MONEY

How long is a piece of string? That's not a sarcastic answer. Everyone will have a different budget, and this depends greatly on what you plan to do. Are you going to restaurants? If so, what level (budget or high end)? Or will you be going to supermarkets and making all your meals? Are picnics appealing or appalling? (Yes, I've read some posters on other boards who are truly horrified at Rick's love of picnics, finding it akin to slumming.) Are you buying any souvenirs, gifts, etc, whether for yourself or others? What attractions are you seeing? Are many of them free, or not? Will you be getting a museum pass? BTW, although Rick touts this for Paris, I found it an even better deal for Amsterdam - about €45 for the year, good for many museums in all of the Netherlands. Will you be going to specific events, like theater, concerts, etc? How are you getting around? Will you be using mass transit, or will you need or want cabs? I see you are near Los Angeles, so you are used to "big city prices." Do be aware that some things are more expensive in Europe (for instance, soda) and some are cheaper (like wine). And, of course, there's variables for your individual cities. For instance, while many find London expensive for food and transit, many of the museums there are free. To get a sense of some prices, look at guidebooks for the cities you are visiting (Rick Steves or others).

My stock answer to this question is 100 Euro per person per day. You can adjust a little up or down from that. That is best anyone can do without knowing how many sites a day you wish to visit, travel options, etc.

I think Frank's 100 Euro (about $135 today) is just about right per person per day. Our trip to France last June was consistent with other trips we have made in the recent past. My husband and I spent about $120 per person per day on the things I class as not airfare or lodging. Food that we have to pay for separately, i.e. not included in the lodging price, whether bought in a grocery store or eaten in a restaurant, averaged about $56 per person per day. Food is always the 2nd highest of our expenses, coming after lodging. Ground transportation included public transport of all types as well as taxis and all the expenses associated with the car we rented. It amounted to about $30 per person per day. That may be higher than for most people. Entertainment included the typical museum and other tourist attraction fees and was about $20 per person per day. This is probably lower than for many people. And the always popular "sundries" added up to about $14 per person per day. This included post cards, calls home, gifts, you get the idea. We likely don't spend as much as others in this category either. I'm guessing you plan to spend about a week in each of the cities you listed. All are very expensive, but you can probably have a very enjoyable and comfortable trip on 100 Euro per person per day.

Frank is spot on, plan on that amount per day, some less than others but it is good starting point. Some days we spent fifty pounds as going to free museums in London and then others we spent more, say going to Windsor but in the end it all evened out.

If asked for a general answer, I'd probably go with Frank's 100 euro per day too. The problem with a stock answer is it may give you a false sense of security that you can go hog wild on 100 euros perday which isn't the case. Most days we probably come in under 100 euros a day per person, by getting our food at the grocery store, doing very little gift shopping, and budgeting our entrances and transportation. It's easy to exceed 100 euro with any splurge (restaurants, tours, multiple-entrance fees, taxi rides, souvenir purchases, etc.).

Just curious ... do most posters really spend 100 euros per day per person, in addition to their costs for hotels/apartments? My husband and I travel to Europe for a month each year (lately mostly Greece, Croatia, Southern Italy) and have never exceeded $6000 total (our airfare to-from Europe is always free with frequent flyer miles). I guess it really makes a difference where you're traveling!

100 euros a day should do you very well. It does though depend on your travel philsophy. For example, my family and I usually stay inner city at small hotels or B&Bs (near the things we want to see). We do a lot of picnics, carry re-fillable water bottles, eat at the street vendors with a nice meal out on occasion. Do the museum passes; take mass transit. A friend of mine stays in American hotels only (add more money for transit as those hotels are usually away from the things you want to see). She disdains picnics and only eats "American" food (Subway, KFC, McDs, the restaurants at the American hotels). Drinks a ton of soda. Does not bother checking into museum passes or freebies (she does not have the time to mess with it to save a dollar or two). Even with the same itinerary, it is obvious who will end up spending more.

Charlene, everybody is different. My goal, and that of my wife, is to be very comfortable and really enjoy ourselves when we pop over to Europe. The prices are different in each country and sometimes we go over a little but always make it up going under a little - or a lot - but we limit ourselves to no more than €100 or €100 equivelant for the hotel room - sometimes 2 star, usually 3 or 4 star - each night usually including breakfasts. Then we often spend €10 to €15 for the two of us for lunch, either sit down somewhere, often in a supermarket or Marché, or get take away sandwiches or sandwich makings and picnic; then up to €25 or max €30 for dinner or take away in the room. We are usually in one place several nights so get local transit passes so maybe up to €10 for transport a day usually for both - often less, and a few Euro for admissions, maybe up to €20 for the two usually much less. So, depending, in addition to the €100 for the two of us for the room, that's €70 or usually much less for the two of us beyond - around €35 each. But, and this is a big but, I usually don't pay much if anything for intercity transportation and we stay put each place several nights. If I am driving I have to add in Cross-Channel transit, tolls, fuel and vignettes. If we are on the train we have to pay supplements on fast trains. Other people will likely pay much more for transportation between cities.

We plan on the equivalent of $200 per day for two of us, excluding airfare. The two hundred bucks covers everything else, hotels, food, beer, trinkets, and snacks. We eat like Nigel does. Never have we gone ove that amount whether in western Europe, Scotland, or Bulgaria, and certainly not in Ukraine. If you want to live like royalty and break the bank its very easy to do where you are going if you are not careful. I haven't been to London or Paris, but have been to Amsterdam several times and we find a hole-in-the-wall bar to eat at. There's no dearth of them there.

I like the way Deb and her family travel. Good philosophy. Good cost-savings ideas. Good budgeting. Good travel skills. Sounds like the kinda people I would like to travel with.

Well, to be fair, eating at American fast food places is actually quite a cheap way to eat in Europe. That's one of the reasons US fast food is so popular here (and don't let anyone tell you it's not) Paris and London are expensive (Amsterdam is more reasonable from what I've been told). Paris can be done cheaply but it's tough as a first time tourist to make it work, because most of the restaurant options near major tourist sights tend to overcharge. And while you may have the best of intentions to only eat crepes standing up or whatever, the reality is when you're exhausted and your feet hurt and cold or hot or whatever, you're probably going to want to sit down somewhere without walking further to find a super cheap quality restaurant. So with that in mind, I think the 100 euro a day is a good guideline, it's possible to do it for much cheaper, but if you CAN budget 100/day you might just end up with extra money at the end to splurge on something or put towards your next trip.