Heimdall

I'm afraid the Thorn Tree posters have aged along with the forum. Lot of old farts over there too.

unclegus

yep I am one of them

unclegus

Just realised I had changed my profile picture, that pic is me in U Tri Ruze ,one of the newest Brew Pubs in Prague,and I am trying their beers and writing about them for the first time.( notice notebook in the background.

mariha2912

First of all, I just think that many LP users are just more familiar to low budget traveling and sometimes less "mainstream" travelers comparing to many users here. It has nothing to do with age, I contribut there too and I know many members who are middle aged or much older to have grand-grand children.
Secondly, the way I see it, each person travels for different reasons. If nightlife and drinking is an important aspect to one's trip, so be it. Not my traveling style, but I am not saying that this person is or might turn into an alcoholic.

To the OP, I think some people were far too critical but still it is wise to be openminded and keen to get some more generic advice than just seeking for an answer to specific question withour further comments.
My specific answer is that yes, buying a bottle before hand, you can manage your planned drinking every night on your budget. It is possible.
That said,in general I find somewhat immature having to have lots of drink in order to have a good time and I am somewhat worried on your comment "i can handle 7 standard drinks throughout 15 hours, though i never do this at college, but on vacation, why not splurge. " . If you haven't done something like this before (and I mean for consecutive days and/or on a strabge city/unfamiliar environment), how are you sure you can handle it? Maybe a foreign environment is not a wise choice to experience your tolerance at drinking. I am saying this as a matter of fact-ish advice,I am only 10 year older than you and I like drinking, but I mostly prefer drinking at familiar environments. When abroad I never drink more than a couple of drinks. Although not on your chosen destinations, I work in hospitality industry and I have seen very bad results of people who tried to do same things as you. Having to escort many people to hospital or to police station, I have watched many trips ruined by too much drinking. And too much is not necessarily to get absolutely pissed, just not as clever/flexible/common sensed as you'd be absolutely sober.
I wonder why don't you mention is this budget enough to visit X, Y site or 2 museums/sites/attractions per day or take a day trip to Z... Is this aspect of your trip less important?

Heimdall

Unclegus wrote:

yep I am one of them

Me too!

Fodor's is a great forum, and the place to go for good advice. Unfortunately there is a tendency of some Fodorites to gang up on posters with unconventional questions, and on those who don't agree with their advice. This could be considered bullying, and often results in new posters giving up on Fodor's entirely.

Lawchick

Wellllll. Crowd of old puritanical farts here. You're actually on the wrong forum for your needs - but I'll give a shot at answering. My budget as a student always focused around how much alcohol I could consume. Now I'm an upstanding member of society married with two children and holding down a job. However did I manage that - what with a few holidays drinking a bit too much.

Your budget is fine for Berlin Prague and Budapest. I'd give Switzerland and Sweden a swerve this time. Wait until you are one of the oldies complaining here and you can get up in the morning at 6, have some herbal tea and enjoy a brisk walk instead of a hangover.

Regarding Amsterdam - remember you don't have to drink there for the buzz! Though you would have to budget more for food when the munchies kick in.

Be careful, in most of Continental Europe - "Night Club" means a brothel rather than a club/disco type place. Places clearly marked "night club" are almost definitely brothels and I guess that's not what you're looking for - especially on your budget.

Clubs on the other hand are not expensive in Europe generally and no you don't have to buy bottles of champagne. If you are staying in hostels or even hotels, they can direct you to places frequented by students where the beer is usually cheap.

Drinking in public is not an issue, however drunkenness in public is not well tolerated (- except unfortunately in the UK and Ireland (I'm Irish)). You can have a few beers sitting in the park during the afternoon with no problem.

Enjoy your trip.

PalenQ

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>

that may be true St Cirq but the OP came here asking travel-trip questions and not to be moralized on personal aspects - answer the travel-trip questions and leave your patronizing moralizing out of it - this is a travel forum and I think you and other Fodorgarchs should keep that in mind!

Prost!

unclegus

Good advice Lawchick.
One of my absolute pleasure in Prague is visiting the Beer Gardens in the summer time, Letna park has a huge one and the beer is pretty cheap and you can get cheap sausage based snacks., this is also the area where the skateboarders and roller bladers hang out using the base of an old Stalanist monument as their playground,there is some creative Pop art around as well .

PalenQ

If you are staying in hostels or even hotels, they can direct you to places frequented by students where the beer is usually cheap.>

Indeed most hostels these days have pubs with booze on the premises - often the cheapest place to drink and convivial places to meet young folks from around the world.

PalenQ

.,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>

well said, well said and Fodorgarchs should take this to heart and lose some of their attitude that they and their style of travel is always the best.

Fodorgarchs - just answer travel questions and leave the moral judgment to yourselves.

Cathinjoetown

Here's another old fart chiming in to say I wish you had more time but understand summer jobs are crucial to pay for school so am assuming that is what's limiting your time.

With two weeks, I would go for three locations to settle in a bit and enjoy the nightlife. I was your age when I first spent the summer in Europe, but so long ago that Frommer's "Europe on $5 a Day" was stil feasible although we averaged around $10.

What is still true is wine is often cheaper than coffee, street food and food markets are a good source for cooked food as well as fruit and veg. There were no McDonald's in Europe"back then" that I remember, there may have been some. We had good, cheap meals in Switzerland at the Migros stores which had
great cafes. Someone already mentioned beer halls and beer gardens which in addition to excellent beer serve huge portions of brats, spuds, etc.

Regarding the "buzz" in Amsterdam, there was talk of limiting access to the cafés that sell marijuana to locals only. I don't know whether or not this has taken place.

Have a good trip, watch your wallet and who you hook up with, I stumbled on that stupid Hostel film and now worry about our kids and friends' kids, totally irrational but as an old fart, I can indulge.

nytraveler

Sorry - when someone posts on a pubic forum they have to understand that they are going to get a lot of answers from different types of people - and that they may no like some of them.

If the OP doesn;t want to red my responses he dosn;t have to. but he can;t stop me from giving my opinion.

And IMHO spending a whole trip through europe half-drunk is not only a complete waste of time and money - it is dangerous in small (likely to be a target for pickpockets or rolled in an alley) and large ways(there are a lot of clubs owned by not nice people who lure in young men who are too stupid or drunk to know not to go - and then demand large sums of money for drinks for them and the pretty girls that turn up).

However, just ignore that - since my hundred plus trips to europe haven't taught me a single thing.

vjpblovesitaly

pubic forum

takanali

unclegus - I have a thread started just down the list for Czech Republic (topic: question for anyone who has lived in Prague). I would love to hear your input, on that topic, or my second favorite topic of BEER (I know *gasp*). I would love to hear about any advice you have on good local brews to try, or places to try them in. I always like to try new beers, where ever I go.

Stann - I'm traveling to Budapest and Prague in June. I got a hotel in Budapest, but am staying at Little Quarter Hostel in Prague (5-bed dorm), I try to stay away from 10-12 room dorms since the line for the bathroom in the morning can be annoying. I recommend that you just plan things out a little to double check your budget. Use booking.com or venere.com to look up hostels (limited selection on those websites), and a google search for trains between cities (ex. Budapest Prague train >> this will probably take you straight to the appropriate website). Write down times and $$ on a calendar to get a sense of transit times and approximate costs. This at least is an easy way of getting an approximate cost for getting to each location and knowing you have a place to sleep. This might help you narrow down where you can actually afford to visit. Some hostels may actually give you a better price if you are staying 3+ nights. Good luck!!

takanali

unclegus - Just realized that you've already posted in my thread, with great advice. Thanks!

unclegus

start a sepaate thread about beers or look through some of my other posts on here,also check out Trip advisor,i must have 100's of threads about Czech beer, beerhalls and micro breweries.

PalenQ

Regarding the "buzz" in Amsterdam, there was talk of limiting access to the cafés that sell marijuana to locals only. I don't know whether or not this has taken place.>

No that has been put on hold and travelers from outside of Holland can still go to coffeeshops and buy over the counter a panoply of various hash and pot and smoke it inside too.

justineparis

You know, although OP said 7 drinks a day, I think he like most of us, will skip days, you know , drink, be hungover skip drinking, drink, get hung over , skip drinking..

Secondly, I also think people drink more on vacation then at home. I have wine with lunch on vacation in Paris, but would almost never do that at home. In Hawaii I may have a drink by the pool at 3 in the afternoon, but I don't afternoon drink at home..

nona1

Have a great trip OP!

Perhaps you should come to the UK - the idea of 7 drinks on a night out isn't seen as excessive here (but we are a bunch of boozers)

I'm in my late 40s and off to Barcelona this summer on a 'girls' weekend/hen weekend' and I know we'll be drinking at least that, and enjoying ourselves, and not in a complete alchoholic blur either. We'll still be up for sightseeing in the day.

I think you've picked some good cities to visit for this sort of trip.

Mathieu

More good wishes to the OP for a great trip !
I'm more impressed with the thought you've given to prepare and anticipate the need for a budget, as well as the skilful and polite way you've handled the opinions, moralizing and judgments you've received that were not asked for. Good for you ! Treat this experience as a life lesson in dealing with the reactions of others wherever in the world you go. You've handled it admirably IMO.

On to the trip - you've been given some great advice if you can sift through it.
Completely agree that in Budapest and Prague you will get good value for your money, as well as have a great time there. They are two of my favourite cities. The food and beer and entertainment there are cheap(er) and fun, and there are lots things to see and do. Eat local as others have advised and use McD's only as a standby. Local food is delicious and often inexpensive. Keep an eye-out for where you see the locals lined up and don't be shy to get in the line or walk into a local joint. More often than not, they will welcome you and help you out.

Also agree that an apartment for the three of you in these two cities could be a cheaper option than a hostel. In Prague I had an enormous, very modern, fully equipped airy apartment close to the Charles Bridge and right outside the castle, with a beautiful view and which easily slept 4 people for 66 euros a night. I only stayed there 2 nights so it wasn't even a long term rental. Don't skip visiting an absynthe bar in Prague, even if just for the experience.

You can find similar deals in Budapest. When in Budapest, don't forget to try out one of the traditional baths. The outdoor Szechenyi pools are great fun and great for relaxing after a night of heady Budapest wine or other bevvies. One of the baths (forget which one but look it up) even has late night parties with movies and or music while you soak. They are very popular with young locals and tourists of your age, and are pretty decent and inexpensive. There are lots of really nice bars and restaurants in Budapest. Places near the river tend to be more expensive but just keep walking around that area and you'll come across little local watering holes. They're there.

If you plan to visit nightclubs, ask what the cover charge (entrance fee) is and whether there is a minimum drink tab (sometimes there is and it can be quite high) before you are allowed to leave. I've heard stories of people being followed out and harassed if they were ready to leave without spending enough. However, if you're 6'6" and a party of three, I don't think anyone would mess with you, lol.

Scandinavia and Switzerland, while both incredibly beautiful, will drain your budget. Save them for the next trip when you're working with a bigger budget.

Berlin and Amsterdam are also both fun cities where you can have a great time during the day and night, and you're sure to do so.

Have a great time and don't forget to post a trip report when you get back to tell us how it went.