suze

Oh, I see bktport clarified half-way down the thread his/her $1000 is for 2 people.

I do not think 700 euro for 2 people for 1 week in a major european city (since it must pay also for the hotel or apartment) is a reasonable estimate. 100 euro/night for a hotel room and you have no money left! spend 75 euro for a room and each person 12.50 euro for everything else?

bktport- Can I please ask when you say "our number"... is this a figure you have successfully met on a prior trip. Or it is just your guess-work or goal?

suze

tnnonline~ yes I think $1000 is perfectly reasonable and generous for one person (just not two people).

tnnonline

I have the Fodor's 2007 London guide, but there doesn't seem to be much in it about budget eating. Is this something I will just have to find out when we get there? Or, is there a good website/resource I can go to that has a listing of cheap, local joints that serve good food?

ira

Thanks, J
>"To clarify our $1000/wk is based on 2 adults."

How do you do it?

That's 740E.

I figure lodging at 90E night for 6 nights = 540 E, leaving 29E pd for M&IE.

The US State Dept allows $156 (115E) pd/pp for M&IE.

Robespierre

tnn -

There are myriad threads about cheap eats in London. Capsule summary - pub grub and ethnic, sandwiches from grocery stores, pizza.

I don't think the London Pass is a bargain - you have to hit London at warp speed to reach break-even, and their "Transport Option" is the worst deal since the Strategic Defense Initiative.

Use Southern Trains to get back and forth to Gatwick (£8.90) and a Weekly Bus Pass (£14) to get around London - with no Zone or Peak restrictions.

If you hit Gatwick at the right time of day, you can use their DaySave ticket to get all over the Southeast (including London) for £10 - four for £20.

http://www.southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=122

janisj

"Time Out's Cheap Eats in London" is a terrific resource. You can pick it up after you are there - or buy it before you leave (though it costs a LOT more Stateside)

The London Pass is no great bargain - but since it is a gift don't worry - you will definitely get your money's worth out of it

rbnwdln

Wow, we are not fancy travelers but our hotels are eating up over $200 per night and for 7 nights that's $1400 plus right there. Then add food, drink, museums, transportation. I don't total our spending because I really don't want to know but I'm thinking way more than $2000 per week. Now this is Italy, so maybe other countries in Europe are cheaper.

CRAZY4TRAVEL

I usually budget 250 Euros per day which includes lodging, meals, local transport (excluding car rental which we prepay), and other misc expenses.

Last year we came under budget for our Tuscany and Umbria trip at an average of 222.00 Euros a day.

We expect our trip to the Dordogne and Lot to be less than that since our lodging is quite reasonable. 4 nights in hotels and a 7 day vacation rental is averaging 66.00 Euros per night which leaves us extra to splurge on some really nice meals.

I wouldn't want to take a trip where I had 34.00 Euros a day to cover two people for all meals and incidentals. I would rather travel less frequently and be comfortable than to take a trip where I can't do the things I want to do because I have to watch every dollar. It seems to defeat the purpose. A few good museums and you'd have no money for food or a few good meals and you'd have no money for museums.

tnnonline

I have looked at the London Pass, and our friend wanting to "gift" us wanted us to see the most for the least price. I'm fully aware that it is impossible to see everything. But, it seemed nice to be able to see Kensington Palace, London Tower, the Bridge, etc. without having to stand at the que and get a ticket.

Would you recommend that when we figure out our itenerary we just buy the tickets at the places themselves--considering that we may just be able to see 4-5 of the places covered? If this is the case, we could just ask our friend for the money.

Another question (I have not yet been to London), my friend and I--who are going--want to do a lot of walking in the city itself. How is walking to various sites in London versus taking the Underground? Any thoughts?

Robespierre

My transport preferences in London are:

1. Walking
2. Bus
3. Tube

The problem with the Tube is that once you've accounted for the time you took to get from where you are to the train and back to street level then walk to your destination, you could have jumped a bus and already arrived - with much less walking and zero climbing.

Add to that the wasted effort of changing Tube lines (bus connections usually take place at the same stop), and you've got yourself a major pain.

Tickets to some major attractions can be bought at Tube stations, and many more at Travel Information Centres. See here:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...april-2007.pdf

tnnonline

Since it's just two of us going, we want to spend as much time as we can taking pictures and seeing the city itself. I suppose if we give ourselves plenty of time to walk between sites and plan our days around particular neighborhoods, we'll be OK?

Robespierre

Yeah - but some of the sights aren't exactly within a leisurely jaunt of one another. Although Parliament and Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square are a few minutes apart, it's several miles from Kensington to the Tower. Get a good geographical map and learn where things are, then don't waste your time trudging from sight to sight when a bus can get you everywhere in Greater London for £2 a day. There are some maps you may find useful. This one can be downloaded and printed out before you leave:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/cen_bus.pdf

And this one is available in printed form free at any Tube station:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/centlond.pdf

bigtyke

I used to double the figure of the "Europe on $XX per day" books

I see that it is now $85 per day, so I think $170 jper day is a minimum

tnnonline

I've already got two maps. We aren't planning on seeing Kensington Palace and the Tower on the same day. We're considering two major sites per day, i.e., Tower and Tower Bridge (and immediate vicinity).

Lady

For our trip last summer (92 days) I budgeted $300 a day for the two of us. We did not do any UK for budgetary reasons.

I was pleased to find that we met our goal. This figure did not include airfare, car rental or Eurail Pass, but did include train reservation costs, local transport, hotels/B&B/apartments, meals, entrance fees, souveniers and a myriad of incidental things that come up in the course of living. It also includes our daughter joining us for the last 2 weeks.

Hubby is a foodie, so while we intended to picnic a lot, we actually did that very little. We had also intended to cook in those places where we had reserved apartments, but they were not Air-conditioned and turning on a stove turned out to be out of the question!

It did include plenty of wine on lots of terraces and piazzas! quot;>

Lady

I forgot..
I really found this thread fascinating. I've always wondered, but now I can see that we were pretty much in line with what others spend.

And...when I have a choice between a bus and the tube/metro, I choose the bus. It may be too far to walk, but with the bus, at least I am still getting to see the city.

Brazilnut

I in Rome for a week last October and I spent around US$800. But I rented and apartment (in Trastevere) with two other friends, sharing the expenses, had breakfast and a few dinners at home, walked a lot and did not eat in expensive places.

djuna

When we travel to Greece - to 'our island, remaining nameless!! - we spend 40 euro per night for a double room right on the water, a 5 minute or less traipse through cobbled alleyways to the harbor and village center.
All in all, I will spend $1200 for airfare and then $2500 for almost 4 weeks on the island this May-June... this includes the small but lovely and very comfortable room, a light breakfast (sometimes an omelete, mostly yogurt w/ fruit) - we make our own drip coffee in our room in the AM and enjoy it overlooking the quiet morning sea before we venture into the village... includes the bus to beaches or caiques to beaches, a moped for 5 days or a car rental for a few days, snacks during the day (from local markets and bakeries) and a good dinner almomst every night (non meat but yes, lots of fish) - there are nights that we have tired of the local taverna fare so we opt for a fresh souvlakia and a roasted corn on the cob w/ butter, enjoying it on a park bench along the paralia... or a pizza... or tapas... but usually we will eat a greek meal.
We feel like a king and queen, traveling this way... we lack nothing, we are with the locals, we have an amazing room overlooking the quiet, gentle sea and it is our lullaby at night as we drift off to sleep. We do not mind taking the local bus - it is part of the experience... and when all is said and done we return home to the states absolutely rested, emptied out and refueled and ready to return as soon as possible! We are in our late 40's and early 50's and have been traveling to Greece for 25 years.

I will not need to spend much more this time around (I leave on May 21... hubby stays home this time.. kalo andros!) than last year. The difference in euro this year really adds up to only pennies to the dollar... or 10's of cents, nothing really, when you look at the big picture.
There is no need to travel so far from home and spend the bank.. if you need 1st class, then so be it. But if you don't, why waste the money when you can spend less and get more of the local cultural experience?

suze

interesting discussion! And it brings up the important variations which, for whatever reason, the OP asked us to ignore but imo are fundamental to answering the question, like:

city vs countryside

hotel vs apartment vs hostel

more and less expensive countries

how much moving around so ground transportation expense is involved (are you taking the train every other day or staying in one place for a month)

Sure I can get by on less than $100/day sharing a room with friends, cooking our own food, at a small town or ocean setting, walking everywhere, with all entertainment free such as going to the beach everyday.

Alone in Paris... that's another story.

amwosu

Looking at costs for an upcoming trip to France in high season I have hotels (Provence) and apartments (Paris) for 15 days, train travel, and car rental (4 days only) coming out to $104/day per person. It may actually get cheaper as a third person may join us in Paris trimming the price of the apt. rental. I'd say we'll spend $75/day per person for food, museum passes, and transportation. So a grand total of $1253 per week per person! Until I go to the shoe store of my dreams...