Backpackers Backing Off Europe?

Could travel this summer get any more expensive? Well, yeah, probably. Let's examine the evidence for a definitive answer, and look at some options if expense is impacting your travel plans:

• Gas will likely increase to a ludicrous $4 per gallon nationwide (and it's already there in some states). That's a big owie on even a small road trip, though following a few money-saving road trip tips can help.

• Airfares are already in the stratosphere, and in a press conference yesterday, an Air Transport Association spokesman reportedly said you can expect 'em to keep on a-climbin' for a while.

• Hard to imagine the dollar being any weaker against the European Euro and British pound than it already is (one US buck buys 64 cents worth of ramen in Europe right now).

What's a not-rich backpacker to do? Some are staying home (bummer), some are roaming to exotic US spots for the summer (better), and some are heading out internationally anyway (best), but perhaps not to Europe.

Backpackers Backing Off Europe

Student travel agency STA told Newsweek that initial summer European airfare purchases are down by 20 percent. AAA reported this month, though, that the number of Americans traveling internationally this summer will increase by 2.6 percent over 2007... so where are backpackers headed?

• The news magazine interviewed a would-be traveler from Utah who says that the projected expense of his planned backpacking trip to Europe means he's working in an Orem camera shop this summer instead. Ouch! What are some other ideas for saving/making money and still getting in some adventure this travel season?
  • Our own intern, Brooks, is supposed to be in Spain this very minute; instead, he's heading to Crested Butte, CO, in a few weeks to flip steaks by night and ride mountain bikes by day. He'll be living in a Volkswagen van, saving those cents for the day the dollar stops dropping across the pond.

  • I had very much wanted to be in Paris this summer, myself, but instead I ended up cruising to Mexico on a good airfare special this spring and took the bus on a month-long tour -- Mexico buses are still one of the best and cheapest ways to see any country anywhere on the planet. The US dollar is still doing pretty well against the Mexican peso, too, and the mountains of Mexico are a cool (literally) place to be in summer's hottest months.
    • Idea: take a Greyhound bus with a student discount to Juarez and catch a long-haul Mexico bus -- very comfy, safe and cheap -- to a mountainous place like Oaxaca or Guanajuato or to the southern border and head into Guatemala; stay in a hostel and eat street food to live cheap.

  • Parts of Asia are always a good bet for travel on a hiking boot string, though hot as hades in places (like 92 degrees in Thailand with around six inches of rain). Watch for student airfare specials -- ya never know.

  • Visiting Australia's no cheaper than doing the road trip thing in the United States... but, it's Australia.
    • Idea: US students can now get a Australian backpacker's work permit, permitting you to earn some scratch and pay for the trip.

Newsweek quoted STA VP Kristen Celko as saying that they are indeed selling some tickets to Latin and South America, Asia and Australia... so there you have it: head in those directions and you'll definitely meet some compadres in dollar-stretching in places where a buck stretches farther than in Europe.

Just for fun, check out these April figures from Frommer's monthly "Global Price Index" (see the whole list for more need-to-know costs, like beer and food):

• Cup of coffee going for...
  • $3.10 in Naples, Italy
  • $2.48 in Brno, Czech Republic
  • 37¢-78¢ in Melaka, Malaysia

Now or never?

At the end of the day, each wish-I-were-there traveler must ask him/herself: can I really afford not to go? The window for relatively cheap (and relatively worry-free, as in no mortgage or spouse at home) is not infinite: worlwide student travel discounts only apply to those under 26, for instance. Get more justification inspiration:

• Top Reasons to Travel Now

Related reading: How to Travel in Mexico on $25 a Day | Australian Road Trips | Australian Backpacker's Work Permits | Student Travel in Asia | Backpacking Europe 101 | What does "exchange rate" mean?

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