Sounds like a great if ambitious trip. Nice choices. I hope you are saving lots of money.
Greece is pretty far away, but you have a fair bit of time. Santorini is breathtakingly beautiful.
I don’t think I’d go to Ireland if I were only going to see Dublin. If you were able to get a cheap Ryanair flight, you could perhaps organize a more worthwhile visit.
Do go to Barcelona.

I second the Dublin comment. I was just there… it’s pretty cool for what it is, but I really wish we could’ve actually seen IRELAND, and not just the biggest city. It’s kinda like going to NY or LA and saying “well, I’ve seen America now!”

Also, I’d recommend trying to spend some time apart too, especially if none of you have traveled before. You all may think you want to see the same things, but inevitably there will be differing opinions, especially as the trip wears on. You don’t necessarily have to be in different cities (esp considering you haven’t done this before), but you also may not want to be together, if you know what I mean

I just got back from a trip with my friend to Europe (my 3rd, his 1st), and it’s like, there were a few places where I was really hoping to share the experience of being there with him, but we ended up having somewhat different agendas and it kinda felt like we mutually were dragging eachother down. Case in point, we were in Berlin and whereas I love walking around places and going to museums and stuff to get a feel for a city, he apparently is more interested in the party aspects (which I happen to find completely asinine… but I guess that’s just me… haha). So when I was awake at 7 ready to do things, he had basically just got back and wanted to sleep all day.

So anyway, I’d sit down with your friends, and have them each come up with a list of stuff they really want to do, and do their own research so everyone ends up getting out of the trip what THEY want, ya know?

Not trying to scare you or anything Just kinda telling you stuff I just recently discovered Traveling with someone else can be a largely enjoyable experience, you just have to keep in mind that you’re with another (or more) persons who each have free will, etc

sjmanley,

You have a lot of time to plan, and the countries you plan to visit have been discussed to exhaustion. As I always advise people with very ambitious plans and a lot of time to plan: browse books at your local library and/or bookstore. Books on Europe, books on countrries, regions, cities you’d like to visit. Browse the internet. Use the search function here at Eurotrip. See what suggested itineraries and destinations have been brought up in past threads for the contries you’re interested in. Have fun palnning and dreaming about this trip.

Thankyou for the replies, they have been helpful We have definitely been looking at a couple travel guides and been reading up, and I’m thinking a seperate trip for the Ireland, Scotland portion is looking like our best option.

I agree in the planning our own trips, generally we’d like to stay together but we’ve definitely talked about taking seperate day trips. Generally our interests are seeing museums and historical sites and taking some time a couple nights a week to enjoy night life

I do have another question I’d like to add on as well: what kind of budget would be recommended for a trip such as this? This is keeping in mind that we’re generally trying to go fairly cheap with accomodations, and we’re looking for deals for flights/railpasses etc. (for which I’ve found this site incredibly useful!)

I might be in the minority here, but I think that, after getting your “travel” expense out of the way (Trans-atlantic flight, Railpass etc), you can spend less than 1000 USD every month; you just need the proper mindset going into it. Just like at home, it is unbelievably cheap to make your own food as opposed to going to restaurants; buying a few beers at the market and drinking them with your buddies/others in the park, at the hostel, etc is totally cheaper than actually going off to a bar… things like that.

Aside from transport, your other big expense is going to be accommodation, but you can be thrifty here too. Obviously hostels are the way to go. But sometimes (this works easier in smaller towns but can be done in cities too) try to find people who are renting rooms in their house—this can be VERY cheap split 3 ways—…you could also just try smaller private hotel/b&b’s and try to negotiate a lower price for a single room for the 3 of you. It might depend on who’s working that day, but it’s worth a shot. You could always try “couch surfing” too… I’ve never done it, but I’ve heard good things…. and I think it’s actually free too. And then, there are always just regular old hostels themselves, which can add up quickly, but still at an average of about 25-30 USD, it could be a lot worse.

As for food, this is where travelling in a group really pays off. My friend and I were in London for 4 days, cooking our own food and we literally spent LESS THAN 5 DOLLARS EACH per DAY on food… in arguably the most expensive city in Europe!

So yeah, there are ways to save money if you know the ropes.

Awesome input, especially since you’re fresh back from Europe…your information is deeply appreciated, Feicht. I’ve been asked on budget a few times recently, and it’s the one question I’ve struggled to answer, so much thanks for your contribution here.

I think that Feicht offers a good “minimum” budget. Money saved up and all, we can perhaps expect US$1500 per month. I’m basing this cost on Feicht’s bare minimum, and I’m “revising” it upwards based on myself: I’m not as hardcore thrifty as Feicht. For example, I’d rather pay more for beer at the bar/pub, because the bar provides the atmosphere, the music, the people, etc, so you’re not just paying for the drinks.

Cil wrote:

Feicht wrote:

. My friend and I were in London for 4 days, cooking our own food and we literally spent LESS THAN 5 DOLLARS EACH per DAY on food… in arguably the most expensive city in Europe!

What did you eat?
(Perhaps this calls for a new thread?)

To be honest I forget the exact order, but over 4 days, it was a combination of spaghetti, pizza, and seriously GODLY fajitas…no joke, probably the best I’ve ever had… and I can barely cook. Mind you, I don’t eat meat either, so I guess if you HAD to indulge or whatever, expect to pay a little more. But for the two of us splitting each meal, it was seriously nothing, money-wise. IN FACT, we saved so much goddamned money by making our own food that we had waaaaay too much money left over when we were leaving the UK! I took out the equivalent of like 100 dollars for 4+ days, and had so much left over that we went to a nice fish n’ chips restaurant on our last day, and I still had enough left over to buy a bitchin new Arsenal shirt before we took our flight to Germany

Thanks, and you’re very welcome And yeah, I guess I am pretty “thrifty” hehe, but I come from a poor family, so it’s pretty much my “nature” anyway. No joke, sometimes when I’m in Europe I can have like a hard time trying to figure out how to blow those last remaining Euros or Pounds or whatever…and it’s usually kinda a lot

Mind you too, though, I don’t go to Europe to get plastered like a lot of kids seem to, so if someone’s gonna go out every night then yeah, they’d end up blowing a lot more money that way. But no matter what, I’ve always preferred to make my own food anyway, DOUBLY so when traveling; it may not seem like it, but you’re a helluva lot more likely to meet cool people back at the hostel whilst making dinner than you are out at some snazzy restaurant ya know! I can’t even count how many people I’ve met in this fashion

LOL, yeah, I always meet people in the hostel kitchen and hostel living room too. Then I make friends and, if it’s a city I know well like Paris, I take everyone to my favorite bars.

Those are some good money-saving ideas… making our own food definitely sounds like the best way to go. Although I will agree with luv_the_beach in that at bars you do get more than just drinks! But we are definitely okay with being thrifty and saving money wherever it is humanly possible.