Daily budgetting

[Bodhbh]

Just out of interest, I wonder what other people typically allow for a daily budget for a European trip and what luxuries (or not) it includes? (I realise this is a bit of an open question given the variables).

Reason I ask is I'm just about to go off on my first long tour, where for once money is going to be more of an issue than time. I'll be taking the ferry to Zeebrugge and finishing at where the Danube empties into the Black Sea. I'm crudely allowing 50 quid a day expenditure and plan on camping for the most part, probably hostels in big cities. I do like eat out once per day and have a beer or 2, however I'll just have to see how things pan out. The more the money stretches, the longer I can stay on the road, so maybe I can change my habits a bit.

 

[cisamcgu]

I would estimate

Camping £15 per night/Hostel £25
Food £20 per day
Beer £what is left over



[These are complete guesses of course, there are others here with much better idea than me]

 

[snorri]

Some figures from earlier this summer

Camping averaged E10 per night in Germany/Netherlands.

E45.50 in Koln hostel for a single room with ensuite, breakfast extra.
E16.60 in a Luxembourg hostel, dormitory with breakfast.
E45 in a Dusseldorf hostel, breakfast included.
We all have our own ideas as to value for money, but I feel that hotels on the Euro mainland give better value for money than the UK, You can find B&B in a very comfortable hotel for E70-80.

I like to eat out every evening, 3 course meal with beer say E20-25

I think you will be OK estimating average of £50 per day, it's the luxuries that run away with the Euros!!!!

 

[chris-s]

Recently I did a short cycle tour to paris. Camping in France was between 6 and 10 euros. Daily food (pastries, bread, cheese, ham, fruit etc) no more than 10 euros unless I ate out. Until I got to Paris then it got a bit more expensive. Beer, anything from 1.49 to 9 euros a pint.

Your budget of £50 a day sounds like luxury to me.

Chris

 

[bigjim]

We all have our own ideas as to value for money, but I feel that hotels on the Euro mainland give better value for money than the UK, You can find B&B in a very comfortable hotel for E70-80.

You are right about our own ideas. I think E70-80 a lot of money, especially, when quite often the so called breakfast is small [often cheese and ham with 2 pieces of bread] for a hungry cyclist. I recently toured germany/austria and paid E120 average for a room with 3 of us sharing. that was okay but travelling alone it could be expensive IMO. However £50 a day seems to be adequate if you are camping and using Hostels although our hostel in Vienna was not cheap. I did not see any hostels as I know them. They were more like small hotels. Always try and book somewhere with a buffet breakfast where you can fill up. We lunched at Lidl or Netto and found the food cheaper than the UK. Meals out were about £14 on average including a beer. I checked out a few campsites as we travelled but they just seemed to cater for motorhomes more than anything else.

 

[Bodhbh]

I would estimate

Camping £15 per night/Hostel £25
Food £20 per day
Beer £what is left over

Yeah, I ran something similar in my head, but I had a nagging doubt it couldn't be that simple.

Some figures from earlier this summer

Camping averaged E10 per night in Germany/Netherlands.

E45.50 in Koln hostel for a single room with ensuite, breakfast extra.
E16.60 in a Luxembourg hostel, dormitory with breakfast.
E45 in a Dusseldorf hostel, breakfast included.
We all have our own ideas as to value for money, but I feel that hotels on the Euro mainland give better value for money than the UK, You can find B&B in a very comfortable hotel for E70-80.

I like to eat out every evening, 3 course meal with beer say E20-25

I think you will be OK estimating average of £50 per day, it's the luxuries that run away with the Euros!!!!

Those prices are not a revelation, but it's at least nice to get some confirmation of what I was thinking anyhow. Like I've said already, not really counted the pennies b4, as my tours have been 2 weeks max and the limit has always been time rather than money (tho I'm hardly daddy warbucks).

Recently I did a short cycle tour to paris. Camping in France was between 6 and 10 euros. Daily food (pastries, bread, cheese, ham, fruit etc) no more than 10 euros unless I ate out. Until I got to Paris then it got a bit more expensive. Beer, anything from 1.49 to 9 euros a pint.

Your budget of £50 a day sounds like luxury to me.

As above, viewed tours money as a holiday on a bike, rather than serious expedition or adventure travelling. Hence like to try the local food and drink and live well. Plus, you do get talking to people in the local bar. It's not exactly skimping but then maybe I should give that way a go. I'd be interested what peeps think the absolute minium is (wild camping + bread and cheese I guess, but doesn't sound much fun).

 

[takeonafrica]

I'd be interested what peeps think the absolute minium is (wild camping + bread and cheese I guess, but doesn't sound much fun).

If you add in some red wine it can be!

 

[snorri]

On my last tour I spent little on breakfast and lunch but did enjoy sitting at a proper table for a good meal in the evening with a glass of beer.

 

[middleagecyclist]

£50? Bloody luxury that is!

 

[elduderino]

Everybody is different and we've all got our own styles. I usually get by on about 12 euro a day when wild camping, sometimes not even that much. I once did a 10 week tour of Europe for £650.

 

[tbtb]

I averaged 20E per day for a month this summer in France. I could've got it below 15E if I'd cut out the cakes and cans of juice, I'm pretty sure, and if I'd planned ahead with a copy of that book with the 13000 French campsites in it.

I think the camping average fee was around 9 or 10E. The cheapest places were without fail the nicest. Dearest was the Lonely Planet guide recommended City Camping in Arles, 17 or 18 Euros, phew. I think the mosquitoes must've been paying less cos there were lots of them camping there.

My budget was helped by my schedule - arriving at 9pm, departing at 7, it was sometimes impossible to find anyone to pay - and by my baguette-and-nutella simple tastes!

I had a conversation with a french charity tourer about camping sauvage - I think he was saying he camps by rivers, in village parks etc and avoids towns and campsites. But he had a quirky look that might allow him to camp unchallenged in your front garden tbh.

 

[Bodhbh]

Thanks for the low-end estimates, it is useful to know if I start running out of cash.

 

[jonas123]

Normally £20-40 for the hostel, and around £15-20 a day on food

 

[chrtho]

In 2007 I spent an average of 5 Euro per night in France using a mixture of municipal, commercial and wild camping. Never used hostels or hotels and kept clear of large towns.

The best campsites are free:


On the food front, I always find that simple food - bread/cheese/salami/honey/tins/cheap wine - from the supermarket becomes a lot more appealing and tasty when cycling all day so I never felt the need to eat out much.

Fuel stop in Castets:


I reckon 20 Euro/day is enough to live quite comfortably.

 

[hubbike]

I think a common mistake with daily budgeting is to only include things that don't happen on a daily basis. So when you have to pay for a ferry crossing or for some bike parts your budget for that day is blown out the water. Better to have a slightly higher daily budget to account for surprises.