DaughterOfTheKing

I am leaving in 3 weeks for an 11 day trip- 2 days in travel, and three full days in Munich, Rome and Paris.

I planned this trip really at a horrible time for some stupid reason, I am finishing up my last semester of nursing school (BROKE!) and this is an early graduation gift to myself. I wanted to go before graduation so that I can focus on getting a job & training without having to say "by the way I want you to hire me but I'll need two weeks of in a couple months to go to Europe."

I do want to stretch my Euro; I want to see a castle or two in Germany, and visit the vatican, the Louvre, among the other popular spots in Rome and Paris as well, so my first question would be what are your tips for saving money??

I plan on sharing meals with my friends that are going, we wont be eating at any fancy restaurants- ok I lied, maybe one time we will go out and do that...
I have already purchased my flights from here to Europe and between countries, as well as my hotels, so I have about $800-$1000 I can spend on museum entrances, activities, food, and a couple souvenirs... I know what I'm expecting to hear- "Thats impossible!!"
So I guess Im asking for tips on HOW to make it possible!

Also, I am planning on bringing some already converted Euros from over here in the US- how much should I bring in cash & how much should I just wait to take out from an ATM while I'm over there?
Thanks for your help!

Zerlina

Let's say $900 for nine days or $100 or about 70 Euro per day. If that does not include travel between cities, it's doable, at least in Rome. A Roma Pass for three days (two free admissions, discounts on others, public transport) costs 25 Euro, add 15 Euro (without reservation) for the Vatican Museums. So 170 Euro for meals for three days. Breakfast is almost always included; you can buy take-away pizza by the slice or a panino for about 5 Euro for lunch (avoid soft drinks, except if bought in grocery stores; they cost more than wine). I don't see a problem.

100 Euro in cash should get you through.

charnees

You can usually buy Euros at an ATM right in the airport after you get off the plane, so I don't see any reason to bring any more than what you have.

adrienne

Don't bring cash from home. Use ATM machines. You'll pay a premium exchange rate for converting USD to Euros at home. Every airport has ATM machines you can use to get Euros.

<< I plan on sharing meals with my friends >>

If you share meals then you will all starve, especially in Italy where the portions are very small. Perhaps in Germany 2 people could share a meal if you don't eat much but never 3 or more (don't know how many friends you will plan to share meals with).

There is no reason why you can't eat and sight see on E70 per day. I can certainly do it, even in cities.

Ask for tap water rather than bottled water in restaurants. Fill your water bottles from the hotel tap in the morning. If you want wine, buy it in the supermarket and drink it in your room. Follow Zerlina's advice, above for meals.

Get copies of Let's Go guide books (from your library - free). These are excellent budget books which will give you inexpensive restaurants and other free things to do in each location.

DaughterOfTheKing

Thank you all for your great replies- My sister who is going with me and has already been to Europe once, so she thinks she knows everything says its cheaper to change your money here than to get it out of the Atms there- I know my bank has specific ATMs over there that charge a lot less fee's but can someone out there prove her wrong or right? It seems a lot of people on here are against getting cash in America and using ATMs in Europe... I tried looking it up but I didnt find anything specific.
Thanks!

Michel_Paris

NO. It is not cheaper to get the money at home. You will typically pay ~5% for euros at home, much less at an ATM over there.

Look at it this way. Your local bank, who is not in the foreign exchange business, has to source some euros. If none, they need to get some from HQ. Someone at the bank needs to manage this. Every time there is an action there is a $ cost.

You go to Europe. The ATM on the street has stacks of euros, and they ARE in the business of giving euros to worthy people.You put your bank card in and a computer updates your bank account. Much less labour involved. Cheaper

scatcat

Definitely cheaper from the ATM in Europe. And if you exchange US dollars(cash) to Euros in Europe, you will lose a lot of money.

adrienne

What is the exchange rate you will get if you convert USD to Euros tomorrow (February 17). The current interbank rate as of today is 1.357. No private person gets the interbank rate but the rate you will get is a bit above it. Add a 1% foreign transaction fee to the exchange rate. Now, compare the two numbers to see which is the better way.

You can't look up anything. You have to do the math and compare two numbers.

november_moon

My husband and I average 100 euros per day for the 2 of us for meals and incidentals - sightseeing and transportation is not included in that total. We aren't extravigant, but we aren't penny-pinchers either. We drink as much beer and wine as we want and eat pretty well. I think at with 70 euro/day you will be fine. You probably can't put away as much food or beer as my husband.

Some tips for Munich:

Beer gardens often have pretty good food for a good price, esspecially if you sit in the self-serve area. In the self-serve areas, you can also bring your own food to eat there as long as you buy beverages at the beer garden. If the weather isn't nice enough for beer gardens, try some of the beer halls.

Convinience stores sell pre-made sandwiches that are actually really good. You can pick up some sandwiches and snacks for a picnic pretty cheaply.

A great restaurant with good prices and great beer is Andecher Am Dom, which is right behind the Frauenkirche near the Marienplatz.

ellenem

The European ATMs won't charge you any per-transaction fees, but your own bank might do so. Check the fees your own bank will charge you for international transactions.

One tip in Italy for saving money: At a standard cafe/coffee bar, don't sit. You will see many Italians standing to have their coffee, pastry, or sandwich--they are saving money. If you sit you will pay more for table service, in some cases twice the price. However, if you choose to sit, you now own the table until you choose to leave. Therefore, have a coffee at a cafe in a great location and sit as long as you like to relax and enjoy the activity around you.

Alan_CT

Standing in coffee shops also saves in Paris. And don't feel any need to tip, other than rounding up to the next euro - tips are already included - "service compris."

You can pick up fine sandwiches at food stores, bake shops or crepe stands.

ATMs are the way to go - to minimize the impact of fees, withdraw as much as you are comfortable carrying. And don't forget to tell your credit card issuers and banks that you'll be traveling!

J62

A tip for Munich. Eating every meal at a sit down restaurant will take a big bite out of you budget. You can save a lot by eating take away food.

Some of the larger subway stations are actually underground shopping areas with a lot of low cost eateries. Karlsplatz is one. Marienplatz perhaps as well - I don't recall.

The basement level of the big department stores is usually a food market. The one in the Karstadt market has not just a supermarket, but also a range of take out and eat-in counters.

The same concept some Whole Foods have in the US if you are familiar with those.

I recently got a take-out sushi dinner for 10 euros one night.

Galeria Kaufhof might have the same thing.

I agree with the others - ATM is the way to go. Your sister is flat out wrong, unless she has a home bank that charges $5 per transaction and she takes out small amounts each time. But she's still wrong.

nytraveler

You cannot share whole meals with your friend for 2 reasons:

1) it won;t be enough food - portions in europe are generally much smaller than in the US
2) they won;t let you - you can't just sit down and order one dinner for two people

You can share a dessert if you want - or an appetizer - but in a sit down restaurant at meal time you have to order at least a main course for yourself.

You can have light meals that are less expensive at pizzerias, tavola caldas, cafes, brasseries etc. Just check the menus outside to see prices. Avoid places with menus in 8 languages or pictures of the food - they will be expensive and usually poor food as well.

And you can order sandwiches at sandwich shops or buy food in bakeries or similar to eat on a park bench - but 3 weeks from now could be very chilly for eating outdoors.

lavandula

No-one has suggested what I think is the ultimate in thrift - bring a jar of peanut butter and a knife and make yourself bread rolls for dinner. (peanut butter is hard to find in other countries, you can't get it everywhere there, although you can get all sorts of meats, cheeses and Nutella-like spreads, equally thrifty). You will probably never look at peanut butter again afterwards, but you can do it if it's just for a short time.
Another way to save money - many restaurants have a cheaper lunch menu, especially in big cities. Make that your main meal and have your bread rolls at night. Also hostelling will bring you into contact with plenty of other people who are also on a budget. Some hostels also have a cheap cafe attached. If breakfasts are provided with accommodation, eat up big at breakfast. Some people even filch the breakfasts and save for later in a napkin but I don't like to do that myself. A book you might find useful is Let's Go Europe for information on cheap accommodation and cheap restaurants. Walk or take the bus where you'd normally take taxis.

Lavandula

scatcat

If all else fails, there's always McDonald's. I don't know if they still have the 1€ menu, probably not.

In Munich I make a lunch of the stawberries and bananas that I pick up down on the Marienplatz.

janisj

"<i>she thinks she knows everything says its cheaper to change your money here than to get it out of the Atms there</i>"

I don't know how you are going to break it to your sister - but she don't know squat

It is not only much cheaper to get cash from ATM machines as you need it, it is also MUCH safer since you won't be carrying your entire bankroll w/ you.

Mainhattengirl

Germany is your cheapest country by far. Eat your main meals at lunchtime when restaurants will have lunch specials. Never eat meals that are very near major tourist attractions. The grocery stores in dept. stores are twice as expensive as grocery stores anyplace else. Buy groceries for picnics, etc. in Germany at Aldis, Lidl or Penny. There is no need to take peanut butter with you for goodness sakes. Consider ethnic foods for dining cheap in any of the countries you are in. Asian, Middle Eastern, African and Indian dining are all available for low prices, though German restaurants are pretty cheap too. Menus are on the outside by the door, so check first. We rarely spend more than 10 euro per meal in the evening, probably only 5 at lunch.

Most European cities are very walkable, so consider doing a walking or bike tour, you will get 10 times more out of the city than by riding around on a ho-ho bus. Plus they usually only cost between 10-15 euro, as you should get a student discount. Take the tour your first day in a city and you will get an excellent orientation and find out the best places to eat and go.

Do wear a money belt or neck pouch to keep your money, cc and passport safe.

Do give 1-2 euro for a tip. (I usually give 10%, but it doesn't have to be that high and if service was bad, I don't leave anything at all) Service charges listed on the bill are not a tip. The server does NOT get this money. This has been discussed on Fodors a number of times.

logos999

Food you buy in those supermakrets in the basements of department stores will cost at least 50% more than in an ordinary supermarket. There is only ONE supermarket with good prices very close to Munich central station. This is the Edeka at Elisenhof. Locate the MCDonalds in the mezzanine. From there, you can see the entrance to the Elisenhof shopping center, 30m left of the Karstadt(Hertie) department store entrance.

quokka

Two hints for Germany that have not been mentioned so far (or did I overlook them? Never mind...)

Most Bakeries sell a wide choice of sandwiches made from big and small rolls with many varieties of toppings/fillings, usually decorated with some greens and such - healthier than the average fast food, and a big roll can well be a full meal. Bakeries within train stations tend to be more expensive than bakeries out in town.

Butcheries often sell a warm dish, for example a rich soup, to take away around lunchtime for a cheap price.

scatcat

logos How have I missed that grocery for so many years? Is the entrance on the lower level of the train station? I know where McDonald's and Karstadt are, but I have never noticed the grocery. So I need to walk to the left past Karsdadt main underground entrance? I think I usually go through at bakery.