I think 50 euro is real tight and as you said, that doesn't even include travel between places.

I just read the blog of the OP and I am even more of the opinion that this is, yes, ludicrous. It was done on a whim without even having an idea of a place one wanted to go and with NO MONEY. They don't even have any money at all saved for this. The idea was we have to travel before we die. Seriously?

I just don't understand how young people can take off four months, either, unless both are unemployed. It certainly wouldn't be possible for anyone I know who is working, unless they had been in a place a while and agreed to forego and salary while they were out. Which means double costs -- costs for the trip and no earnings during it. Maybe the OP is wealthy, though, of course, some people are and their parents support them. If so and the idea of money being tight is more of a theoretical game (ie, one can get money easily by some phone calls and don't have to support oneself), then sure, why not, it will be an experience. I just don't understand the choice of season in that case.

50 Euros is the equivalent of the cheapest bed in a multibed room in the Youth Hostel in Bern, just as an example...

€50 will get you nowhere in Norway.
But OP has not returned, seemingly they prefer to respond on their blog.

I've never been to Europe in winter so can't comment on that. But the first time I visited I went for five months (pre-Schengen days) and had the best time ever. We did have enough money for modest hotels, entry fees for all the things we wanted to see and picnicked a lot. So if you have enough money don't be put off going for a longer time but do factor in how the weather will affect your day to day activities. If it were me, I'd do your option of Aug - Nov instead. btw being together every day for a long time really tests a relationship!

If I were contemplating this, I would stick to southern Europe where it won't be as cold.

Christina, you will find plenty of young people who intend to travel for extended periods of time on little or no money if you visit the Lonely Planet Thorntree Forum.

"I just don't understand how young people can take off four months, either, unless both are unemployed."

You are looking from YOUR perspective which is meaningless. Every year thousands of young people go off on a 'Gap Year' and thousands of others pack in their job and hit the road for an extended period of travel. Some with some savings some with very little, some with realistic plans others with no plans at all.

<i>Every year thousands of young people go off on a 'Gap Year' and thousands of others pack in their job and hit the road for an extended period of travel.</i>

My daughter has done both: five months of gap year travel in Asia between school and university; and more recently, a year-long overland trip with her boyfriend (in a Land Rover) from London to Cape Town. She funded both trips herself from her savings. Judging by the number of other travellers she met on her trips, there is nothing unusual about extended travel.

This is something I always wanted to do, but wasn't in the financial position to do that and work my way through college - but - for those who can, I think they should seize that opportunity and go for it.

Sorry - "it" meaning taking 4 months off, or whatever, to travel around

A Big thank you to all for taking time out and helping us. We really appreciate it!

@Heimdall Thanks for your response. Well I guess some of the Indians and a lot of Europeans have decided to explore the other half of the world.

@Alec : Thanks a ton for answering. We will get only 90 day across the Schengen countries. So the only other country we can stay in post the time frame would be Turkey. Now, the question in my mind is weather to kick start the travel from Turkey or to end it from there?

@Laurie_Ann : Thanks for the response. We loved your idea about smaller cities with Universities and budget sightseeing!

@michelhuebeli Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, it is a big commitment that is why we are soliciting as many responses as possible.

@Christina: 2014 spring is too early for putting our plan together. But we will give it a thought for sure. August – November seems most likely at this point. Maybe we can start all the way up in North and then go down south as we approach winter. Given the Schengen visa rules, we would anyways get August – October in Schengen countries. November would be in Turkey. Quick question, does it make sense to be in Europe around Christmas and New Years for the festivities?

@nytraveler: Thanks for the response. Actually, some of the expensive cities (Oslo, Stockholm, Geneva Lille and Paris) mentioned in our tentative itinerary has people who could help us with accommodation. Places we absolutely don’t have help our Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece! Will the accommodation still be exorbitant?

@ Sassafrass We don’t mind the cold weather. But then again we haven’t stayed below zero degrees. Also, clothes shouldn’t be a problem as we come from Northern part of India which has extreme climates. We have enough of winter clothes. We will look at shortening the trip to make it more viable.

@ StCirq Thanks for writing. Sorry to disappoint you your
guess is absolutely wrong. You seem to have put all the Indians in one category. You would be surprised probably shocked that young Indians like young adults anywhere else in the world date, court, live – in and then if all seems fine decide to get married. We’ve been married for some time now so the unfortunately for us the honeymoon period is way past over. Excellent insights about lugging our stuff during winters across Europe in public transport – which do not even guarantee a seat.

@ colduphere:

@ dulciusexasperis Thanks. We are still evaluating the daily budget allocation. Would you suggest dividing the budget country wise?

@ Christina Some of the best things we’ve done have been on a whim. But yes, you are right this is a big commitment. You would be surprised how bigger organizations accommodate the young people’s need to travel and explore. I took a sabbatical last year for two months. My partner works at an American FMCG which allows well deserving employees a sabbatical of four months. Important thing is the will to travel. Planning piece is the real challenge. That is why we are here to ask the right questions

@ michelhuebeli By cheapest what do you imply? Will the rooms be heated, will be get lavatory, hot water for bathing?

@ hetismij2 OP was busy with other mundane activities of life . We have family in Norway. So accommodation there wouldn’t be a problem.

@ dreamon Loved your comment. What were the months you chose for visiting? What was your biggest learning?

@november_moon Maybe we can extend our stay in Sothern Europe. What do you say?

@ dulciusexasperis Excellent response

@ Heimdall Would love to know your daughter’s experience and how travel added a different perspective to her life

@november_moon It’s never too late I’d say!

Fair enough adya, but you still need to address the Schengen visa problem. Realise that everything in Norway is expensive, not just lodging. Presumably your family will not be paying for everything for you.
Do take the visa thing seriously. You do need one, and should find out if you can get one.

You really need to start looking at specific on line sources and put together a zero-based budget.

I have no idea if hotels anywhere will be what you consider "exorbitant". We figure 300 euros per night and up for a quality hotel. Many people do budget hotels for 80 euros or less for a couple - but it may mean shared bath and no elevator.

But someone mentioned 50 euros per day per person - so 100 euros total per day - for 90 days - that's 9000 euros. I would think that is an absolute rock bottom for this trip - plus money for travel from city to city. So - unless you have something in the region of 10 or 11 thousand euros - this trip is not doable - and you would have to cut back on length of trip. Since below a certain level you will being trying to sleep on park benches (and possibly be arrested for vagrancy) and missing meals every day.

Sorry - one further note. To enter europe you may well be asked

1) show that you have a return or ongoing ticket within 90 days

2) prove that you have enough money (bank balance or credit card)

3) you have health insurance coverage so you are not calling on local social services

Hi adya,

You wrote: <i>"@ Heimdall Would love to know your daughter’s experience and how travel added a different perspective to her life"</i>

IMO the five month gap year trip was the best thing she could have done. At 18 years old she set out on her own, and met up with other travellers along the way. The first two months of her trip were in India, another month in Nepal, and then Thailand and Indonesia, continuing around the world to the US and then back to England.

She came home brimming with self confidence, and went on to get a good university degree. That truly was a life-changing experience, and led to several more trips, including the year-long overland adventure. I hope your trip to Europe has a similar effect on you.

As Indian citizens they need visas. Without insurance, confirmed bookings, and proof of enough money they won't get them.

Right out of college, my daughter and SIL did a winter 3 week trip on a very limited budget with backpacks using public transportation. When they returned, the first thing they said was that if they ever did it again they'd take wheeled suitcases.

adya, I'm sorry if I misjudged you. There have been an inordinate number of posts on travel sites recently from Indian honeymoon couples wanting to do incredibly unrealistic trips through Europe on small budgets, based on tour brochures from bus companies that send you all over Europe on a whirlwind schedule. Sounds like you know what you're doing. Best of luck.
.

adya, Looks like you've got it pretty much covered. MH and I are from sunny climates and love going to Europe in the winter. It's so much fun to wear coats and wool socks. (I'm not being facetious either) Sure it gets dark earlier and there have been times when I thought my nose would fall off but over all. It's a great time to go.

Have fun!

adya, you asked when we travelled and what we got out of it. On our first visit, we arrived very late March and returned home in August. We have been lucky enough to also do other longer trips over the years since.

For that first trip especially, it strengthened our relationship (which was fairly new at the time), allowed us to see places which were wildly different to what we had experienced in the past (we're Australian and we were young) and allowed us to completely relax. It was pre-technology days and we would write home once a week and we couldn't read the newspapers so anything could have been happening in the wider world and we wouldn't have known. We were able to focus completely on the here and now and didn't worry about family, work, politics or anything else. We didn't pre-book anything and decided as we travelled how long we would stay and where we would go next.

Nowadays, I have children and can't go for as long. And now we pre-book our accommodation. But I still get that sense of being completely away from all the obligations of home: housework, taxes, bills, work, family problems, politics. And I get to experience such beautiful places that stir my soul. I won't pretend that it's always easy and that nothing ever goes wrong but hand me a ticket and I'm off!

Most people look at long term travel from the wrong perspective as far as I am concerned adya.

What they do is start with a period of time and then either ask how much money will we need for that period or they start with a period of time and a fixed amount of money and divide the money by time and ask if they can manage on X per day budget.

Long term travel is not a 2 week vacation. Anyone who has undertaken long term travel will tell you that plans go out the window fairly quickly. The same is true of budgeting. You cannot pre-plan how much you will need in each country per person per day with any real accuracy. Nor do you need to!

Travel can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it. Instead of doing the usual planning and calculating you can simply go to A and wing it from there. Stay in a place as long as you need to see and do what you want to see and do there. When you are ready and not before decide where to go next. Spend as much as you need to spend to enjoy each day without wasting money. Repeat this process until either the total time available or the money available runs out. Go home.

Whether you are gone for 3 months or for 5 months is irrelevant, what matters is how much you get out of each day of your trip. I have met many travellers who spent so much time trying to find the cheapest everything and foregoing things they would like to do, in order to stay within a budget, that they had no time or money to enjoy where they were. I would far rather enjoy 3 months than just survive for 6 months.

Re staying with family and friends. Keep in mind the old saying, 'fish and visitors stink in 3 days.' The point being to not overstay your welcome. It is however a good way to extend your time. You can also look at Couchsurfing.org as another way to extend your time. Bear in mind with that though that it is about cultural exchange, not just a free bed.

Hostels and supermarket food are the cheapest way to travel other than a free bed. As I wrote, 50E is a minimum for that in most of W. Europe. You could consider E. Europe if there are places there that interest you. The average there is a bit lower, say 40E.

You do have to get a Schengen Visa unfortunately which does have specific requirements. Any pre-booking requirements can be made online and then cancelled once you are in the Schengen zone. Just make sure there are no cancellation fees. This is how many people who need a Schengen visa get around that when what they want to do is travel for freely without pre-booking everywhere. Comply, then cancel.

I would suggest you post on the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum as that is where you will find a lot of travellers who have done what you want to do. This forum (Fodors) is primarily used by more 'standard' vacationers rather than long term travellers. You will get some relevant answers here but you will get more on the Thorntree.