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I'm going to Europe in April for two months with my girlfriend. We don't have an exact plan, just sort of knowing where we basically want to go. Trying not to decide much and go with our wills during the trip.

This is the main plan:

  1. Prague
  2. Berlin and maybe other places in Germany, I don't know enough yet.
  3. Amsterdam
  4. Paris (for short time, due to its expensive costs)
  5. London
  6. Dublin

And than going back to Prague and a flight home from there (we live in Israel and that's the cheapest flights we found, considering that flight in Europe aren't very expensive)

We plan to mostly sleep in dorms and hostels, eat fast food or buy groceries at the supermarket and cook it at the hostel.

We plan to spend about 6000 USD. Do you think that is realistic and possible? Or maybe we should change our planes?

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  • I think this is way too broad..
    – Geeo
    May 6, 2013 at 11:59
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    I very much doubt Paris is much more expensive than London or Dublin (which is not to say it's cheap, of course).
    – Relaxed
    Oct 29, 2013 at 22:37
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    Paris expensive? As long as you don't focus to the champs elyssee alone, you'll be surprised! Accommodation in Amsterdam for example is way more expensive.
    – user141
    Oct 30, 2013 at 5:36
  • I'm not going to "answer" because I have only been two days in Amsterdam and none in the other places. But for comparison, $3000/month is MUCH more than my income, which I can live on almost anywhere. Look for the book "How to Travel the World on $50 per day" by Matt Kepnes.
    – WGroleau
    May 24, 2016 at 21:43

3 Answers 3

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Totally do-able, but it will be tight and may be different from the lifestyle you're accustomed too. Some people live at home on $6k/week and others at $6K/year. Likewise how I travel might not be how you travel.

My best advice is to price out the necessities - transport, lodging, and visas. Then with the cash you have left, see what kind of daily budget you'll have. If it's less then reasonable, try shortening your trip.

I would always rather go somewhere for a shorter period of time and afford to do the things I really want to then to visit somewhere for a longer period of time and decrease the quality of living I'm used to at home. I wouldn't fly to Tokyo and not have sushi because it's expensive, likewise you probably don't want to go to Paris and not afford the Louvre. Remember, you're trying to experience a country when you travel, not kill time.

Some things that you can do to reduce costs would be to stay in neighborhoods that aren't prime for tourists, which will also reduce food costs. Maybe look into couch surfing if your accommodation budgets are tight?

Food can be a combination of grocery and fast food, but grocery comes with the "where the heck are you going to cook" factor. Good Luck!

BTW, Paris isn't as expensive as people think it is, most people just spend their money poorly. Try looking into staying in the 18th or 20th arrondissement, you'll have more fun, avoid the tourists, and likely save a ton of money.

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    i totally agree with what your saying, but i feel that a major part of this trip is to live a diffrent lifestyle. i may not be used to dorms(i did served at the army though ;-) ) but it will allow me to meet other backpackers and dicover new routs. so it might be 'less luxury' but i guess it will have its benefits.
    – daniel
    Feb 21, 2013 at 21:57
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    I totally agree with the last paragraph. The 20e arrondissement in Paris is really cool! And between the 18th and 20th don't forget the 19th. Interesting too!
    – Maître Peseur
    Feb 21, 2013 at 22:00
  • @Marcel. Haha, I think the 19th just gets lost in translation ;-)
    – Stephen Punwasi
    Feb 22, 2013 at 3:24
  • @daniel. Agreed! Just remember how are you spending your days? Your partner might have her heart set on museums, which are expensive in most of the places you're planning except London (which is mostly free). Not planning your days is how you waste the most money, I know people that couldn't understand menues in Paris and end up spending 80 euros at the Pizza Hut. While this seems silly now, when you're hungry in the streets of a foreign city with no plans and no research, you end up making weird decisions. Tweet me if you want to discuss, I'll refer you to a travel writer for London/Paris
    – Stephen Punwasi
    Feb 22, 2013 at 3:41
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It is completely possible. You can for example buy interrail/eurail pass train tickets. With this train pass, you can take trains for 2 months. If you do that, you can spend less than 6000 USD. For example, I spent 1 month in Europe and I travelled 5 countries, 17 cities (most touristic and expensive ones) and I only spent 1500 EUR.

The only bad thing about eurail pass is that you should pay extra reservation fee for many destinations, such as Dublin or London. For these destinations, you can prefer cheap flights, especially with Ryanair and Easyjet that offer many flights to these cities.

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It is possible, but money will be tight - but if your goal is to experience the culture, walk around and see the sights, and meet interesting people (rather than spend money on food and touristy things), you'll be fine. On a tight budget, I'd advise you to NOT purchase Eurail unless you'll be adding some local trains and small towns to your itinerary (since it can't be used on the underground in the cities and can't be used to travel to London or Dublin anyways). Instead, purchase point-by-point tickets ahead of time and then figure out the best transportation option for each city. Doing a bit of research ahead of time and finding inexpensive hostels or hotels can also save you money. Look for accommodations with a simple breakfast included, then buy light local foods (pastries, sandwiches, etc.) for lunch and dinner, saving most of your food money for one or two nicer dinners at each place. Limit yourself to one or two souvenirs per place. And limit your "tourist" costs by doing some research - for example, go see the inside of Westminster Abbey in London by going to the (free) Sunday evening service rather than paying £18 per person to tour the building; climb the stairs of the Eiffel Tower rather than paying more to take the elevator; and look up free or inexpensive options in each of your cities. Take the free options except in a few cases when you know that the "full tourist experience" will be completely worth it.

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