PalenQ

with that many destinations - fine when young go for it and many of us once did - travel around a lot and if under 26 years old then by all means look at some kind of Eurail Youthpass - probably a Global Pass valid in all countries save Britain - it is a 2nd class pass but that again is fine for younger folk - you will meet so so many other young folk from around the world on trains - using Youthpasses or the European eq

PalenQ

equivalent of Inter-Rail (hit wrong key - continuing now) - anyway for lots of great info on European trains and passes, etc I always spotlight these IMO fine fine sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com (download the latter's free and superb IMO European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of rail itineraries in lots of countries (http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id2.html). One way to reduce travel costs also is to hop the many overnight trains - save time and also the cost of a night in a hostel ($25 on an average I'd say about in big tourist cities) or hotel.

StannDarshh

Oh boy, I honestly believe this has turned more into alcohol than i intended. Thank you for the suggested "self evaluation" but i am perfectly fine and understand that moderation is necessary. I am not budgeting my trip around alcohol, i just think that may be the largest expense, as such is true anywhere in the United States, alcohol is always a hefty expense. We want to see the sights, and engage in activities at night. Honestly though, i never had intentions of revolving my trip around alcohol, i just want to budget myself to be able to drink where i can legally. I am 6 foot 6 and 210 pounds, i can handle 7 standard drinks throughout 15 hours, though i never do this at college, but on vacation, why not splurge. Again, this is revolving too much around the alcohol. Does nobody understand the concept of a college eurotrip? We want excitement, nightlife, and the sole intention is not to drink irresponsibly.

jamikins

Stann...please look up the Thorntree message board recommended above....you will find lots of backpackers a college kids travelling around Europe. It is a lonely planet message board...

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

jamikins

I meant that to help you, not to be critical...enjoy your trip!

socaltraveler

There are many kinds of vacations, we do get what a college Eurotour is, and that said, staying sober most of a long day in order to catch trains, walk around cities, visit churchesm& musums, etc. is not the same as lounging pool, beach or lakeside. Two weeks will be pretty intense as you move around, and depending on what part of summer and where you go, it could be pretty hot. Heat is dehydrating, alchohol more so. So save those drinks for the end of the day, and enjoy both the sights and parties of Europe. Gelato or beer? Hmmm.

unclegus

cut the guy some slack,i remember my first trips into europe,cycling round France ,the Benelux countries and Germany, we camped,stayed in hostels and sometimes slept rough, our priority was to live as cheaply as possible and sample as many different alcoholic beverages as we could as cheaply as we could.getting laid was a bonus but I was not too succesfull at that.yes we saw a great deal of the culture met loads of folk and had an absolute ball of a time.
My next European trip is back to Prague for the Czech Beer festival(my 6th year in a row) and i am bloody sure i will be having more that 7 drinks in a day.
StannDarshh,I hope you and your buddies have a great time and as i said before if i can be of any help in the czech republic part of the trip just ask.

soogies

Wow, I agree, what a strange thread. And sure many of us partied when we were your age, but you set yourself up by mentioning budgeting for seven daily drinks. So go ahead and spend most of your time drinking but it's a waste. Youll look back at your trip and remember.... Oh, wait. You probably won't remember.. I sure hope mom and dad aren't paying for ths fiasco.

StCirq

<<Again, this is revolving too much around the alcohol>>

Well, you are the one who specifically mentioned budgeting for 7 drinks a day! In the 15 years or so that I've been participating in travel boards, it's the first time anyone has posted anything even remotely like this. Ask how much a decent bottle of wine might cost in France or Italy? Sure. Ask whether mixed drinks are more expensive in Paris than in LA? Sure. Ask whether you can find good Cognac in Prague? Sure. But specifically mentioning budgeting for 7 alcoholic drinks a day? That's just plain WEIRD.

Peter_S_Aus

I think the OP should go to Italy, where we were able to buy Smirnoff vodka two years ago for a mere 8.49 euro a bottle, or about 12 bucks. A paper bag would cost an extra 5 or 10 cents.

On the dollar vs. depth of hangover scale, that is pretty good value.

nytraveler

Have no idea why you think college kids can drink more than other people. they may want to - but they have no greater capacity - nor is it any safer for them to do so.

Perhaps I should tell you about my uncle the alcoholic who had to have half his stomach removed due to stomach cancer - resulting from too much drinking. He spent the last 20 years of his life (very luckily he did not die within 2 years as his MD predicted) able to eat very limited selection of food since he couldn't digest most.

Seven drinks a day is way beyond healthy. And if you all do that regularly - you ARE alcoholics.

And while many europeans do drink routinely - with 16 the usual legal age for wine or beer - then don;t binge like that continually. There is a big difference between a glass or 2 of wine when going out to dinner and 7 shots a day to stay buzzed.

PalenQ

Sure. But specifically mentioning budgeting for 7 alcoholic drinks a day? That's just plain WEIRD>

What's weird to an elder Fodorgarch may not be to the average 20 year old and of course you never seen this in 15 years on a Fodor's dominated by senior citizen travelers, some of whom probably imbibe several times a day but don't dare say it for the approbation they will get!

crosscheck

OP - Run, don't walk, over to the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum where you can get advice from kids your age. Most posters here are as old as your parents - and older. Most are not familiar with the out-of-control (in our opinion) drinking situation that is the norm on American college campuses.

As far as costs, my son and his friends traveled to many of the countries you mentioned during his semester abroad in Florence. They used EasyJet and trains, stayed in hostels, ate pizza, sandwiches and be happy hour food (aperitifs/aperitivos)and went to clubs, concerts, festivals and other events like raves (prefer not to think about those).

They generally spent less than 100 euros a day each, which works with your budget (although they sometimes stayed with friends in other cities). The countries you're going to are all quite expensive, though.

socaltraveler

Looking back at the OP, and seeing that you have what, two weeks planned for Eastern Europe, that actually sounds like an affordable plan. Then you toss in Sweden and Switzerland, adding longer travel times and expenses, plus those are two expensive countries. If there is no particular reason for those two, I would toss 'em, your $$$ will go farther.

StCirq

<<What's weird to an elder Fodorgarch may not be to the average 20 year old>>

The references to "Fodorgarchs" are incredibly tiresome. Not to mention stupid. And whether you're 20 or 60, 7 drinks a day is beyond normal

StannDarshh

This is starting to sound more and more like my parents, so ya i have gone over to Lonely Planet. I said 7 as a number, not a concrete plan, probably was foolish of me to think people could infer that when budgeting its better to over compensate.

Doppio

>>>>so ya i have gone over to Lonely Planet.

We've been suggesting that from the beginning. As a matter of fact, it was suggested 7 times on this thread.


>>>>This is starting to sound more and more like my parents

Maybe you should start listening to them. They, like us, have a lot more experience that you can ... LEARN from.

Anyhow - best of luck to you. Have fun and be safe. I mean that sincerely.

unclegus

StannDarshh, I am a member on Lonely Planet though I have a different name there.,sorry you have been given such a hard time on this forum for being honest but there are a lot of folk on here have no idea what real travelling is.too many Old farts that can't remember what it was like to be young,I do and though I still have the enthusiasim of youth i no longer have the energy of youth,how I would love to be able to go back and do all these wonderful journeys of my 20's all over again.
One suggestion I would make to you is to break your journey into country by country and then post questions about that country, the questions can be the same but it makes it easier for folk to reply to a specific question about a specific area and easier for you to keep the various areas separate.
I really wish the internet had been around when I was your age and starting out on my travelling adventures.
Trip Advisor also has a great forum community and you can get a lot of help on them as well.They do have a lot of older folk on these forums too but their heads are not quite as far up their rear ends as the ones on this forum.
Good Luck with your plans.

Peter_S_Aus

I would not consider myself as having my head up my arse, as Uncle Gus so politely terms it.

I suppose that I am just not across the concept of scheduling or creating a budget that is based on seven drinks a day, whether they are single malt or whatever.

Yep, I am old enough to be the OP's father. I do not think that makes me an "old fart". It probably allows me to be a more adventurous traveller, though. Travels like 8,000 km on a bicycle around Australia, several Sydney to Hobart yacht races, a lot of camping in the Australian bush, and the Camino del Santiago planned for next year, driving across Australia, along 1,000 km of dirt road.

I would never have a profile picture of me holding a glass in some bar. Somewhat tacky, I think.

unclegus

yep, head still up your arse but with a hat on.
I really do think there is oine heck of a lot of snobbery on this forum.
If you can't help on a thread then just don't answer, why critise someone for their way of travelling or their way of living.
BTW my photo is of one of my travels ,sitting outside the Starobrno brewery in Brno Czech Republic enjoying their offerings and the top I am wearing is an Everton Football Polo shirt way way downmarket suporting a team from Liverpool but I care not one jot.
One of the joys of travelling is visiting various breweries and distilleries and sampling their wares,of course many folk would not admit to doing such things unlesss it was an upmarket vineyard.