paulahryu

Hey,
So my friend and I are planning to go to Europe for our senior graduation trip and since we're Juniors now we wanted to start saving up.

So we wanted to know, if anyone knew approx. how much a trip around Europe would cost if you're going to be visiting

10 days in Spain (visiting Barcelona, Valencia and Ibiza)
10 days in Greece (Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, and Nafpaktos)
11 days in Italy (Rome, Venice, Naples, Florence, Milan)
2 days in Austria
2 days in Prague
10 days in France/UK (London, Paris, Nice, Lyon)
*The day amounts can change, this is just a rough estimate*

We already calculated the flights to Barcelona and back home, so we just need to know how much in total we needed to save up for the trip with the expenses from: housing,traveling around, attractions/shopping, food.

Also, if you have advice on the best form of transportation to move around quickly and efficiently that would be nice.

Another question, would it be better if we cut down on the places we're going to visit and jut focus on like 4 main countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, France/London)?

Thank You!

artsnletters

I assume you are thinking along the lines of hostels and take-out or street food more than hotels and restaurants?

I know young folk often enjoy traveling at a brisk pace, but the number of places you plan to visit won't fit into the time you have unless you will be satisfied with just a day there. For example, 11 days for Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, and Milan means, for most of these places, at best a day and a half after the time needed to relocate. So yes, I think you should narrow your focus, and I also think you should cut down a bit on the number of places you want to go.

BTW, France/London is not a country. France is a country, and London is a city in another country, the UK.

You're going to have to figure for yourself the cost of attractions and shopping, as these really depend on you. When I'm planning a trip, I get a guidebook, look up the attractions at the place I'm going, and figure out which of them I want to see. Then I figure out what each will cost, and there's my budget for sightseeing. As for shopping, you could get by on 50 euros or spend 5000 - it depends on how much you plan to shop, and for what.

paulahryu

oops sorry yeah I know London isnt a country haha I put France/Uk earlier in my post, I guess I mistyped the last part!

And okay thanks! I'll talk to my friend and narrow down to 4 places that we really want to go to.
As teenage girls that like to shop, I'm thinking that my friend and I will both each spend around $1000-2000 on shopping alone.
I guess I'll start my re-mapping out the places I want to go to!
Thanks c:

nytraveler

first = you are trying to do way too many places in too little time. You will end up spending a large amount of money as well as a good part of your time just getting from one place to another.

Suggest you lay the trip out day by day - allowing a day in between each city for travel.

Naturally you can do hostels and picnics to save money = but as a rough suggestion - my 19 year old daughter went with two friends (sharing triple rooms in budget hotels - but with AC) and it cost her about $8K for 6 weeks including minimal shopping and limited nightlife in student pubs and cafes (wine and beer not mixed drinks, which tend to be very expensive). They made I believe 9 stops in almost 6 weeks.

janisj

Just a couple of very quick comments . . .

1) Don't book a R-T ticket in/out of the same city (you mentioned Barcelona but the same applies to most any city) Book what is called an open jaw or multi city ticket. For instance in to Barcelona and home from London or Paris. This will save you having to spend time/$$$ doubling back to you arrival city.

2) >>11 days in Italy (Rome, Venice, Naples, Florence, Milan)<<

11 days isn't really long enough for all that since you'll lose about 2.5 days just in transit between those cities. So you'd only have about 1.5 days free in each city.

>>10 days in France/UK (London, Paris, Nice, Lyon)<< Same goes for these places - you'd need more than 2 weeks to see all of them.

Heimdall

Since you are concerned about cost, be aware that Mykonos and Santorini are the two most expensive islands in Greece. Instead of Mykonos you might consider Ios, also a party island, but cheaper and with a younger demographic.

I'm intrigued as to why you chose Nafpaktos as your base in the Peloponnese, rather than, e.g., the more conventional Nafplio? I'm not saying it's a bad choice, just wondering.