Me and a girlfriend of mine are doing a post-college graduation Europe trip! She's only been to Italy, and I've been pretty much all over Western Europe (used to live in Denmark), though some places I haven't been to since I was 10. I'm planning on spending approx. May 14th through the very beginning of July with her traveling around Europe, and then spending a few weeks solo in Denmark from the beginning to mid-July staying with friends. I'm planning on spending $6000.

Our list of countries is tentative and constantly changing, but here's a rough idea:

England (5) - 1 night possibly staying with friend
Spain (5)
France (6)
Italy (7) - 1-2 nights possibly staying with friend
Greece (7)
Croatia OR Czech Republic (2-3)
Austria (2-3)
Germany (7) - 1-2 nights possibly staying with friends
Sweden (2-3)
Denmark (3 for her, approx 2 weeks more for me) - all nights staying with friends

Do you think this is enough time to see each place, or are we being too ambitious? Obviously we aren't going to be able to see everything, but do you think our amount of nights in each place is going to be enough? Are there any places we should spend more or less time in, in your opinion?

We'll be getting around mostly by Eurail pass, with buses and ferries thrown into the mix. We'll be staying hostels except for when we stay with friends. We've already found round-trip airfare on Virgin for $400USD/person so that's going to save us a lot of money! The Eurail pass will cost us each around $1000 USD. So that leaves me approx. $4600USD for 3 months of travel which turns out to be $77/day. I think I could do that easily if I spend no more than $40 on hostels per day (most likely will spend $25-30 in most places on hostels though). Plus I won't have to worry about the cost of hostels during my entire time in Denmark.

Do you think Europe for 3 months and on $6000 is do-able with the itenerary I've listed? Do you have any suggestions for either places we should go or places we shouldn't go?

Thanks!

If the $6000 is just for you, I'd say you've got it well in hand. If it's to cover both you and your friend, it will be a stretch, but with enough homestay time, should still be possible.

The itinerary you've got is adequate for a visit to 1-2 cities/towns per country. It's not how I like to travel, but if you prefer to see a small piece of everything, as opposed to a lot of one country, it's certainly possible and much better than a lot of the itineraries we get asked to look over (I've seen similar sized lists with only 3 weeks as opposed to 3 months). As always, my biggest recommendation is to stay flexible so that if you want to stay longer, or see another place in the country you're in, you can.

I would recommend highly trying out a hospitality site, such as Global Freeloaders & booking hostels in advance for the nights you need online or you could end up paying more than planned or even without a bed in some places because you're traveling
during the high season. I once had to walk to 11! different hostels in London to find a bed. I didn't even know they had that many and wound up in an overpriced slum for 25 POUNDS a night, by the time I checked in somewhere I didn't even have time to sleep.

Just prepare as much as possible in advance and don't let the money worry you too much.

Have a great trip

I think 2wanderers has got it pretty spot on. Stay flexible with what you do and where you go and you'll be fine. Dont be afraid to stay longer somewhere if you get a good feel for it, it may mean missing something out further down the line but if you like somewhere, stay. Likewise if you dont take to somewhere at all no point stiucking it out for 5 days just because you said you would.

As far as the budget goes, personally I think it will be tight. Its doable but its tight. If the $4600 is just for you then its likely ok, but for two its gonna be hard work.

What do I base that on? I figure on about £800-£1000 a month is what it costs me to travel (on my own) around western Europe (per month, train tix not included). Thats hostelling , seeing the sights, enjoying a nice meal every 2 days and a few drinks of an evening.

Obvioulsy you have places to crash which is good and will save you, just remember the $ is low at the moment, and A night in London would likely cost you at least £40 for the two of you (dorms can be had cheaper @ around £12-20 per bed) so you'd be looking at $80+ gone before you even do anything.

Really its just a word to the wise. As they say, pack half as much as you think you'll need and take twice as much money! I think the itin is absoltely fine, just be aware of what you're spending.

Thanks for the replies!

And yes, the $6000 is just for me. My friend will be bringing her own money. So I personally will have $77/day to spend, and she'll have her own. If we pool our money together sometimes for things like meals (buying food and cooking it), I think that'll save us some money. We're also not big drinkers, so that'll save us quite a bit of loot.

We are very open to stay flexible, we'd just like to have some sort of plan before we go.

How far in advance should we book the hostels? Is 3-5 days ahead enough time, if we are booking on the road as we travel? We plan on booking our first few nights in London in advance, but as for the rest, we'll book on the go. When during our trip do you think it'll be the hardest to book a hostel (early May through early July)?

Thanks so much, you're all so helpful and I love this place, because even if I think I know what I'm doing, there's always somebody there who is more experienced and can give me some great advice.

The when to book hostels debate is one taht always gets a variety of opinions...here's my take on it.

Summer in Europe (at least summer hols) are generally around Late July- Early Sept so it look slike you'll be avoiding teh absolute peak time which is good. In my mind May-July is among the best times to visit this continent (I'd say May-June and Sept-Oct are the best times - Thats just me though).

So what does this all mean? Well it'll be a busy time but not the bussiest and you'll likely get away with booking nearer the day than you figured. I'm not sure of the exact Cities/places you plan to visit so its hard to say on a per place basis. Most major Euro cities though have plentiful supplies of hostels to go around (some however are a lot better than others).

My general rule of thumb is 2-3 days in advance. Its not hard and fast by any means. Somewher like Venice for example I'd be looking at booking a week or so ahead of time (maybe even 2 weeks). Dont forget that making a reservation means only paying the deposit so if you do need to cancel its not the end of the world and not going to cost a fortune.

Most places though I'd go 2-3 days in advance. You can always phone to say you'd like to move it a day back/fprward if possible. I've done that many a time!

I wouldnt panic over it though, liek I said most Cities have loads of hostels (I think Barcelona has 70+ for example) and if I can get a bed in Munich during Oktoberfest booking just 3 days in advance, I'm sure you'll find options open up if and when you need them.

it'll be tight, so try and save a little more
or go for eastern europe as it'll be better on the purse

Personally from travelling europe i'd say i'd spend £350 (700 dollars a week), but you could probably do most countries for $77 a day

If you cook your own food, drink alcohol from off licenses or supermarkets, and walk everywhere

Just hope the dollar doesn't faulter much more

$2.05 to the £1

may have to make a trip over the big divide and purchase some goods

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but unless you want to be skipping fun things and always worrying about costs, $77/day (50 Euro/ 38 pounds)is going to be a stretch. The euro will likely cost about $1.50 when you get there and the pound will cost over $2.00. That means the 5 pound burrito and 4 pound beer will cost nearly 20 US. France (especially Paris) is spendy if you eat out and even a marginal hostel will be around $40. I agree w/ whatyadoinsucka about E. Europe. Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia are awesome. If you're going to Croatia anyway, you should definitely hit these. Same goes for Bulgaria, Czech, Hungary and Poland. With $77/day you'll have a blast and you won't have to worry at all about the cash situation. Maybe just whiz through London and Paris and then catch a cheapie flight to Prague and start heading south and you'll be in budget bliss...

I disagree. I normally figure on W. Europe costing about $100 per day. (And remember here that the USD is still doing better than the CAD was when I went to Europe in 2003...yet my budget was still C$100). And I'm not exactly the cheapest traveller. I've never taken advantage of couchsurfing, I eat out frequently, and while I don't drink much anymore, I did drink more when I was 20. And the $77 is what's left AFTER airfare and a rail pass are paid for.

I see it as being adequate, though admittedly the frills will be few and far between. E. Europe is lovely and cheaper, and, yes $77 per day in most of the east would buy you a fairly high-end trip. But W. Europe is quite lovely as well, a shame to miss out on, and I really do think your budget is enough for what you appear to want to do.