Pre-Departure

Who is going?

I propose that anyone with a little time or money come join in the fun. You don't have to speak lots of languages, or have lots of money, or even lots of time. Pick out the country or two that you would like to visit and join the "group" for that portion of the journey. I expect that some people may want to take detours away from the itinerary, so everything will be really open. You can basically travel on your own, but if you ever want to hang out with someone you know, you can meet up with someone. It is very easy to leave messages at the various youth hostels or keep in touch via the internet. I think it will be a lot of fun.

Where are we going?

I spent just a short time in europe in 1995, so I have an idea of where I would like to go this time. I like to stay with the relatively cheaper countries. This way you can make it farther and see more. Plus, the cheaper countries have a little more adventure to them as well. I am thinking about Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. There are some other countries in between there, but those are my main interests right now.

When are we going?

Most of us are college-going people, so I was thinking an early June departure would be good. It may still be cool in Spain around this time, but I would like to start at that end rather than in Turkey. I was thinking of an itinerary something like below, but this is totally flexible.

• June 5-June 20: Spain
• June 20-July 10: Biking from Spain to Germany
• July 11-July 20: Italy
• July 21-July 31: Transit?
• July 31-Aug. 10: Turkey
• Aug. 10-Aug. 20: Greece
• Aug. 20: Fly from Istanbul to Chicago

How much money do I need?

I haven't looked into expenses that much, but my experience is that the plane ticket is the hard part. There is a big fixed cost there that you have to lay out at the beginning, so you are better off staying abroad longer to get the full benefit. I would say a ticket is about $1000 although you can get it for much less if you don't fly into Madrid, and leave from Istanbul (a simple roundtrip to Paris may be $500?). I ended up buying a ticket from Happiness Travel in Chicago (888-333-3488) this time. They were cheaper than Let's Go Travel, Council Travel, or even Prism Travel of NYC (800-272-9676) and STA (800-777-0112). Sometimes it just pays to call around a little.

Then there is the daily cost. Depending on the expenses in the country, and your level of comfort, you can get by pretty cheap. I would say $40 per day is a pretty conservative. That includes some train transportation, meals, and a place to stay. You could probably do it for even thirty a day. Check out my Asia expenses where I survived on $30 a day in Thailand. Anyway, at that rate you can stay abroad for a month on about $2000, two months $3000 or three months for $4000 per person with plane ticket. I know that sounds like a lot of money to poor people like us, but surely we can swing it in the name of fun...