Budget for 2 month europe backpacking trip?

2 friends of mine and I want to backpack Europe for 2 months.

We're in the midst of budgeting and we want to go as inexpensive as possible without robbing the experience. We're already up to about $5,000 just with the basics (EuroRail, plane, food, lodging)

What are ways to cut back?

Any tips or advice?

What kind of budget is normal for this type of trip?Budget for 2 month europe backpacking trip?
The best way to budget is to find out which countries are least expensive. You will not cover the entire continent in that time. Costs vary a lot from country to country. Stay just outside the main tourist areas. Prices are always higher where there are tourists.



One way to save money is to travel over night on a train or bus from one place to another and sleep on the transport.



Buy food and drink from supermarkets instead of restaurants, bars and cafes and have pic nic meals where ever possible.



Leisure centres will usually have a place to take a shower and freshen up.



It can be cheaper to replace soiled clothes with cheap new ones from a market than pay for laundry in a hotel. Hostels often have a laundry room so find out where that is as soon as you arrive and get any laundry done straight away. Take a shower when you arrive and another just before you leave.



Costs depend a lot on the standards you want to enjoy or are prepared to endure. 00Budget for 2 month europe backpacking trip?
For Western Europe budget $US 100 per person per day, on top of your Eurail and flight. That does include your place to stay, food and a little entertainment money.

Going to east Europe is a way to cut back on cost, as the general level of cost is lower there. Going to smaller towns is an other way to cut back on cost, smaller towns mostly are cheaper than the main cities, have fewer expensive 'must do' things and give you more options for cheap entertainment like going for a hike, only cost being your picnic.

A way to cut cost most groups of young men do not want to consider is not drinking. Do not go clubbing or to pubs at night and drink water or at worst, soft drinks you bought from the supermarkets. Drinking soft drinks in pubs is often as expensive as drinking beer, so that is not the way out.



While sleeping on a train is basically free when you travel with your pass, you will find that if you spend all your nights on trains you will spend more than when you had slowed down more. First of all, there is the compulsory reservation, which is only a few euro in most cases but not free. Second, you will arrive in a new town still sleepy in the morning, will have to find a place to get coffee and food, most people I know spend more on that after a night in a seat in a train than they would on a cheap hostel. And by the time you have worked out where the cheap options are in the city, you have to leave on your next overnight.

If hostels are really too expensive, try couch surfing: http://www.couchsurfing.org/ or http://www.hospitalityclub.org/ or paying little for a place to sleep with crashpadder: http://www.crashpadder.com/

And remember that in some cases a hotel room might be cheaper than three places in a hostel.



Even going down to the basics, with couch surfing and not drinking, I guess that you will need $US 50 per day each at least, on top of your rail pass and flight.

And traveling that way will be work, not holiday.