Europe Budget?

Wow, in my opinion that is way too low. London, Paris and Rome are expensive. Yes you could do it if you do a lot of walking, , all free exhibits and eating at deli's etc. You say transit is included but that is probably just between cities. Have you considered cost of transit in these cities to whatever you want to see. See what others say but my lowest guess would be $100 a day and am not sure what that is in Euro now. Good luck.

Wow. I guess I should say I'm glad I don't have any desire to go to those overpriced, "popular" venues, like London, Paris, and Rome. They sure drive cost up. In four trip (52 days) to Germany, even with 20% in cities like Munich, I've averaged about €40/day (< $60) for food, all transportation (long distance, not just local), entries and misc.

"can't spend less than $50 a day, " Well, at the time I went there it was less than $50 a day, but the €/$ rate has fallen (something about a Republican president borrowing money for a war we didn't need).

Lord have mercy Lee! Are you saying there is nothing worth seeing in London, Rome, Vienna, Paris or Prague? I find that to be astounding and almost sad. Have you never wanted to stand in the Forum or the Pantheon? Never wanted to see the Tower of London, or the War Museum? Or see anything at all in these cities? I understand saving money and trying to travel cheaply, but why this peverse pride in bargain travel? It is like saying don't go to see the Grand Canyon, because camping there is expensive and you have to pay money to take a shower. Would you tell people not to visit NYC or San Francisco because they are too expensive? These capital cities are popular for a reason, they have things that people want to see. They played huge parts in history.

You need to attack the problem step-by-step. The Louvre will stiff you fifteen bucks, the British Museum is free. An all-day tube pass for London is X. A fistful of metro tickets in Paris is Y. When you have all this done, what you have left over is grub money. For me, the ascending order of places to eat is Prague, Rome, Paris, and London (by a factor of 1.5 over Paris). No guess on Vienna since it's too far back, but Austria is expensive. Of the first four cities, I can get by on twenty-five bucks a day with one sit-down meal and no street food - - but no mid-day beer or coffee, either. You can't because you have a stupid-factor since you don't know where to look and a fear-factor since you won't go to these places even if you could find them. Both will eventually go away, but not on the first trip. My average stays low because lunch and breakfast come out of a sack in the back of the car with stuff bought at the out-lying super markets - - you'll have no way to get to them since you'll only be able to use the neighborhood quick-stops. You'd better figure most of your fifty bucks will go for food. Seventy-five dollars a day might be a good total number if you're careful. Like Lee, most of my time is in the smaller places, and I my over-all actual average is much lower.

I have always considered myself a budget traveler but that term can only be defined by one's own rules. I do not stay in luxury 5 star hotels but I do not stay in hostels anymore, either. I never include cost of transportation going out of town into my daily budget, nor do I include hotel cost. I give myself 100 euros a day for food, sightseeing, small souvenir purchases. If I do not spend it all, it rolls over into the next day. So if I take a 14 night trip, I make sure I bring the equivalent to 1400 euros for myself. Just remember, $50 is the equivalent to 35 euros. 7-10 euros for lunch, 10-15 euros for dinner. 5-15 euros for museum admittance. Doesn't leave you with much does it?
I have tried to find ways to cut trip costs so I do not have to extremely limit my daily money expenditure. Like Rick states in most of his guide books, don't try to short change yourself with sights, after all it is why intend on traveling to Europe. I go in November so my airfare is cheaper. My hotels/BB/guest house rates are significantly cheaper. I no longer by rail passes as they never seem to be the more economical way of travel (well unless you are doing the best of Europe type of travel, like you are doing, but I would still try to compare costs). I make sure breakfast is included in my hotel stay. All lunch has to be is a nice cheese sandwich. I may treat myself to a nice dinner but once again, never to a 4-5 star restaurant. Hope this helps to put some things in perspective.

Let's say this is your first visit to Paris. How would you want to spend a typical day? You have 35 Euros ($50 USD at current exchange). Breakfast is not included with your hostel/hotel. You stop at a bakery and get a pain au chocolat and coffee (3 Euro). You start the day at the Musee d'Orsay (8 Euro). After the museum, you want lunch & get a Falafel (4 Euro) and a bottle of Coke (2 Euro). You head to Arc de Triomphe (9 Euro) and then rent a bike for a few hours to see the city on your own (2 Euro). You decide to get some ice cream at Berthillon (3 Euro) for an afternoon snack. You go to Notre Dame Cathedral which is free and skip paying the admission to climb to the upper level. You find a bistro for dinner where the Plat du Jour is 12 Euro but you skip getting an appetizer, dessert and you drink tap water (the Prix Fix with the extra 2 courses would run you 18-20 Euro). After dinner you and a friend split the cost of a bottle of wine (14 Euro per bottle) at an outdoor table and people watch. You'd like to go up into the Eiffel Tower at night, but you're too tired to get the cheaper ticket and walk up all those stairs and the elevator to the 2nd floor will cost you 8 Euro and to the very top is 13 Euro. You watch the light show from the ground where it is free. With the exception of the cheap bike rental, you have walked everywhere to avoid paying for the bus or Metro fare. You didn't get the 2 Day Paris Museum Pass because it was 35 Euro which is an entire days spending money for you. In total, you have spent about 50 Euro ($71) for 1 day in Paris. I typically figure at least $100-$125 USD per day, but everyone's comfort level is different. I go to enjoy myself, the food, and not be stressed over every single expenditure

@Lee: Out of curiousity, a couple of Germans are planning a trip to Denver this winter and tell you their daily budget is $60 per person per day (not including their lodging). The Motel 6 they booked at doesn't include breakfast. They need 3 meals a day plus a snack, but don't want to spend every meal ordering off the Dollar Menu at McDonald's or Taco Bell. They want to spend a day downhill skiing. They don't want to ski back country ungroomed terrain for fear of avalanches. They want to ski the nearest place to Denver with groomed trails and (preferably) a lift not operated by a bunch of sled dogs running at top speed to get them up to the top of the mountain. They did bring their own skis so equipment rental is not an issue. After they are done skiing, they would like to get back to Denver and go out after dinner and drink at least 2 beers each. What would you tell them about their budget?

I just returned from an 18 day trip- London, Dublin, and Paris. Myself and my 13 year old daughter. We stayed with my high school friend, which meant no hotel cost in London. He and his partner barely let us spend any money, they picked up the tab for almost everything. I had to sneak to pay anything. We stayed with him for 11 of the 18 days. We were a week in Paris, and 2 days in Dublin. I bled money in Paris, and we did alot of shopping in all places. Not expensive stuff, mostly souviners and clothing. Including my musuem pass for Paris and the train/ferry to Dublin, I spent about 5K for food, transportation and shopping. We didnt cheap out, but we weren't careless either. I would have to say that food was the most expensive part of the trip. Breakfast, snacks, lunch, coffees and dinners in Paris were about 100 euro a day in Paris, and that is conservative. We could have saved by grocery shopping, but I figured, when is the next time I will be in Paris? Soon I hope, but probably a couple of years. Keep in mind, we were lucky to have people with us who knew where to go and what places to avoid, so we didn't even go to the touristy expensive places. I don't think 50US a day is enough by a long shot.

Kathellen. Eighteen days with eleven free nights for five grand? That included the California-Europe-California tickets, right?

Catherine, In these five cities you won't be paying for accomodations because you have friends or family putting you and your companion up? If so, that's great. London and Paris are most likely the most expensive in accomodations, even the hostels cost. Vienna can be very expensive depending on the season and the establishment, whether it's offerring promo rates or not. But if cost cutting is the absolute main concern here, limit the accomodations to university dorms, eg., in Prague, London, Paris. or dorm rooms in hostels. Take the night train between Rome and Paris or any other route without paying extra for a couchette or sleeper when a gerneral seating area is available. I take the night train for both reasons, saving on time and not paying for accomodations, if you don't mind sleeping upright. I have done the hostel accomodations, still do it, but more sparingly. As far as meals, you can get good, cheap meals at the university cafeterias, (esp. in Vienna), hostels (the HI ones), and at certain train stations...Wien Westbahnhof, Victoria Station, and in Paris...the train station brasserie, known for good, inexpensive French food.

I plan on only bringing $50 a day for when I go to Europe next year. But that is only for food, spending money and any entrance fees to things I want to see in the city where I am. That doesn't include the money I will be setting aside for day trips, transportation between cities and hostels. So I think $50 a day should be enough. JMO.

Catherine, and Kim who just posted-
I've lived in Europe and traveled around for 8 years now, and I really really really think $50/day is not enough! Yes, you can eat cheap meals, but you'll always be watching the money, and sometimes you want a "real" sit down semi nice meal! Trust me, sandwiches and pizza get old fast! I would do my best to get to $100/day and if you dont' spend it that's great!

Ed- No, I paid for the plane tickets and hotel in Paris and Dublin ahead of time. 5,000 US is what, about 3500 Euro? Spread that out over 18 days is about 190 Euro a day. Some days we spent more, some less. We bought alot of nice souvineurs for people back home, some nice perfume, etc...

Well, I'm 49 years old and my "hiking through Europe and staying in hostels" days are long gone! When I'm on a vacation, I don't want to work hard at ANYTHING, and that includes a budget. I'd rather scrimp and save beforehand than worry about a few euros one way or another on the trip. If you can at all afford it, I recommend at least $125 a day. This gives you the luxury of buying that beautiful book at the museum, or having a glass of wine at an outdoor cafe one afternoonm - or splurging on a fabulous scarf you run across at an outdoor market. Those are momentos and memories that you will cherish for years to come. If you're truly on a shoestring budget (and $50 a day certainly qualifies for shoestring), then you may want to forego the more touristy areas and instead opt to soak in the plentiful local ambience off the beaten track, wandering thru little villages and rambling around on crumbling castle walls. Come to think of it - that sounds wonderful...

While trying to stay on task answering your question, you would be more comfortable budgeting $100/day. Unless you are really traveling low, $50 is not enough. Absolutely min maybe $75. Europe is expensive and the dollar is weak. As for the Germans, $60 is not enough even with the motel 6. They also should plan at least a $100/day for them.