i am planning to travel extensively through out europe for 6 months or more. i plan to stay in hostels only and am more than happy to eat the local food to cut down on costs, however i do not want to have to cut my trip short or not be able to get in to any sights because i dont have enough money. i plan to go in a year and a half , after i finish high school so that should give me plenty of time to save. i am also thinking of getting a eurail pass aswell. is that a good option? any advice on where to stay, what to see and how to do it is more than welcome. how much money do i need???

Get a copy of Let's Go Europe, the most invaluable guide for folks your age - lots on zillions of hostels and low-budget travel. At any bookstore or library.

I would think that you will need upwards of $15k. Perhaps a little more if you will be moving around a lot, maybe a little less if you stay stationary.

If you look at the Eurail Global pass, they are usually valid for up to 2 months (except the Global which is available for a 3 months period).

http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/pa...rail_index.htm

They are expensive. 6 months worth of railpasses will probably be a couple of thousands of dollars. If you want to travel a lot, rail isn't cheap anymore. You'll need more planning if you want to find cheaper ways to travel. I would suggest Busabout instead.

http://www.busabout.com/FlexiTrip

I don't know much about them but it looks like a much more affordable way to travel.

For now, get a guidebook and start choosing places you want to go. Let's Go Europe is good.

Aside from airfare and transportation, you need to have an idea for a daily budget. Usually, the UK and Scandinavia are the most expensive places to go. Big cities like Paris and Rome can also be very expensive.

For example, 6 months is about 180 days so:
Hostels (about 30 dollars a night, sometimes more, sometimes less): 180 x 30 = 5400$
Food (you could probably be fine with 25-30 dollars a day, depending on where you are): 180 x 25 = 4500$
Attractions & public transport (a lot of cities are walkable while you'll need city buses for others, so about 10-15 dollars a day): 180 x 10 = 1800$

So that's a total of about 12k$, without transportation and airfare, and without any shopping, souvenirs, laundry, internet, insurance,...

I would research transportation first, since that'll limit your options and budget.

Keep us updated and I hope that helps. I hope I'm not too negative but I just want to make sure you don't get into trouble if you under-budget.

http://www.eurocheapo.com/

besides working out your budget - you need to learn about how long you are allowed to stay in the major part of western Europe. It is called the Schengen Zone -- Google it to start your research.

Are you from the States? If so, you are only allowed to stay a total of 90 days w/i any 180 days in any/all of those countries. Makes planning a 6 month trip a bit more complicated than it was in the "old days" of backpacking around Europe. If you are in Schengen for 80 or 90 days you can't simply go to a non-Schengen country and then back into Schengen to "start the clock" again.

I just got back from backpacking in Europe. If you are from the US, Europe is ultra expensive right now. All the American students I met are having to call home to ask for money from their parents. My personal budget for the trip:
Plane tickets purchased 7 months in advance for two people: $1,700.
$1000. per week for food, hostels, and a few charging attractions. I had the London Pass, which took the edge off of the charging attractions. $1200 for transportation, ie, busses, plane to Ireland, underground. I'm a college student, and Europe broke the bank. I spent close to $ 7,000 on this trip. And believe me, I did nothing in style. My only splurge was tickets to see Spam a lot at the west end theater.
A cool thing I discovered was busabout. I've heard great things about them, and plan to use them for my next trip to Europe. They take you from city to city and drop you off at your hostel. Europe is a lot of fun, but it is a lot of money right now. If you don't have an after school job, I'd get one. And save every penny.

Two great sources for rail info and esp passes - lots of info beyond the usual pass prices and an Add to Cart button to click on: www.ricksteves.com - also has info on cheap flights and buses and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - request their free European Rail & Planning Guide - a fine primer on understanding European trains and railpasses. Some countries are not useful with passes - Greece where you may want to rest on an island beach for a while - esp in winter or Eastern europe where trains are still very cheap and Italy also very cheap.

I think you need $20,000USD for a 6 month trip (plus your airfare over & back).

That equals an allowance of 70 euro per day.

I figure about 1/2 is for your hostel bed and the other 1/2 for sightseeing, food, entertainment, local transporation, admissions, etc.

Thorn Tree forum on Lonely Planet is excellent for backpackers.

Let's Go, Lonely Planet, and Rough Guides are good guidebooks.

A Eurail pass may or may not be a good deal. You need to have some idea how much you'll be moving around to figure if it will save money, or if point-to-point 2nd class tickets (or even budget airlines) would be a better value.