Help! Creating a Budget for my DS Graduation Trip to Europe
 

We would like to allow our son to go to europe as a College Graduation Gift. I have looked at airfares and it looks like $1200- $1400 RT to London from our local Airport.
He plans to stay in Youth Hostels but I'm curious as to how much to budget for hostel lodging, food, & entertainment/intercity travel. He had hoped to visit Italy, France , and UK but said that other, more budget friendly, countries would be considered.
Do you recommend any websites or Blogs that might help me?

I would check on the Thorntree chat board as it has more backpackers.

Depending on his itinerary it may more sense to fly into London and home from his last location. That will save the time and cost of getting back to London.

What a nice gift!

Do you recommend any websites or Blogs that might help me?>

Well for trains yes and he should investigate various Eurail Youthpasses - if he is under 26 that is the only qualifying thing - he can join many others of his age from all around the world on Europe's fantastic trains - he can use overnight trains to cover great distances and save money on a night in a hostel (not as cheap as they used to be - about $25-30 a night most places) - anyway check out these superb IMO sites - www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's ffree and superb IMO online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of suggested rail itineraries in various areas of Europe.

And like jamikins says check out Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum for more folks his age or travel style.

Get a copy of the guidebook Let's Go Europe - the Bible of backpackers - written and researched by students for young folk on a budget - superb coverage of budget hostels and hotels and just a wealth of great info.

He plans to stay in Youth Hostels but I'm curious as to how much to budget for hostel lodging, food, & entertainment/intercity travel.>

Hostels in big cities run about $25 or so a night. A Eurail Youthpass can keep transportation costs to a guaranteed price - food - depends on how he does it - restaurants are very pricey - nothing really cheap like at home IME but supermarkets have delis for cheap take outs and of course usual supermarket fare - bread and cheese, etc. Probably $20/day

entertainment can bey very pricey - pubs, nightlife much more than at home IME - but hostels now have their own pubs on site so this can be cheap entertainment - sitting and talking to folks from all over the world his age.

I'd say except for the railpass he could get by on $100/day easily and perhaps as low at $60/day - some countries are cheaper than others and places like London can be more expensive than other British cities, etc.

Why London? Look at flights into one city and home from another (not one way flights, use the multi-city function on various travel websites).

Why London? Look at flights into one city and home from another (not one way flights, use the multi-city function on various travel websites).

A K A - Look for an Open Jaw ticket.

Thanks for all your help! Shortly after I posted this, a close friend died in an accident so I've been off the board...

sorry to hear that.

If you are still interested, I think that while of course there are cheaper places, for a first big trip, you want to see certain cities, and London and Paris, etc are fine. Because costs aren't going to vary that much, especially if you stay in hostels. I know hostels in Paris are expensive compared to some places, but I think you can get a room for around 25 euro per person. YOu could assume US$40 a day for room probably, for a budget. Food, etc., who knows -- I'm thinking maybe $75 a day total budget if you want to be frugal, not including any major rail trips or other long-distance transportation.

You said a son. Is he a big eater. I remember some friend in college who could demolis eerything in a fridge in a couple of hours.

In europe portions are generally quite a bit small than in the US - so if he is a big eater it will cost. (A neighbor went recently and her 16 year old son had TWO dinners most nights - plus other meals and a host of snacks). Also soft drinks are very small (6 oz?) and very expensive most places. He should plan on drinking tap water or buying large bottles in supermarkets and refilling a bottle he carries. Wine and beer are usually cheaper than soft drinks

Basically everything - food, transit, entrances etc cost more than in the US - WAY more in Switz and Scandinavia - not so much more in Portugal Croatia, etc.

For decent hostels (there are some awful ones) he needs advance reservations since they often fill up in summer.

Absolutely agree that he shouldn't fly RT to London - fly to London and home from Rome, or something like that. It's usually about the same price and almost always more cost-effective than backtracking to get back to where you started.

Is this for *this* summer? If so, he needs to start planning and booking hostels right away.

Hostel costs will vary from city to city and depending on what kind of room - dorm style vs. a smaller, more private room. The last one I stayed at in London was around $40/night in 2007. I used hostelworld.com to look at reviews at that point, though I haven't used it since then.

You can get cheap prepared food at supermarkets in many places (London is great for this); in Paris, get crepes instead of a sit-down meal, or in Rome grab some pizza. Avoid the touristy areas for eating.

What is he interested in? If he likes museums at all, the ones in London are often free (British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, V&A...), but in Paris, for example, that could be a pretty big cost.

Once you take plane tickets and either a Eurail or point-to-point train or plane tickets out of the equation, I'd think between $100-$125 a day.

$40 for hostel
$10 for breakfast
$15 for lunch
$20 for dinner
$15 for museum entrances, souvenirs, etc

He could eat for cheaper than that, but it depends on how important meals are to him. Some people are content eating crepes or pizza twice a day, some people aren't.

Be sure to tell him to forget his Coke (capital C) habit--they can be 5E in a café in Paris--and even 2E in a store!! I think local soft drinks are not pricy
Is he savvy to travelling alone--good thinker/creative? I think it is a great gift--we gave it our older son also--but we all went with him!!

There are many different hostels, with varying prices and comfort levels. A single room will always be more expensive than a bed in a dormroom, but it will also be a lot safer. Some hostels are party places, others are calmer and more quiet. He will certainly meet lots of interesting people.

If the hostels have cooking facilities he may be able to save some money by getting cheap groceries and cooking them himself. Of course, there is a risk that any leftovers will be stolen by someone.

If he is the sort of young person who can't live without his phone or Internet connection, make certain the hostels have free WiFi. It will NOT be fun to return home to a phone bill that is higher than the cost of the entire trip.

Make sure he has a safe place to keep his money, ID, tickets, electronics etc. Most hostels have lockers, but he may need to provide the actual lock himself. A money-belt is a good thing to use when he has to move between cities.

If he is planning to bring lots of electronics, he needs to have different plug adaptors to recharge them. The plugs in the UK are different from the ones in Italy and France. He can, of course, buy these when he gets to Europe.

You did not mention how long the trip will be. Two weeks? A month? Two months?

If he is planning to do a lot of travel between different cities/countries it is a good idea to get a rail pass. If he only plans to go to three or four places it may be cheaper to get point-to-point tickets. In some cases it may even be cheaper to fly between cities, although most of the cheap airtickets have to be booked a long time in advance. I agree with the other posters about getting an open-jaw ticket, flying into one city and out of another.

Absolutely get Let's Go guide books - pickup any one of them at your library. Ignore the sightseeing sections for the moment and start reading at the beginning. There is so much travel information in these books and so much about budget travel.

How long will this trip be? You've mention 3 countries. Are you giving him the trip for several months? If you intend on a 2 week trip he will need to limit his itinerary to 1 country or area.

<i>Help! Creating a Budget for my DS Graduation Trip to Europe
Posted by: eyemom84 on Apr 8, 13 at 2:35pm
We would like to allow our son to go to europe as a College Graduation Gift. I have looked at airfares and it looks like $1200- $1400 RT to London from our local Airport.
He plans to stay in Youth Hostels but I'm curious as to how much to budget for hostel lodging, food, & entertainment/intercity travel. He had hoped to visit Italy, France , and UK but said that other, more budget friendly, countries would be considered.
Do you recommend any websites or Blogs that might help me?</i>

For a detailed process of making a budget see http://tinyurl.com/2ccyjn3. Pay particular attention to the footnotes for the individual cost analysis tables.

Hostels are generally the cheapest places to stay but are not always the easiest places to find. In the UK you find scores of B&Bs everywhere there is a tourist thing to see. But B&Bs generally cost about twice as much as a hostel. Assuming he is going to travel by train he can get a couchette bunk for about the same price as a hostel bed, and save daylight hours for what he went for instead of sitting on a train all day.

Shop around at other nearby airports for air fares. Use Kayak or other flight search engines. Fly early in the week and generally avoid weekends. Stay up late and search for fares on line between midnight and 3:00 AM. Many seats become available at midnight because people made reservations without paying for their ticket and the airlines scrub the books, generally within 48 hours, at midnight eastern time.

I'd say jent's suggestions for budget are okay except that he left out alcoholic beverages. Some hostels include a breakfast of some sort - they had been adequate for our daughters, but for a guy, I'm not sure.

Last year DD spent about $45 for a hostel in Rome. It was a 3-person dorm with bath just for the three people, so a bit pricier than larger dorms and shared baths. Your son can save money going with larger dorms and shared bath. My kids have used Hostelworld with luck as well as Hostels.com. In fact, they were upgraded in Greece to a hotel because the hostel was overbooked. Look at the reviews for clues to location, night life, tours offered and the general tone of the hostel. If he wants a party hostel, look for that. Quiet hostel, look for that. And, yes, make sure he has space to lock up his belongings while there. A communal kitchen is a good money saving idea and he can meet people too.

Also, look for hostels that provide some sort of entertainment or tours for cheap. Like a bike tour for 8 euro one of my DDs took in VIenna. Almost a whole day of fun for 8 euro.

For example, I'd say he could do 8 nights on the ground, one or two cities (at most) for about $2200 including airfare. So, about what jent had suggested - $100-120/day plus airfare.

<i>I'd say jent's suggestions for budget are okay except that he left out alcoholic beverages.</i>

Good point - I've never been an avid alcohol drinker (and I'm not into nightlife), so neither plays a big role in my budgets personally. But your son will need to adjust that if that's of interest. Though as others have noted, a glass of wine in Italy might be cheaper than a Coke!

One other thing - some cities have great inexpensive walking tours, like London Walks (walks.com) and Paris Walks (paris-walks.com). I've taken several tours with both and been very pleased, as well as one with Oui Paris tours that was great too.