Backpacking cost estimate

[nicolecwright]

Alright. My friend and I are planning a trip to about 8 different countries in Europe for next summer. I will be 18 and he will be 20. We will be flying out from Chicago, IL and landing in Dublin, Ireland. Over the course of 2-2.5 months we will be visiting Ireland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Croatia, the Netherlands, Italy, and possibly England. We plan on Couch Surfing and WWOOF-ing as much as possible to keep costs low as we are both still in college. We will be cooking our food as often as we can and are not really planning on a lot of tours or museums, as of right now.

I've ran a few numbers...
$900 for plane ticket
$100 for plane ticket from Dublin to Paris
$600 for Youth Global Rail Pass
$300 in pre-travel expenses

And here is where I get stuck. We will be staying in hostels a few times, but not a ton. How much else should I plan on bringing with me? Like I said, we will be couch surfing and WWOOF-ing as much as we can. Is it fair to say that $3000 will be enough for everything? After I subtract all the transportation/pre-travel expenses, that leaves me with $1100 for food, occasional hostels, busing, and some touristy things. We are really trying to keep this trip as cheap as we can because we're both paying for college, as well. Constructive criticism is appreciated

[Eagle]

nicolewright,

First of all, welcome to the Boards! I have a few comments to begin with.

Based on the numbers you provided, you're proposing to travel for approximately 75-days on a budget of US$3000. That's equivalent to about $40 per day or €28 per day for two people. Even with Couch Surfing and WOOFing, I'm not sure that's realistically possible.

One important point to note with Railpasses is that these DO NOT include the reservation fees that are compulsory with some trains (usually the "fast" trains such as the TGV in France). You'll have to pay separately for those "out of pocket", so be sure to allow extra room in your budget. Especially in Italy, if you're caught without a valid reservation specific to the train you're riding on, you'll be fined ON THE SPOT and it WON'T be cheap (as I recall, the fine is about €40 per person).

As you're planning to stay in a few Hostels, you may find it worthwhile to take out a membership with HI Hostels. The membership provides better prices and preferred booking. I've found that Hostels range from €25-35 per night for Dorm rooms.

I'm assuming this is your first trip to Europe, so my first suggestion is to read the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door. That will answer a lot of questions and provide you with some good information to plan your trip. I'd also suggest having a look at country-specific Guidebooks to plan your touring in each of the cities you'll be visiting.

Good luck with your planning!

[nicolecwright]

Thanks so much! That really helps. It's easy to forget about all of the "extra" fees and fines... I noticed that you said that $40/day for 2 people is very unrealistic... but what about $40/day for one person?

[dumbdiety]

Also first (Eagle always beats me to these), welcome to the board!

The general rule of thumb is about $90 (€63) a day. Since you only have about $1100 out of your $3000 remaining, $40 a day will get you going for 27 days, $60 for 18 and $80 for 13.
However, even with couchsurfing and WWOOFing, I'm in agreement with Eagle as I don't see it being possible.
What countries do you REALLY want to go to? If you go with your $40 a day, you will only have about 3 days in each country, let alone each city!