I've started hoarding money for what will be my first trip overseas, and I'm planning a lengthy one with hopes of seeing a TON of stuff that I have been wanting to see for a while. I'm 25 and planned to do this directly out of college, but never had the funds to do so. The job I have now isn't great, but I've finally set aside a savings account for this trip. I'm just wondering how exactly to budget for the trip, since I will have a mix of Western and Eastern Europe. I also need help with the itinerary.

Right now, I'm looking at something like this:
>>Fly into Dublin [~5days]
>Amsterdam [~3 days] - may axe this out of the trip due to expenses for minimal time
>Berlin [~5-7 days]
>Gdansk (I plan to spend a good chunk of time in Poland)
>Krakow [Between all of Poland, I would like to spend ~2-3 weeks]
>Budapest [ ~7-10 days]
>Bratislava [~3 days]
>Vienna [~ 5 days]
>Ljubljana > maybe a 2day trip to Rijeka, Croatia while here [ ~5 days total] (may axes this too, but I've heard good things in general about Slovenia so I'd liek to check it out)
>Munich [~5 days]
>Prague [ ~7 days]
>>Fly to Barcelona and eventually home from Spain [I'd like to spend ~2-3 weeks in Spain]

The plan is to spend the most amount of time in the cheaper eastern countries, as well as Spain. I'm hoping to squeeze a 3-4 month trip out of this and was wondering what kind of TOTAL budget would be necessary. I was thinking in the neighborhood of $12,000 (including flights in/out and all travel), but could be way off in either direction. I don't mind roughing it a bit.

Obviously all of the times I listed for each area are completely approximate. If I'm loving one place, I will stay there longer, and if I'm not enjoying somewhere, I won't stick around.

I'll be backpacking and staying in hostels, and plan to make at least some use out of couchsurfing as well. So any suggestions or help with the itinerary/bugeting would be great!

The budget you had in mind should be adequate. I did some mental math and split your countries up into general budget categories (high, mid-high, mid-low, low) and used the longer ends of all your ranges.

I came up with:
25 @ $100/day - Dublin, Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, Munich
36 @ $80/day - Spain, Budapest, Prague
31 @ $60/day - Poland, Croatia
0 @ $40/day - none of the countries you mentioned fell into my cheapest category.
total: 92 days (3 months), $7240 + flights

Others may disagree about my price assessments, and I have not been to all of these countries, but this is what I'd plan for. If you can save $12k, I'd still do it. It will give you lots of freedom, and if you come home with money in the bank, that's a good thing.

Itinerary wise, I like the variety, but think that it's too city focused. Dublin's okay, but the west coast is better. I have good memories of a couple days in Berlin, but a whole week seems like it would be too much (unless you're a big night club person in which case you'll probably have a good time). There's a million wonderful places in Europe you've never heard of, and for the most part I dislike flying into a country, seeing the most famous city or two and leaving. I haven't done this many places, but I certainly regret it where I have. I'm a big fan of the wide open schedule where you have time and flexibility (no prebooked flights or accomodation) to change your plans because you hear of something interesting.

Have fun.

I think 3 wanderers budget is pretty much on track.

Its about 25 euros a night for hostels in spain, and its easy to spend only 25 more euros, not counting museums. Thats about 80 dollars.

Of course, add in premium living accomodations and good meals in restaurants and the prices go up quickly, but in Spain, there's no reason to do so except for love of good cuisine..

With your budget and time constraints
-3 months, 12000 dollars, you'll do just fine if this is for you alone, more than find. In spain, I found myself spending about 1500-2000 euros a month.

at three months of this, thats 6000 euros or about 9500 dollars.

Notes about Amsterdam:

Make reservations to a GOOD hostel early. It's always high season in Amsterdam.

Budapest: If you find any good lodgings for cheap there, let me know. There seems to be a monopoly of the Domino Hostel chain there, and they stick you in these impersonal high rises with no community rooms or even a workable kitchen. Yellow submarine WAS good years ago, but I couldn't book it.It's still worth it. Budapest is a great city. The restaurant food there can be very good if you want to pay the price, and with your budget, you should be able to.

I love the castle on the hill, and have gone there many times, though they seem to close the ancient church early, so its best you visit that first. It is truly amazing. I also loved the Synagogues tour. It was well worth the price.

Krakow: Its a lovely old city to walk around in. If you're there to see the concentration camps, the trains run on a very tight schedule. It's probably best to book the buses, once you find out their times. They only have a few English tours every day, so schedule around those. You'll want to understand your guide.

Let me know if you find a good hostel in Krakow. We found a rather inadequate bedroom in someones house. and it was not at all comfortable. Of course, that was pre-EU poland.

Good luck!

It is a shame you're not seeing Romania. It should be seen before the Euro-Zone doubles the cost of travelling in it without adding much to the experience you enjoy. Every year is a year lost.

Budapest: If you find any good lodgings for cheap there, let me know. There seems to be a monopoly of the Domino Hostel chain there, and they stick you in these impersonal high rises with no community rooms or even a workable kitchen. Yellow submarine WAS good years ago, but I couldn't book it.It's still worth it. Budapest is a great city. The restaurant food there can be very good if you want to pay the price, and with your budget, you should be able to.

Should have asked me. I guess it depends on what you mean by cheap, but I stayed at the Art Hostel, which was good. It was admittedly 3 years ago, so it may have changed, but the photos still look the same, and they appear to still be operating, charging about $15/night. I had issues with some of the other guests, but the staff was great, and the kitchen was fully functional...I would certainly be willing to stay there again if I was going back.

Originally I wanted to do more of eastern Europe and still do. I wanted to hit Bulgaria, Romania, etc but the dilemma is that I DEFINITELY want to visit Spain. That's the one western country I'm set on going to. I found it hard to plan an itinerary that included all that I wanted to do, so I cut out those other eastern countries. Right now I'm still considering chopping both Amsterdam and Berlin and going from there.

I've even considered reversing the trip, starting in Spain and possibly flying home directly from Poland. I'd like to hit Ireland but it's not a 100% must for this trip. I'd like to include as much as possible. If I could figure out a realistic itinerary that included some other eastern coutries, I'm all for it!

Looks like a good plan and an interesting itinerary.
I can comment on a few places that I know well, not only from my travels.

Ireland - expensive these days, more than the UK.
If you decide to fly to Ireland, look at cheap airlines ryanair and wizzair.
http://www.ryanair.com and http://www.wizzair.com.
To get best deal you need to make your bookings 3-5 weeks before your scheduled flights.
You need to know also a few things how to go about it.
In the process of making your bookings you're offered "extras", like their insurance, priority boarding etc. You don't need any of those, so tick them off.
For every piece of luggage you need to pay a fee. If you travel with carry on luggage you're not charged anything. Only one piece of carry on luggage is allowed.
Max weight is 15 kg checked in, and 10 kg carry on luggage.
You're not supposed to make any changes in you flights - they'll charge you more than you'd like to pay.
The principle is that it's the basic service you get - flying from A to B.
I fly with Ryanair and Wizzair very often, and I pay normally €10 to 35, all included, for one way flight (I travel with carry on luggage only).
You can use those flights to get to Spain too.

Poland:
Gdansk (my home town). Places to visit - old town, Gdansk-Oliwa - cathedral and park, Sopot - the adjoining town.
Outside Gdansk:
Take a train to Malbork (1 hour journey) to see the biggest brick castle of teutonic knights in Europe.
Another trip from Gdansk - Łeba. It's a unique place, with moving dunes and white desert-like beach. It's about 130 km from Gdansk, by train. Łeba used to be a fishing village, now it's a small town, and quite touristy in summer.
Kraków - apart from the centre and old town area, two more places worth visiting - Wieliczka and the salt mine, and Zakopane with Tatra mountains.

Prices:
A simple meal PLN 10, kebab PLN 7, beer PLN 5-6. (1 PLN = 0.35 US$).

Spain:
Spain (and Portugal even more) are the most affordable countries in western Europe, and the best value for your money. There is lots to see. Also food and wine are very good, at affordable prices.
You can lower your budget - it'll cost you less than some other posters mentioned.
Avoid the most touristy areas like Las Ramblas in Barcelona, which is basically a tourist trap and nothing else. The city has very much to offer. The best way to see the highlights is to take a sightseeing bus. That's not what I normally do, but in Barcelona it makes sense.
The sightseeing busses do three different routes (circles) and have meeting points, so you can hop-on hop-off, was you wish. You can buy 1 day or 2 day ticket.
Apart from Barcelona, there are places along the coast (Costa Brava) that are worth visiting - cadaques, Roses. Also Girona, a bit inland is an interesting medieval town. Ryanair flies there.
If you have enough time you may visit Madrid too. From Madrid you can take bus or train to some great cities - Toledo, Ávila, Segovia. They're all UNESCO heritage sites. It's only 30 min - 1 hour by train or bus from Madrid. Train or bus ticket - €9.50 to 19 to those places.
Another city worth visitng is Salamanca - 2 hrs by train from Madrid.

Prices (they're up-to-date as my last trip to Spain was 3 weeks ago):
Cheap 2 course meal - €10-12, a small (200 ml) beer €1.20-1.60, espresso €0.80-1.20.
Single room with private bathroom - €25-35. I can't say about dorms.
Musem - €5-7. Many churches and cathedrals serve as museums as well - there are several rooms where historical artefacts and paintings are displayed, so don't let it to put you off if there is an entrance fee.

Forgot to add...
In Poland, try to squeeze in Toruń, on your way between Gdańsk and Kraków. It's smaller than Gdańsk, but has great old town.

Wow thanks for all th help so far. I really think I may take out Dublin, Amsterdam and Berlin, and focus on spending more time in the other locations. Also someone mentioned earlier about getting away from the main cities, and that definitely s my intention, is just easier to have a base itinerary set on the main cities.

Eliminating those cities will allow me to have much more freedom and budget throughout the trip.

If you want advice on Spain, here is some of it.

Cities not to miss, not in geographical order:

Madrid
(Salamanca, if time- most preserved 17th century city of prestige in Spain)
Sevilla(cathedral/mosque)
Granada(If you haven't seen the Alahambra, you haven't been to spain. A true saying. Go EARLY in the morning, its an all day event between the castle and the gardens.)

Leon(Magnificent cathedral, nicer town)
Burgos(Magnificent cathedral, a dump of a town. Whatever you do, don't walk the Camino santiago path to it unless you have to)
Toledo(roman ruins)

There is a stretch of beautiful small towns on the path of the Camino de Santiago, the main route, and between them are some quaint and beautiful towns, some of them very old.

Pamplona- a genuine walled city with the walls still intact, beautiful views.

Beach towns- See any one of them- once. After that, its all about the same. Cabanas and tourists in the season, deserted out of the season.

Barcelona- Yep, great city, and DO visit Las Ramblas at least once. It may be touristic, but its a fun romp on the fun side of Barcelona city life. Seeing Gaudi buildings would be more edifying, of course. Of them all, the Sagrada Familia and Parque Guell are my favorites, followed closely by the Apartment building of his and Casa Mila. Of all of them, I like to return to Parque Guell most of all, and its even FREE.

Do NOT leave out the Dali Museum in Figueras if you enjoy art. Its a full day trip, involving a 45 minute train ride. Across the street from it is a restaurant that serves a mean Paella that is not to be missed, if they have the same chef.

Cadiz- I spent a lot of time in this quiet town with some interesting architecture. From this port launched all three of Columbus's ships, as well as many exploratory missions of the golden age.

Now, I'm going to suggest you go somewhere I never had the chance to go to.

The capital city of the Basque territory, and prime place in the Architecture world.
Will remember it soon enough.

There is enough to see in Spain to occupy an entire three months, actually.

These numbers are for hosteling/europe/Sept-December in 2007 so a little out of date, but might help you:

http://virtualwayfarer.com/could-you-do ... vel-costs/

12k should be just right for 4 months. Will be more than enough for 3 months (especially if you minimize time in the British Isles/spend some time away from the Euro and travel saddle/off season).

You can do europe on 50-60 Euros per day if you want a tight budget. I knew backpackers who did it on 40. It really depends how much fun you want to have. If you want to lower your costs, try couchsurfing. That can give you extra money.

I just finished 2 months in Europe and I spent 55 euros per day.

As for your itinerary, 10 days is a long time to spend in Budapest, 3 days is not enough time to spend in Amsterdam

Nomadic Matt wrote:You can do europe on 50-60 Euros per day if you want a tight budget. I knew backpackers who did it on 40. It really depends how much fun you want to have. If you want to lower your costs, try couchsurfing. That can give you extra money.

I just finished 2 months in Europe and I spent 55 euros per day.

As for your itinerary, 10 days is a long time to spend in Budapest, 3 days is not enough time to spend in Amsterdam

Does that 55euros/day include all transportation also?

55 euros x 30 days, 1500.

That was what I spent. roughly, moving around. I'm counting the hit on my debit card, which includes all expenses. Some days I did little, some days I spent easily 40 euros plus sleeping.
If you live on noodles and squat, it can be very cheap, and often not pleasant.

In spain- which has cheap transport-
housing- 20-25 euros for hostels per night
The rest is up to you.
Some museums can cost up to 15 euros.
train from Madrid to Salamanca- 60 euros.
Train from Madrid to Grenada- 80-100 euros.

Germany is fairly inexpensive if you know how to travel about and take special trains.
France is expensive for transport no matter how you stack it up.

I saw you mentioned barcelona, i live there but was obviously once a newcomer. If you are looking to save the pennies there is a great site www.apartime.com its got loads of advice about the city, really well priced apartments which are well equipped to save you eating out the whole time and its blogs is regularly updated with up and coming events in the city.