Cost of 1 month trip

I'm going for a month after graduation and this is the budget i came up with.

30 dollars a night for a hostel x 30 nights= 900
(some places its a bit cheaper (spain) some places its a bit more (paris, amsterdam)

1000 for airfare

7 days in 5 countries select pass=409

2 in europe flights=110

70 each day for food,sights, and transportation=2100
(some days more, some days less)

I also budgeted about 300 for before trip costs like a bag which was 80, some quality travel clothes, sleep sack, etc...

Were also not doing the UK at all, which is making it a bit cheaper. (Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome)

So around 5,000.

Logan - depending on where you go - the costs will vary greatly. A 10$ beer in Oslo will be only 5-6$ in Munich. Hostels in the alps may be $15 vs 30$ in the city. the "Let's Go" Guides used to be written by and for college students looking to travel on the cheap... err, i mean economically! :) But Ricks books usually have a lot of budget and hostel info in them too. Since dcent meals can be had with locals for 10-20 euros (less for lunch) - you should be fine. More grocery store and deli picnicks will save a lot. Do have a nice meal at a bistro in between to indulge.

Also keep in mind if you go this summer vs next year - it seems to change each year so next year 100$ may go as far as 85$ this year!

Logan -
one more thing someone may add anyways - if you can take a buddy with you to help split the costs it can often help (even if its only for a portion of the trip). You will meet lots of new friends at the hostels anyways - some of which may be going your way for a bit! But if you can - save up a few extra 100 just incase and try for 75 - but be ready to spend more like 90-100 on some days!

I think you could eat and sleep for 50 euros per day.

Whether you could include "fun" for 50 euros per day is questionable. Admissions to museums, a beer at a pub, or glass of wine at a cafe would burn your budget.

As said before some places in Europe are more expensive than others.

Finally transportation could easily be as much as eating and sleeping, be sure to calculate that seperately.

I think $75 a day for food, lodging, and sights is definitely possible. I was just in London/Paris and averaged £15/€20/$30 night for a dorm bed in a hostel and £10/€15/$25 per day for food. That leaves you with about €15 for sights, entertainment, etc. For me, one museum a day is enough. However, some people go from sight to sight all day everyday - if that's you, you'll need to budget more.

Our hostel provided a basic cereal/toast breakfast in London, and in Paris we just got pastries or a crepe. Lunch was usually takeaway (cornish pasties, sandwiches, etc.) for around £3-5, and dinner was either a picnic or at a pub. Of course, I had to have a chocolate bar or crepe for a snack everyday too :)

If you enjoy drinking or bars/clubs, I'd throw in another $25-30 a day. Drinks add up very quickly, and covers at clubs are PRICEY.

If you'll be in London, almost all museums are free, which is nice because the sights that do charge are very expensive.

Be sure to get a copy of "Let's Go Europe". This was very valuable for finding hostels and cheap food. Rick's books are budget, but there's a big difference between "college budget" and "Rick's budget". I just did 12 days in London/Paris for $1400 TOTAL (that included $600 airfare and $100 transport to Paris). If I had $100/day, I probably would have just done more shopping! So it's definitely possible, it's just a matter of how well you can research, budget and plan. Let me know if you want any cheap accomodations/restaurant tips.

In Spain last year I stayed in a "casa rural", a less expensive option than a typical hotel. It charged 39 euro a day. There is no way that I could have managed on 50 euro a day, since food was relatively expensive. And it would not have allowed for any activities or travel while within Spain.

Logan, if you are comfortable with it, I'd look into becoming a member of Couch Surfing International before you leave - you might be able to get a few cities lined up where you can sleep for free.

$75/day is extremely tight. I did a RTW in '07 and (not including transportation costs) was able to sometimes meet that number no problem, but other days (when I was just sick of hostels, wanted to eat a real dinner in a restaurant or go to multiple museums/attractions), forget it - it was $100 or more per day.

If you have enough in your budget for airfare, you might want to skip Europe and think about travelling in countries like India, Thailand, etc. where the dollar is still strong. If you are seeking a more industrialized country, the USD is still holding up ok in Australia and New Zealand where there are some of the world's cleanest/best hostels (and it's off-season as our spring/summer is their fall/winter).

The thing is, unless you're really good at budgeting, you may end up running out of money at the end of the trip. I went for a month and ended up spending more money than I had intended (luckily I had a "oh crap I spent to much" contingency account). Even so, if you're going to take the effort, time and money to go all the way to Europe, do you really want to have to decide if you want to miss seeing an awesome museum or climb the Eiffel tower because it's your lunch money for the day? Not only that, depending on whether or not you're traveling with others, safety can be a concern. As a female traveling by myself for part of my trip, I opted for the slightly more expensive hotel for my own piece of mind and safety.

If you want to cut costs, I'd suggest:
1. stay at hostels with good neighborhoods
2. shop at grocery stores
3. do laundry in your room (if you have access to a bathroom - some hostels may not allow you to do this with shared bathrooms)
4. check for "free" exhibits, etc

Good luck!

I think it's hard to give you a correct number for your daily expences. It depends of many factors: where you go, how you are going to travel, what you eat.
When I travel, especially alone, I have the tendancy to eat less, and visit more.Hoever I don't like to go in a bar by myself, so I save money this way.However I don't eat junk food, but I p=usually stop at a supermarket and buy something to mae a quick meal.This will save you a lot of money.The entrance to museums might add up. But you can get a pass in many of the big European cities.
Also get subway pass.Very afortable. I know in paris they have 3 day pass, 1 week and so on. In Rome I got a unlimited day pass for 4 EUR.
Then if you are going to travel by train many times, it might srink your daily budget.In Rome I stayed in a hostel for $26/day. Very clean place, but there were cheaper choices, such as campings, but they were far away from the city centre.
With a good planning I think you can make it on $75 /day.

I think $75 is reasonable if you are seriously budget minded. I spent 28 days through Europe and Morocco and not counting airfare I spent $3,000 (this incl. ground transportation). Without my shopping & going to "Dirty Dancing" in London I could easily trim $600-$700 from that. I slept mostly in hostels except in Prague, Rothenburg, & Marrakech. If I would have been in a hostel in Prague I could easily shave another $200 off my spending. So thinking very budget-minded I could have been around $2,000 for those 28 days or $71/day.

I did go out to some nicer restaurants a few times. Mostly I just went to the grocery stores, cafeteria style places, or street vendors. Going to the grocery stores is a great place to get a cheap meal and you can see all the different things that the locals eat. Also book hostels that provide something for breakfast. The Meininger hostels (sp?) are slightly more pricey but are very nice and clean IMO and offer a nice breakfast spread including meats & cheeses

Also if you are a student search studentuniverse.com for deals on airfare. I paid around $600 for a flight in the fall to London and back from Prague. They also have daily "Go Deals" which you can click on in the upper right-hand corner of the website. Their website allows open-jaw flights which is very helpful.

Last August I went to Germany and France with a careful itinerary I spent $95 ea for 2 persons sharing a car and lodging and no hostels. Yes now I would need to add another 10% to that. It can be done but no shopping except groceries and use your student id for museum entries. It takes hard planning and discipline. No bars or unnecessary splurges. Skip expensive countries like Italy & UK entirely. Group your countries to save on transportation costs.