Hi, I am traveling with my youngest son to Germany and would like to know what I should expect to pay for meals, public transportation and sight seeing. I would appreciate any input, just rough guesses. I know that our dollar is not worth very much right now. Our breakfast is included with our hotel. Some days I will be paying for dinner for my older son, who is living in Berlin for the semester.
Thank you for any suggestions, including nice, but relatively inexpensive, places to eat.

I'm sure you'll get some info but you should provide us with more details like your dining preferences. Any where you go you can eat cheaply if you don't mind street food or small cafes. Some people like to have nicer dinners and go light on lunch...what are your preferences? When you say sight seeing, you need to tell us what museums or "sights" you are wanting to see. Most museums will have a website on entry costs etc, have you done searches for that?

Welcome Sonisa! Where will you be traveling in Germany? Do you have a set itinerary yet?

For two of us we budget $50/day for food and $30 for entrance fees and incidentals. Grocery stores and cafeterias atop department stores help us keep food costs down.

Public transportation means trains to us. We primarily use the following website to determine our fares:
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
For us the biggest travel bargain has been the Länder-Tickets:
http://www.bahn.de/p/view/internatio..._tickets.shtml

Regards, Gary

For the 2 of us, we spent about 100 euro per day on food, incidentals, sightseeing, and inner-city transportation.
We didn't eat extravegantly, but not particularly frugally either - most were cafe meals, some beer garden meals, and a couple picnics. We drank quite a bit of beer and some wine too. If we weren't there for the beer, we probably could have knocked 20 euro per day off our budget

We took public transportation in cities and walked - no cabs.

We only did 2 expensive sightseeing things - tour of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles and a bicycle tour in Munich with Mikes Bikes. The rest - museums, castles, gardens, churches, etc. were either free or low cost.

In between cities we took trains - you can check fares on the web for that.

We did rent a car for a few days, which was pricy. Glad we had it for the alps, but would choose trains for areas that are well served.

I just got back from Germany and have a detailed accounting of my expenditures.

For one person I spent, an average, about €19 per day for food: €4,54, ave for lunch, €7,73, ave, for dinner, €5,80, ave, for drinks, €0,80 for tips. I didn't eat extravagently, but I didn't starve myself either. Most meals were at sit-down restaurants, only a few times did I grab a sandwich and a drink at a train station kiosk. I didn't pick the least expensive or the most expensive item on the menu. I had a lot of Schnitzel, not much Wurst.

As already mentioned, entrance to attractions will vary a lot. Do you enjoy free sight or do you have to visit museums? I was there 12 full days and spent €36 on attactions; €20 of that was a Bayern Castle and Garden pass that I used at five places. Prices of everything are given on websites, so this is something you can determine in advance.

This was an unusual trip for me. I spent 13 nights in 10 places, so I was on the move almost every day, covering about 1200 km in two weeks. On only two days did my travel cost over €20. The rest of the times I used €19 Bayern-Tickets-Single (5 times). I would have used one Friday, Oct 12, but there was a strike against regional trains, so I took an EC for €21. Six of my days were short distance or bus travel for less then €15. Like entrances, if you plan ahead you will know these expenses in advance.
So that's it: €19/day for meals, €3/day for entries, €14/day for transportation, about €36/day/person total. I have given all in Euro because those prices are stable, while the exchange rate will change.

I made a mistake. I said $50/day. It was 50 euros, same on other daily costs.

Regards, Gary

Thank you all for your helpful remarks.

Of course, it depends on your style of travelling and destination within Germany.

The average entrance fee for museums etc. is around 5 ot 7 Euros per person (with reductions for children and students - do not forget a student's pass if your son is around 16 or older!).

For eating, it depends on your taste and budget. If you want to save some money go into the train stations (Hauptbahnhof) of the cities, and you will find a wide array of fast-food venues with surprisingly high quality at low cost. Other options you find along the main shopping streets. Bakeries are also good options for inexpensive food and a cup of coffee.

For a teenager, a "Currywurst" at a streetstand might be an interesting option, too. (In Berlin, I recommend "Curry 195" on Kurfürstendamm 195 - this is the place where you can eat a Currywurst for 1.50 Euros and sip a bottle of Veuve Cliquot with it).

Larryincolorado showed how you can live on a tight budget without starving.