europe but have known a few that did while I was living in Germany. You 
shouldn’t have a problem as far as I know, but you might want to do this in a country that speaks a language you or your husband understands. For obvious reasons you want to know what you are buying. If that means finding a car in London (although it might be a tad expensive) you can easily put it on a train/ ferry to cross the channel. In the long run having your own car (that doesn’t run into mechanical problems) might end up saving you money and hassle. Booking flights and trains can add up if not done way in advance and having your trip completely planned out takes some of the fun out of it. You never know you may just hate Rome and not want to wait around for a flight that is a week away.
*Great food- One of the best meals I have ever had was in Cinque Terre 
Italy. It was so good my first time in 2003 that I forced my travel partner this past summer to take 8 hours of train rides to get to this city, eat dinner, and then we had to leave the next morning for another 6 hour train ride. After eating, he didn’t mind. Cinque Terre is actually (as the name suggests) 5 coastal villages on the Mediterranean connected by a train and a hiking path. The restaurant is in Monterosso, the first from west to east and although I can’t remember the name for the life of me you really can’t miss it (A helpful reader reminded me it was called Belvedere). It is directly under the train tracks, has outdoor seating with umbrellas as 
well as indoor and will be in front of you and to the right when you walk into the town from the train station. Order the seafood spaghetti and you won’t be sorry (the seafood is caught off the coast by local fishermen…try it with wine made right there in the village and you’ll be in heaven. It is really cheap too!!
*A place to go- I studied here for a year and would return in a second if I could afford it. Tuebingen Germany (I have an article about this place) is just a magical place for me and everyone I have ever known to stop by. If you’re driving north from Munich or making your way south from Berlin, Dresden or anywhere above Stuttgart
you really must stop by here and spend a couple days.
Also if your into hiking- look into Interlaken Switzerland- A beautiful place with tons of outdoor activities.
Well, I hope this helps some. I would love it if you would keep me posted on your progress towards this wonderful trip of yours. Let me know if I can help with anything else.
Happy Travels,
Chris.
