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Backpacking Europe Expenses and Budget |
Some general budget guidelines are as follows:
Hostel/hotel: $20 - $50
Thing to do: $0 - $50
Transportation: $5 - $20
Food: $10 - $30
Drinks: $0 - $25
Pad because you’ll do something stupid: $0 - $20
Obviously there can be a very broad range on what to spend, it all just depends on the quality
of life you are willing to accept while there. Can you be happy with eating food from grocery
stores and staying at the cheapest hostels? Do you want to do much partying/drinking? The
best way to determine your budget is to estimate a daily average, add ten percent or so and
multiple it by the amount of time you plane on going.
It’s also good to keep track of your expenses while you’re there so you don’t surprise yourself
and run out of money. I recommend just keeping a rough log of what you’ve spent to see how
well you are sticking to your preplanned budget.
Many people wonder how to pay for things. I highly recommend getting a credit card or ATM
card if you don’t have one. Preferably get a back up too. It’s a bad idea to carry that much
cash on hand. Traveler’s checks are very widely accepted. But with a credit card or ATM card
you can get a couple of day’s supply of cash at a time and not worry about losing a fortune. It
is also good for helping keep to budget.
As far as what credit cards are accepted, I have found Visa seems to be the best. MasterCard
is pretty well accepted and American Express will work too. The credit card I wouldn’t
recommend is Discover, I found few places that accept it.
In summary, just try to get a rough estimate of what you can live on, it will vary by everyone. If
you aren’t a drinker you’ll save a lot of space on the credit card.
| Expenses and Budget |
