I'm afraid I've totally underestimated the cost... - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!



Go Back   TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards! > Members Lounge > General Travel Tips, Education, Advice > Travel Budget, Money Matters, Financial Talk

Travel Budget, Money Matters, Financial Talk Mom, can I borrow ten grand?! Gimme yo mastercard! How the heck can I pay for my trip?! Ideas for making money. How much dough do I need?

Raileurope.com: See Europe by train
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-01-2006, 06:36 PM   #1
dug
T-PUNK RANGER
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 31
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Assume I already have the airline tickets, and unlimited Eurorail pass taken care of (1 month Eurorail)

How much should I count on bringing for a 1.5 month trip?

50 euros a day just seems like a HUGE budget! lol... I was planning closer to 20 :P

I'm planning on going VERY low budget... i.e. camping in parks, sleeping on over night trains, showering at the beach showers, staying in hostels now and again. I don't anticipate hitting up many of the expensive museums. I think I'm just going to explore the cities and see what I can find, and see the landmarks.


And what is a good price range for a hostel? I have a good friend that took a similar trip to what I'm planning to Europe recently, and she was telling me all about it. While telling me about her trip to europe she only mentioned price for hostels once, and said she paid 6 euros to stay in a tent at a hostel (it would have been 8 for a dorm room)... this girl also lived off of 200 euros for 2 months Of course, she was borderline homeless, but she also had the adventure of a lifetime!
__________________
"not all who wander are lost"
dug is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2006, 06:38 PM   #2
dug
T-PUNK RANGER
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 31
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Oh, and have any of you had any luck showing up at a Hostel and working for your room? I wouldn't mind working a few hours a day for a place to stay. That would save loads of cash
__________________
"not all who wander are lost"
dug is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2006, 06:43 PM   #3
dug
T-PUNK RANGER
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 31
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

and another strategy I was thinking about using was making friends with the people I ride with on the train (locals) and seeing if they would have me over for dinner and give me a couch to sleep on. Obviously not be pushy, or rude... but explain the situation, and on a 4 hour train ride you can probably make a pretty good friend
__________________
"not all who wander are lost"
dug is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2006, 06:48 PM   #4
dug
T-PUNK RANGER
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 31
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

I dont know how to edit posts sorry that the first 4 are mine... but I keep remembering stuff.

I won't be drinking any alchohol on my trip, so you may want to take that into consideration.
__________________
"not all who wander are lost"
dug is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2006, 06:49 PM   #5
simply_angelic
The " ... " queen of TP!
 
simply_angelic's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ontario
Posts: 2,946
Thanks: 0
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Default

I personally havent worked for my room but a lot of the staff at my hostels did that, although a lot of places seemed to want you to work for longer periods of time than just a few days. If they personally don't need your help though, I'm sure they could easily point you in the right direction.

As for the price of hostels, seeing as you're using a Eurorail pass I'm assuming you'll be doing more of Western Europe and the price of Western Europe can be relatively high (for your budget). When I went, during high season Hostels usually went for about 18-23 euros. I was hard pressed to find something as cheap as 15 euros a night (although it did happen...in Austria I had a hostel that was about 13/night). I know backpackers in Rome lets people sleep on the roof for 5 euros/night....but food wise it can be pretty cheap. If you are in a place where you can cook, pasta's like 40c/bag...rice same thing...fruit little more, just hit up the grocery store and you can easily live off like 5 euros a day

edited to add: oh! check out www.couchsurfer(s).com (cant remember if there's an s or not in there). Just remember that the offer goes both ways. If they let you sleep on their couch you should be willing to do the same when you're back home...

Good luck!
__________________
~Laura
GO CANADA!!!!

If you walk backwards, you'll find out that you can go forward and people won't know if you're coming or going.

Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.
-James Dean

Countries I've Visited: Austria, Botswana, Canada, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy. Malawi, Mexico, Portugal, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, UK, Vatican City, Zambia
simply_angelic is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2006, 06:50 PM   #6
benna2
TPunk Emeritus
 
benna2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Hanover, Ontario
Posts: 2,097
Thanks: 0
Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post
Send a message via AIM to benna2 Send a message via MSN to benna2 Send a message via Yahoo to benna2
Default

I think 20 a day is a little bit tight....Sometimes your hostel rooms are more than that. I also dont know how good an idea it is to "rely" on strangers that you meet on the bus to feed you and put you up!! I mean, all the power to you if that happens...

As far as working for your room, sometimes that works. I lived in a hostel for close to six months and worked for my room. However we didn't give work to people that were only there for a few days because that didn't give us a chance to get to know them at all...I don't know if this is common practise in all hostels though.

When are you planning your trip? I am one of those people that would rather postpone a trip and have enough money to be comfortable, than go and have to scrimp on my funds the entire time because I didn't have enough. But there are probably lots of people (the borderline homeless girl from your above post!) that have great adventures that way. All up to you bro.

Any other questions feel free to fire away!


__________________
"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." ~St. Augustine"

Come visit me in the DR!
www.sosuavacationrentals.com
benna2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2006, 07:12 PM   #7
ladaz
 
ladaz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Connecticut for now, but Idaho originally...
Posts: 110
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Don't forget http://www.globalfreeloaders.com

__________________
I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

"The tiger can't change his spots. No, wait, he did! Good for him!"
-Jack Handey (Deep Thoughts)
ladaz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2006, 07:59 AM   #8
MeTurk
TPunk Recognized
 
MeTurk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Ireland
Posts: 1,590
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via Skype™ to MeTurk
Default

I'm on couchsurfers, it's a great site. Any couch surfers I've had stay with me got free accomidation and sometimes a meal. Showing your guest around is all part of the hosting process as well.

Hostels in western Europe do tend to cost between €10 and €25. It can all depend what you want I don't mind if the place is a bit run down (I think that just adds more caracter to the place) as long as the beds are fairly clean and you can have a shower I don't see what more you could want. Maybe consider staying out of the city centre (or the big citys alltogether) for most of the time as that's bound to be cheeper and country folk wil give you a better feel for the place your visiting. Big citys cater for international crowds so tend to be very familer.
__________________
"It's nice to have a nun around. Gives the place a bit of glamour." Fr Ted
Couchsurfer (:_irritainment_
MeTurk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2006, 10:49 AM   #9
bluepea
TPunk Emeritus
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Indefinite.
Posts: 2,857
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via AIM to bluepea
Default

You can also sleep in train stations/airports. Not highly recommended, but it's an option. 20 a day will be a tough one though. Make sure your transportation isn't part of that!!
__________________
~~ Jamie ~~
You give me the most gorgeous sleep That I've ever had And when it's really bad I guess it's not that bad




Have some general questions such as whether or not to get a rail pass or how much money you'll need? Visit here!

First time travelers/travelers with a lot of questions - this forum is for you![b]
bluepea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2006, 11:08 AM   #10
ScarlotteDorian
Backcountry Betty
 
ScarlotteDorian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Coeur D'Alene, ID
Posts: 2,181
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via Yahoo to ScarlotteDorian
Default

yeah, sure, plan for 20-25 euros a day but dude...bring more than that. have an emergency credit card or something.
__________________

people travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long course of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering. -St. Augustine
ScarlotteDorian is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply






Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Totally TPunk Meet Up Deprived travelchick75 TPunk Meet Ups 75 10-15-2006 05:21 AM
Be afraid IDDQD Bored? Links/Jokes 5 01-13-2006 01:36 AM
who's afraid of virginia wolf - SCREENPLAY beergal Arts, Entertainment, Books 0 04-12-2005 07:43 AM
totally random... cali_girl Bored? Links/Jokes 3 05-11-2004 02:22 PM
Low cost flights from the UK TrekNepal Travel Transportation 0 12-31-1969 04:00 PM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:09 PM.



 

Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.2.0 (Unregistered)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121