Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fices. If you watch your budget closely and make a conscious effort to keep your costs down,
it's possible to drop your expenses by around 25%-30%. Lowering your costs even more
starts to become difficult so you'll have to get creative—there are plenty of money-saving tips
throughout this topic.
It is also important to note that these daily costs do not include long-distance transporta-
tion between destinations—this is just for estimating how much you'll spend on an average
day.
ACCOMMODATION COST ESTIMATE
For this example I am going to assume that you'll be staying in hostels since that is the most
popular form of accommodation for budget travelers. However, there are other options, so
check out the accommodation chapter for more information about short-term apartments,
couchsurfing, camping, and a few others.
Hostel prices can vary greatly from city to city. Many raise their rates on the weekend (Fri-
day-Saturday) and some holidays.
The rates on the next page are based on a late June booking from hostels that received fairly
high reviews from past guests. You may be able to find cheaper options if you're willing to
overlook cleanliness, a good location, or other desirable amenities.
Furthermore, the prices listed are for a single person in the cheapest room available (usually
in a room with anywhere from 6 to 20 beds). The prices generally get more expensive as the
number of beds in a room decreases (e.g., an 18-bed room will be cheaper than a 4-bed room).
The price also goes up Friday and Saturday. Private rooms (for two people) are normally two
or three times as expensive as the cheapest bed.
London: $20-$45
Paris: $30-$50
Dublin: $15-$25
Amsterdam: $20-$50
Munich: $20-$40
Berlin: $13-$30
Krakow: $7-$18
Budapest: $8-$20
Barcelona: $15-$25
FOOD COST ESTIMATE
Europe is home to some of the world's greatest cuisine and as a budget backpacker you'll have
little money to try it. (Sorry.) Simply put, frequently eating at restaurants is a temptingly easy
way to blow your budget. Nonetheless, I do encourage that everyone set aside some cash for
