Hey fellow Canadian!
I managed on 3000 for 9 weeks… i was there in July-August.. so it was more expensive. I also stuck to the more eastern countries, so i guess it all depends on where you go, and what kinda taste you have! Personally, I like to eat 2 meals a day..and i dont like living in a shack.

hope that helps.

Wow!!! 3000. How can you make it for 9 weeks. Include flght? I’m planning for a month in EU as well but not sattle yet. Maybe head to Spain, Italy and Swiss. Do you think 3000 would cover the trip including flight? Or do I have to rob more money from the bank?

Thanks,
Dodge

$4000 CAD is about 2800 Euros. For three months, that will be pretty tough. Take a look at hostel prices in the places you want to go. In some places, you will have to spend up to 25 Euros per day on a hostel, which would be almost all of your daily allotment. In the cheapest places, hostels are more like 10 Euros per day.

I heard that 50-60$ CAN per day is enough in Europe, (I hope)

quote:
I heard that 50-60$ CAN per day is enough in Europe, (I hope)

Depends on where you go and how you like to travel. I read a guy did it with 19 US dollars a day, of course he camped and hitchiked a lot. I wouldn’t do it, and I don’t like not having a little extra cash for emergencies or something, but that’s just me.

A great way to help with costs of a trip, is to use websites like www.couchsurfing.com, it’s also an excellent way to get to know people local to the areas you’re visiting.

My friend and I are leaving for Europe May 5th for 4 months. And we plan to bring $5000 canadian. we saved up $7000 for our tickets and Eurail pass, (for our ticket, eurail, and insurance it was $2200). I was estameting the cost per day to be $50 a day. That includes hostel/camping (approx $20), food ($15), and $15 for other stuff for the day. It’s really tight but if we live really cheap it could work out. thats also not considering having to pay for some showers or internet and paying supplements on some trains and farries. So we pretty much we need $6000-$7000 (not including tickets) to make sure we can last the 4 months without being to to to cheap…
Are you getting a eurail pass? our 3 month eurail pass cost $1440. If your travelling to many countires this would help a lot, unless you were planning on hitchiking. I’d say you need a least another thousand or two if your planning to visit more popular cities such as Paris and Amsterdam. Anyways if anyones done a four month trip on $5000 cnd, please inform me, I’m working two jobs to pay for this dream if it’s possible with $5000 then i can get rid of one of my jobs!!!

goood luck and have fun

Gisella

I’ll think in US dollars since I do not know an accurate exchange rate for Canadian dollars, and the euro is about 1.20 USD. To allow margin for error and the unexpected, I think of the euro as costing $1.25.

My experience in western Europe cities, excluding train fares, is about US$50 per day: A hostel in Amsterdam or Paris can cost about US$19-30 a night, though you may find one cheaper and there are some more expensive. Over time, this will average to US$25. Your next consideration is food and drink. You will make choices to be more economical than US$12 per day, but you will also have the occasional splurge to reward yourself for your self-discipline. And even if you keep splurges to a minimum, your next cost will eat into your savings: Entertainment and sundries. Museum admissions, boat rides, bicycle rentals, internet access, post cards and stamps, nightlife costs, train station storage lockers, and even toilets, all have to be factored in. Now you can do without some of those things, but I do not think you would avoid averaging over time to a minimum of about US$5 per day. All in all, I think US$42 to US$50 would be your average, if your intention is to travel "on the cheap." With regard to accommodations, you can also save big by taking the occasional night train and save on a hotel cost. For a month, I think you need to budget US$1300 to US$1500, US$325-US$375 per week.

These costs decline somewhat when you go to southern Europe.

If you proceed to eastern Europe, beyond Austria, I think many can attest to lower daily costs. I cannot recall costs very well, but to use an example, a beer in the east might cost half-a-dollar to a dollar, while in the west such a beer might cost over US$2.00. (US$4.00 in the UK where a pint glass is the standard.) You can get hostel rooms in the east for US$10-15, as hostel websites seem to suggest. I do not want to say that costs are 50% cheaper all around, but I think you can see what I mean. Maybe you can budget $200 per week in the east and feel very comfortable. Bear in mind, as I am presently discovering: The cost of getting to (flying into) the east may offset any savings once you are there.

There are occasional ways to save. Depending on your interests and personality type you just might meet new and safe friends who invite you to spend a day or two at their house and might even give you a tour of the town. I’ve found that frequently I actually paid for only a few of the beers I drink, having found myself benefiting as a friendly local buys a round. Once I was offered a ticket that was otherwise going unused on a ferry from England to Spain, a matter of being at the right place at the right time, talking with a very nice person who couldn’t use a non-refundable ticket. Things such as these are part of the unplanned-for adventures that you might find in your travels. Of course, you have to budget as though you will have to pay for everything, but maybe some serendipity will come your way.