Plausibility of Budget???

[bowiezone]

I'm planning a three-week trip to Europe In July 2006 and I'm wondering about the plausibility of my budget. I'm 17 and I'll be travelling with my 18 year old friend and her parents. They're willing to stay in hostels and try and keep to my friend's and my budget. Here are my tentative itinerary and estimated budget:

Day 1 - Fly Into London
Day 2 - London
Day 3 - London
Day 4 - London
Day 5 - Eurostar to Paris
Day 6 - Paris
Day 7 - Paris
Day 8 - Paris
Day 9 - Paris
Overnight Train to Venice
Day 10 - Venice
Day 11 - Venice
Day 12 - Venice
Day 13 - Venice
Day 14 - Venice
Day 15 - Train to Florence
Day 16 - Florence
Day 17 - Train to Rome
Day 18 - Rome
Day 19 - Rome
Day 20 - Rome
Day 21 - Rome
Day 22 - Fly Home from Rome

London - 3 Days 4 Nights
Paris - 5 Days 4 Nights
Venice - 5 Days 5 Nights
Florence - 2 Days 2 Nights
Rome - 5 Days 4 Nights

$1000 - Flight
$ 205 - 4 Day France/Italy Railpass
$ 80 - Eurostar (railkey.com)
$ 500 - Hostels
$ 600 - Food
$ 250 - Museums, Attractions etc. ($50 per city, 5 cities)
$ 300 - Souvenirs
$ 20 - 3-day Tube Pass (London)
$ 20 - Carte Orange Metro Pass (Paris)
$ 20 - Train Reservation fees
$ 20 - Couchette on Overnight Train
_________
$2935

Is this reasonable? Am I missing anything? I was planning on spending $3000 total and I'm totally willing to cut back my souvenirs budget to cover anything I didn't include in here.

[juliagulia]

Since I've never been there I can't tell you from personal experience but me being as anal as I am, I'd probably get whatever total then add $500 or so dollars and keep it as emergency money.

I can't say from personal experience but it looks like you have everything... Nothing is popping up to mind that you missed...

EDIT:

Oh, and WELCOME!!!

[space virgin]

That looks like a pretty good starting budget, maybe up your hostel amount to $600 or 700 just in case. The exchange rate in London, plus the high prices anyway, will make you want to cry. Besides that, you've picked 4 of the single most expensive cities in Europe to visit-- extra padding in the overnight accommodations budget is going to be a very, very good thing.

And yeah, definitely have a stash o' cash in reserve just in case!

[beergal]

wow your spending an awfully long time in venice are you planning on day tripping out of the area while you are there

[bowiezone]

We're thinking about visiting a friend in Nice and staying with her for a day or two, so we might be taking a day or two from Venice and Rome and going there instead. Do you not recommended staying so long in Venice?

Thanks so much for helping me out

[LostFarmboy]

I know a good place to stay in Rome - Camping Tiber. It's a camping ground half an hour train ride away from the centre of the city with cabins and dorms. A dorm bed will cost you 11 euros a night, it's probably the cheapest bed you'll get in Rome and it's one of the funnest places i've stayed anywhere, it has an awsome bar and a restaurant.

Also, in Venice there's a camping ground called Fusina. You can get a 2 bed cabin for 15 euros each and boats leave all day for Venice (the actual part that's in the water) from just up the road. Again, very fun place, it has a good bar.

Now, if i was you i would cut some time off Venice, at the most you will only want to spend 2 full days walking around the town and all its canals, i was very satisfied just spending one full day walking around there.


On to the budget, you will spend an average of 25 euros a night for a dorm bed, probably more in London, which will be a total of 500 euros, which equals $607USD. But, i think $2k spending money for 20 nights should be enough, that's $100USD (80 euros) a day, you'll just have to watch what you spend. It's too hard to break your budget up too far, there's heaps of things you wont factor in like taxi rides, boat rides to Venice, money you pay buskers, etc. I would take a credit card though just in case you do run out.


hope this helps

[foofiter]

I have been to most of the places you want to go. London is expensive. I stayed there a week myself and didnt see all that I wanted too. The best deal I found there was Picadilly Backpackers which is the cheapest, most central hostel in Picadilly Circus. Has a decent bar too.

Other tips:

Fly from London to Paris. Ryanair.com is the place to look and see if it is cheaper than Eurostar.

Don't cut any time out of Rome. You will want all 5 of those days there, trust me.

If you decide to cutback Venice you could add a day in Florence. I wish I stayed longer. Such a neat place.

Take a credit card just in case.

There are lots of free Museums in London that will help lessen the pain a little. They are all quite good too.

You need to go out at least one night in London so make sure to predrink before you go. That will save loads of $$

I went in the winter time (low season) and I spent about that amount. But i also got great airfare deals because of the season and I went to London, Dublin, Amsterdam, and Budapest. I spent just under $3000 USD all said and done.

Hope this helps

Foo

[The Sasquatch]

you definitely don't need that much time in venice. my personal opinion.

[tumblezweedz]

I'd also take a day or two off Venice, and add them on to Florence or take a stop en route in Verona, just to get something a bit different.

You can buy multi-museum passes in Venice which save a fair bit compared to the individual entry prices. We bought ours at the Doge's palace, I think you can get them at all the main museums. If you can, try to spend at least one night in Venice proper - it is really incredible after the tourist hordes go away, to take a walk along the canals and check out St. Mark's by night... And the early mornings are incredible, too. It's SOO quiet without any traffic - just the odd dip of an oar. Surreal.

Def. check out the free museums in London - British Museum, National Gallery, etc. The V&A is amazing, too - but I don't remember if it's free. And you really should take high tea somewhere, just for the experience. We went at the British Museum, which was quite tasty, and also at the Kensington Palace Orangery (because it was on the way home). The orange cake there was delicious. But eating out costs a bomb there, so check out little out of the way pubby type places, or self cater.

I'd by-pass Nice, actually - maybe your friend could meet you in Paris? It's just a long way out of the way for a short visit. And I love that you've actually planned several nights in a few places, rather than trying to cram too much in. That usually takes a trip or two for people to figure out. And there's so much to do and see in all of your chosen destinations, that even with five or so days each, you won't feel like you've done more than scratch the surface.

Sounds like a great trip.

[aliz]

on the subject of venice, i spent about a week there and i loved it (yes, i do a lot of shopping, but there are other things to do!). I like exploring and venice is amazing for this cause there are no cars to run you over and you can get so lost (which for some reason I love). my brother and I spent about 3 hours lost when we realised we were on the wrong side of the grand canal - duh! by the way this was in winter too, so there wasnt exactly festivals every day - i just really enjoyed having the time to explore every street and get to know my way around, rather than just seeing the sights and moving on.

[nena]

just to let you know - theres quite a few hostels that only allow people age 18-35 stay in dorm rooms. which leaves out you and your friends parents.
this is not the majority of the hostels but make sure before you arrive there, save yourselves the trouble.

[florencia9699]

I deffinitely agree on taking more time in Firenze and less time in Venice. There's so much more to see in Firenze! Besides, Venice is quite expensive!!