Budget for 2 Months in Europe

Hi Sandra. Based on the info you mention (hostels, some nights with friends, trans. already booked) you should be fine. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the reply! Do you know if cash is best? Or to withdraw at atm's?

Hi Sandra. ATMs with a credit card as a backup. Right now, see the 'Travel Tips' link at the top of this page, then the 'money matters' section. But then, go buy one of Rick's travel books - will make your trip and planning so much easier and more fun. Enjoy your trip - I'm jealous!

With your budget and your travelling style you should be fine. Just like at home there are always things to do for not a lot of money , or even free. Just being in another country taking a walk down the street or going into the grocery store is always a big part of the adventure for me. Have a great time!

With your budget and your travelling style you should be fine. Just like at home there are always things to do for not a lot of money , or even free. Just being in another country taking a walk down the street or going into the grocery store is always a big part of the adventure for me. Have a great time!

@Sandra, You may find it helpful to have a look at THIS short video which covers obtaining cash in Europe. Check with your Bank to determine the fees charged for withdrawals in Europe. @George, I primarily use Credit Unions, which have lower fees for foreign ATM withdrawals, and as I recall the fees are less than $5 per transaction. This is one reason that taking larger amounts with each withdrawal is a good idea for those wanting to minimize fees. I tend to look at the fees as a "cost of travel" and spending $20 for fees on a $10K trip is not a huge concern for me. "Guessing how many pounds you'll need for the first few days of your trip may be tricky but you'll need more than 50 pounds." Yes, that's certainly the case. I only suggested £50 as a "ballpark figure" for travel expenses (ie: buying a meal or coffee, Taxi or Bus fare), until one gets settled at their first location and can visit an ATM. That's the method I use and it's worked well over many trips, so I stand by my earlier recommendation. I usually have money left over from previous trips, and always have at least 50 in various local currencies (sometimes more). If travellers think they might need more, take £100 / €100 instead. Your friend's idea of "unit costs" is close. If a Big Mac full value meal costs $5 here, the same thing will be about £5.00 in the U.K. (~$7.70 Cdn). Cheers!

The only caution I'd have is that you're traveling through nine countries, covering a lot of miles, and that will cost you. Check out the "Travel Tips" above under "Transportation" for discussions about train vs. auto vs. flying and how to get around economically. Your itinerary lends itself to either train or car travel, except maybe flying from Italy to Spain on one of the budget carriers. I haven't done a trip like yours in many years but I understand that the cheapest rail fares require booking way ahead of time. You may have already missed the lowest fares for May and June, plus it seems like you want to stay flexible as you travel. Renting a car might make sense for parts of your trip, but it costs a lot more to off a car in a different country. You might think about bus travel, there isn't much info about that on this board but Google could help. It would take longer and be less comfortable than train, but you might meet more people and have a good time. The cheapest way to travel in Europe (or anywhere I guess) is to pick a few places and spend more time in each of them, minimizing transportation cost. You might consider that as you refine your planning. Have fun!

Sandra, As the others have mentioned, with the travel style you're planning to use you should be fine with Cdn$10,000 (that's about 7,500€ - if you can add a bit, that will provide more of a cushion). Of course, you'll be using Pounds Sterling in the U.K. and the Zloty in Poland (1 Zl = ~32¢ Cdn). I'd suggest taking about 50£ & 50€ for travel expenses until you get settled at your first stop. After that the best method is to use ATM's for cash. I would highly recommend having two ATM cards on different accounts, in case one malfunctions (I've had that happen), and at least one credit card. Note that your travel funds must usually be in a chequing account with a four number PIN. BE SURE to tell your Banks and credit card firms that you'll be travelling in Europe, so they don't "freeze" your cards! If this is your first trip to Europe, it would be a good idea to read Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. It has a lot of good information on "how" to travel well in Europe. Use the country-specific RS Guidebooks to plan sightseeing, transportation, etc. in each location you'll be visiting (the books should be available in your local Library). In your planning, I'm assuming you've allowed for the fact that you'll lose the first day due to flight times. You'll arrive in London the day after you depart Canada. Could you clarify "train tickets and eurail already booked"? Which train tickets and "eurail" are you referring to? There are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when riding trains in Italy. If you need further details, post another note. Will you be travelling with any electrical / electronic gadgets? There are a few cautions to be aware of with those also. Happy travels!

Sandra , i have a TD bank account, its called the Service account, and it allows FREE foriegn ATM withdrawals IF you keep balance over 5,000 dollars, I would move whatever money you have around to keep balance up, you can always close it when you get home and move money back. It has no month fees and you get a free safety deposit box too, its a good account, I have had it for years, used to have a RBC account but at 5 bucks an ATM withdrawal in europe from them I finally cut them out. These fees are not a big deal for someone going on a week or two trip, but for longer trips you will be visiting the ATM quite a bit so it pays to think about it. I also had my ATM withdrawal amount raised so I could take out alot at once instead of constantly having to find ATMS. I carried bulk of cash in moneybelt while travelling or left it in hotel safes, and just carried a days cash in my purse . BTW, with your two night stays you are only getting one full day in a place , so consider if the time and expense of going somewhere for just one full day is really worth it to you.

But Ken, since most banks do charge 5 bucks a withdrawal, and limits the amount you usually would have to use the ATM far more then 4 times in a two month period, I use it minimally once a week sometimes more often, so that means those banking fees could seriously add up for a longer trip , don't you think.. I agree looking into a credit union may work too if they offer better rates then banks.

@Pat, "This is one reason that taking larger amounts with each withdrawal is a good idea for those wanting to minimize fees." Taking larger amounts was exactly what I was suggesting. I was only using the $20 service charge amount (4 withdrawals) as an example, not an "absolute". Everyone has to decide on their own tolerance for fees, but even if the cost was $50 for a $10K / 2 month trip, I wouldn't be too concerned. The reality is that: > Either one pays the fees levied by their financial institution (trying to minimize where possible) and just consider that a "cost of travel" - or - > Find a financial institution that charges lower fees. @George, Again, withdrawing larger amounts was what I was trying to convey for people that want to minimize fees (which is exactly what Rick was suggesting in the video). I don't use "item-for-item Big Mac" comparisons when I'm travelling, but again was just using that as an example of your friends "unit cost" theory. @Sandra, Don't forget to pack along Moneybelts, especially if you're going to be making larger ATM withdrawals. DON'T access them where others can see! Cheers!

hi. w/regards to $$$. you can try both methods. inquire @ your bank and see what fees they charge for out of country use. sometimes you can w/d $$ @ ATMs if they have sister banks. In the UK i found some "no fee" atms, but again, you may have to do some experimenting. also, fwiw, ive used some ATMS that were suppose to be "no fee" but they did charge me a month later after i received my statements. Also, some of my CC transactions didnt show up until 1 month later. My Credit union charges for out of country use and also for $$ exchanges. if you do some investigating and know what fees are there, you can make some decisions for the next time. have a great trip.

hi again. had issue with editing my post, so im doing another. just an fyi, on my trip last spring to europe, here is a breakdown. flights from home to there. Travel (Air & Train) 1300 USD Hotels 1800 USD
Activities 900 USD. total 4k USD. this is for 4 weeks in: Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Normandy, Paris and Amsterdam. My travel tactics went like this. Spend 2~4 days in each city and then travel for 1 day to the next city. Part of the travel day was also sightseeing. Also, note that i chose the cheap fairs and those invloved more stopovers. my trip there i had to go tru security in each stop and that added 6 hours to my trip. I found out that there are direct flights from PDX to AMS so im going that route for now and using AMS as my "hub". btw, PDX to AMS is 10 h flight. the hotels were middle of the road places. some were dorm size rooms, but hey, all i need is a clean place to plop. Activities were based on RS books and by googling whats to do and see in... I did buy any city cards where available and when i calculated if it was cheaper to do so since many of there were good for transportation. whats not on there is food. I didnt spend alot of $$ on food since my bod was still on PDT and i was too capivated in all of the places i went to. most of the food i ate was sandwiches and soups since i like those alot. i even lost 20 lbs which i call my "museum diet". In France i did chow down tho on 1 or 2 crossionts every am for breakfast. just an fyi, the only place you will find coffee to-go (lids) is like starbucks. everyone sits down for coffee. if you shop around you can get buy fairly inexpensive food wise. If you look for grocery stores, its usually cheaper, but you have to watch out for the "conveience" store that are sometime more $$ have fun and happy trails.

Well there is always McDonalds for to go drinks, yes, the coffee is a horror, but you can get the kids a drink anyways. I personally just step into a grocers or corner store, they typically will have a cooler with cold drinks somewhere in store. In France their ATMS do not charge you a fee to use them, same with UK, not sure about other places, we never paid for Spain or Italy either but haven't spent enough time in those places to say if we were just lucky there or if that is the norm like in France.

Thanks for all the helpful tips everyone! @Bob I purchased Rick's 'Through the Back Door 2013,' and it has excellent tips! Thanks for all your help. @Sylvia We will definitely be having a lot of picnics! Thanks for your input. @Dick Yeah, we realize we have to cut down on some things we would like to see. We'll be taking (and are willing to) fly so it saves us time. Thanks for your help, I'll keep on doing research! @Ken That's very reassuring to hear! We should be able to save a little more than our anticipated budget but I'm not counting on it yet. I purchased that exact book last year! It definitely has a lot of great information, just makes me want to do everything :) Yes, we have. We'll be arriving in London on the 1st of May. We have 15 travel days in 2 months for all the countries we plan on going to, except England and Poland. We purchased a separate Poland pass...it's good for 5 days in a month. As for flights, we want to fly from London to Paris and Italy to Spain. We may take a few more flights if necessary. As far as I know we will have a camera, iPhones and my bf would like to bring his reader but I don't think that's a good idea....maybe I'm wrong.
Looking forward to your reply! @Pat I was just at TD today and asked about this account! I think this is our best option. Good to hear it worked well for you. Thanks! @Ray Thanks for all the useful advice! How was Normandy?! We want to do Paris and Normandy for our France part of the excursion. We want to see Vimy Ridge and Mont Saint-Michel. I like my sandwiches and soups too :)

You may want to check with whatever bank you have if they are affiliated with any overseas....our Scotiabank is aff with Barclays in UK so there were no transaction fees (if we had the time...or luck...to find a Barclays when we needed one...I didn't know that - they told me over the phone when I called to let them know about our travels - DO THIS!), but as much as those bank fees can be galling, really, on a trip you are spending that much on, $40-50 is a drop in the bucket...and for the record, we usually take 80-100gbp and have taken about 300-400euro to start our trips. Don't know if you've looked into airbnb (some awesome rates - we stayed in Florence for $45 a night in a 15th c villa...now a bnb, with a kitchenette!) or couchsurfing (we do it, it's free, and we've met, and hosted, some awesome people)..tho some people are creeped out by staying with strangers...I just think of it as friends you haven't met yet (who will sometimes feed you and take time out of their day to show you around). Oh, we've had 3 18-23 day trips to Europe and to the best of my knowledge (using airmiles for one plane ticket, and couchsurfing) haven't spent more then $8000 (and I think I'm highballing, I'm sure it hasn't been more than 6500-7000) for 2 people...and one of those trips was 6 countries in 3 weeks - lots of moving around by train.

@ Sandra re; Paris, Normandy & Mont St Michel. I loved everywhere i went in Europe especially having 2 fresh croissants everyday along with the baguettes! fwiw, i used public transportation everywhere with the exception of the shuttle to Mont St. Michel and my guided Normandy Tour. took the train from Paris to Bayeux where i stayed. about a 2 hr. I chose Bayeux since it was somewhere between the beaches and Caen where i would spend a day too. Lots of horsey (trotters) farms in the Normandy region. I guess they love gambling. The beaches is something you have to experience and feel for yourself. Alot of history went down there and it was an honor to be able to see the area. Mont St Michel was really cool since im an Art/Architecture buff. seeing all of the things in the books in person is way different. makes you appreciate it more so. just an fyi, Mont St Michel was one of 2 places where it rained. but its okay since it was really cool to see the abby appear out of the mist.

Hi, Where will you be in Poland? Itinerary there?