heyheyitsaj

My friend and I are wanting to travel primarily western Europe from the beginning of September next year. We will both be 20 years old and are female. We are trying to find out if we can afford to travel until Christmas as this would tie in nicely with another friend who will be in Austria. We will be in the UK at the time we leave. Due to the most random occurrences, we will have already spent time in Santorini (Greece), Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice (Italy), Berlin (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Paris (France), and all we want to see in the UK. We will also be spending three weeks in Ireland earlier in the year and this would come into the budget of €4500. So in total it would be 19 weeks travel for €4500 each.

If we each had €4500, how long could we realistically spend travelling, is Christmas too unrealistic? We would be staying in shared dorm hostels, cooking our own food from the market/supermarket - apart from one or two meals a week where we would go to a restaurant (just a sort of reasonable family restaurant if you get what I mean!) We don’t drink alcohol and would spend very little on souvenirs. In terms of attractions and sightseeing – we love free and cheap things (who doesn’t!! ) but would be prepared to pay for slightly more expensive outing (by expensive I mean €20) once at each place.

We are looking at going to Prague, Cinque Terre, Zurich, Northern Italy (Padua, Verona, Genoa, Turin?), Copenhagen and Portugal. We would both really like to explore more of both France and Germany also, but really have no idea about specifics with that. We are in no way against going to places we've already been again (We will have spent four days in each of those places mentioned above, but are not sure whether it wouldbe beneficial to visit again.) We like places that have good food and culture, nice views, buildings and significant places. They do not have to be main cities and we do not much care for the nightlife.

I’m sorry for the complete uncertainty of the places we are going. We would really like to know how long we can realistically afford to travel before getting our hearts set on a place we have to cut. Any recommendation of large or small places in Europe to visit would be very much appreciated, and any advice on budget also. Also we are open to Eastern European places but are pretty uneducated re.customs, safety and such there. We have also looked into train passes but were considering a campervan -is this a good idea for Western Europe or not re. roads, traffic and the like? I’m sorry if I have not given enough information to expect accurate answers. Thank you very much in advance, I really appreciate it.

hetismij2

Where are you from? You do know about the Schengen rules don't you?

adrienne

E236 per week?

You'll need to do the math on this. Add up your sightseeing, hostels, food, and travel expenses. There is no way you can live for 19 weeks unless you couch surf and eat almost nothing.

You're doing a lot of traveling around and that is going to cost quite a bit of money.

Figure out all your expenses and then see how long you can travel for. You can go on line and get prices for trains and hostels and sightseeing fees.

PalenQ

We have also looked into train passes but were considering a campervan -is this a good idea for Western Europe or not re. roads, traffic and the like?>

Camper vans are not cheap but would probably all in all be more expensive than two Youth Railpasses (for anyone under 26 - a second-class pass) and starting in September much of Europe - all of it north of the Alps simply has too poor weather for camping - not really cold but wet, dark days, etc.

OK if only going to southern Europe - only tent camping with a car could be cheap - have you checked camper van rental prices?

As for railpasses - try to marshall you long-distance train travel in northern Europe into a two-month period as that is the max validity on most Eurail Youthpasses - look into a flexipass and remember the 7 pm rule with night trains that lets you go virtually from one end of Europe to another and only use one day on your pass.

Eurails do not pass in the UK but if you buy a Eurail Youthpass you then automatically get 50% off any BritRail Youthpass I believe - in most countries you can still hop on any train anytime, including the UK so complete flexibility is what the pass provides (except in Italy, Spain or France where you must first before boarding buy a seat reservation if using your pass) -

Anyway some great sites for getting a fix on the European Railways and planning a rail trip - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free online European Planning & Rail guide for lots of rail itinerary suggestions. You may want to mix in a few cheap air flights - check www.whichbudget.com and www.skyscanner.net for listing of which airlines serve any two airports

adrienne

I missed the campervan part. There is absolutely no way you can afford a campervan.

thursdaysd

You will find rock bottom budgets for each country at lonelyplanet.com.

Print off some blank calendars and lay this out day-by-day, then cost the travel.

BigRuss

19 weeks in Schengen zone? Are you Schengen residents? Otherwise, this is nearly five months and that's more than the 90 days allowed if you're an American or Canadian . . .

nytraveler

Two notes:

What nationality are you and can you legally stay in Schengen for more than 90 days (unless you are EU citizen I don't think this is possible/legal)?

Your budget is woefully inadequate. You have little more than 30 euros per day - which it will cost for a bed in a shared dorm room in a hostel. This leaves you NO MONEY for food, transportation (between or within cities) or any sightseeing.

Granted some countries are cheaper (but you said western europe) and you will be there partly in off season. But I think you need to at least double your budget - probably even that won't be enough.

However, if you are in fact limited to 90 days in the countries you want to see - then your budget is 50 euros per day - still very tight even for a student budget. But if you are willing to couchsurf part of the time, have lots of picnic lunches and forego any nightlife you might have enough.

(My 19 year old DD went 2 summers ago with 2 friends - traveling very modestly - and it cost her about $8k (5700 euros) for 5 weeks. This included long distance trains as well as local transit passes, lots of sightseeing but modest meals, very limited student nightlife and no shopping.)

PalenQ

50 euros a day if you include transportation is OME not possible even with the Hotel du Park Bench and eating out of supermarkets - don't even think of having a beer in a pub - about $5 a pop or even a coffee in a cafe - about $3 for a tiny cup with no free refills.

thursdaysd

If you include transport they'd have to couchsurf. But of course it is possible, especially if they keep to cheaper countries. Desirable, no, possible yes. Remember scruffman?

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-europe.cfm

Excluding transport, here are some rock-bottom costs from LP:

Ireland: In Dublin, the bare minimum to survive is about €50 a day... Once in the north, though, you can get by on £35 a day without too much bother

Italy: At the bottom end you will pay €14 to €20 at youth hostels, where meals generally cost €9.50.

Portugal: If you’re on a shoestring budget, you could get by on around €30 per day, as long as you camp (around €4 per person, plus a charge for your tent and car) or stay in youth hostels (€11 to €16 for a dorm bed), buy your own food and do free stuff such as lying on the beach.

France: Backpackers staying in hostels and living on bread and cheese can survive on €50 a day.

Germany: For mere survival, you’ll need to budget from €40 to €70 per day, and this will have you sleeping in hostels or budget hotels, eating snack- and fast-food or preparing your own meals, and limiting your entertainment.

PalenQ

Scrufman's 2009 expenses would be higher in 2014 euros I think.

thursdaysd

Since the scruffman's expenses were frequently close to zero, if not actually zero, there is plenty of room for inflation.

hetismij2

It should be noted that the Scruffman overstayed his visa, and frequently failed to buy tickets for public transport (one reason the gates will be closing at Dutch stations is to stop such practices). He is hardly a good example to give to others.

Until OP gets back with their nationality, and how long they have already spent in Schengen, there is little point making suggestions as to what they can or can't do.

hetismij2

He also had no healthcare insurance as I recall, which caused some problems.
A truly great example for young people everywhere. Not.

thursdaysd

I didn't say he was a great example. I said he showed that it was <i>possible</i> to travel in Europe on a very low budget. There are many other couchsurfers out there, hopefully with health insurance, but they don't typically post on Fodors.

PalenQ

Since the scruffman's expenses were frequently close to zero, if not actually zero, there is plenty of room for inflation.>

well if you cheat and such that is OK - but he/she is no role model - except for an Ugly American.

nytraveler

Scruffman traveled in a way that I think 2 young women will not want to - sleeping on park benches or in train stations, traveling without tickets and eating god knows what/where.

Unless the OPs come back with more info - it's not really going to be possible to help them.

thursdaysd

@nytraveler - I agree with you. Scruffman was an extreme case. But I also point to the costs listed by LP, and the cost savings from couchsurfing.

ashwinb

Quite often, buses are a much better value, in most places. And look for cheap train tickets. That's better than taking a pass.

heyheyitsaj

We are from New Zealand so because of the Schengan thing we'll have to cut it down to ninety days! Someone told me it was 180 - woops!! We will have already spent 25 days in the Schengan Zone so would only be able to do another 65 at most. Thank you for the reality check with the budget, I did think it was asking too much!! We will definately be getting rail passes but our main problem is the budget for sightseeing. I have heard that Eastern Europe is considerably cheaper so was wanting to know whether this is true/any recommendations of interesting/safe places there. I'm thinking now it will be much better if we try to perhaps go for two months or less instead so we do not starve! Thank you also for the information about the campervan!