elaine123

We're planning to travel to Hamburg & Berlin (via Frankfurt) next summer (2009) What is a good ball park estimate for a quick breakfast, lunch, and a nice dinner? Add to that a few sightseeing venues and bus or subway travel within the town, and about how many Euros should we plan on? There will be 4 of us, 2 adults, and a 17 & 19 year old.
I know that tastes can vary. I'm just looking for an average. Thanks so much.

nytraveler

Well the 17 and 19 year olds may cost more - esp if they're boys - since in my experience they eat more.

Also - it depends on what you mean by a "nice" dinner. Do you mean just a casuale rathskeller type place where you can have more than one course - or a more elegant restaurant?

Also - realize that soft drinks are very expensive - and it will cost less for the kids to drink beer than sodas (which come in tiny cans at very high prices) or probably even bottled water.

elaine123

There's one of each. One boy & one girl. I think we'd go more with the rathskeller restaurant..As for the sodas, I'd say we'd have to count on those. But, if I set a limit per day, they'd follow the guidelines.

zeppole

It's hard to give other people a ballpark. I would think your best money-saving approach would be to look for a deeply discounted hotel rate/with breakfast (sometimes easy pickings in Berlin) and look at tourist passes for using public transportation and visiting the museums (I found the museum pass useful).

I actually spent very little on food in Berlin. But that's because I didn't like the food! (That's just me. Other people love it.) I ended up eating a lot of doner kebab. But even when I went out to dinner, it seemed to me I was served mountains of filling foods, too much for one person to eat twice a day. I'm sure there are plenty of guides to cheap eats in Berlin. Pretty cafes serve salads and pastas for not much money for lunch, and cheap fast food seems very much a part of their culture.

I happened to notice that the online version of Travel & Leisure had an "affordable" guide to Berlin. I didn't read it, but you might get some tips there.

WillTravel

It's very easy to eat inexpensively and well in Berlin, in my experience. In some cities, I feel like I have to be ready for a fight to get a cheap and good meal, but in Berlin, it's not an effort at all. Italian restaurants can be very good in Germany. The right donairs can be good, but I prefer other Turkish food.

If you want a convenient hotel right by the train station in Frankfurt, I suggest Hotel Excelsior. The complimentary breakfast is unbelievable in its quality and quantity, you get free Internet, free newspapers, free calls within Germany, and probably some other features I am forgetting.

Two good sites for German accommodation:
http://www.hrs.de
http://www.booking.com

As suggested, included breakfasts will probably save you a lot of money overall, particularly with two teenagers. Buy drinks like soda and water from the supermarket, and use discretion about drinks with meals.

I'll mention that my teenage daughter really likes Cologne. I know it's not the most popular German city, but I thought I'd mention it as it may be on the way to your other cities.

Cowboy1968

Day passes for public transportation are usually around € 5-6 pp per day.
There is a multitude of special passes which often include entrance fees or discounts for sightseeing. The benefit of these discounts is a bit hard to estimate.

Breakfast is cheapest when included in your hotel stay.
Lunch: street food appr €2-5 per item (döner, bratwurst, falafel, slice of pizza, etc.), sit-down/restaurant 6-10 pp (esp. with lunch specials), dinner may be a bit higher but again hard to estimate according to your tastes and budget.

Re. soft drinks: Several McD, BK, KFC, or Subway have switched to free refills, but not all or most of them.

If you need a cold drink when touring the city, you find them cheapest at one of the many drug store outlets, or check book stores for free water fountains.

elaine123

Thanks for the reply. I used to think that $100 per day was sufficient for food, subway, sightseeing, etc..But since that translates to only 63,00 Euros, I've been a bit concerned. What's the consensus?

zeppole

Do you mean $100 per person for lunch/nice dinner, plus transport, plus museum/sightseeing entry fees?

What are you budgeting for a hotel?

Mimar

My problem was getting a teenage boy up in time to take advantage of that big breakfast.

$100 might be enough for food for two if you eat cheaply. No colas. Double it for the four of you and allow for an occasional splurge.

Consider having a bigger meal at lunch (gives you a chance to rest the feet between sightseeing stints) and snack for dinner. That should save you some euros.

zeppole

Just so you don't feel deprived, you might save considerably -- so long as you exercise self-discipline! -- by putting together picnics from the food court at KaDeWe in Berlin. In summer, you should have nice opportunities for scenic eating both at lunch and dinner, and you'll quickly discover Berlin is filled with lovely green spaces, exciting plazas and places to sit and enjoy the river Spree. Germans enjoy eating al fresco when the weather turns fine.

The KaDeWe food court is a famed destination in its own right, so you won't be stuck at wurst stands all the time (although those are tourist attractions too). There are some people who go to Berlin who ONLY eat at the food court. Here's some pictures:

http://tinyurl.com/5ay6l7

traveller1959

100$ per day for 4 people would be a good estimate. You can do it for less if you restrict yourselves, but with an occasional splurge, it will work. Maybe you will be lucky to bring something back home.

Again, these are the tricks:

- Most hotels will include breakfast in the roomrate. If not, got into a nearby bakery. Most will have tables or bar tables and serve hot and cold drinks together with sandwiches and whatever you want for breakfast.

- In German cities, you will find a multitude of fast-food eateries, some of them serving surprisingly good qualities: Bratwurst, Schnitzel, Döner Kebab, Pizza, Asian stir-fry, Falafel, Fish&Seafood.. Try them all. You will find such places in the main shopping streets, in shopping malls, in department stores, at streetcorners or, maybe in highest density, in train stations. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof has a huge selection of this kind of eateries. Very convenient! (BTW, KaDeWe has this in a very upscale way - good but expensive.) Here an example how it looks (Gosch seafood in Hamburg main station):
www.gosch.de/wp-content/uploads/dsc_0098_web.jpg

- Many restaurants offer inexpensive daily lunch menus. You will find them in the main shopping streets.

- Get your supplies from supermarkets, especially drinks in large bottles. A bottle with one liter of soda or mineral water will be cheaper than one small (0.2 liter) glass served in a restaurant! Many supermarkets have ready-to-eat sandwiches, salads etc. Gas stations are also good sources for food and chilled beverages. You will save especially on alcoholic beverages. The supermarket will sell a bottle of decent wine for 5 Euros (sometimes you will find a drinkable wine for as low as 1.29 Euro per liter!). Exactly the same bottle will be served at 25 Euros in a restaurant.
Have your picnic in a public park or on your hotel room. Do not forget to bring cutlery, plastic plates, plastic glasses, bottle opener and corkscrew with you from home!

zeppole

I have to say that I'm mystified as to where 4 grown people can go in the first world and eat, ride public transportation and sightsee for $25 per day a piece.

Is that possible in some city in America? (I don't live there anymore.) Can you break it out for me? Where and what would people be eating in America if they tried touristing in a capital city on that budget?

Setting aside $10 per day for transport and tourism entry fees (not unreasonable, huh?), and assuming a free hotel breakfast, what would fully grown people be eating for lunch and dinner for $15 for two meals?

I can see backpackers surviving on pizza and beef jerky (and mooching), but not a family of four.

elaine123

Sorry for the misconception! I meant $100 per person. Which, again, is only 63,00 Euros per person. As for the hotel, we're using credit card points and bidding on Priceline. Now, this is for food, transport, snacks, museums, etc..

zeppole

Whew!

Sure. You can do it for $100 per person. Just avoid the white tablecloth restaurants and be aware that guidebooks often seriously underestimate the true cost of a sit-down meal.

You'll be wise to invest time on the internet and browsing budget travel guides in bookstores so you can mix and match some real bargain picnics with occasionally relaxing over a meal in a nice spot.

Also, really find out about transport and museum passes, etc.