One month in France-but where in July?

Are you saying you are going this July, that is, in less than 10 days?

Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but we did the same for Rome and lucked out with a roomshare for 520 euros with two great Italians.

I would check the Gites de France, Homelidays, and VRBO websites. I think you're right, it will be tough to do in Provence with your budget and no car but in July, the lavender will be blooming so it's worth a checking out. You might also consider Normandy. Maybe someone will know of a home share. Good luck!

It would be great if there was a resource out there for room shares. So far I have not found one.

Jill, are you aware of the Schengen zone rules and do you plan to be more than 90 days of your 5 months in Schengen zone countries?

The US State Dept has a Schengen fact sheet here:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_4361.html

Basically you're limited to 90 days in Schengen countries without a visa.

On another topic, if you can travel Europe on 700 euros a month, I may want to hire you to manage my money for me.

Honestly I am not sure that you can find accommodation for less than 700 € for the month in Provence in the peak season. Maybe try some campsites and more remote locations in Alpes de Haute Provence in or near Sisteron, Digne, Malijai, Mallemoisson, those are less sought after locations where prices may be more affordable.

Honestly I am not sure that you can find accommodation for less than 700 € for the month in Provence in the peak season. Maybe try some campsites and more remote locations in Alpes de Haute Provence in or near Sisteron, Digne, Malijai, Mallemoisson, those are less sought after locations where prices may be more affordable.

Geez. After all the research I did (even on the State Dept site) I missed that. We aren't working here and are just tourists- though we are trying not to act like it.

It was my understanding that you could not stay in any EU country for over 90 days.

But yes, we will be in the EU/Schengen zone for a little over 4.5 months. 5/31-10/19. Italy, France, Germany, Austria (one week), Croatia.

Tom: I will need a job when I get back! The goal is to stay under $9000 for the entire trip. Includes everything but airfare over the pond.

I thought leaving Arizona would give me a break from all that. :/

It still doesn't make much sense. We're not students and we're not working. Why the difficulty?

The EU does not want you to try to immigrate illegally or become a welfare problem. The rule is 90 days in the Zone (in a six-month period), not per country. And penalties can be severe (including not being allowed into any EU country for up to 10 years) if you overstay.

Rather ironic ,, yes,,thats right,, you may not like it , but it is what it is.. you are not welcome for more then 90 days unless you start jumping through hoops.

Personally I think your budget is a bit silly. I think the average welfare in most EU countries is about that..and that would hardly cover the travelling from city to city , country to country like you are planning. Trains are not cheap ... and even buses cost. I think you really need to rethink.

Mind you, now that you can only have a three month stay your budget will be slightly easier to deal with.. rather more doable for sure. Good luck. I am sure you will have fun,, but it won't be easy.

The simple solution is to spend 6-8 weeks in a non-Schengen country. I think Britain, Ireland, Croatia and other countries in that area would qualify. Some of the smaller towns would be cheapest for lodging.

Hey Pat! Thanks for your kind reply. Glad you think my budget is silly. Maybe I think it's silly that you don't live as cheaply and as simply as I choose to. That was a per person goal, and if you read above the plan is to plant ourselves in one spot for a month at a time. It also helps that we have friends coming to visit so we can split the cost more ways. There is no TV and no tour guides. Mind you, I will have to end up in Croatia 15 days early, but I'll still be here.

Norma, thanks for the heads up. Check out what the State Dept site says about the rule. Wish they'd been more clear!

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_4361.html

Six to eight weeks won't do it. It's 90 days in and 90 days out.

Jill, in fairness to Pat, you did say in your initial post "We'd like to spend under 700 euro a month". You did not specify EACH for the 700 euro, so thus the incredulity.

If you are going to be staying put in Croatia for an extended period, you may want to consider Trogir as a base. The old town is a UNESCO world heritage site and you are in easy distance of Primosten, Krka, Split, and the islands of Brac and Hvar.

As for Provence, we opted for Lourmarin, a beautiful little village in the middle of the Luberon district. However, we had a vehicle, which allowed us to venture out daily. With so many great little spots within easy reach, it is hard to resist: Roussillon, Gordes, Buoux, Cucuron, Bonnieux, Menerbes, Fontaine de Vaucluse, Isle-sur-la-Sorge, Avignon, Pont du Gard, St.Remy, Les Baux, Aix, and Apt! And so many great markets to explore!

Enjoy

it's a little late now, maybe, but France is a hotbed for house swaps. Do you have a house, or an apt. with an accommodating landlord, in Phoenix? Then you could swap even up for a place in France and pay $0 for accommodations. We're doing that this summer and have arranged four swaps. Only one family is coming this summer, the others have IOUs to come another time.

google "house swap" or check out sites such as homeexchange.com, homeforexchange.com or roofswap.com. Between the first two, there are over 3,000 listings in France for people willing to swap homes.

Next time...

And thanks Norma., her budget has now doubled.. but its still very tight,, nope not like me in my limos and 4 stars,, LOL

Jill ,, perhaps you are offended by my post,, sorry it is blunt, but really its pretty fantasy island to me,, leaving in 10 days or so,, have nothing booked, ( rail tickets are often much cheaper prebooked in advance) and you don't even seem to realize the legal requirements for just prancing into another country. I get that you may not have travelled much,, but you do understand that even to enter YOUR country a person cannot just waltz in with no bookings and little money and get a warm reception.. or do you?

You may in fact have a lovely time,, but as I said it won't be half as easy as you seem to fantasize .

Just limit your total time in Rome, France, and Munich to 90 days, and then go to Croatia and/or any other non-Schengen country for the rest of your 5 months, and you'll avoid any visa hassles.

And have a great time.

Whoaaa, Pat! Don't you be slamming us no-reservation, no-planning folks around. The trip before last we managed to hit two countries we had in mind when we got on the plane.

Ed,, I have a feeling you do alot more planning then some ,, not maybe reservations per se,, but you obviously have a knowledge/experience base that ensures you fairly drama free travels.

Thanks everyone, we found a friend of a friend who has an apt in Bargemon.

Sorry, I should have said 700 for a month of rent. 9,000 is the grand total per person for the whole trip.

And Pat, this ain't my first time at the rodeo, and yes, I'm offended by your tone and snottiness. Ever make a mistake? If you just come here to be rude, I feel sorry for you. You know nothing about me and how much time I spent planning before I came over. I've got an excel spreadsheet more detailed than a birth plan on my budget. Maybe I should've been more brief and just asked if anyone knew of a similar region to Provence in France to stay for a month (sometimes a couple needs a tie-breaker). We didn't make lodging reservations because of all the trouble we ran into with scams on Craigslist. And no, it has never been easy. But I'm trying to stay positive.

Nelly, thanks, we sublet our place after I looked into that and realized no one wants to live in Phoenix during the summer :) Especially now with it's racist laws, we're not even sure if we want to.

Thanks Paul, already planned that part out ;) We've got a friend coming for that leg of the trip and we're going to do the National Parks (Krka and Plitvice) and then plant ourselves on Korcula Island.

Hey there, Pat, I need to agree with Ed. I often go to Europe for a month at a time with no plans other than reservations for my first and last night of the trip. Everything else unfolds as we move along. Never had a problem yet and all trips have been awesome. Each person has their own standards and expectations, and if they are met (or are close ;-), then good times will be had. Good luck, Jill!

Would you REALLY rather not have been told you were about to be in violation of the law? Seems to me that you are missing a bit of gratitude to those who clued you in before it was too late.

Jill,, I hardly think my op was that rude,, and it certainly was not snotty. I think I only said I thought your budget was " a bit silly" ,, hardly a major slam.

I do not come here to be rude,, I come to exchange information with people who like Europe, and to help when I can,, as well as I always am learning new tips , I do find your last post to me excessively "snotty" as you say.

Have a nice trip.

Frankly, I didn't think Pat's first reply deserved the vitriolic response Jill gave, but maybe she is just frazzled at this point. We don't know if her 5 month plan has been revised or not in light of the Schengen surprise. If they plan to risk it, I hope they will have the 500 euros left to pay the fine. Remember Dennis, who posted here about his daughter who overstayed by 3 days. She was stopped at the airport leaving Europe, missed her flight and had to pay 500 euro.

Oh, for Pete's sake ! Why try to provoke an insult match ? Are we not all over 15 years of age here?