First vacation
 

My friend and I (both 21) are currently trying to plan a trip to Europe for July of 2016, we want to go to Belgium, Germany, Paris, and London. We are on a budget of around $6,000 so we realize we won't be able to see all of those places, but we're going to be on the trip for 2 weeks (not including travel days to and from Europe) if there is any advice you could give us about the cheapest or most worthwhile places that would be awesome. ANY ADVICE WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
Thanks so much.

The more destinations the more you spend w/ the extra transport. Plus you lose at least half a day every time you move. You have listed two (major) cities and two whole countries. W/ just 2 weeks I'd probably pick 2 or at most 3 places. Say 5 to 6 days in London, 4 to 6 days in Paris and a couple of days in Bruges or someplace in Germany.

Get the Lonely Planet and Let's Go guidebooks and start reading. They are geared to young people with budget limitations.

Thanks so much for both of your input!

is the $6k including flights and for one or two of you. Dollars US?

I'd chose 2 or 3 cities (yes do day trips) but it will help you manage your money.

The $6000 is including flights and is for two of us, I found pretty cheat flights through Norwegian air, and we aren't staying in hotels were renting through Airbnb

That is a very low budget $3000 - pp for 2 weeks including airfares. AFAIK Norwegian only serves 7 US cities -- Do you live in one of them? If so great, but otherwise there is the expense of getting to the gateway airport, and then getting back to the departure city to fly home.

So say your total transport to/from Europe is $700-ish. That leaves you about $160 per day for everything else. Accommodations, food, internal transport, sightseeing, etc. Certainly doable but tight. So if you can reduce the amount of transport it will stretch your budget.

Before booking any airBnB you might want to pass the links by here. Some owners are -- let's just say 'creative' describing their locations. Also there is a current issue in Paris and a lot of short term aren't legal. You might be better off using hostels in some cities.

Well the 3000 each is just for getting in and out of Europe and places to stay, it doesn't include other expenses like food and activities

How do I know which place is legal?

>>Well the 3000 each is just for getting in and out of Europe and places to stay, it doesn't include other expenses like food and activities<<

That is confusing -- so you have $3000 each but that isn't for <i>any</i> of your expenses? Is there a reason you are separating your accommodations from everything else? But in any case, if it is $3000 (each) just for airfare and sleeping -- then you can stay just about anywhere and don't have to stick to airbnb.

That is more than $300 a night for the two of you - more than £200 and more than €275 and you can get really nice places for that. But again - do you really have two pockets -- one w/ $6000 for airfare/accommodations, and the other w/ some unknown amount for everything else?

I know it sounds confusing lol but we're using the 3000 each as like a base to make sure flights and accommodations are taken care of and then we're using what's left add to help decide what we can afford to do

Well I would strongly reco staying in hostels rather than Air BnB apartments unless you are determined to do a lot of your own cooking. This will give you the opportunity to meet other young people from all over the world and get current, local advice on budget places to eat and student cafes and pubs that have cheap beer (hard liquor and mixed drinks can be VERY expensive in europe).

Have a look at Hosteling International to see info on a number of well regarded hostels but also read in detail the Let's Go wherever guides and consult the Thorn Tree web site.

From what you have said I can't understand what the $3K is for - but if you think this is 2 transatlantic roundtrip fares, plus flights or trains intercity in europe, and 14 nights worth of lodgings - you won't have enough for even basic hostels. But if you have a total of $6k for the 2 of you, some can be moved to lodging and you will still have enough for sights and modest dining.

But you definitely need to cut back to no more than 4 cities - or you will end up spending way too much of your time, energy and money just getting from one place to another versus actually doing or seeing much.

If you think about what you 5 or 6 must sees are - items - not countries - then people here can help you weave them into a coherent itinerary. But you do need to provide some info on your interests - city vs countryside (I assume no beach based on your countries listed above), major sights versus outdoor activities, etc.

I actually do want to do a lot of the cooking, and I'm more interested in shopping and workshops, and just basically learning about other cultures without being too touristy

It's 3000 for each of us so 6000 total

My daughter and I just spent 9 days in England and Germany for less than $3,000, including airfare, accommodations, transportation and food.

It's doable but pretty darned lean. We walked 10-15 miles a day and limited ourselves to breakfast at the hostel and one other budget meal a day. We were hungry all the time, and it took about two months for my feet to heal completely.

So mental notes -- wear your very best, completely broken-in shoes, and be sure you're fit enough to do A LOT of walking with a full backpack. Guessing from your age, this is not an unreasonable goal.

Despite the challenges, I am so glad we went last year. We're planning our next trip now and I'm trying to gauge how much of the "austerity travel" method I can persuade the rest of the family to subscribe to. ;-)

Enjoy your trip!

From what I see above, a lot of the discussion seems to be around the budget. For a two week trip, I think $3000 per person is perfectly doable, provided you're going for more of a backpacking type trip, rather than staying in hotels and going for fancy meals.

I would also consider staying in hostels. These may be cheaper than Airbnb. Do your research on sites like hostelworld.com (reviews are generally legit), and you will find something that meets your needs. There is a wide range of types of hostels.

So you want to go to London and Paris plus more. To see these places comfortably, I would say spend 9-10 days split between them (understanding that you could easily spend a week in each without getting bored). For your last 4-5 days, Bruges would be my top choice in Belgium. Small medieval town with great chocolate. This could be combined with Brussels or Cologne, Germany. Obviously there are tons of other places to see in Belgium and Germany, but I feel this is the best way to see a little bit of each country.

Hope that helps!

6 grand for two weeks is reasonable. We have done it many times without backpacking. Yes, the hotel rooms are small and yes, we watch where we eat, but still it can easily be done.

One way to save money is to buy food as you travel around a city and have it for dinner when you get back to the room. Consider cured meats, breads, cheeses, chocolates or desserts that do not need a refrig. We love this meal as it gives us a chance to taste many different things. We call it our Continental diner. Have your main meal for lunch because it is cheaper than diner. See if the hotel has free breakfasts.

Take plastic utensils with you and if you are checking in bags, take a corkscrew otherwise buy a cheap one after arriving.

Learn the public transportation system and walk when possible.

save money,

1) go vegetarian
2) eat/drink what the locals do
3) throw away the diet you are used to in US
4) some hostels some appartments

SO you have nearly 40 000 RMBs.
Should be ok.
You can have great hotels for about 400 Zlotys in Europe.
Hope it helps.

paris,,, newbie, tiny steps :-)

Most hostels have a communal kitchen, so you can even do your own cooking, within reason. Before I married (the most recent time) I often stayed in hostels. If you do a little research, you can find great hostels, some in historical buildings, some in ex-convents, some with gardens.

We once stayed in a lovely hostel in Bruges (Belgium), in an old seminary. (It was a long time ago, and I don't know if it's still active.)

Most hostels are very sociable places. In some rural areas, they were even a social center of a village. In Doolin (Ireland), one hostel we stayed in was the favorite lodging of traveling Irish musicians. Local fishermen came to sell their catch to the guests and the manager of the hostel. Neighbors came to sit around the peat fire at night and talk. (That was also a long time ago, and I've heard that Doolin has become very touristy since it's now reachable by bus. I've never wanted to go back because I want to remember it as it was.)

You often meet up with people in hotels who want to visit the same places you do, and you can save on things like tours and taxis.

It seems as though in Paris, most of the short-term rentals, including AirBnB, are illegal, and it's almost impossible to find out which <b>are</b> legal. You run the risk of arriving and finding out your apartment is no long available, although I'm sure the risk is small.