how much money needed each day approx?? (Europe trip)

[~breeze~]

My parents are beginning to plan their big European trip, mums first ever trip outside of Australia & Dads first (besides the fact he was born in Holland & moved to Australia with his parents & siblings when he was 4yrs old!) So this is their trip of a lifetime that they have been working all their lives for.

I want to help them as much as possible to make it the most memorable trip possible!

I have been to Europe before but that was back in 2005 & I cant remember how much spending money we used each day/week.

Can everyone give me some idea of how much approx they will need each day for food etc. I think we will look at booking tours back here before they leave & they will probably book accom before they leave too, although they have free accom in Holland.

We are just after an average that people spend & then mum & dad will add a little extra ontop to make sure they'll have enough

Thanks alot! (I'm sooooooo excited that we're starting to talk about their trip now!!!! )

[LionsandBears]

We did an around the world trip in 2009 and budgeted for about $200 a day excluding accommodation. This was to cover meals, shopping, entry fees to minor attractions etc (and took into account the exchange rate). In addition, we planned and budgeted for big things separately - like tours, helicopter trips, expensive fine dining experiences, day passes, shows. Many of these we pre-booked and paid for before we left.

Accommodation for about 28 days, car hire for 12 days and travel insurance came to about $10k. Other pre-booked items were $4K and spends were $5.5k. I don't remember airfare costs. Where we could, we stayed in furnished apartments rather than hotels - you get more for your money.

UK, NY was the most expensive part of our trip. For a trip to Europe, I'd budget more in both spends and accommodation costs. How long are they planning on going for?

Sounds like fun. I'm jealous

[Miss E]

Well it's been a long time since we did Europe (2004) and when we went we backpacked, so our budget probably was a bit different to your folks. But we worked on the basis of $150 AUD a day for both of us (included accom, food, activities, tours etc). We stayed in hostels, but always got a private room with a double bed and sometimes an ensuite (if we were lucky). We also bought Eurorail passes before we left so didn't really have to include getting from place to place within our budget. But the $150 a day generally worked for us, some days we went over and some days we were under. But I kept a tally each day of what we spent so we knew exactly where we were at cos our money had to last for three months of travel. With inflation, I'd say to do what we did now we would probably need $200 a day...

Where abouts are your parents? My DH is a travel agent so could help them plan everything if they wanted. If you're interested, just PM me.

[~breeze~]

Yeah it does sound great doesnt it... I'm jealous too but I already got to do the big European travel (we went for 11 weeks but also spent a week each in Hong Kong, Japan & spent a couple of weeks in UK too) so I cant complain LOL

They dont know how long they'll be going for. They will be retired & they're selling their house before they leave too so they dont have a time limit. (When they get back they have their caravan & 4WD & will be spending about 8-12 months travelling around Australia THEN they will buy another house to re-settle in!)

Holland isnt much of a big deal as they will be staying & eating with family, of course there are a few tours etc that I have suggested for them but Holland will be the cheapest.

They also want to go to London, they have accom available for them there with my late BIL's family but I think they'll stay in a hotel so they have their own space. I'm guessing they'll prob spend about a week in London.

Places they want to visit are:

Holland
London
Scotland

Places I'm suggesting they visit ontop are:

Paris (for the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge etc)

Nice (Just beautiful & if they're already in France... why not LOL)

Venice (I loved Venice & I think they would enjoy it)

Rome (cause it's a touristy place to visit, if they're close might aswell go!)

Vatican City (beautiful & I think mum would like the Sistine Chapel)

Pisa (for the leaning tower of pisa of course! LOL We stayed in Florence & got a bus, Florence was gorgeous too)

Germany (Berlin Wall etc)

Prague (If they get time/money.... I loved Prague, it is absolutely stunning!)

Saltzburg (if they have time/money. If you like "the sound of music" then you'll love Saltzburg.... I dont know if mum & dad like the movie but Saltzburg was one of my favourites, a gorgeous place to visit, just really gorgeous!)

ok, I'll leave it there lmao otherwise they'll be gone a year!!!! hahahahaha I just really want them to make the most of their trip, they're only doing it once, they're both in their 60's I want them to make the most of it

I remember a few places being ALOT more expensive than others but I cant remember alot about where it was, I think Venice, Paris & Monte Carlo were the most expensive (by alot) but really cant be sure. I'm hoping other people can remember better than I can!!

Sorry about my massive reply!!!

[~breeze~]

Where abouts are your parents? My DH is a travel agent so could help them plan everything if they wanted. If you're interested, just PM me.

Thanks, they are in Townsville, I'm currently living with them LOL

[luna moth]

hmmm.... I went in 2004, and did 5 months on the uber-cheap. My budget was 32-35 euros per day, including travel, accommodation, food, everything.

But I don't think it's the kind of travel your folks are after

[wysiwyg]

Is a great time to be doing it as aus dollar so strong, uk especially is a lot cheaper now than a couple of years ago 2.4 dollars to pound in 2007 now 1.6.

[LionsandBears]

There's some great tours - you can do a Danube river tour from Budapest to Hamburg via the Rhine (sp?)

I'm a huge fan of Italy, especially Florence and Venice. I hear Sicily is great and I'd love to go to Puglia (google grand designs abroad puglia )

Would they be interested in going to Gallipoli? You could take a month to do Turkey, it's fabulous.
Eurail passes are worth looking into. Do they want to self-drive and hire a campervan or prefer tours and trains?

I find with planning a tour, to find what interests you and build it around that. You can only take so many castles, cathedrals and paintings When I first went to Italy, I based my travels on seeing as many of Michelangelo's creations as possible. It was a great pretext that took me to places I wouldn't have thought of (small, winding lanes and squares in Rome with hideaway churches holding the most exquisite sculptures).

Sounds like you'll enjoy helping them make plans

[mzcatieboo]

we have $100 Euro's each for when we go to Europe next week, accomodation and everything is already paid for.... the money is just to cover some food thats not included in our trip and entry into some optional extra's .. we have spent prob $12,000 including flights from karratha to perth..all accomodation..daycare for the kids in perth & money for there god mother for them.. spendings was extra.. we have about $2900 Euro's & $1000 Pounds in our travel account

[Footsteps]

Sounds fantastic. I really hope they have a amazing time. xox

[~breeze~]

They've still got a while before they go (havent quite finished renovating the house yet, then need to sell it!) but its always good to be prepared.

Thanks for all your tips. I think if they have around $150-$200AUD each day they should be fine?

I cant wait for them to have this trip, they've both been working since they were 14yrs old & I want them to have the best time ever!