Traveling to Europe this summer

[Mellow]

Hi everyone. Excuse my Anandtech inactivity.. College devours my time. I'm looking for some input for my trip to Europe this summer. Here's some background information.

My friend and I (both of us are 19) are going to Europe this summer for 4 weeks, from June 18th to July 17th. Both of us have a passable knowledge of French and Spanish. We are booking a flight for those dates from Philadelphia to Dublin, and the return flight from Dublin back to Philadelphia. So far, the loose itinerary looks like this:

4 nights in Dublin ^
4 nights in London ^
3 nights in Amsterdam ^
3 nights in Brussels
7 nights in Paris ^
3 nights in Marseille
3 nights in Switzerland

and that leaves us 2 days to get back to Dublin. The "^" indicates a city we without-a-doubt want to visit. The other 3 are up in the air. We are serisouly considering scrapping the last 6 nights, and seeing somewhere in SW France, as well as Spain.

But did I mention our budget is unreasonably small?
That's the catch!
We each have about 2,000-2,500 to spend on the trip. And that includes the $750 roundtrip flight. I've done some preliminary budgeting, and I've come up with this

$750 --- Airfare
$500 --- Meals (28 days @ $18/day)
$500 --- Travel *
$200 --- Lodging **
$200 --- Misc

$2150 -- Total

* A 5 day select Eurorail pass for 3 countries (in our case, France, Benelux, and Switzerland) is $285. The rest is for inter-city traveling and traveling within the UK.

** We will be using the couchsurfers service (couchsurfers.com) for what is ostensibly free lodging. There are couches in every city we want to hit. The $200 is for emergency Hostel booking.

Here's where I need some help:

-The $18/day meal budget. The American dollar isn't what it used to be. I mean, neither of us have any problem eating street vender crap and bread sandwhiches most of the time. But will $18/day even buy us that in most cities? I imagine food will be somewhat cheaper in Spain than South France or London, but I'm just looking for an idea of what I can expect for $18.

-Traveling in and out of the UK seems a little steep. A Bus from Dublin to London is $30, but I havn't found a reasonable price for getting from London to mainland Europe.

-Is public transportation in the cities roughly equivalent to the major cities in the United States as far as price, accesability, and safety?

-Do any of these countries charge for entering/exiting their borders?

-Are any of the cities up there not worth visiting? Unfriendly? Unappealing to students? Overwhelmingly expensive?

-Are there any unexpected costs I didn't budget for?


Thanks for any help in advance. If you need any more information, or if I was unclear about anything, feel free to ask.

-Matt

 

[feralkid]

That budget is truly unreasonably small.

Have you considered pan-handling/plasma sales while you are there?

-The $18/day meal budget. The American dollar isn't what it used to be. I mean, neither of us have any problem eating street vender crap and bread sandwhiches most of the time. But will $18/day even buy us that in most cities? I imagine food will be somewhat cheaper in Spain than South France or London, but I'm just looking for an idea of what I can expect for $18.


-----------Perhaps if you pool your resources and "picnic" pretty much EVERY meal, you could have sandwiches and fruit and even some cheap box wine with dinner in the park. It's not a bad way to go, lots of people choose this route. I actually prefer it for lunches.



-Traveling in and out of the UK seems a little steep. A Bus from Dublin to London is $30, but I havn't found a reasonable price for getting from London to mainland Europe.

-----------Is your ticket changeable? An "open-jaw" would be the better choice, as in Fly into Dublin, but fly out of Paris, thereby avoiding having to pay in time and money to retrace your steps back to Ireland. Otherwise, try RyanAir or EasyJet to the Continent.

-Is public transportation in the cities roughly equivalent to the major cities in the United States as far as price, accesability, and safety?

------------It's all better.

-Do any of these countries charge for entering/exiting their borders?

------------Nope.

-Are any of the cities up there not worth visiting? Unfriendly? Unappealing to students? Overwhelmingly expensive?

------------Yes. London is overwhelmingly expensive, but if you have a couch to sleep on, buy an all day tube pass, and live on chips (sorry, the fish would blow your budget) You can see all of the sights from the outside (sorry, your budget does not leave any room for admission into ANYTHING). Some museums are free certain days of the week.

-Are there any unexpected costs I didn't budget for?

------------Yes, all of them. Better have a credit card for emergencies.


At your age, having read what I just posted, I would probably have gone anyway, and I certainly am not trying to discourage you, but dayam; can't you mooch some more money off someone's parents or something?


Many people traveling overseas need to pinch every penny to make it work, but on your budget, Steerage would be an upgrade.

Nonetheless, you'll probably have the time of your lives.

:thumbsup:

 

[DainBramaged]

You should PM Patt and ask him. He knows a lot about these things.

 

[Skiddex]

when i went to europe for 5 months, i spent 2.5 times what i had budgeted and never regretted spending a dime of it. as a lover of food, i HIGHLY recommend going out for a nice meal at least once in each of your cities. it doesnt have to be expensive but realize that dining over there is very different here. they dont cram the courses down your throat like they do at applebees, it is much more of a relaxation/social activity there. plan on dinner taking 2 hours, it is fabulous. lunch is really easy, we usually just grabbed a baguette and some packaged meat and/or chesse and just munched on that while sight seeing.

as far as cities...i loved zurich. there was an easy train to Lucerne and there you are in the northern alps, beautiful. brussels is alright, but on such a short trip i would recommend looking into munich.

 

[WildHorse]

when you hit those cities, do the tourist stuff fast, then hop on a train and get aouuta there, away from the city. Get out to the smaller towns where the people live, and get to know some of them a bit. Also your money stretches farther away from the city.

 

[Mellow]

ttt

Thanks for the encouraging words!

 

[akshatp]

If you stay on couched, where would you shower? Im not sure how this couchsurfer thing works.

Oh btw, I dont think its even remotely posible on that budget, but thats just me. Europe is expensive.

And why do you want to spend 7 days in paris?? What a dump! 1 day there is plenty. Get in, see the Louvre (from the outside in your case), snap a pic of the Eifel Tower, and bounce!

 

[aphex]

another to chime in, you can't do it on that budget. I've been to Europe three times now (first two times on a student budget). I ended up spending 2x as much each time.

EVERYTHING ends up costing more than you plan, it sucks, but its a fact.

On another note though, have an awesome time! Can't wait to go back again!

 

[RaistlinZ]

I recommend Switzerland. It's an absolutely beautiful country. Bring more cash though. You've only budgeted $200 for Misc, which probably doesn't include some shopping you'll want to do overseas.

 

[Epic Fail]

$200 for misc. isn't enough for the trip, you can easily blow that away in an hour in Amsterdam.

 

[0roo0roo]

less countries.....
budget too thin for so much.

 

[mrkun]

Surely they have homeless shelters you could stay at?

 

[davestar]

-The $18/day meal budget. The American dollar isn't what it used to be. I mean, neither of us have any problem eating street vender crap and bread sandwhiches most of the time. But will $18/day even buy us that in most cities? I imagine food will be somewhat cheaper in Spain than South France or London, but I'm just looking for an idea of what I can expect for $18.

That's £9/day in London which will get you a coffee and a sandwich. You probably want to bump up your budget a good bit, or else go to cheaper (smaller and/or eastern) cities.

-Traveling in and out of the UK seems a little steep. A Bus from Dublin to London is $30, but I havn't found a reasonable price for getting from London to mainland Europe.

Unfortunately, you probably won't find a cheap way to the continent.

-Is public transportation in the cities roughly equivalent to the major cities in the United States as far as price, accesability, and safety?

Public transport in European cities is typically cheap and extremely convenient and safe as compared to US cities.

-Are any of the cities up there not worth visiting? Unfriendly? Unappealing to students? Overwhelmingly expensive?

I haven't been to Brussels myself, but friends have given fairly blah reviews of it. As far as overwhelmingly expensive, you either have to suck it up and pay or else ditch half of your itinerary (Dublin, London, Paris, Switzerland).

-Are there any unexpected costs I didn't budget for?

...you get the picture :beer:



Some ways to save some $$:

(1) If you shop carefully and consider flying into a variety of cities, you can probably find a flight for <$700. Check out Kayak
(2) Choose cities that are close together and buy individual train tickets. I just travelled Budapest->Bratislava->Krakow->Vienna->Bratislava for ~$100. Yeah, that's eastern Europe, but Eurail passes are often ripoffs.
(3) Consider spending fewer nights in the pricier cities and take a Ryanair flight to Prague, Krakow, Budapest, or another eastern European city. $1 beers in Prague go down much easier than $7 beers in London.

 

[elektrolokomotive]

Originally posted by: yamadakun
$200 for misc. isn't enough for the trip, you can easily blow that away in an hour in Amsterdam.

I dont think $200USD is going to go too far in A'dam these days. *sigh*

 

[mrkun]

Originally posted by: elektrolokomotive

Originally posted by: yamadakun
$200 for misc. isn't enough for the trip, you can easily blow that away in an hour in Amsterdam.

I dont think $200USD is going to go too far in A'dam these days. *sigh*

How much are the window girls anyway?

 

[shopbruin]

your budget is WAY too small. were you never planning on buying any kind of souvenirs? something even small and cheesy is really expensive in europe.

$750 --- Airfare
-- see if you can fly in and out of different cities. like into london, out of wherever your last city is. apparently it's cheaper into london.

$500 --- Meals (28 days @ $18/day)
-- way too low. a sandwich and a bottle of water cost me 6 pounds at minimum. that is 12 american dollars. a slice of pizza at a truck outside of versailles cost me 5 euros. you'll want to eat some nice meals while you're there! and drink while you can at the awesome pubs in london.

$500 --- Travel * * A 5 day select Eurorail pass for 3 countries (in our case, France, Benelux, and Switzerland) is $285. The rest is for inter-city traveling and traveling within the UK.
-- make sure you get all day underground pass in london. in paris you can buy a "carnet" of tickets, which is a book of 10 tickets, and is good on the buses and the metro.

$200 --- Lodging ** ** We will be using the couchsurfers service (couchsurfers.com) for what is ostensibly free lodging. There are couches in every city we want to hit. The $200 is for emergency Hostel booking.
-- good luck with couchsurfers! if you want to book a hostel, check out hostelworld

$200 --- Misc
-- you are going to need a LOT more for Misc. to get into, for example, st. paul's cathedral in london was 9 pounds. to climb the towers of notre dame was 8 euros. to climb to the top of arc de triomphe was 8 euros. for admission into historical sites, you need a LOT more money.

-The $18/day meal budget. The American dollar isn't what it used to be. I mean, neither of us have any problem eating street vender crap and bread sandwhiches most of the time. But will $18/day even buy us that in most cities? I imagine food will be somewhat cheaper in Spain than South France or London, but I'm just looking for an idea of what I can expect for $18.
-- spain is on the euro also... so just hope that it's cheaper than paris. for 18 bucks you're going to be eating cheap sandwiches, fries, and one beer. per day. total. i think a crepe (a must in paris) cost me like 5 euros!

mcdonalds in paris on the champs elysees is 5.50 for a "royale" meal. i went to a restaurant on the champs elysees for i think 18 euros a person, but i got three courses, which was cheap. nothing fancy, cheap italian food (yeah i know... in paris eating italian food...) also the food is a tad flavorless compared to the US - not as much use of salt.


-Traveling in and out of the UK seems a little steep. A Bus from Dublin to London is $30, but I havn't found a reasonable price for getting from London to mainland Europe.
-- eurostar is expensive, but you have to book that sucker asap. we waited one day too many, and the price went up from 110 to 142.

-Is public transportation in the cities roughly equivalent to the major cities in the United States as far as price, accesability, and safety?
-- it's a million times better. in paris keep your stuff close to you and nothing in your pockets. pickpockets everywhere!

-Do any of these countries charge for entering/exiting their borders?
-- nope.

-Are any of the cities up there not worth visiting? Unfriendly? Unappealing to students? Overwhelmingly expensive?
-- do you have a plan for marseille?

-Are there any unexpected costs I didn't budget for?
-- mostly entrance fees into museums and the like. for example, you can't go to paris and NOT go to the louvre.

buy the rick steves books for the cities you plan to visit. TOTALLY worth it and provides great money saving tips. also get maps of the public transportation systems for each city you visit to help you get around.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Mellow
-The $18/day meal budget. The American dollar isn't what it used to be. I mean, neither of us have any problem eating street vender crap and bread sandwhiches most of the time. But will $18/day even buy us that in most cities? I imagine food will be somewhat cheaper in Spain than South France or London, but I'm just looking for an idea of what I can expect for $18.

It's possible. But you will live on Doner Kebab. Frankly I'd try to improve this if I could...what's the point of going to Europe if you can't eat at least one meal a day at a restaurant? The food's half the fun.

-Is public transportation in the cities roughly equivalent to the major cities in the United States as far as price, accesability, and safety?

Nope. Far better. Prices vary from slightly cheaper to slightly more expensive. The UK is pretty ridiculously expensive.

-Do any of these countries charge for entering/exiting their borders?

The EU? You pretty much just waltz straight across the borders these days. One visa does the lot. No charge. The UK is also free, but they'll want to stamp your passport.

-Are any of the cities up there not worth visiting? Unfriendly? Unappealing to students? Overwhelmingly expensive?

Western Europe, and especially the UK, is overwhelmingly expensive.
If you're trying to trim that budget, cutting a night from London and one from Switzerland wouldn't be a bad idea. Book your flights NOW through Ryanair or something, just make SURE to leave yourself hours and hours ahead of time to find the airport, and budget $20 or so per flight to take the bus to/from. They're usually out in the sticks.

Oh, and ignoring Italy is criminal
Plus it's cheaper by far than the UK.

 

[Mellow]

Thank you all so much!

The main reason we are booking flights in and out of Dublin is that I was told those flights would be the cheapest, as Dublin is geographically closest to the US. This obviously does not seem to be the case.

A couple of new questions:
-Would skipping the UK be a horrible idea? It seems terribly expensive, and not nearly as exotic as some other places we could see.
-I've been somewhat wary of traveling to eastern Europe. Neither of us have any background in the language. Safety? Friendliness? Are the costs significantly cheaper?
-It looks like I can fly Ryanair from Spain to Germany for very, very cheap. I'm lead to believe flying just about anywhere within Europe would be similiar. Therefore, if I book a roundtrip flight to and from Paris (and making my way back to Paris from whatever city we last visit), is that any less economical than planning a lockjaw flight out of the last city I visit instead (IE PHL to Paris, Hamburg back to PHL.
-Do the historic sites, landmarks, museums, and galleries offer student discounts or pay-what-you-will days, like many similiar destinations in the states?

And most importantly, the food!
-Are our American immune systems not up to stomaching outdoor market foods? Would we save money by buying groceries for a meal or two a day, and eating out for dinner?
-Any specific "must-eats" anywhere?


Thanks again!

 

[mrkun]

I wouldn't skip the UK entirely, but you can see pretty much everything significant in London in a single day if you start early. Try some Real Ale while you're there; you'll never drink major American beer again.

Edit: I would seriously consider cutting out a night in London and several in Paris and then eat at decent restaurants instead. Why bother going to Paris if you're not going to eat out?

Actually, I would skip Marseilles and Brussels entirely and then hit up Spain or Italy.

Hell, I would do something like this:

Dublin, 2 nights
London, 2 nights
Paris, 3 nights
Amsterdam, 2 nights
Spain, 5 days
Italy, 5 days

Total: 19 days (your itinerary was 27)

Enjoy the food and drinks!

 

[LS21]

Originally posted by: Mellow
A couple of new questions:
-Would skipping the UK be a horrible idea? It seems terribly expensive, and not nearly as exotic as some other places we could see.
-I've been somewhat wary of traveling to eastern Europe. Neither of us have any background in the language. Safety? Friendliness? Are the costs significantly cheaper?

1. UK is expensive as all heck and they speak english - whats the excitement?
I spent 1500$+ on 3 weeks in eastern and northeastern europe and that was fairly frugal, and included staying at friends' place for many days

2. safety is very very very much a common sense deal. youre probably more likely to be robbed in a larger cities in general, and ESPECIALLY in tourist-hot spots... .so its actually safer in less popular destinations. use common sense and you'll get by easily. people speak english everywhere nowadays.. the only place i can think of where you'll have communications difficulty is in russia, but if apes can communicate with one-another so can we. friendliness.. varies from place to place, not by entire geographic regions. costs are not wayy cheaper, but its just that places like england, belgium, france, switzerland have extraordinary high costs... everywhere else is considered "normal" and eastern europe would be slighty cheaper than normal

 

[ViviTheMage]

haha I was going to couch surf all of my stay in europe this winter, but everyone I talked to ditched on me, so I am just going ot get hostels...2 weeks of hostels was barely 400$ USD for me and my gf.

 

[rpc64]

I would recommend Prague if you decide you would like to try Eastern Europe. Many many people there speak and/or understand English. I didn't have any trouble with that when I was there. Plus, Prague is a really awesome city and it's probably the cheapest place I went to when I was in Europe. They have good food and great beer there, and it's cheap!

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: Mellow

A couple of new questions:
-Would skipping the UK be a horrible idea? It seems terribly expensive, and not nearly as exotic as some other places we could see.

i think it'd be blasphemy. there is a ton of neat stuff to see in the UK, and if you're there, go see it. you're going to have money problems anywhere you go in western europe. i always wanted to see the changing of the guard, westminster abbey, etc and there's still places i want to see.

-It looks like I can fly Ryanair from Spain to Germany for very, very cheap. I'm lead to believe flying just about anywhere within Europe would be similiar. Therefore, if I book a roundtrip flight to and from Paris (and making my way back to Paris from whatever city we last visit), is that any less economical than planning a lockjaw flight out of the last city I visit instead (IE PHL to Paris, Hamburg back to PHL.

i'm not sure, you're going to have to map that out on your own. when i went i only visited 2 cities and i was NOT paying for another eurostar ticket back to london.

-Do the historic sites, landmarks, museums, and galleries offer student discounts or pay-what-you-will days, like many similiar destinations in the states?

i just looked up the louvre for fun, and they only gave discounts to french students. however if you go on the nights they are open late, the admission is discounted. if you get the rick steves book, he does also list which museums have a "free" day per month where admission is free but it tends to be PACKED. the louvre is the first sunday of the month.

And most importantly, the food!
-Are our American immune systems not up to stomaching outdoor market foods? Would we save money by buying groceries for a meal or two a day, and eating out for dinner?
-Any specific "must-eats" anywhere?

well it depends on what you've eaten in life. my chinese food system has been very accustomed to some weird stuff, so i'm fine wherever i go. i had some good market food in london out in camden lock... mmm.

in london, eat fish and chips. in paris, i couldn't leave without a crepe and a croissant. cheesy little things like that, mostly for pictures.

 

[Regs]

I'll be planning my trip to Ireland late sping and early summer too. I'm not going to try to travel all through-out Europe though I would love too but so many things could go wrong! I figure Ireland in the late srping and Italy early Fall.

 

[Mellow]

Looks like we'll be dropping the UK (except for maybe a day or two in London), Switzerland, and Marseille in favor of Barcelona + Madrid, Rome, Prague, and one or two German cities.

Can anyone recommend Frankfort, Hamburg, or Berlin over the other two?

Thanks for the Steve Ricks book idea! Looks like a great investment!