As a teacher I have my summers off and have spent 4-6 weeks at a time abroad. I commend you and your wife for doing this, it's amazing to "slow travel". I've done Costa Rica, Argentina, Columbia, Thailand, Peru, Spain and Central Europe this way. And I have done smaller European vacations to Paris, Sweden, Amsterdam, etc. All locales were amazing and affordable in their own right.

If you go the Portugal route, look into doing this program in Madrid first - Vaughtown or Pueblo Ingles. Both are essentially the same. They look for English speakers from a variety of ages/countries/backgrounds to interact with native Spanish speakers who want to improve their English. All meals and lodging are free for the English speakers and it takes place at a scenic hotel (they have a couple locations) a few hours from Madrid for roughly a week. It's a great way to see the countryside and to meet people from all over the world as well as have a week of room and board covered on your trip. I did it through Vaughtown and it was a wonderful experience.

When I went to Costa Rica and Argentina I took Spanish classes at a local school. I stayed with a local family (arranged through the school). What is great about the school is that classes met in the morning, the school often had organized local activities (dancing, tours, etc) and weekend trips. It was an economical way to see the city and country. Plus, living with the local family helped improve my Spanish, was inexpensive and I was cooked great local foods.

When you decide on a destination, please post it and I'm sure we can give you some more specific tips!

Buenos Aires is beautiful and cheap!

Buenos Aires. And in lieu of credit cards bring cash (just under $10,000) and exchange it on Calle Florida. Get the blue dollar rate and save 30-50 percent! Last trip I would exchange a $100 every few days and get 12 pesos per dollar
instead of government rate of $7...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go for Buenos Aires. The city is awesome and extremely cheap right now if you exchange dollars at the blue rate instead of the official rate (google blue rate and you can read all about it). It is also relatively close to the great beaches in Uruguay. Your money will go far there.

Another vote for Buenos Aires, try an AirBnB in the neighborhood of Palermo Soho, we have done this several times; there's great access to public transportation (cheap and excellent), the exchange rate is great for American tourists now, and if you get homesick you'll have Starbucks, Pain Quotidien, and a bunch of similar chains in the area. The only downside is that it will be winter there, but that only means 50s or 40s in a bad day (it doesn't snow over there). You'll love it. You could also do day or weekend trips to Uruguay and catch a plane to Brazil, Chile or Peru...really worth it.

We stayed in an apartment in Buenos Aires 6 years ago, also in Palermo SoHo. This was going to be my exact suggestion. It's impossible to spend a lot of money there, and I love the city.

BA has great restaurants, great beauty, great bargains, great side trips. For a super fun place where you're not spending a lot of money but still feeling on top of the world, hard to beat.

Anonymous wrote:Cartagena is not cheap and the weather can be horrendously humid/hot. Its also a huuuuge tourist town and when the cruise ships come its terrible. I would
Not want to be there for more than 1 week. Portugal is still very inexpensive charming and just lovely.

Cartagena is basically a more exotic San Juan.

Portugal, Spain or Italy if you want Europe. Argentina, Uruguay, or Peru in south america.

How about Boquete in the Chiriqui province of Western Panama? It's situated in the highlands of Panama so the air is much cooler and fresher than the rest of Panama. First class beaches on both Pacific and caribbean coasts. The islands of Bocas del Toro has great beaches, snorkeling, and surfing - last time I was there Jimmy Buffet was said to be reef surfing off a boat. The waters of Boca Chica on the Pacific side are supposed to have some of the best sport fishing around. Very exclusive fishing lodges. Panama City is six hours drive. The major city of David is 45 minutes away. Friendly locals. And, if you get homesick or seek the company of other expats, they have those too. There is a reliable public transportation system that can take you all over the country and into Costa Rica. And they use the US dollar as their currency.

I think you could swing it for a month with your budget.

Try Kalkan in Turkey- it is WAY cheaper to fly to Turkey than Europe b/c of the EU taxes- Turkish air direct flights are usually less than 800- you will love Turkey!!!

Anonymous wrote:Ecuador for South America. They really like Americans and you have beach, jungle/rainforest and mountains. Quito is a beautiful Colonial city.

Do you want off-the-beaten-path for Europe? I would definitely do coastal, but maybe Croatia or Portugal. For more tried-and-true, maybe Amalfi coast of Italy. Southern Spain would probably be nice too. From most places you can easily and relatively cheaply fly or take the train to Paris (or Rome, etc) for a long weekend.

+1 for Ecuador. Check out Cuenca, we lived there for several months, met some teachers spending their summer there. For $2500 for rent + food - you would live like a King!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Portugal! You could spend some time in Lisbon and some time in the beachy area of the Algarve. It's much cheaper than most of Europe. Lots of sunshine and fresh fish. You can also travel to Spain very easily.

+1

+1 again. We were in Lisbon for 3 weeks in a rented flat earlier this year. Sunny, welcoming, a strong sense of history, lots of art and new shops/restaurants too, and great food at super cheap prices. Most people speak English quite well, but if you speak some spanish or French, you'll be able to decipher a lot of written material. Small city is easy enough to get around by foot (but hilly, so you get some exercise). But there is good public transportation & cheap taxis too. Day trips to sintra, cascais, evora. Train will take you to beaches within 20 mins. NYT did a video and short article just yesterday or maybe day before. It's beautiful!

Another vote for Portugal. We went last fall and loved it. Food etc much less expensive than Spain, France, Germany, and Austria.