Budget For 3 Month Euro Trip

[Raptorsin7]

Hey, I'm planning on travelling to Europe from September to around December and i'm trying to get a sense of a budget. I'm planning on going to Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Lithuania/Latvia/Estona, Greece, Serbia, Italy, Spain, and France.

Is this too many countries for a 3 month trip? I can go for 3 months with no visa, but maybe I should apply for a travel visa to stay longer?

What's a realistic budget to plan for? I'm planning on doing a bit of partying/clubbing, but I'm mostly just looking to wander and explore the cities and the people. 

I'm hoping to get a single room too, I don't want to stay in dorm style hostels, but I think i'd be happy if I could get a single room that's reasonably clean in a hostel.

Anything I haven't thought of or other insights and thoughts would be appreciated.

[Nilsi]

If you want to do this the commerical way, you will pay at least 2k for transportation and 2-5k for rooms. You can cut this significantly, if you are comfortable with hitchhiking, carsharing, couch surfing etc. I don't know why you would want to travel through Europe during that time of the year though. The weather will be awful and there won't be nearly as much action, as during the summer. Also, three months in Europe will probably bore you to death, if you're travelling alone (especially during that time of the year).

Don't let me discourage you, I just don't want you to be disappointed.

[Raptorsin7]

@Nilsi I'm pretty flexible with my schedule. I think I'll likely end up going in October/November and I will stay until March/May.

I thought you could only stay 90 days originally, but theres a workaround if I travel to non schengen countries so my trip will be longer.

As far as the weather, during the winter months I will stick to warmer countries like Italy, Greece, Spain etc and as the weather gets better I'll move to areas with better weather.

I essentially have a blank cheque and want to go asap so thats why I'd rather go now than later. I'm also looking forward to spending a lot of time in silent contemplation and wandering, so I'm not worried about it being busy for tourists or not 

[Tyler Robinson]

What's the purpose of this? What are you hoping? 

[Raptorsin7]

@Tyler Robinson Just to explore, wander, contemplate, get out of my comfort zone, have some new experiences. 

I also want to visit some of Napoleon's famous battle sites, and visit his grave and the graves of his marshals.

[Michael569]

13 countries in ca. 90 days gives you about 7 days on average per country which may be difficult if you want to experience that country, its culture, history, see popular sites and bigger cities. I would say at least 3 weeks per country for proper sampling is necessary but you can totally do with less. 

For example Norway-Sweden may be bunched nicely together even with Netherlands where some like Greece which is made of thousands of Islands will probably require a bit more time if you feel like sampling the Mediteranean vibe of islands like Zakynthos, Create etc. Italy also deserves at least 2-4 weeks just on its own because it is such an incredibly versatile country and the cultural and historical hub of Europe. 

Germany, France and Spain are insanely huge and very interesting all over the place so you'll have to be ruthlessly selective with the time spent. You will have to utilise a lot of train transport to see different popular sites which is going to cost a bit. Renting a car is sometimes the cheapest option

In terms of budget, this is a difficult question. Some countries are cheaper than other. Generally the more West, the more expensive. France, Germany and Scandinavia will cost you significantly more than Serbia, Hungary or Greece. Travelling between countries will be one of the bigger expenses so the longer you can stay within the same country the more efficient you will learn to become. In some hitch-hiking is more common than in others. Overnight bus services may be some of the cheapest connections rather than flying or taking fast trains. 

I would put a reserve of 80 euro per day to make sure you account for more expensive accommodation if needed, unexpected expenses, sites, vitis, local travel etc. Clubbing in big European cities can go deep into your pockets so also account for that. So that totals to about 7200-7500 Euro. Round your total reserve up to 10,000 euros for emergencies, damages and unknowns. 

From experience, I would say you are likely to spend more, rather than less if you get over-excited. 

If you sleep in youth hostels, that cost will go down, if you prefer hotels with single room, it may go up. I know you said you do not prefer hostels but honestly, if you are young, want to meet girls, party and have some proper fun, you NEED to stay in youth hostels. I've experienced those a few times and in countries where this is popular, this is one of the best ways to have a great time relatively cheap. Most of these places are pretty safe despite living with 9 other people. Young travellers don't usually steal form each other.

But overall for much better experience, I would cut it down to maybe 8-10 and spend much more time in each country. Ofcourse anything you choose will be the right thing for you

All in all, sounds like an incredibly trip and an experience of a lifetime and you should definitely follow up on this. 

Hope that helps

 

[Raptorsin7]

@Michael569 I can spend more than 90 days because I can travel to non schengen countries so i can go to more countries and spend more time there.

I will definitely think about cutting my list so I can spend more time in places I really want to be. 

I think i will spend most of my time in air bnb's because I can get a room to myself, but if i'm feeling like I really want to party then I can always check out a party hostel. I'm also excited to try clubbing by myself, i've never done it before and I think it could be fun.

And thanks, yeah i'm really excited. 

12 hours ago, Cat_eyes said:

You could try getting an Inter-rail ticket for a set price which allows you to travel around by train and hop on and hop off where you please.  Will be a lot less stressful than taking flights, since all the airports have been chaotic. 

 *for non-Eu citizens you will need a ‘eur-rail’ pass 

Yeah maybe I'll look into this. I don't think i'm going to be doing a lot of train travelling so i may be better off just paying for the train when i use it. 

When I go to a country like Spain or France, I don't plan on going to every major city, maybe just a handful in each. I'd be happy with a week in most cities, and maybe even two weeks if the city is really enjoyable.

[soos_mite_ah]

I just got back from a trip where in one week I went from London to Amsterdam, to Paris, then to Bordeaux, and then back to London again. I was studying abroad in London and I have family there so after my school program was done, I spent some time with my cousin, dropped off my excess luggage, and travelled with a backpack during that week. 

Granted I didn't budget much during this trip. I wanted to see where my regular money habits would get me so I can gage how much a trip like this costs and how to minimize costs going forward since I know what I'm working with personally now. 

I would say that transportation, including buses between the places I mentioned above and trains, as well as lodging, it came up to roughly $750.  I could have minimized this price more had I booked the trains, busses, and hostels about a couple weeks or months ahead of time. I had a handful of mix ups in my plans because of health reasons so I wasn't set on my plans until a few days before I went on this trip. 

Uber was about $250. Uber is very expensive here and costed me about $50 each time I used it and I used it mainly as a last resort. 

I spent roughly $10 per meal and had 3 meals a day. For 7 days it was around $210. 

I spent about $250 on additional experiences and miscellaneous purchases (busses within the city, subway passes, different experiences like museums and tours, pharmacy purchases, getting adapters, drinks/partying etc.). 

This totals up to $1460 for the week not including the ticket I used to initially get to the U.K. The ticket from Dallas to London round trip was $1550 but the cost was covered because I had enough airline miles on my account. Also, it's important to consider that I was in western Europe where things are more expensive. I'm sure if you go to eastern Europe to places like Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estona, Serbia it will be cheaper. I'm not sure how much cheaper as I've never been there but I would say it's better to overshoot on your budget to make room for emergencies. For example, I almost got stranded in Paris without a place to stay and for me to get a last minute train ticket to Bordeaux or have a hotel stay there would have been quite pricey. And it's important to have that type of cushion because things do go wrong when travelling as it is a part of the whole experience and learning how to be adaptable.  

Another tip, get a credit card that gets you airline miles everytime you purchase something with it. Use that card to pay for everything including your bills and pay it off in full every month. You can rack up a lot of points this way and it's how my family manages to get money for me and my mother to fly to India every other year. Tickets from Dallas to India are about $2000 each. To get two tickets for free, my family does the credit card thing for two years to rack up enough points and mile and we often also have more to spare which is enough for a smaller trip or good to have for emergency purposes. 

Edited August 18, 2022 by soos_mite_ah

[soos_mite_ah]

On 8/15/2022 at 6:39 AM, Raptorsin7 said:

Hey, I'm planning on travelling to Europe from September to around December and i'm trying to get a sense of a budget. I'm planning on going to Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Lithuania/Latvia/Estona, Greece, Serbia, Italy, Spain, and France.

Is this too many countries for a 3 month trip? I can go for 3 months with no visa, but maybe I should apply for a travel visa to stay longer?

I would also say that whether this is too much of 3 months or not depends on what you're trying to accomplish for this trip. If you are trying to get a feel for the culture, I'd say do a month or two weeks per country. If there are specific things or sights you want to see and experience, then you can jump around a little more. If you want some space to chill, do that and account for time accordingly.

Also, I'm not sure what Vancover's infrastructure is like but as someone who is from Texas and has very little experience with public transport and how slow the cars go in Europe, I underestimated how long it takes to get from one place to another. Like the distance between Paris and Bordeaux is similar to the distance between Dallas and Houston. The first takes about 7 hours while the later is about 4 hours. That's another thing that I failed to take into account and I would encourage you to think about infrastructure when planning out the timing of this trip. Thankfully I only planned to visit 3 places during this week so it wasn't too chaotic and I was able to learn this lesson in a less painful way. 

[Raptorsin7]

@Michael569 @Cat_eyes @soos_mite_ah  What do you think about a 3k Canadian per month budget?

Ideally i'd like to stay in single room airbnb's, but I'm also open to staying hostels in some places depending on how expensive the city is.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Raptorsin7

[Michael569]

19 hours ago, Raptorsin7 said:

Michael569 @Cat_eyes @soos_mite_ah  What do you think about a 3k Canadian per month budget?

Ideally i'd like to stay in single room airbnb's, but I'm also open to staying hostels in some places depending on how expensive the city is.

3000 CAD converts to 2300 EUR which is just about the estimation I gave you for 80 EUR per day. If you don't participate in unnecessary spending, eat in expensive restaurants and sleep in hotels, it is doable. Accommodation and means of transport will be your major expenses so with good planning, you can save a lot of money on both. 

I would put an emergency fund at 4000/month if you can to keep a reserve for unexpected expenses just so that you don't run out of money. 

[Raptorsin7]

On 8/20/2022 at 10:11 AM, Michael569 said:

3000 CAD converts to 2300 EUR which is just about the estimation I gave you for 80 EUR per day. If you don't participate in unnecessary spending, eat in expensive restaurants and sleep in hotels, it is doable. Accommodation and means of transport will be your major expenses so with good planning, you can save a lot of money on both. 

I would put an emergency fund at 4000/month if you can to keep a reserve for unexpected expenses just so that you don't run out of money. 

Okay cool, thanks.

The thing is if I needed more money I could get more, but I'm trying to set a budget where I will be reasonably comfortable and I won't need to ask for more money.

My mom is giving me the money so there is room for flexibility. I was thinking i'll have a budget of $3500 per month, plus I already have 10k in a savings account I can pull from.

I think I would limit my time in expensive cities like Paris, and then plan to spend 2-3 weeks in cheaper cities. 

[MarkKol]

Why are you going to Serbia

Genuinely curious

Edited August 22, 2022 by MarkKol

[Raptorsin7]

@MarkKol To visit my buddy @zeroISinfinity

[Ulax]

Shame you're not coming to the UK. But here are some things from me.

I don't have any tips other than I advice checking out travel blogs that individuals make about their travels around Europe. If you like their trips, you can copy them. Also, you can contact them, and I reckon quite a few of them would be happy to answer questions, i.e. best places to go, hidden away places.

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On another note, when doing napoleon type things, at least once, you have to stop, put some headphones on, and play the following piece of music: 

 

 

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Finally, I'd recommend you wear suitable clothing to avoid pickpockets. I.e. put essentials in zipped trouser pockets.

Hope it helps bro!

[Raptorsin7]

@Ulax Thanks bro. Yeah i'll definitely check out some travel blogs to get some inspiration and ideas about what to do while travelling.

I am undecided about heading to the UK, at this point I doubt i'll go but if I change my mind I'll let you know. 

And sweet song, I'll definitely listen to that when I check out some of the iconic places haha