When people talk about backpacking Europe, you kind of imagine that it’s this student thing that you should do, and that it’ll be an experience to be frugal, to live on your wits out there and to experience life from a different (read poor) perspective. In truth though, even a bare-bones plan to backpack Europe on can set you back thousands of dollars. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Let’s start with that backpack itself. That’s going to set you back at least $200 if you’re planning on a model that’s really going to see you through without giving you a back ache. A few basic things that you need to live with every day of your trip – a sleep sheet, toiletries, a first aid kit, a sewing kit, towels and umbrellas and stuff – put down about $150 for all this.
You will need to spend about $100 on your passport if you don’t have one already, about $1000 on your plane ticket there and back, and another $1000 for travel within Europe once you get there – by train or bus. Why, just getting there and back will easily cost you $2500. But let’s see what all the actual backpacking will cost.
Europe is not the cheapest place to visit. Maybe Eastern Europe is; the rest of Europe isn’t. When you visit one of the large, famous cities, you can expect to spend about $40 a day for a roof over your head each night. If you don’t want to starve, you can count of $25 a day. If you stay at a hostel (very rundown), you can probably go grocery shopping somewhere close by, and buy enough ingredients to put a meal together in the hostel kitchen. Most of what it costs backpacking Europe, comes from food costs. Restaurant food is extremely expensive in Europe.
Of course, you’re not going there to cook three times a day. You’re going there to have fun. Fun itself – drinking, renting bicycles, getting into all the museums and theaters – all of these can set you back $35 a day. With all of these included, an 8-to-10 day visit could easily set you back about $750.
Of course, you can really try backpacking Europe the old-fashioned way. To save money. The traditional backpacking way has always been to walk or ride bicycles. Do it the old-fashioned way, and you could easily halve your costs. But hey, think about it – when you slow down like that, you’ll be able to gather more experiences. Remember – a rolling stone and all that.
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