advice on 3 month European trip

[zamboni]

Howdy Folks!

I plan to travel for three months through Europe.
Major cities I want to see are:
London
Rome
Venice
Barcelona
Paris

I am planning to sell most of my possessions to help finance this, so I want to make the most of it.
I am allocating about 150 to 200 Euro a day for everything. I am not interested in night life per se, but I enjoy eating and collecting souvenirs. Is this amount viable?

Until this, my only other trip to Europe was two weeks in Switzerland. There I stayed with a relative. I found the train pass to be rad, but EVERYTHING expensive.

Some of my other questions are:
How hard would it be to find work?
How secure are HI Hostels?
Is the three month Euro rail pass worth it?

Sorry for the long first post.

[Mikul]

150 to 200 Euro a day seems like a lot. I took my trip last summer and over a period of 100 days only spent $10,000 USD for everything, including flight, train tickets, ferries, hostels, food, etc. I did watch my money, no souvenirs, walk whenever possible, do the free tours, and frequently made spaghetti.

In terms of work, where are you from? Are you a member of the EU? Can you speak another language? All of these are major factors. If you are from the US, finding work will be very difficult. I did find a few Americans working in hostels (only 1 girl in Budapest) and teaching English (Prague).

I used the 3 month train ticket and found it worth the money. I took trains frequently and found it very convenient to just catch the next train, in case I got lost on the way to the station.

[zamboni]

Thanks Mikul!
My experience in Switzerland made me concerned with daily expenses. Of course I was buying numerous gifts. I think my souvenir buying would be less on this trip. Mainly, I just wanted to allot enough to not worry as much about spending.
I plan to walk whenever possible, no problem.
I am an American with limited language skills. I considered finding work more of a pipe dream.
Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions.

[Eagle]

zamboni,

Welcome to the Boards! Regarding your questions....

I agree with Mikul that €150-200 per day is quite a "generous amount", especially if you're planning on staying in Hostels most of the time and not interested in night life (which can be expensive). The usual "ballpark" figure is to allow about US$100 per day for lodgings, food, local transportation and incidental expense. This amount does NOT including your air fare and Railpass (if used).

Finding work could be a problem in most countries, especially as you don't speak any other languages. Depending on your age, you may be able to get some kind of "student visa" that would allow limited work (especially in the U.K.) but as I'm "older" I don't have any information on that. Keep in mind that the economy is still somewhat depressed in many countries in Europe, so many locals will be looking for work also.

I generally stay in HI Hostels where possible, and I've found these to be quite "secure". Most provide Lockers in the rooms, but of course you'll have to supply your own Padlock. I'd suggest using a good quality Lock purchased at a Locksmith rather than one of the "bargain stores". Try to choose a Lock that's not too large as often the hardware on the Lockers won't accept really big Locks.

Of course HI Hostels require a membership, which is inexpensive and provides not only cheaper rates but also preferred booking over non-members (I just renewed my membership for this year).

It's difficult to say if the three month Railpass is "worth it"? You'd need to compare the cost of P-P tickets for each of your rail trips with the cost of the Pass. One thing to keep in mind is that Railpasses DO NOT include the reservation fees which are compulsory on some trains (usually the fast trains). You will have to pay for these separately. Based on travel between the five cities you listed, I doubt that a Railpass would be a good value. Some of the longer journeys may be more efficient via budget airline.

Although you've already been to Switzerland, you may find it helpful to pre-read the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door, as it will provide lots of information to help with your planning.

Finally, be sure that your trip doesn't go beyond three months so that you don't exceed the time limits of the Schengen Visa. This allows non E.U. residents to remain in the Schengen area as tourists for a maximum of three months (although the U.K. is part of the E.U., I don't believe it's in the Schengen zone). Those found violating the rules can face severe penalties!

Happy travels!

[macpac]

Hi!

I have a tips for you if you want your money goes further..
A good idea will be to rent a campervans.
Accomodation, Transport and self catering all in one! for only 59€ /day!
You can rent budget campervans from Lille northern France just an hour by eurostar from London;
You can can go with it weherever you want around Europe.
Check out this website:

Enjoy!

NOTE: Commercial links are not permitted on the Boards!