So long as you are not paying your girlfriend’s way it will be DOABLE.  Notice I said doable, not pleasant and possibly not even enjoyable.  On that budget it will be hard for you to go out at all at night or to pay admission fees to any museums (St. Peter’s, etc.).  However, Europe is fairly well enjoyed strolling the streets and watching people.  Your transportation costs might be a bit higher than you’ve estimated in my experience, but the experts might know better.

Your itinerary looks good to me.  4 days total is adequate for Amsterdam and Brussels in my book.  You could visit another place or in Germany or hit somewhere else in Austria with your extra days.

I would estimate your travel costs within Europe for flights, train, ferries and buses at $600.  You might spend less than that since you’re not trying to rush to every major city in Europe, but logistics sometimes make things more expensive.  For example, many trains in Italy require fairly expensive reservations.  You can avoid reservations by taking local trains that are slightly slower, but the trains at the “best” times usually require reservations.  Are you going to want to take a train in the middle of the day (thus wasting the entire day for sightseeing) to take a cheaper train?  $55 US per day is doable but you’ve picked fairly expensive places and it will be easy to spend more than that — particularly if you splurge on clubs, drink lots, or visit lots of museums and tourist attractions with hefty admission fees.   

well, for my wallet’s sake, I don’t drink so I won’t be having a major budget killer on that front. Also, I don’t plan on going to clubs too often…basically my nightlife won’t be too too exciting—for me this isn’t much of a party trip.
 
In response to the “doability” of my budget, what daily allotment will allow my trip to be more enjoyable? 65$/day? 75/day?

This is the most sensible itinerary I’ve seen on here in a very long time

Thank you, jk. Practicality is essential. Anybody with a suggestion for a comfortable daily budget??

The general rule is, I believe, between $60-$70 a day.

i needed 75 euro a day to be comfortabel. that was back in 2004. i ate out, went to lots of museums and sights, and limited myself to the cheapest hostel bunks …up to 26 a room in Barcelona. Start saving as much cash as you can.
If you’re going to Italy do yourself a favour and go to Cinque Terre for 3 nights minimum.

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely be pinching pennies from now until I leave…It’s not that I’ll have a problem with “roughing it” while I’m across the pond, but it’s important for me to enjoy my time there. Because after it’s all said and done, I’d rather cough up and extra 500$ to really enjoy my first European trip, rather than regret it later.

Renagel- I am most definitely excited for Cinque Terra. Any particular hostel, food, etc. recommendations?

Having been there I would recommend Cinque Terre as well for a nice relaxing area to visit. You can hike the trails between the 5 towns that make up this area and there are some great views to be had as well. Manarola is the only town that has a hostel, Ostello 5 Terre (ph 0187 92 02 15, Via Riccobaldi 21) and its at the top of the (very steep uphill hike) hill. It has a daytime lockout as well. If you expect to stay there reservations would definately be in order.
I think you should save a bit more for travel expenses. I know that trains within Germany are a bit more expensive to travel on than in Italy or Czech Rep.
 
Andrew

From my experience (and others’ too) I would say being on a budget one could get arround with about 50 EUR / day (that’s about 65 USD, right?). But I don’t know how confortable you’ll be. Better take the renagel’s advice (75 Eur/day) as a starting point. If you can drop this down to 60 Eur, the better for you. For example, in Italy, a meal for two, a good one , but not in a fancy restaurant, would be about 15 – 20 EUR. IMO accommodation is the main pb here (I mean the main budget killer), I use to look for campings and take the tent with me when travelling in Italy. In cinque terre however, as we were having no reservation it was really difficult for us to find a place, even in a camping.

All best,
Radu

Sorry renegal but couldn’t disagree with you more here. I stayed on a 50euro budget in 2006 and was very comfortable – stayed in hostels, ate out in cafes and restaurants, lots of museums….etc. At that for me was comfortable. With 25euro average for a hostel bed and 10euros for food you can live just fine, but thats roughing it for me. Really this all depends on the individuals perception of what is comfortable. In Rome I am perfectly happy to go by 35euros, eat cheaply and save money for sights and museums. On the other hand in places like Siena, Naples, Sorrento, the amalfi coast I can splurge and really enjoy some nice restaurants. Even so at 50euro you can eat out every day. Also listen up for free entrance days, often on Sundays. In Rome the last sunday (or the 3rd?) there’s no charge for the Vatican, though you need to get there early. One sunday in Florence, all the state museums are free and I saw the Boboli gardens, Accademia, Pitti Palace without paying a cent.

Also get a [=“3”][=“2”]Florence Museum Card – [/][/]free entrance for a year to all of the state owned galleries in Florence. Only €25 for students under 26 years of age.

http://www.florenceforfun.org/index.php?id=31
Again disagree. You only need two nights. Arrive on your first day and get a room in Monterosso, then spend the evening there or in Vernazza. Both have some good restaurants, especially for some seafood and pesto. In Monterossa walk down past the train station and get a table right along the beach. Get up early the next day and start your hike – its best to start from this end since the Monterosso to Vernazza and Vernazza to Corniglia are the toughest hikes and best the get them over with first. The following two are practically downhill. It’ll take you most of the day to get to Riomaggiore then train back to Monterosso and go out for a good meal. You’ll want to stay the night after the days hike but it the morning you’ll be ready to move on.

I would not stay in the hostel simply because it’s the only one and is always booked. Plus as I said, I think it’s better to start and therefore stay at the other end. Besides Monterosso by far has the most accomodation options, though Vernazza has a few as well. When you get off the train in Monterosso there will be people offering rooms to rent or just go to the tourist office right there and they’ll help you out. I just grabbed a couple people I met on the train and we rented a two bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and living room for 25euro a night each. As a last case scenario you can always jump back on the train and spend the night in La Spezia (which many do) about 15-20 mins away. The trains between these towns are pretty quick and real cheap.
 


For sure, but saving money doesn’t necessarily mean unenjoyable. Hostel with a kitchen can be a great bonus if you don’t mind cooking. A plate of pasta, italian sausage, fresh bread and cheese, and a bottle of red wine is sometimes a sorely needed respite for me. And crowded hostel kitchens are sometime entertaining ways to meet people. Then explore the city by moonlight rather then in a pricey bar/restaurant. There’s no better way to spend the night in Rome then to bring some bread, cheese and wine down the the Trevi fountain with some friend and sit in front of the lighted facade. Those are some of my favorite nights from Europe and they hardly cost me a penny.

Really you just have to be aware of what you’re spending (somewhat) and be willing to live a little more simply. Take trams/metros/buses/walk instead of taxis. If you can see the Colosseum or any point of interest from the restaurant then it’s going to be pricey. If it’s situated in a simple ordinary alleyway then the food with be cheaper (and probably better as well).

Should I order plane tickets now or does anybody think prices will drop at all?

Right now, a flight from Philly to Rome and then from Amsterdam to Philly is US$740 through studentuniverse. This is the cheapest fare I can find.

Thoughts?

Considering Rome is NOT normally a cheap place to fly into, I think you’ve found a good deal.