Europe On The Cheap

In My Humble Opinion
1

Realistically, what is the least amount of money one could get by on, if one desired to travel in Europe for about a month (3-4 wks.)? A friend is considering a Summer backpacking trip from North to South-via the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. I am estimating about $1200 dollars for transportation (roundtrip plane tickets and Eurail pass combined.) and $700 for lodging (between hostels, friends, and camping.).

What I have a hard time calculating is food, entertainment, and incidentals.
It has been a long time since I’ve been to Europe so I have no idea how the Euro and inflation have changed the economics of daily life.

Am I dreaming when I told him he could do the whole thing for under $3000.00?

2

He should definately be able to do it for under $3000, I think. Obviously nothing extravagant, but probably without being too cheap either. I did the Eurail thing about 2years ago with my girlfriend at the time. We spent about 100euros a day together total (food, lodging, entertainment). So, 50euros a piece. In general the split was something like 50euros for accommodation and 50euros for other stuff. We never really did anything that cost extra money though - just go look at all the general touristy things and eat (and drink). We weren’t particularly cheap either. Could definately have done it for much less had we wanted to.

I guess sometimes we took overnight trains which made it cheaper since we didn’t have to pay for accommodation that way (but mostly so that we didn’t waste a day travelling) - but also meant sleeping in a chair.

If your estimations are right, it seems to leave him ~$1000 for the month for entertainment/incidentals/food. Sounds like enough to me. Maybe others here think differently, though. I’m not very good with money and always think that I have enough and end up running out at the end…

Travelling by train through Europe is great fun. Don’t need any plans, just get on a convenient train and head off whenever you’re done with a city. I would like to do it again, but stick more to the eastern european countries next time since I missed out on them a bit last time and haven’t really ever visited them. Definately reccommend Eurail as a great way to see Europe.

3

I did Europe last year for five weeks for around $5000. Now I did it differently then you want to. I borrowed a motorcycle, and had a place to stay for about two weeks out of that.

Of the places you are going to, Switzerland was very expensive, though I think I got taken as I paid about $15 for one beer at a bar. But food and gas and other things seemed to be much more there then in the rest of Europe.

From where you’re going the Neatherlands and Italy were the best, though going through the Swiss Alps on a motorcycle was great!

4

In 2000 I spent three weeks in Europe.

Plane ticket: outbound Toronto to Helsinki, return London to Toronto: CAD 1160.
Three-week Eurail pass (the cheapest ‘full-service’ one): CAD 870.
I mostly stayed at youth hostels, which worked out to about CAD 30 - 40 per night (more expensive in England (L24.95/night in London (=CAD 65–yike!))).

I was at a conference in Helsinki for the first week, and food was included in the price of the conference (under 200 euros–extremely reasonable, considering it was Finland and all, almost as expensive as England).

I probbably spent another 1000 dollars on souvenirs, food, local bus passes, tickets to attractions, a ticket on the ship between Helsinki and Stockholm, a ticket on the Channel Tunnel train, etc. The rail pass gave me big discounts on some of these. I also spent two nights on a sleeper train, which eliminated the necessity of finding a hostel those nights.

So, all told, somewhere around CAD 3000 in total–I’m not sure of the exact amount.

Definitely do the youth hostel thing. Not only is it a lot cheaper than hotels, most hostels offer kitchen facilities so that you can buy food at local stores and prepare it yourself, rather than go to restaurants. This is a BIG money saver.

For the next step in saving money, join a "hospitality exchange’. This is a service where people give you a basic place to sleep for free. I’m a member of Pasporta Servo (PS), a service for Esperanto speakers. There are others.

When you join PS, you get a book listing hosts in various cities around the world. Various contact details are given. If you are going to a city with a host, you can call ahead; perhaps there will be a vacancy. I stayed in Copenhagen for three nights at no cost. :smiley:

The next step in saving monty is, of course, camping. And then staying with friends. On my trip, I didn’t want to lug additional camping hear around, so I ddn’t camp. And I didn’t know anyone over there, so staying with friends was out.

5

You can save a little money by using the same water bottle daily and refilling as needed.

Taking your own instant coffee jar and condiments ( swiped from McDonalds)

Just eat the bread from the bakeries in the morning…bread…european bread…droolll.

6

Thanks for your experiences and advice everyone.

7

We did Europe, 2 people for 28 days for $12,000 AUD. So that would be roughly $4000 USD per person. We wern’t extravagant but we were comfortable. $3000 should be easy.

8

I can’t let this thread go by without mentioning the guru of independent travel - Rick Steves. He has lots and lots of advice, destinations, budgeting tips, and so on for the budget minded traveler, whether it be backpacking, hostelling, what have you. I highly recommend all his guidebooks, and his website is pretty good too; well worth checking out: www.ricksteves.com

9

Is there an “Off-Season” for Americans to go to Europe?

By that I mean a better time of year to buy plane tickets to Europe.

10

Winter. Flights leaving after Christmas are cheaper.

11

Netherlands…be warned, accommodation in Amsterdam can be expensive. Having said that, with all the weed, you may be able to cut down on your entertainment budget. Carpet can be very interesting if you’re in the right frame of mind!

Seriously, getting a youth hostel card and trying to stay in approved youth hostels will benefit you pocket, and is often safer.

Be warned German youth hostels tend to serve breakfast at the crack of dawn, may separate men and women and probably won’t let you drink in your room.

Save money on accommodation by overnighting on the train long (8hr plus) trips. If you’re brave, stay seated, if not, try and get a sleeper bunk.

Budget 10-15euros for a cheap (but nice) dinner and a glass or two of wine in a restaurant in Italy, more like 15-20euro elsewhere. Cheaper food (fast food, self-catered stuff from the market, sandwiches etc) is always an option.

If breakfast is included in you hostel price, eat it, and take a few extra rolls and an extra cup of tea or coffee. That way, if funds are really tight, you can skip lunch. Buying cold meats, cheese and bread from a local market or corner store is usually the cheapest and easiest option for lunch.

Remember to buget in museum and gallery entrances. They can be anything from 2euro for a small exhibit to 15euro for some of the more famous places. About 10euro a day would be about right, in order to make sure you take full advantage of the culture. Some cities have deal whereby you pay a lump sum and are entitled to free or reduced entrance prices at certain exhibits. Take advantage of your student card if you have one.

Tell you friend to AVOID staying, eating or shopping in Venice if at all possible. Camp or stay in Verona or Padua and get the train in for a day, being sure to bring your own snacks and water. That city will rip you off if you’re not careful.

12

I’d say this is an exaggeration. I’ve stayed in inexpensive yet acceptable hotels there, and eaten & drunk well & cheaply. Just don’t buy anything within sight of St Marks, and you should be OK.

If you do want to look for cheaper accomodation, there’s the option of Mestre, which is the mainland part of Venice - it’s an unremarkable residential town, only a few minutes on the train across the lagoon.

13

Generally, you should have no problem getting accomodation for about 25 EUR per person (twin sharing) in a reasonable hostel anywhere in Europe. If you’re willing to do dorms, under 20 EUR is not uncommon.
www.hostelworld.com (but only use for reference, google for the hostel’s own email address and talk to them yourself. Generally cheaper that way.)

14

If you’re really looking to save money on travelling around, I’d recommend hitchhiking. I understand it’s got a bad reputation in America but I recently hitched from Wales to Morocco through England, France and Spain and had one of the best experiences of my life. It might be a little slow but you get to see and experience things you never otherwise would and I found I got much more of a feel for how the countries and their people really were.
Understanding a least a little of the local language comes in useful but a map and a good pointing finger will often suffice.
If you’re not too pushed for time and you’re travelling light, it’s a great way to get around.