Europe on approx. $100 a day budget in 2008

Did that include your plane ticket?

Did that $103/day exclude the car rental and gasoline for the 3 weeks?

Usually estimates like yours include only meals, accommodations and local bus or train travel.

To help others, please define what expenses were included.

I'm glad Carl and others are trying to clarify what was meant by the original post. This is an important topic because inexperienced travelers need to be helped to see the whole picture budget-wise and not just one example of where someone has done a trip for a certain cost but which other travelers in a different situation may or not may not be able to replicate. For example, if your itinerary includes Amsterdam, London, or Venice, that will increase your per day cost for lodging. Or if you want to enjoy sit down restaurants of a certain quality every night, that will increase your cost. Some months ago Rick's staff posted here that Rick's estimate of the rock-bottom cost in 2008 is $100 per day not including any transportation cost (transportation cost meaning ground transportation within Europe as well as flying to/from Europe). Here's the link to that discussion: realistic cost budget for EuropeThe cost posted by JS appears to be consistent with what Rick's staff believes is the rock-bottom cost: $100 per day not including transporatation cost to/from Europe or within Europe or shopping or other purely discretionary expenditures.

In the 1960's Frommer's "Europe on $5 a Day" was very popular. The $5 was for food and a bed. If you start with $100 a day for food and bed, then add in other expenses such as travel within Europe, museums and nights out on-the-town, you can reach some estimate. Some of the younger travelers can travel quite cheaply because they get discounts, stay in hostels, and eat lots of bread. You really can enjoy Europe on a modest budget with careful planning and spending.

Some inquires have been posted re my statement of Europe on approx $100 a day in 2008. It included everything but airfare, internet and phone charges. So the exact per day rate in July-August for 3 weeks, 2 persons sharing lodging (no hostels), econ. manual car, gasoline, entrance fees, food was $103 per day.Hope this clarifies my post.

I found a double room without bathroom in London for 49 pounds a night. This included breakfast for two people. So that's $100 right there, with $100 left to go for the rest of the day. We decided to stay in a nicer hotel with our own bathroom and a kitchenette in a nicer neighborhood (was Paddington now Earl's Court) so now we're spending $235 a night on the room instead of $98. But it's an overall better deal for us as we can fix our own breakfast every morning.