Ideas for a Very Frugal Spring in Europe/Asia

Planning an around the world trip in March/April, 2015 starting in the US.

Plan to arrive in Dublin or London (or elsewhere in Europe) and tour my way down to Rome. (Do not have tickets yet so am flexible about arrival dates and locations.)
From Rome I will be headed off to Singapore for 2 weeks. (This flight is already booked.)

Could really use some travel ideas from the super-cheap backpackers out there. Need ideas about where to arrive in Europe and which destinations to visit while heading to Rome, what type of transport to take, where to stay, (airbnb.com?) what to do. Also could use the same for the 2 weeks in Singapore - - interested in using this as a base and heading off to other Asian countries during this 2 weeks. (Have been to Hong Kong and Manila which are great)

Dont have much of a budget - - so want to go the hostel route, sleep in airports, couchsurf, use cheap transport, etc. Where would you go if you were me and how would you travel?

Thanks in advance,
Globalhobo2

What is your budget?

London and Dublin are both expensive places. Cheapest way from London/Dublin to Rome is flying. Overland trains cost significantly more. Cheapest way from London to Paris would be bus (megabus London - Paris around 20 Euros if booked in advance). Although London is expensive there are a lot of free things, including most of the museums. You will struggle to survive in London on less than £25 per day (that would just cover a hostel, some local transport e.g. tube, and buying food at supermarkets, only doing free activities). If you want to include activities you could easily triple that cost (e.g. 1 pint of beer £4+, London Eye £30, St Puals Cathedral £16).

Your best bet for Singapore is to take a bus over the border to Malaysia, which is a lot more budget friendly.

If I were a super-cheap backpacker I wouldn't go for a 2 months long RTW.

It makes no sense to fork out loads of money for a RTW ticket if you want to go only to Europe or Southeast Asia.

2 weeks in Singapore is about 12 days more than it really deserves, 2 weeks in SEA is not worth going for from as far as the USA, Singapore is not a good base for SEA, Kuala Lumpur is the best which is the hub of budget carrier Air Asia. Then again, only 2 weeks doesn't make any sense.

If I were you and had only 2 months I'd choose either Europe OR SEA and save the RTW ticket.

Damn, I missed your flight is already booked...

Can't you cancel and refund the ticket?

Europe is expensive -- no way around it. For transportation, look at the cheaper busses: megabus, meinfernbus, berlinienbus, eurolines sometimes. Also, often carshares are cheaper: blablacar is my personal favourite, though there's also carpooling.co.uk. Of all places on your route, Germany would probably be the cheapest, though I haven't been to France or Italy so I can't say for sure. Switzerland is extremely expensive.

As for accommodation, check out hostel prices on hostelworld or other sites. Have you Couchsurfed before? If you're new, it'll be harder to get hosted since you'll have no references. Also, please read the sticky about CS on top of this forum.

Two weeks in SEA is nothing. However, you can at least pop into Malaysia, and look at various flights from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore on AirAsia. I personally love Malaysia, so can recommend it.

Europe is expensive

I'd rather say it's the style of travel around Europe preferred by many non-Europeans that makes it expensive - covering thousands of kilometers to rush through as many big, touristy cities in as many different countries as physically possible will of course eventually become pretty expensive.

While overall Europe is undeniably more expensive than e.g. South East Asia or South America, it is possible to keep a trip affordable with some planning and by focussing on a smaller geographical area rather than attempting to cover a whole continent.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/europe-western-europe/topics/itinerary-or-budget-question-please-read-this-first-before-posting

Agree with above...if you are a really low budget traveller,this kind of trip doesn't make sense at all.

London and Dublin are two of the most expensive cities in the world,and Singapore is the most expensive city in SE Asia.Rome is not cheap either.And of course your airfare will be massive.....I would also choose either Europe or SE Asia (the latter is much cheaper on average,apart from Singapore;-)

If you do decide on SE Asia,then don't make Singapore a base..that will cost you far more (and be much less efficient) than simply moving around from place to place.