Proposed Budget
Hey All,
This summer (June and July) My wife and I are taking our first trip to Europe. I recently bought a few Rick Steves books, but I am anxious to nail down a budget for the trip. Below is my proposed budget (remember, I am a rookie). My wife and I are hoping to stay in safe locations, but we don't really care about "fancy" locations. We are there to see the sights and experience the people. I am particularly interested on your thoughts for my food budget.
General Trip Plan: 42 days (8 spent with people we know in Denmark and Germany)
Trip plan--> Ireland>England>France>Switzerland>Italy>Austria>Czech>Germany>Denmark>Ireland
Total Budget: 8,000 Dollars + 1000 emergency fund
Driving Cost: 115 (round trip gas, and tolls to airport)
Airfare: $2000
Eurail: $1574 (15 days within 2 months)
Lodging: 34 nights X 70/night= 2,380 (assuming 8 days with friends)
Meals: 42 Days* $30= 1,260 (30 dollars average daily)
Random travel expenses 21 Days * $30= 630 (Half of the days accruing some kind of travel expense-taxi, train not covered, cable car, or souvenir)
Total Budgeted: 7,959
I really appreciate any insight!
Matthew
Iowa City, IA US 1/2/13
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With time and extensive research you can find out what it will cost. Don't guess at costs, actually find accommodations, transportation, entry fees etc. then add extra for incidentals you may have overlooked. I plan our budget ahead of time and keep a tally of what we spend each day as we go, knowing I need to stay within the budget. We are very tight in our daily life so we can go to Europe, but then when I go, and want to fully enjoy it with no worries of cost. We stay in inexpensive B&B's, eat a large breakfast (included when ever possible) have a snack for lunch, then enjoy the local cusine in pub or small restaurant, which is usually a highlight for us! My advice, trim the days so that you have the money to fully enjoy the experience, know clearly what it will cost before you go. Your current budget seems very tight, and tight on vacation can be a drag. You don't have to spend a lot to have fun, but give yourself some wiggle room.
pat - i travel solo so its per person.
i do pay a bit less "per person" than couples as a lot of places charge less for a single person. but for places that dont....
So we have trimmed down the trip a bit. I am trying to figure out if a car rental would be a better option. We are thinking 30 days now (June 4th-July 5th).
I would either:
1. Get Eurail pass (10 days within 2 months)= $1048+ Local Transport
Probably around 1600
2. Car rental?-I have no idea. I am only 24, but in the past I have gotten around the car rental surcharge for being underage by being a hertz gold member (they waive that fee in the states at least).
If I got a car rental I would go from Paris-Alps-Italy-Vienna.
-Any idea what that would cost with mileage and insurance and all that mess?
Car rental rates vary greatly. You will have to check with a variety of companies, or one of those consolidators for the size car you want. It can be expensive if you pick up in one country and drop in another. If I am doing lots of countries I try to do a circle trip and return to same place. Gas is expensive, but depending on what car you get mileage can be good, diesel is cheaper. If you just intend to visit cities, a car is probably useless, however if you enjoy a road trip of exploring smaller towns/villages and want to be on your own scheule, then a car is invaluable. Depends on the kind of trip you want to take, but if you are only trying to save money and get from point to point I would not bother with all the hassel of a car, then the driving will just become a burden.
You can look at between 800 - 1000 for a small stick shift without CDW. With your budget I don't think a car is a good idea. Gas, insurance, parking fees, you can spent a easy 1500.00 for the month. We rental alot but with another couple the expense is manageable.
Renting a car, do not rent in one country and drop in another, the cost to do so will knock your socks off.
While I've driven in both Paris and Vienna, it really doesn't make much sense to have a car in a big city. You're paying for rental days and parking when you can't even use the car at all. There are lots of issues to consider when driving in addition to that huge drop fee: familiarity with laws and regulations (i.e. parking, ZTL zones in Italy, toll sticker in Austria, speed cameras, red light cameras, etc.), distracted driving, some cars cannot be taken into Italy, the list goes on and on. I now prefer to rent only when I'll be in more rural areas. Otherwise, it's always rail hands down. I never buy a rail pass, however. Too expensive and restrictive. I always buy point to point tickets on the fly, unless it's for a high-speed (i.e. more expensive with reservations required) ticket, such as Eurostar, Thalys, or ICE...then I buy online before my trip and take advantage of better deals.
Matthew, I'm basically with the others.
For starters, saying "Germany" doesn't tell me much. Is that Berlin (€€€ potentially, hotel/sights/restaurants), or is that some tiny Bavarian village (€, hotel/restaurants, no sights to spend € on)? And 'where' makes a HUGE difference on your transportation costs!
Once you know where you're going, you'll KNOW what your local transportation costs (etc.) will be - real numbers you can work with. Also, don't forget that you won't be spending money at home while you're away! Except for utilities, housing, etc., you can allocate the rest to your European budget.
Definitely don't forget to add in the cost to park you car for several weeks :-( Better yet, find someone to take you, if possible. An airport shuttle may be a better option. Also, do you need a pet sitter? There's some more $$$.
I second the idea to start thinking in Euro. Everything will be priced in Euro, so you should just get used to it. It's really frustrating to find a great price for something, then realize it's in $$$, not €€€!
Start looking at websites like Booking.com and Venere.com for lodging - I've found they have good European listings, and the cancellation policy (esp. Booking.com) is usually very favorable. Just a suggestion...
Get your brother to decide ASAP so that you can get on with your trip planning; it's not too early to be nailing some things down for a June trip.
Of course Ed was just joshing! Don't worry, he'll call you an a-hole if that's what he means ;-) Although when he said "I'm probably not a rookie. I make all kinds of mistakes. This ain't one of them.", I'll posit that Speedo he wore while racing through CDG Airport was a mistake...;-)
European Vacation: June 4th- July 5th
June 4th- June 5th Travel from CHI-Dublin (Delta)
June 5th- Travel from Dublin- Paris (Aer Lingus)
June 5th-June 8th- Explore Paris
June 8th- Travel within France (1)
June 9th- June 11th- Explore France (1)
June 12th-Travel to Alps (1)
June 13th-June 16th- Explore Alps (1)
June 17th- Travel to Cinque terra (1)
June 18th- June 20th- Cinque terra
June 21st- Travel to Rome (1)
June 22nd- June 25th- Explore Rome
June 26th- Travel to Florence (1)
June 27th- Travel to Venice (1)
June 28th- June 29th- Venice
June 30th- Travel to Vienna (1)
June 1st- July 3rd Explore Vienna
July 3rd- Travel to Dublin (Aer Lingus)
July 4th-July 5th Explore Dublin
July 5th- Fly back to Chicago (delta)
(1)=1 day of Eurail pass
Budget:
Driving: $115 (Iowa City- Chicago, Parking at Friends)
Airfare: $2174 (Including Aer-lingus)
Room: 30 Nights x $100 average= $3000 (maybe less with Hostels)
Eurail: $1048 (10 days in 2 months, 4 countries)
Food: 30 Days X $70 average = $2100 ($35/person)
Local Transport: 24 days in cities X 20 dollars average= $480 (too low?)
Entertainment/Admission/Other: 24 days not traveling X $30=$720
Total: $9637.00
OK, This is what I am currently working on. What are your thoughts on my updated trip itinerary/budget?
I live by the 10 percent rule. What ever I think it is going to cost add 10%. 10,700.00 I you will have a good round number. Don't forget that credit card. There are things that could happen that you will be happy you have it.
Hi,
If you get the Pass with 4 countires, which ones? France dropped out of that. The Global Pass (incl. France) for 10 days comes to 67 Euro per day, which works if you plan on zig zag and long distance traveling, say from Copenhagen-Prague or to Vienna. Not worth adding CZ or Italy as a country, the Global Pass includes all those you list minus the British Isles.
I do the zig zag traveling, wouldn't suggest the Pass unless a good deal of the rides will be in Ger. taking the ICE, Switzerland, Austria, and France. TGV reservations inside France don't cost that much.
In Berlin you can find pretty cheap accomodations (food too) relative to other cities. For double (DZ) it can range ca 55-70 Euro in a Pension depending on the amenities you want...a lot cheaper in Berlin as regards to accomodations than in Switzerland, Paris, and London.
Yup, Fred is right. No France on a Eurail Se-lect Pass in 2013.
Can you not do better than an average of $104.80 for each day of travel?
Matthew,
With advance purchase, Paris to Nice or Avignon is 25 Euro each. Works out to $66/2 tickets.
Your budget works better now, and if you decide to buy point-to-point tickets (advance purchase), your rail expenses will probably be less, which is always good!
You will get lots of opinions here, but I would say the number of days you give certain destinations are off (too many one place, not enough elsewhere). But that really is another post---this is about budget.
Have fun and enjoy the adventure!
Just a thought here, Matthew.
Is exploring Dublin a priority? Because I just found a flight on Finnair from Chicago to Vienna with return from Paris for $1000 roundtrip. Your route would be in reverse, with Vienna coming first. This frees up some time to explore the cities I think you shortchanged.
Brenda:
Thanks a bunch about the Finnair pricing. We are leaving in june coming back in july open jaw in to cdg out of fra saving 500.00 per ticket. Only problem you need to spend the night in Helinski. Oh well we will upgrade the hotel and eat a little better.
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