Traveling Solo... how much money to allow per day?

We usually plan 100 euros a day for the two of us. Sometimes it's more, sometimes less. It depends on where we eat and what snacks we buy.

Donna

That's like asking, How much does a car cost?

Use your previous travel experience to come up with a range for you. My rule of thumb is, spend what you have to/want to each day (within reason of course) and don't worry about it. It's a vacation. Scrimp when you get home.

Donna - Thanks for your estimate. That is what I had in mind, but it is nice to see that I wasn't out of the ballpark. Your "non-snarky" response was most helpful. Thanks!

Luv, I'll reinforce Donna's figure. $50.00 per day on average is fairly easy. You can do it for less, but you'll be able to enjoy some nice meals with this figure, particularly if some breakfasts are included with your hotel. Wray

Third vote for ~$50/day unless you are eating in fancy restaurants. On a couple of Rick Steves tours thru Italy I wound up averaging between $28-$38/day which covered lunches, some dinners, extra admissions for things not covered on the tour, souvenirs. I do mentally have a separate scarf budget for Florence because, really, I can't rein myself in at the San Lorenzo Market!

Now mind you, I would have more money than that available in case of some kind of emergency, but I mentally plan for $50/day. It's also what Rick recommends for his tour members.

Amy,

How much to spend for food is somewhat subjective, as everyone has different dining habits. However for an approximation, I found on my (solo) trip in September that I was spending Cdn$60 per day on the continent, which included France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. All of the hotels I used provided breakfast, so my food costs were only for lunch and supper.

Breakfast (continental) is probably included in your hotel. If not, if you can survive with an Italian breakfast (1 cappuccino+1 brioche or pastry), that will cost you a couple of Euro if you eat it standing up at the counter. (In touristy areas they charge you more if you sit at a table).
A meal consisting of 1st course (pasta), 2nd course (meat or fish) and side dish (e.g. salad), with a 1/4 Lt of wine, 1Lt sparkling water, dessert, will be around €25 to €30 on average. If you decide to have lunch on the go (like sandwich at a deli or lunch at an eatery like inside the Florence's San Lorenzo market, you can get off with much less.
Ground transportation won't cost you more than €5 to 10 day (buy a tourist card for Venice's vaporetti, which are pricey).
€50 per day sounds reasonable to me, if you have already paid for hotels and attractions.

I'm more in line with Phred. I travel solo and I have a rough idea of how much I spend on average, but I don't force myself to spend no more per day that that average. Sometimes I end up spending less during my trip, sometimes more. Usually, the money's in the bank and I use an ATM card to take out as much as I need every few days. If I spend a lot on souvenirs and gifts, I use a credit card or make another withdrawal.

Daily expenses vary. Are you going to take taxis? Are you going to eat in upscale restaurants? Do your hotels include a big buffet breakfast? Do you snack for lunch or want sit-down meals?

If your hotel includes breakfast, you just need cash for lunch and dinner, snacks, transportation, and museums or sights that you don't already have tickets for. I spend anywhere from €25-50 per day. I buy the vaporetto pass in Venezia because single rides are €7.50, and if I tire of walking, I hop on for a little cruise. Don't forget to tap or scan your pass each time you use it.

I think $50 a day is do-able. My wife and I just returned from Tuscany. A big Tuscan breakfast was provided by the agriturismo every morning. We would then either skip lunch or have a snack. In Siena we had a slice of pizza each for lunch and shared a beer (which cost less than a soft drink). It was less then 10 Euro. For dinner, we would have an appetizer like bruschetta and either a bowl of soup or pasta. With a glass of house wine each, dinner ran ~50 Euro.

We didn't buy many souvenirs. It just seemed strange to buy Italian kitsch made in China.

You're going to three expensive cities. Stay off the main touristy drags and look for backstreet restaurants haunted by locals. You might want to scrimp some days and treat yourself to a nice meal in one of the cities.

Have a great time!

Thank you to all of you for your helpful replies. This helps me so much with the final preparations for my trip. Definitely planning on allowing for extra expenses, but having a rough figure as a baseline is great! Thanks!