budget traveling this July. Am I crazy?

The OP said;<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Is my budget of 50 euros per day will do? (incl. hostel, food, transportation and tickets to museums).<hr></blockquote>#10 said;<blockquote>Quote
<hr>50 euros per day is definitely doable if you don't include accommodation.<hr></blockquote> The one contradicts the other.

I'm sorry, I hate to be negative, but this itinerary is impossible on the basis of €50 per day including accommodation, transportation from north west to south east europe, food and 'various museums'. It might just be doable if the OP stuck to a very tight geographical area and tried to take advantage of free days in museums. Otherwise, no chance.

Did any of you ever take a class is basic math ??
21 days at 50 euro = 1050 Euro
Eurail pass 21 days = 469 Euro (highspeed surcharges not included !!)
NorthSea Jazz ticket = 170 Euro (food and drinks not included !!)

This leaves 150 euro/week to eat and sleep.
Impossible I'm sorry

Consider doing 3 weeks in Holland (for NorthSeaJazz, if thats your thing) in stead of 3 weeks on the train.
Camp out in the Westland area and cycle to towns like Den Haag, Rotterdam, Delft, Gouda, Schiedam
I might even think a better way to experiance Europe, than rushing from city to city.

Ferdinand

Oh, and if, as I'm assuming, the OP is flying into/out of Paris that adds further to the transport costs because of the doubling back involved.

Assuming you start and end in Paris: Get yourself to Holland either with a Thalys special (if you can get any) or eurolines. Preferraby, you are on an open jaw already, starting your trip in the Netherlands and ending it in Paris.

50Euro a day for all is not a lot of money but can be done if you are very frugal.

One way to economize is to cut down on travel cost.

Get a Bahn.de special from A-Dam to Cologne and another one to Munich via Nürnberg for 29 Euro (if you can get it) (book online now, early departure in Cologne, spend the day in Nürnberg [you have to tell the site how many hours you want], go to Munich at night so it is all on one ticket). The special is only valid on a specific train and will only be available whenever there is low demand, so you have to travel at times other people won't - or you don't get the deal.

Drop Freiburg, it is out of the way. Anyway, you have too many cities for three weeks IMHO anyway. It is nice - but still out of the way and 50 Euro a day is not much.

From Munich to Salzburg you can share a ride on a Bayern Ticket with other people. Meet them ad hoc in front of the regional train going to Salzburg at the station (valid until Salzburg Hbf even though that is in Austria).

From Salzburg to Vienna spend the day breaking your journey in Linz, very nice town, beautiful too. Don't know anything about Austrian train specials.

From Vienna take SkyEurope to Paris. Flights at the end of July are available from 40€.

Re NSJ: if you really want to go, get tickets now, as it nearly always sells out. Food and drinks are not cheap inside! A day pass is €70,-.

Agree with above posters that there is no way you'll be able to visit 10(!) different cities on that budget. Check out a map, the distances might be longer than you now think and travelling is expensive, esp. in summer.

But aside from your budget-issues you are trying to do way too much. 10 cities in 21 days in madness, even if you could afford to fly. Limit yourself to a max of 3 cities, that will save you a lot of money on travelling too.

The museums in the Netherlands and many other places aren't free. The Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum are €10, the Anne Frank House is €7,50. The Louvre is €8,50, Musée d'Orsay is €7,50. A cup of coffee in a café will be around €1,70 - €2,50 in the Netherlands, as will a softdrink. If you buy all your food from the supermarket, cook for yourself and others (it's always cheaper to cook for more than 1) and not eat or drink out at all, you could spend as little as €5-€10 a day on food in the Netherlands, I suppose.

Good luck and have fun!

accomodation will be the greatest expense. To save on that, try to trust people and check out either www.couchsurfing.com or www.hospitalityclub.org. No obligations, but great fun. After all, meeting locals is usually the greatest experience in exploring a country, and since you are visiting major cities only, therre plenty of hosts who offer a place to stay.

OP, I have to agree with some of the others - I don't believe your trip is possible on €50.00 / day, especially as this amount includes transportation and Museum admissions. Given that you'll be travelling in peak tourist season, budgeting for reservation charges on the trains will also be necessary. One rail trip (ie: Paris - Munich) would probably require more than the daily funds you have available.

I normally plan my travel budgets on the basis of "daily expenses" which includes lodgings, food and incidentals (such as admissions). A realistic amount for this would be about €80-90 IMHO. This daily amount does not include transportation (rail passes & reservations for high speed or ICE trains, metro charges or budget air fares).

As you stated this is a "one shot" trip for you, I would try and find some additional funds (talk to your friendly Bank Manager) so that you can make the trip a reality and have a realistic amount of money available.

Good luck!!!