That’s a collossal budget. I haven’t travelled much in Western Europe, but being British and having gone to Scandinavia (most expensive countries in Europe), I know what high prices are like! Nonetheless, you should need more than $40 a day for food and drink combined on average even if you are eating out twice a day and going out for the night three times a week on average. Also, hostels should cost about $30 max in the more expensive countries but most places you should be able to find a place for under $20.

much better to budget too much money than not enough….IMHO

Just because he prepares to spend “x” dollars, doesnt mean he has to.

My advice would be to actually do the trip in reverse. As you have it laid out, you will be in the northern countries in late Spring, and then in Italy and Spain in late July and August. Don’t know if you’ve been there, but I can speak from experience that Italy is OPRESSIVELY hot during that time of year. Air Conditioning is also a rarity and is almost certainly not available in any hostel you would stay at. You can count on sweating all day and all night, which gets pretty annoying pretty fast.

Last time I backpacked in europe was about 6 years ago, but did it for less than $100/day. How much you spend will depend on how you travel. If you’re traveling with a friend you can split the cost of hotel rooms. I got tired of hanging out at hostels all the time and quickly switched to private B&B’s which you can easliy find through the Vistor Info kiosks in every city and town. I also brought a tent and light sleeping bag and camped (sometimes free in a farmers field or $10 or so…many large city’s have cheap and clean muncipal campgrounds near the centre of the city). Easiest way to save money is to eat your main meal at lunch (prices are chaper than dinner menu). Also, instead of eating in cafes all the time go to the deli or grocery stores and buy your own food and booze for a picnic. If you do eat in cafs sit at the bar rather than at a table – it costs less.

Greek ferry prices are cheaper if you just sit on the deck as opposed to reserving a seat inside. Who wants to sit inside the cabin when you can enjoy the sun and sea on deck.

If you don’t have one, get a credit card. Use it only for emergencies (if you run out of money at the end). You’re itinerary looks great. Enjoy

P.S. A lot of people here think Milan is a dud. Unless you have a compelling reason to go there I would opt for one of the beautiful and nearby lakeside towns of Como or Bellagio

Yeah this is some good advice that I followed too. I usually had something light for breakfast, and my largest meal of the day was at lunch. Getting food and drinks at the grocery store to have picnics was way less expensive, and also a great way to meet new people.

Great advice everyone! After thinking about it, I’ve decided that Heiminator is right. I’m gonna flip the trip and start south.

Any thoughts on dumping Toulouse, Ljubljana, Zagreb and Milan in favor of additional time in some of the other cities? 110 days is a lot, but I feel like cutting down to 23 stops instead of 27 might ease things up in terms of travel time and getting accustomed to places.

Waow, I wish i had such a budget. my budget this year is about 8000$ for 4 months.
i guess I’ll be dirt poor.
Also, I don’t know if you’ve visited the rest of ireland, but it’s way more interesting than Dublin is. I’m thinking of Killarney, a beautiful town to do biking around and to just be in awe about the nature. but it seems you’re interested in capitals and big cities…

ALSO,
I suggest predrinking. alchol is dirt cheap in a lot of those places, when bought in grocery stores.
and what’s up with not going to florence between venice and rome?
I also suggest way more days in rome than in venice or florence and way more days in florence than in venice.

Hey Nev,

Thanks for the response! I’ve stuck to bigger cities in my general planning, but would like to branch out and do some day trips or short stays in some smaller towns once I’ve talked to the locals and have gotten their advice.

I figured that if I go Venice-Rome-Athens-Florence, then I won’t have to fly back and forth to the same town in Europe. I could go Venice-Florence-Rome-Athens-Rome, but I’m not sure that would make much sense. The way I’ve restructured (dropping the towns), I’ve got 7 days in Rome, 4 days in Florence, and 3 days in Venice. Does that sound like a good balance?

Thanks!

Aaron

I would not dump Ljubljana and Toulouse. Milan i’ve heard is dump worthy unless you’re into expensive shopping. I do not know much about Zagreb. Ljubljana is beautiful and there is supposedly lots to do, Toulouse is also very nice although I would not spend more than 2 days there.

I would dump Toulouse and Milan…I’ve een to both and wasn’t impressed. I think it’s okay to leave a few days unscheduled so that you can add places recommended by local people or other backpackers you meet or to stay longer in places that you like. If you schedule every single day your trip will start to feel like work instdead of travel

I don’t know about finnegan, but I get ungodly seasick, so there is no way I would want to be out on the deck of a ferry. I would much rather be inside somewhere passed out on dramamine. But then, I would also be trying to find anyway I could to get around being on a ferry in the first place haha. After being “on a boat” this summer for a whole day (in each direction), I’m not ready to repeat that terrible experience anytime soon.
Just a note to everyone: about 95% of people get seasick, so it’s good to be prepared with some bonine or dramamine. (I get motion sick on everything, so I always have some with me)

I also agree with Heiminator that you probably do not want to be in Italy and Spain in July/August… speaking as someone who comes from a similarly hot climate, 90F weather is not something you want to have to walk around all day in, especially if you can’t come back to the hotel/hostel and have air conditioning to cool off with (which I understand is rare in Italy). I know there are some hostels in Rome with a/c but I don’t think it’s common elsewhere, despite the heat.
I might add that France and the Netherlands have wonderfully pleasant temperatures during that time of year (I have been to those places in July).

Some other things: don’t know if you were planning to get a britrail pass for england, but if you have a valid eurail pass (and are a youth) you can get a discount on it. A 4 day flexipass is only like $159 this way, rather than normal $249.
Also, if you buy Eurostar in advance, youth tickets are only $65.

I’m like you Kayling , I get motion sick on Merry go rounds…I used to drop a dramamine before ferry trips, but recently I discovered an old mariners trick of eating a piece or two candied ginger prior to my trip…prevents seasicknesses/airsickness without the drowsiness caused by dramamine.

Actually, if you buy in advance, youth tickets on eurostar are far less than $65. I’m living in Paris right now and just got back from London for a few days. I paid 27.50 GBP each way, which turned out to be $45 after the exchange rate. Almost as cheap as a flight without the hassle of getting out to the airport, arriving 2 hours early, etc. You just have to travel at times no one else does. i.e. 6:45 Thursday and 20:05 Saturday.

I would definitely drop Toulouse. Spend less days in Italy and try to see some of Switzerland, in my opinion Switzerland is the most beautiful country I´ve ever been to. Or swing into Croatia, can´t go wrong with either. But for sure if you want to see some beautiful scenery, great people, and some of the most beautiful cities ever go to Switzerland. I have yet to see a city more beautiful, (or cleaner) than Zurich.