Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ACTIVITIES AND ATTRACTIONS
Museums in this region of the world typically cost $10 USD. Prices are pretty uniform throughout the region
in that respect. There are a number of full-day activities to do in this region, and most involve going out and
exploring the beautiful countryside. Most day trips cost $50 USD or more.
The best way to save money on attractions in Scandinavia is to buy the city tourism cards. Every big city
or tourist destination offers one. Not only will they provide free public transportation, but they will save you
a bundle on tourist sites, since most are very expensive here. For example, in Oslo, I saved $30 USD with
the pass plus got free public transportation. In Helsinki, I saved $20 USD on attractions, plus I got discounts
on some buffets and free city transportation.
Additionally, these cards offer discounts on many of the day trips offered from the cities, such as boat
tours or hikes. City tourism cards can be bought at the local tourist office and often in the airport.
Using your ISIC, YHA, or IYC card will also get you a discount between 20 and 50 percent on public
attractions, museums, and tours.
How Much Money Do You Need?
Europe isn't the cheapest place to travel on $50 USD a day. Even Arthur Frommer, famed for his book
Europe on 5 Dollars a Day , has upped his daily budget to $85 USD, but I don't think you need that much.
If you stick to the budget accommodations, food, and tours listed here and ignore all my tips on saving
money, you'll need about $75 USD per day in Western Europe, $45 USD in Eastern Europe, and about $100
USD in Scandinavia. Those numbers reflect a traveler who stays in hostels, doesn't cook meals, eats mostly
cheap food, drinks, and visits a lot of attractions. This is your typical backpacker budget. You aren't going
to have a fancy time, but you aren't going to want for anything either.
However, by getting tourist cards and rail passes, avoiding flights, occasionally couch-surfing, and cook-
ing some meals, you can travel a lot cheaper. In Western Europe, you can spend between $50 USD and $60
USD per day. In Eastern Europe, which is already cheap, by implementing my tips, you can travel on around
$35 USD per day. In Scandinavia, there are so few ways to save that the cheapest you can do is around $70
USD per day.
On the ultra cheap, if you were to use Couchsurfing every day (or even camped), cooked all your meals,
didn't drink, and saw a minimum of sights, you could do Western Europe on $35 USD per day, Eastern
Europe on $20 USD, and Scandinavia on $50 USD. That would require you to take a train or a bus or hitch-
hike everywhere, skip most museums, and limit how often you go out.
By mixing destinations across Europe, you can keep your budget really low. Scandinavia cost me a lot
of money, but by heading to Eastern Europe after I went there and spending less than $35 USD per day, I
was able to lower my daily spending average to something more reasonable. While I may have spent $65
USD per day in Amsterdam, heading to Greece, where everything is much cheaper, I spent only $40 USD
per day, thus bringing my daily average down again. Mix, match, save.
Europe can be a very expensive destination, and because of that, it requires more work to save money
in. But it can be done. And it's how I'm able to afford trips to Europe every summer. By being conscious of
when and where I'm spending my money, I've never had to turn down a wine tour in Italy or a night out on
the town in Paris.
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