Better flag patches.

Touche.

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Succinct though. You gotta give me that.

Static: most posts, least words

My ISP charges by the word.

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Originally posted by static:

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Do you all think it would be okay to travel in Europe cheaply by couchsurfing and hitchiking as much as possible, buying food from supermarkets?

No.

Could somebody please elaborate on why not? I am not the $5/day person--I just want to travel for as long as my money will let me, without missing anything I really want to do but this seems like a good way to 1) cut costs and 2) meet local people instead of just other travelers (not that there's anything wrong with other travelers).

Good for you for eschewing other travelers! They be stanky!

I have avoided Europe since 2001, but my guess is that the bare minimum now is $40 a day.
In a moment or two, several wags will come along and tell me that I am full of it.

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Originally posted by static:
In a moment or two, several wags will come along and tell me that I am full of it.

Static's full of it. But his advice about the current costs in Western Europe is spot on. In southern Italy, Spain, and, of course, a wide selection of Eastern European nations, you can live on less (particularly during the off-season), but considering the current Euro/Dollar exchange rate $40 is about right.

I live in Europe, and I can tell you that (even with an apartment rather than a series of hotel rooms and home-cooked meals rather than restaurants) topping $1200 a month is a cinch. Even a combinations of low-end hostels, cheap kebaps (mmm...kebaps), and train travel will come to around 1K a month.

I've just read through this whole thread. I've spent a fair bit of time bumming around Europe on a budget. I've crashed at people's places because they were a friend or a friend of a friend. I've hitchhiked. I've had the odd beer with a person at many a pub. I can't even imagine not returning the favor, EVER.

Just because you aren't paying for something doesn't mean someone else isn't paying for you. That's just taking advantage of kind-hearted people. If you go to someone's house, pitch in some food. When I've hitched, I contribute $ to gas, you get the idea.

This whole idea of basing your trip on other people's hospitality just rubs me the wrong way. If you don't have the money to support yourself, regardless of whether its possible (ie the Aussie who never spent a $ since leaving 7 yrs ago) then you ought not to be buying that plane ticket. Just my .02.

PC

Hi Everyone,
I've been following this thread from the start, and it's taken some interesting turns.
I am going RTW for 2 to 3 years and I leave in one month.
I am planning on spending no more than $15 a day on average.
Sometimes I will spend a lot less, sometimes I will splurge for something extra (particularly in the area of accomodation/transport-I'm a women traveling solo, so if my safety is at stake, I will spend extra).
At any rate, here's how I'm doing it:
1. Wwoofing(in the most expensive countries)
2. Volunteering- after a year of research, I've managed to find places to go to do volunteer work that I only pay room and board-and for alot less than a hostel. These aren't the "volunteer vacation" types of organizations we all hear about-they are small organizations that set volunteers up with locally run schools, orphanages, hospitals,farms,animal rescue..etc.
3. Alot of time-travel very slowly
You need alot of time to make these sorts of volunteer commitments-say 2 or 3 months in one place-but what a way to truly experience a culture. From the extra money you save, you can donate some to a specific thing they may need, or you can head off to Galapagos or wherever...or most likely, you'll do both!
I suggest Idealist.com for opportunities-you have to sift thru it all, but I've come up with a amazing itinerary with the help of connecting worldwide on this site. They have alot of opportunities in England, Ireland, etc. as well.
Good luck,enjoy the journey.

Hi, Me again.
I just wanted to add that the idea of traveling for the sake of traveling is a lovely idea- but not at everyone else's expense.
I wanted to make clear that if you really want to travel for an extended period of time, work for it. Volunteering/wwoofing can be a wonderful way to understand a culture and people who look at life differently than you do-and it will make your trip less about you, and more about others. And you will work your butt off!
You can return hospitality from others if not with currency, perhaps an English lesson, a book, a photograph, or a culturally appropriate gift.
Good luck,enjoy the journey.

It's really strange reading such an old thread.... especially bcause I now completely disagree with what I wrote back then.

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Wwoofing

Gigi,

What is "Wwoofing"

Hey World Citizen!I was going to tell you about this in a PM, but it's better here, more info for everyone.

WWOOF is "willing workers on organic farms" and there are a few splinter groups now within the organization that have the same acronym, but slightly different meanings.There is a thread on it here somewhere on bootsnall..

There are two main organizations:
WWOOF International: This is the main group, and includes most European Countries, the USA, etc.
WWOOF Independent: This is a group of individual countries that either do not meet the requirements of the International, or for some other reason are in this category. In this group you would find places like Tonga, Nicaragua, Georgia...

You pay money to join either group-choose the countries you want,get a list of what places are available, and then it's all systems go!-you're off to Greece for a week to harvest olives or whatever. You contact the people before you get there, you arrive and get to work-if you like it, you agree to stay on.Most places are free, some places ask you to self cater, a few countries charge for the experience itself, for example Turkey.

Also some countries have a fee as well-but it's really small.

I think most people think it's all farming stuff, but it's not-if you go on the sites and take a look at the preview lists, you'll find jobs to do all kinds of things. I was going to mention it in the PM to you but I forgot. There are many things I have found on both lists that are requests asking for help with teaching, business management, etc. I found jobs in Jordan;Georgia;Australia;New Zealand;Hawaii;Oceania;Thailand;Sri Lanka; etc.

Also I saw you were thinking of Morocco. There is a Moroccan place on the list-but be forewarned, it is not reccommended.
There is however, an excellent organization called Ecoteer,Which has a beautiful ecolodge listed on the site. It has recieved rave reviews-and they want business people.Perfect for you. Housing is free, so is food...look it up under "ecolodge" on their website. Ecoteer has you pay a one time fee to get all the names and info on their organizations, I think it is around $20. Well worth it.

Lots of info for one tiny question...gigirtw!

Ecolodge on Ecoteer site is in Morocco.

"Europe from $5 a Day" was published in the fifties.
As stated above it seems unreasonable to expect that this is still the current amount to budget.

Here is a list of publications and dates related this series:
Europe from $5 a Day: Published 1956-62
Europe from 5 and 10 dollars a Day: Published 1973
Europe from $10 a Day: Published 1975
Europe on $10 a Day: Including recommendations for Europe on $15 a Day: Published 1977
Europe from $20 a Day:Published 1981-83
Europe on Twenty Five Dollars a Day: Published 1984-87
Europe on 30 Dollars a Day:Published 1987
Europe on 40 Dollars a Day:Published 1990
Europe on 45 Dollars a Day:Published 1993
Paris from $70 a Day:Published 1998
London from $75 a Day:Published 1999
Ireland from $65 a Day:Published 1999
Europe from $60 a Day:Published 2000
Portable London from $80 a Day:Published 2000

(I think this list and dates are accurate, but not complete. Hopefully these are useful to give an idea how European travel has evolved.)

I read somewhere with the weakening of the dollar against the Euro, that there was to be a "Europe on $200 a Day" being worked on, however the appeal of this title was questionable, and that the series has ended. This may be rumor.

CubeSlave