Money Money Money Money

Yep, I'm going to talk about what people don't talk about. 

(Please don’t check my math; my calculations are rough, because being exact is all but meaningless in this context.)

Costs (rounded a bit):                                    total                each person

Accommodations                                          €1,470            €735
Train & Bus (Lisbon connections)                     60                 30                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ______                    

                                                                                            €765 =       CAD $1,132

Bikes                                                                                   €500 =       CAD $  776



Cash withdrawals                                                                Euros            CAD                    rate
                                                                                                            (+ transaction fee)
        Berlin            Sept 25                                                    200            295  + 5                1.47
        Berlin            Sept 27                                                    200            295  + 5        
        Lisbon            Oct 3                                                      200            295  + 5
        Zambujeira     Oct 6                                                      200            326  + 5                1.63
        Lagos             Oct 11                                                     200            326  + 5
        Tavira             Oct 16                                                    200            296  + 5                1.48

Total cash                                                                            €1,200          $1,863

Total expenses, other than flights, for just me:                                         $3,771  

Total approximate expenses, minus Berlin*                                         $3,270        $204/day/person

 

Without the bike rental (i.e., for the normal tourist), the cost would have been about $156 per day per person, plus transportation expenses. Car rental would have been much more costly than bike rental, but public transport is cheap and efficient. Lots of variables.

*I stayed with family for the 10 days in Berlin, and my total expenses there were about €300-350, mostly in dinners and treats. To include this in the per day calculation would have skewed the numbers.

***

Why such different exchange rates in Zambujeira and Lagos? All withdrawals were done in legit bank ATMs, not the Euronet ATMs found on every street, known for charging exhorbitant rates. There was a bit of confusion at both banks in question, something about, “Do you accept this rate of exchange?,” for which the only answer accepted was, “No.” What does that mean??

Visa charges came in at an exchange rate of $1.48 to the Euro, similar to the ATM withdrawal rate. My habit has always been to use cash in foreign countries, because that was best deal, but considering transaction fees at ATMs, it would have been a bit better to use my card this time. It cost me $90 more this trip to use cash than it would have to use only my card. That’s not a lot, but something to consider. All vendors, incidentally, appreciated cash. “Cash is always best,” we were told. Also, we tipped for service in hotels, cabs, the boat tour, and restaurants -- and cash seemed to be the only way to do that.

I had about €45 in cash when I left home, left over from a previous trip, and I came home with about €65. For the next trip.

I brought home less than $50 worth of small gifts and souvenirs. Travelling by pannier puts a damper on the urge to buy stuff, plus everything must fit in regulation carry-on baggage. After the lost luggage incident in Berlin, I wasn’t about to check a bag coming home. But Portugal is full of temptation, if someone wanted to buy things there: beautiful clothes, ceramics, cork products (shoes! beautiful cork shoes!)

As for flights, I had a complicated itinerary, I flew some of it on points, and I opted for a cut above rock bottom (i.e., fully refundable). Since flight costs vary so much, there doesn’t seem much point in listing mine here.

 

Comparisons

Fully guided and supported bike tours in the region list between about €2800 and €4,000 per person, including most meals and all accommodations, for 7 days. Its definitely cheaper to do it the way we did it, and it was nice to choose our accommodations and restaurants. We did see supported tours on our route, though, and I admit to a bit of envy at how easy it looked. In fact, we didn’t encounter any other cyclists doing what we were doing, even though we saw many, many cyclists. That says something about our sanity, I guess, in doing this on our own. (And great respect to the Cycle Blaze crazies, who do this for months at a time.)

I’ve also looked into an E-bike tour in Croatia, 8 days guided, staying on a boat between rides, 185 km of riding, includes all meals & accommodation, max. 32 passengers. The cost is about €2000 per person, double occupancy, or about CA$375/day. The previous bike & barge trip I took, 8 days fully guided and full room & board, was about €1200, an incredibly good deal. The pandemic has changed things though; prices are up in all sectors, it seems.

 

Then and Now

We met some fellow Canadians who had been in Portugal four years ago. They said prices have gone up exponentially since then. Portugal is no longer an inexpensive, forgotten corner of Europe. For the money, however, the traveller gets copious high-quality food and beautiful accommodations, offered by a people who are, overwhelmingly, among the most gracious and friendly I have ever encountered. Hang the expense -- go to Portugal!