We are on a budget

I always travel on a budget, and rarely exceed it.

But - if you want help here you gadda share!!!

Or we may as well throw darts at the wall.....

agree.

There are many questions asked on here that require a little digging for more information before a good answer can be given, budget questions are just one of them. With some OPs it's like pulling teeth to get the information you need and can be very frustrating for those wishing to give advice.

I'm not sure what your post is expected to accomplish. Do you want to know what other posters think about this? Do you just want to express your frustration with these types of questions? Are you expecting new posters to heed your plea to "help us to help you"? You can try but it may never happen.

I do think that sometimes when the question is asked, the OP is unsure of what a reasonable price range may be for a given city. 120 euro in one city may translate into very different accommodations in another city. Part of the support from this Travel Forum may be to help define that budget for them, which is fine with me if that is what is needed, and most folks here do a great job of walking the OP though that. I do agree that it would be nice if they got a good guidebook and tried to get a sense of their budget more specifically for their locations before asking here, but as already stated, that ain't going to always happen.

Nancy, I just like to open new areas of discussion, see what others may think, and, perhaps alert those seeking help to be more specific in their requests.

People with money don't use the word "budget" (smile). I think it has become diffcult for people to recognize that a written conversation on a web forum can't convey all the non-verbal clues and context that would accompany asking that same question verbally, expecially since so little is done in writing on a daily basis.

Traveling on a "budget" is a euphemism for traveling on the cheap. Given than traveling cheap is better than not traveling, or traveling beyond one's means, go for it.

I guess I'm unusual, I'm certainly no Warren Buffett but I just figure a trip is gonna cost what the trip costs. Sure you can try and budget and do spreadsheets and the like, but they are so many variable costs that you don't encounter until you're on the ground. You need to get pretty zen about it.

Airfare? Yeah you'll know that that is. Trains, car rentals? Usually fixed, but what if you decide/need to upgrade/change? Hotels? If you book in advance sure, but what if something comes up? Or the room you booked isn't fit for a mop and broom? Meals? That can be all over the place. Admission charges? Somewhat guessable but again not totally fixed.

You have to spend what it costs.

I agree that it's hard for posters (especially those not used to posting) to understand how just much information we need to be helpful. In addition to budget figures in actual currency, two other things often omitted are exact addresses of hotels and exact dates of travel. I never mind if someone omits vital information; I just ask for it politely. Most people apologize and give more details, and that's fine. We all have a learning curve when it comes to travel, and part of that is knowing exactly what questions to ask.

What I do mind is when people continue to ignore the requests for more info, but still expect help. I then stop responding in those threads.

I usually consider " we're travelling on a budget" to be code for we can't afford 4 or 5 star hotels so please be reasonable. Simple.

"Like" for Norma's post.

Agree with Norma. I always take it to mean, "Please suggest some options at the lower end of the price scale as we can't afford 300 EUR a night hotels.". Now, whether they mean youth hostel price, no frills hotel price, or moderate hotel price is not always clear, but I don't get worked up if the OP is not precise in their question. If I know some lower priced options, I state them and let the OP sort it out.

I actually am one of those posters who dislike it when they just say "budget".. on this .. and more so on another popular forum I go on.. its useless to me.

To ME a budget hotel in Paris is 80-120 euros. To a poster I made suggestions to ,, they were rather horrified.. they meant more in the 50-70 euro range.. ( they were not North American.. on this forum usually posters are.. but on other forums we get all sorts of posters.. and their currency and budgets are much much different) .. and I have a friend who thought our 180 euro a night hotel room I booked us in (and liked) was "budget"/

Give a price range.
Give it in Euros.. ( I don't assume everyones "dollars" are the same.. on this forum sure its mostly Americans and a few Canadians.. but on other forums Australians and New Zealanders also use dollars.. not same as ours though!)

I also have loved 99 percent of the budget hotels I have stayed at.. so disagree you need to spend a lot on a hotel in Europe.. I am there for Europe.. not the hotel.. clean and ac , and a good location .

When I go to Mexico/Hawaii I book an expensive resort hotel.. its the primary destination .. with a few trips off resort to sightsee.. in Europe.. the hotel is just to sleep in for me.

I actually am one of those posters who dislike it when they just say "budget".. on this .. and more so on another popular forum I go on.. its useless to me.

To ME a budget hotel in Paris is 80-120 euros. To a poster I made suggestions to ,, they were rather horrified.. they meant more in the 50-70 euro range.. ( they were not North American.. on this forum usually posters are.. but on other forums we get all sorts of posters.. and their currency and budgets are much much different) .. and I have a friend who thought our 180 euro a night hotel room I booked us in (and liked) was "budget"/

Give a price range.
Give it in Euros.. ( I don't assume everyones "dollars" are the same.. on this forum sure its mostly Americans and a few Canadians.. but on other forums Australians and New Zealanders also use dollars.. not same as ours though!)

I also have loved 99 percent of the budget hotels I have stayed at.. so disagree you need to spend a lot on a hotel in Europe.. I am there for Europe.. not the hotel.. clean and ac , and a good location .

When I go to Mexico/Hawaii I book an expensive resort hotel.. its the primary destination .. with a few trips off resort to sightsee.. in Europe.. the hotel is just to sleep in for me.

I'm with Norma on the meaning of "budget" - reasonable. And with Stan who says those with lots of money don't use the word!

That said, I generally take such questions to mean value for money. In some places I might choose to spend more because the place is really unique or beautiful. For example, the often-recommended Les Cordeliers in Sarlat is certainly not the cheapest in the town, but it is worth the money. In Liverpool, there is a dearth of "charm" accommodations, so I generally pick the cheapest chain hotel and have gotten for as low as £29 per night.

I also find that posters who really are traveling with a strict low budget make it very clear on their posts (a few students come to mind).

I stopped replying to requests for "budget hotels" or similar questions that don't mention some price range. I can give tips if someone asks "I want to stay in Amsterdam spending less than € 150/night per couple", but if someone just says "budget" or "cheap", it becomes very frustrating to second-guess what the person actually means.

I define "budget" as a 1 or 2 star hotel or a Pension, where the rate for a single or a double in Germany would range from 40 to 80 Euro. It also depends how much luxury, ie the comfort amenities one is willing to dispense with, ie, A/C, 24 hr front desk service, WiFi connection, English language channels on the TV, elevator, (that is one thing you won't find in B&B in London), all rooms are en suite, etc to stay on a budget. Now, Paris is a more expensive, the definition for budget, a 2 star, is different, say 80-100 Euro for a single, en suite.