What kind of a daily budget should I have while traveling through Europe for 2months in Sep/Oct '07?

Question

Hi, I was wanting to know what kinda of daily budget i should plan for while traveling, this does NOT include accomodation (i have already booked hostels and deducted the price i will be paying!) and does not include Travel as I have pre-paid all that already! Basically i was sorta more wondering what the daily costs of food, sightseeing and going out will be as i have no idea what things cost over there! By the way the countries im visiting are England, Austria, Italy, Greek Islands, France, Spain, Ireland and Scotland! any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance :)
Bec

Answer 1

You will be traveling in the more expensive part of the continent.
How much you need will be decided by your own actions however.
If you go shopping in the supermarkets and buy bargains, do your own cooking, buy your drinks in the supermarket and do your sightseeing on foot, not going into the places for which you need to pay, you might get by with $ 25 per day, or even less.

When you go for eating out in good restaurants, drinking many beers each night, and go to all the expensive museums you can cramp in, going to the top of the towers and so on, $ 250 per day will not be enough.

In places like London and Paris you can spend $ 10 on one cup of coffee, $ 15 on a museum or the Eiffel tower. And an other few bucks on a sandwich to nibble on.
But if you leave town and go into a village in the country the coffee will be $ 2, and the only museum might charge $ 0.50 or something like that, bread from the local bakeries is more satisfying too.

If you have a budget, plan how much you can spend on average, (count the big cities double, as everything will be more expensive) and keep track of your money the first few days. If your budget is big enough you can relax a little, but keep to a weekly budget, as it is stressful and disappointing if you have not any money left anymore for the last few days.

Answer 2

It varries quite a bit. England and Ireland are expensive! Your best bet in Ireland is to eat bar food. It's usually your cheapest option and is as good or better than what you'd get in a restaurant. If your in Dublin, there's a huge pub across the street from the tourist information center near Trinity College and the food is great. The best way to get around the city is the city tour bus. You can get a day pass that allows you to get on and off as much as you want, while getting a good idea about where everything is located in the city.

Spain is another place that has great bar food. There are topas bars all over that are both good and cheap. Be careful, particularly around Barcelona, to ask what things cost before you're served. Most of the street vendors don't display prices. They'll charge outrageously overpriced fees if you wait too late to ask. You could find yourself buying a $30 hamburger. But if you ask before hand the food is usually pretty reasonable.

Be sure to only pay in cash. Vendors will scam on your credit cards, since they know you won't be back to complain. Most cash machines in Europe work with your debit/credit card, but be sure that you bank knows that you're out of the country, because they may freeze your account if they think that your card has been stolen.

Remember that the exchange rate sucks right now. If you have a withdrawl limit on your debit card, it's based on US dollars, which can leave you cash poor when converted to euros. You may have to take out a cash advance on credit in order to meet expenses. Particularly if your not able to take out cash each day. Casinos will often give the best rates on a cash advance if you get stuck. There are many countries that won't accept credit cards for daily expenses. Don't expect to always be able to shop with one. On debit cards, the ATMs will give the best exchange. Avoid the currency exchange shops...they'll screw you.

If you have any other questions you can go to my web site at www.ytb.com/oguntravel

Answer 3

I would take jeans, as most people in Europe wear them, and tourists, (also those from within Europe,) will most likely wear them. T-shirts or nice tops are great, a shirt with long sleeves a good thing to take and also bring a sweater or buy one in Europe when you start feeling the cold. (Great souvenir item.) A rainproof light jacket is often needed, fall in Europe can be wet, but so can any time of the year. For beach wear, bring what you would wear at home. For shoes, flip flops are OK for part of the time do bring them for a change and for indoor use, but if you have trainers or runners or whatever you call your shoes for outdoor sports, bring them. You will walk all day, every day for a big part of your trip in weather that is colder than you are used to. Ballet slippers will leave your feet hurting, better stick to flip flops if you are used to those. Or buy a pair of sport shoes when in Europe and you feel the need. Added: I do not know if that Christian has ever been in Europe. I see people in jeans all over, all social classes and everybody under 60, many over 60 too by the way. Yes, when going to a club the young people often dress up, but daily live and tourist activity, jeans and T-shirts.

Answer 4

Some of the Greek Islands are costly but others are not. It is best that you shop around to get the best deal. Plan on about EUR 55 per day in your life as tourist. (You are American tourist and you little get lost). Can you direct to way please?