It's hard to generalize about what you're likely to spend travelling around Europe. Some countries - Norway, Switzerland and the UK - are among the priciest places to be in the world, while in others you can live like a lord on next to nothing - Turkey, for example. The collapse of the eastern European economy means that many of the countries there appear very inexpensive if you're coming from the west. However, the absorption of a number of the previously inexpensive countries of southern Europe into the EU means their costs are becoming much more in tune with the European mainstream.
Accommodation will be the largest single cost, and can really determine where you decide to travel. For example, it's hard to find a double hotel room anywhere in Scandinavia - perhaps the most expensive part of the Continent - for much under £40/$65 a night, whereas in most parts of southern Europe, and even in France, you might be paying under half that on average. Everywhere, though, even in Scandinavia, there is some form of bottom-line accommodation available, and there's always a youth hostel on hand. In general, reckon on a minimum budget of around £10/$15 a night per person in most parts of Europe.
Food and drink costs also vary wildly, although again in most parts of Europe you can assume that a restaurant meal will cost on average £5-10/$8-15 a head, with prices at the top end of the scale in Scandinavia, at the bottom end in eastern and southern Europe. Transport costs are something you can pin down more exactly if you have a rail pass or are renting a car. Nowhere, though, are transport costs a major burden, except perhaps in Britain where public transport is less heavily subsidized than elsewhere. Local city transport, too, is usually good, clean and efficient, and is normally fairly cheap, even in the pricier countries of northern Europe. It's hard to pinpoint an average daily budget for touring the Continent, but a bottom-line survival figure - camping, self-catering, hitching, etc - might be around £15/$25 a day per person; building in an investment for a rail pass, staying in hostels and eating out occasionally would bring this up to perhaps £20/$30 a day; while staying in private rooms or hotels and eating out once a day would mean a personal daily budget of at least £25/$40. Obviously in the more expensive countries of northern Europe you might be spending more than this, but on a wide tour this would be balanced out by spending less in southern and eastern Europe, where everything is that much cheaper.
When and where you are travelling also makes a difference. Accommodation rates tend to go up across the board in July and August, when everyone is on vacation - although paradoxically there are good deals in Scandinavia during these months. Also bear in mind that in capital cities and major resorts in the peak season everything will be a grade more expensive than anywhere else, especially if you're there when something special is going on, for example in Munich during the Beer Festival, Pamplona for the running of the bulls, Siena during the Palio. These are, in any case, times when you will be lucky to find a room at all without having booked.
As for ways of cutting costs , there are plenty. It makes sense, obviously, to spend less on transport by investing in some kind of rail pass, and if you're renting a car to do so for a week or more, thereby qualifying for cheaper rates. Always try to plan in advance. Although it's good to be flexible, buying one-off rail tickets and renting cars by the day can add a huge amount to your travel budget. The most obvious way to save on accommodation is to use hostels and/or camp; you can also save by planning to make some of your longer trips at night, when the cost of a couchette may undercut the cost of a night's accommodation. It's best not to be too spartan when it comes to food costs, but doing a certain amount of self-catering, especially at lunchtime when it's just as easy (and probably nicer) to have a picnic lunch rather than eat in a restaurant or café, will save money. Bear in mind, also, that if you're a student an ISIC card is well worth investing in. It can get you reduced (usually 50 percent, sometimes free) entry to museums and other sights - costs which can eat their way into your budget alarmingly if you're doing a lot of sightseeing - as well as qualifying you for other discounts in certain cities; it can also save you money on some transport costs, notably ferries, and especially if you are over 26. For Americans there's also a health benefit, providing up to $3000 in emergency medical coverage and $100 a day for 60 days in hospital, plus a 24-hour hotline to call in the event of a medical, legal or financial emergency. If you are not a student but under 26, the Go-25 Card (or FIYTO) costs the same as the ISIC and can in some countries give much the same sort of reductions. Teachers qualify for the International Teacher Identity Card , offering similar discounts. All these cards are available from youth travel specialists such as Council Travel, STA, Usit and Travel CUTS. Basically, it's worth flashing one or the other at every opportunity to see what you can get.
The Euro
On 1 January 1999, eleven EU countries - Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, subsequently joined by Greece - fixed their exchange rates to a new currency, the euro ( € ) , which has gradually taken over as the single currency for all of them. Euro notes and coins replaced francs, Deutschmarks, lire and the like from 1 January 2002 onward. The remaining three EU countries (the UK, Denmark and Sweden) are expected to join Euroland eventually, though their politicians may have a hard time convincing voters that this is a good idea, especially if the new currency continues to perform badly against the dollar, the yen or the pound sterling. The British government has promised a referendum before joining; Denmark had one and voted against; but attitudes in those countries are expected to change as the euro becomes established.
Prices
For countries in Europe we've quoted prices in local currency wherever possible, except in those countries where the weakness of the currency and the inflation rate combine to make this a meaningless exercise. In these cases - parts of eastern Europe and Turkey - we've used either US dollars, pounds sterling or Deutschmarks, depending on which hard currency is most commonly used within that country.
Wiring money
Having money wired from home is never cheap, and should be considered as a last resort. Funds can be sent to most countries via MoneyGram or Western Union. Both companies' fees depend on the amount being transferred, but as an example, wiring £700/$1000 will cost around £40/$60. The funds should be available for collection (usually in local currency) from the company's local agent within minutes of being sent; you can do this in person at the company's nearest office (in the UK all post offices are agents for MoneyGram), or over the phone using your credit card with Western Union. It's also possible, and slightly cheaper, to have money wired from a bank in your home country to one in Europe, but this is much slower (a couple of weeks is not unheard of) and less reliable; if you go down this route, the person wiring the funds will need to know the routing number of the destination bank. From the UK, a compromise option is Thomas Cook's Telegraphic Transfer service, available through their high street branches, which costs £15 plus one percent of the amount to be sent (minimum charge £25), and takes 1-2 days to arrive.
If you have no money in your account, and there is no one you can persuade to send you any, then the options are inevitably limited. You can either find some casual, cash-in-hand work, sell blood (not possible in all European countries), or, as a last resort, throw yourself on the mercy of your nearest consulate. They won't be very sympathetic or even helpful, but they may cash a cheque drawn on a home bank and supported by a cheque card. They might, if there's nothing else for it, repatriate you, though bear in mind your passport will be confiscated as soon as you set foot in your home country and you'll have to pay back all costs incurred (at top-whack rates). They never lend money.
Accommodation will be the largest single cost, and can really determine where you decide to travel. For example, it's hard to find a double hotel room anywhere in Scandinavia - perhaps the most expensive part of the Continent - for much under £40/$65 a night, whereas in most parts of southern Europe, and even in France, you might be paying under half that on average. Everywhere, though, even in Scandinavia, there is some form of bottom-line accommodation available, and there's always a youth hostel on hand. In general, reckon on a minimum budget of around £10/$15 a night per person in most parts of Europe.
Food and drink costs also vary wildly, although again in most parts of Europe you can assume that a restaurant meal will cost on average £5-10/$8-15 a head, with prices at the top end of the scale in Scandinavia, at the bottom end in eastern and southern Europe. Transport costs are something you can pin down more exactly if you have a rail pass or are renting a car. Nowhere, though, are transport costs a major burden, except perhaps in Britain where public transport is less heavily subsidized than elsewhere. Local city transport, too, is usually good, clean and efficient, and is normally fairly cheap, even in the pricier countries of northern Europe. It's hard to pinpoint an average daily budget for touring the Continent, but a bottom-line survival figure - camping, self-catering, hitching, etc - might be around £15/$25 a day per person; building in an investment for a rail pass, staying in hostels and eating out occasionally would bring this up to perhaps £20/$30 a day; while staying in private rooms or hotels and eating out once a day would mean a personal daily budget of at least £25/$40. Obviously in the more expensive countries of northern Europe you might be spending more than this, but on a wide tour this would be balanced out by spending less in southern and eastern Europe, where everything is that much cheaper.
When and where you are travelling also makes a difference. Accommodation rates tend to go up across the board in July and August, when everyone is on vacation - although paradoxically there are good deals in Scandinavia during these months. Also bear in mind that in capital cities and major resorts in the peak season everything will be a grade more expensive than anywhere else, especially if you're there when something special is going on, for example in Munich during the Beer Festival, Pamplona for the running of the bulls, Siena during the Palio. These are, in any case, times when you will be lucky to find a room at all without having booked.
As for ways of cutting costs , there are plenty. It makes sense, obviously, to spend less on transport by investing in some kind of rail pass, and if you're renting a car to do so for a week or more, thereby qualifying for cheaper rates. Always try to plan in advance. Although it's good to be flexible, buying one-off rail tickets and renting cars by the day can add a huge amount to your travel budget. The most obvious way to save on accommodation is to use hostels and/or camp; you can also save by planning to make some of your longer trips at night, when the cost of a couchette may undercut the cost of a night's accommodation. It's best not to be too spartan when it comes to food costs, but doing a certain amount of self-catering, especially at lunchtime when it's just as easy (and probably nicer) to have a picnic lunch rather than eat in a restaurant or café, will save money. Bear in mind, also, that if you're a student an ISIC card is well worth investing in. It can get you reduced (usually 50 percent, sometimes free) entry to museums and other sights - costs which can eat their way into your budget alarmingly if you're doing a lot of sightseeing - as well as qualifying you for other discounts in certain cities; it can also save you money on some transport costs, notably ferries, and especially if you are over 26. For Americans there's also a health benefit, providing up to $3000 in emergency medical coverage and $100 a day for 60 days in hospital, plus a 24-hour hotline to call in the event of a medical, legal or financial emergency. If you are not a student but under 26, the Go-25 Card (or FIYTO) costs the same as the ISIC and can in some countries give much the same sort of reductions. Teachers qualify for the International Teacher Identity Card , offering similar discounts. All these cards are available from youth travel specialists such as Council Travel, STA, Usit and Travel CUTS. Basically, it's worth flashing one or the other at every opportunity to see what you can get.
The Euro
On 1 January 1999, eleven EU countries - Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, subsequently joined by Greece - fixed their exchange rates to a new currency, the euro ( € ) , which has gradually taken over as the single currency for all of them. Euro notes and coins replaced francs, Deutschmarks, lire and the like from 1 January 2002 onward. The remaining three EU countries (the UK, Denmark and Sweden) are expected to join Euroland eventually, though their politicians may have a hard time convincing voters that this is a good idea, especially if the new currency continues to perform badly against the dollar, the yen or the pound sterling. The British government has promised a referendum before joining; Denmark had one and voted against; but attitudes in those countries are expected to change as the euro becomes established.
Prices
For countries in Europe we've quoted prices in local currency wherever possible, except in those countries where the weakness of the currency and the inflation rate combine to make this a meaningless exercise. In these cases - parts of eastern Europe and Turkey - we've used either US dollars, pounds sterling or Deutschmarks, depending on which hard currency is most commonly used within that country.
Wiring money
Having money wired from home is never cheap, and should be considered as a last resort. Funds can be sent to most countries via MoneyGram or Western Union. Both companies' fees depend on the amount being transferred, but as an example, wiring £700/$1000 will cost around £40/$60. The funds should be available for collection (usually in local currency) from the company's local agent within minutes of being sent; you can do this in person at the company's nearest office (in the UK all post offices are agents for MoneyGram), or over the phone using your credit card with Western Union. It's also possible, and slightly cheaper, to have money wired from a bank in your home country to one in Europe, but this is much slower (a couple of weeks is not unheard of) and less reliable; if you go down this route, the person wiring the funds will need to know the routing number of the destination bank. From the UK, a compromise option is Thomas Cook's Telegraphic Transfer service, available through their high street branches, which costs £15 plus one percent of the amount to be sent (minimum charge £25), and takes 1-2 days to arrive.
If you have no money in your account, and there is no one you can persuade to send you any, then the options are inevitably limited. You can either find some casual, cash-in-hand work, sell blood (not possible in all European countries), or, as a last resort, throw yourself on the mercy of your nearest consulate. They won't be very sympathetic or even helpful, but they may cash a cheque drawn on a home bank and supported by a cheque card. They might, if there's nothing else for it, repatriate you, though bear in mind your passport will be confiscated as soon as you set foot in your home country and you'll have to pay back all costs incurred (at top-whack rates). They never lend money.
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