MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
So A, a question - do you think you could travel through Europe on $5 a day?
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Five bucks a day? No. I mean, is that even possible?
MARTIN: Well, apparently, it was at one time, decades ago. And we know this because of Arthur Frommer, who died this week at the age of 95. Now, even if you don't travel a lot, you might know the name from his series of guidebooks for budget travelers. And they changed the way a lot of people thought about travel, especially his first bestseller.
PAULINE FROMMER: He wrote "Europe On 5 Dollars A Day" in 1957.
MARTIN: That's his daughter, Pauline Frommer.
FROMMER: Yes, it was possible then. In fact, people would write to him. And the most common letter he would get was, $5 a day? I did it for 2.50. I'd say it still is possible if you take part in the sharing economy.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, her father's love for cheap travel began in the 1950s when he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was stationed in Europe and found himself wanting to travel on his very small Army salary.
FROMMER: There was a notion that only the very rich could travel to Europe. All of his fellow GIs were terrified to leave the base. They didn't think they'd be able to travel safely without a lot of money. And he wrote a little book called "The GI's Guide To Europe." It sold out within the Army almost overnight.
MARTIN: So when he finished his service in the Army, Arthur Frommer published "Europe On 5 Dollars A Day," and it changed his life.
FROMMER: My father truly believed that often you traveled better without a lot of money, that money could put a barrier between yourself and the country or destination you were visiting.
MARTÍNEZ: In 2012, Pauline began running Frommer Media alongside her father, and the pair published several guidebooks. Pauline says her father believed that travel was a privilege, and if you're spending too much, you're probably not doing it right.
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