Boomers, You Can Do It!

Each window in our Normandy rental could have been a still life painting.

"Not only can you travel independently to Europe, but you can do it much more cheaply and easily than you thought possible."

I always hope that sentence will galvanize my listener into action so that he'll race to buy my book, Europe on a Dime: Five-Star Travel on a One-Star Budget, and start planning a trip. After all, the book holds your hand, step-by-step, so you can plan a European experience that is easy on the budget.  Truly, Europe on a Dime practically makes the reservations for you!

But no matter how sincerely I promise to walk people through the process, it's never quite that easy to convince them.  No matter how tantalizing the thought of traipsing down the Champs d'Elysee or cruising the canals of Venice, there's usually a "yes, but...." counter to my promise of cheap and meaningful travel.

So, it's time to face those "yes, buts...." in the next few blog posts.  We're going to take a look at the fears which keep people rooted to their La-Z-Boy recliners when they could be sauntering down exotic cobblestone alleys.  We'll confront the objections head-on in hopes that everyone will soon feel confident enough to plan a European trip.

I think one of the fears that keeps people firmly at home is the Money Fear.  They don't believe a trip to Europe can be accomplished for $98 a day per person (assuming two people are traveling together).  Oh, they wouldn't come right out and call me a liar, but, they've done a bit of homework and have studied the AARP, Globus, Tauck, Grand Circle, or Costco travel ads, and have seen that organized tour trips cost $200-500 per day per person. So, how on earth can I promise $98 a day and still insist that the accommodation will be even more comfortable than a four-star hotel?  Surely, think the skeptics, if I'm not lying outright, I must be stretching the truth.