imaginaryella
Traveller
4 comments
Posted 11 years ago
Hey guys! Budget plays a huge part in planning any trip. I think that experience is the key to learning to accurately judge your budget - hence, being very inexperienced myself, I would like to hear your budgeting experiences. How did you plan your budget, how large was it, and did you succeed in following it? How much food does 5 or 10 or 15 euros really buy? Were there any surprising money drains? Anything else to say on the topic?
So far, I've calculated the cost of my 12-day trip to be approximately 500 euros, which includes a couple of night trains, food, hostels (though I'm planning to save on that through couchsurfing) as well as some padding for surprise expenses. Does this seem reasonable, too small, too large?
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
It's really an important topic - and you can travel really cheap or boost a lot of money. As the money you need multiplies with every day of travel. For 5 days it might look okay, but if you travel 2 weeks, you see that it's a lot you spent if you don't save on (the main points): [b]accommodation and food[/b].
Depending on the route I travel, I either have my little camping gaz stove with me and a light aluminum-pot or I select hostels which have a kitchen. Some noddles/rice with vegetables is EUR 2 per day, extra bread, a beer and so on ... is in total less than EUR 10 per day bought at a supermarket. If you don't need beer, you can do it easily with less money. I never go to the typical fast-food restaurants. You pay ~ EUR 8 for a menu full of sugar and no real energy, spent a lot of money to be hungry again after 2 hours.
Accommodation: sleeping in a dorm is nice. Saves money and you meet other travellers to spent the night out in the city. Easy to meet others in hostels.
Here is a calculator but only to give a rough overview as everyone is different, every route is different, ... [u]https://rail.cc/en/overall-costs[/u]
Peter :)
Tomthebear
Traveller
138 comments
It depends on multiple facts: first, where are you planning to go? Scandinavia, GB, France, Spain and Italy and Switzerland, are rather expensive, if it comes to accomodation and food. But if you are planning to stay just a few days, then it is doable on a small budget, as well.
Next point: where are you planning to sleep? Do you need a room on your own, with a real bed and a bathroom, which you don`t have to share with others? Or would sleeping in a tent, or a dorm be ok, as well? A hotel will be more expensive, and you can save a lot of money, if you stay on campsites, or at hostels. Maybe plan in some nighttrains, as well.
The food: going to a restaurant is ok, but if you are on a budget, you should not go there every day. Taking a camping stove is the best idea, so you just have to get some food at a supermarket, and cook it.
Things to see and to do: you can spend lots of money on visiting museum, theme parks and buying souvenirs. If you choose a possible travel route, take the time to find out, what you can do at the places you want to visit. Then decide, what is important for you. Do you really want to see each and every museum? And bigger cities have loads of them.. Do you really want to buy tons of souvenirs? They are nice, for sure, but also think about the fact, that you have to carry them. Also they are, most of the time, way too expensive. Take pictures, while travelling, and keep all the nice moments in your memory and in your heart. Those are the best souvenirs you will find!
So, you see, there are lots of ways to save money, while still having fun!