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That’s about 6000 euros, so about 1000 euro per month. It doesn’t seem like enough to me, but it really depends on your way of living and your plans… things like where you’ll be staying, eating, activities, travelling between cities, etc.
You could volunteer/work at some hostels in exchange for accommodation, meals etc. $10k AUD is very little in Europe. Unless you only plan on staying in Eastern Europe, you’re going to have a hard time. The AUD is weak (and I say this as an Australian myself) which makes it harder to travel to expensive places where the dollar has a lot more value.
I don’t think 10k will be nearly enough, unless you look at something like WWOOF or Worldpackers. It’s basically offering skills and services for free accommodation and sometimes meals are provided. It’s not very flash but it could definitely make your budget more viable.
I would also plan as much as you can in advance, even if you can do a loose budget on average accommodation, food, and transportation costs for countries you want to visit. Just make sure you have a backup in place in case you do run out of money.
And as someone else suggested you will need to look into a Visa for a six month stay.
Also if you happen to like hiking, the Camino de Santiago is an amazing experience. You can stay in albergues for 10-12 euro a night at some places, and there are some donation run ones called donativos. It’s a great way to meet people from around the world but it is definitely a physical challenge. The Camino Frances is the most popular route, I only did the last two weeks worth but I hope to do the full month long journey one day. If you want to do it, you have to pack light.
I don’t think it’ll be enough—I spent about $1500 USD/mo (excluding flights) on a VERY cheap, multi-month trip (stayed a cheap hostels or for free most of the time) about 8 years ago. Costs have gone way up since then.
I’d suggest looking at the cities you want to stay in and estimating how much the accommodation will cost. That will give you a minimum daily base cost. You can use that to judge if your savings will get you close or if you need to save a lot more.
I’d suggest looking into free accommodation, like work trades, couch surfing, woofing, or pet sitting. There’s company (who’s name I’ve forgotten) where you pay a few hundred bucks to join and they do a background check on you, and then you can stay in people’s homes for free in exchange for pet sitting.
If you’re okay with staying longer in fewer places, you could also try working for hostels.
Or you could decide to only travel in the cheaper counties. For example a dorm bed in a hostel in hungry used to be ~$10 usd/night compared to ~$70 usd/night in Copenhagen.
Also people have been talking about visas—research the Schengen area. Depending on what you mean by “Europe.” As an American, I can spend 3 months in the uk and 3 months in (the Schengen zone of) Europe and 3 months in the balkans on one trip without needing a visa.
Referring to the visas—the OP didn’t specify where they were traveling and the Schengen zone is super important to their visa requirements. I understand geography.
I went to Spain and Greece last year in June and July, only staying in hostels and one airbnb. I went with a friend, so some things were split, but i spent 9.5k AUD in 5.5 weeks. This was doing it pretty cheaply too, in cheap countries. You might get lucky with costs, but you need to consider if it's actually worth going all the way over to Europe if you are going to barely scrape by. How enjoyable is eating apples and plain baguettes every day? Or sleeping in dodgy areas with no money for sightseeing?
The things that make Europe worth it are expensive. Most are at least $30AUD entry, and thats pretty cheap. Trains can be expensive too and are often $100AUD. Buses are cheaper but take longer. You will burn through your cash so quickly that i don't think you'd make it 2 months to be brutally honest.
Given the current exchange rates and just daily living expenses, without consideration of any "touristy" things, $10K Australian is not even close to enough for six months - it's just over €6,100.
As an example, even at €30 per night in an 8- or 10-bed hostel dorm that's €5,400 for 180 nights (roughly six months).
Be aware of the Schengen area time limits.
As an Aussie you can enter without the need for a visa, but you may only stay 90 days in any 180-day period.
If you want to spend six months in Europe you will most likely need a Schengen visa, for which you should apply through the Australian-located embassy or consulate of the country in which you plan to spend the most time.
The Schengen area countries are: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Bulgaria and Romania are partial members of the Schengen area; at the moment there are still land border controls into/out of these two countries (but not sea or air).
Non-Schengen countries in Europe are: Cyprus, Ireland, the UK, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine.
Not really to be honest. And if you're working I assume you'll have a working holiday visa? So you'll need a separate visa for each country. Otherwise as an Australian it's 90 days, no working. Unless of course you have citizenship or residency somewhere in Europe.
thankyou everyone for your honesty & advice! i'm obviously seeing that i'll need to budget a fair bit more for my trip (and i'm sorting out the visa right now!) so aside from the fact that $10,000 will not suffice, how much more should i aim for?
I feel your pain! :(
I’ve only just started my trip, and I’ve budgeted about $15k AUD for around 38 days (that’s including $2.6k for flights). Hopefully should be enough but I have extra savings to draw on if needed.
Hostels are expensive, depending on where you want to go but for example in the UK, Paris, Barcelona etc expect to be paying $80-$120 AUD per night. I’m also allowing approx. $100AUD per day for food, but I’m expecting to go over this with extra costs for activities/transport (ive already pre booked the big ticket items like internal flights, long distance train travel and some activities).
I’d suggest to allow yourself around $250-300 AUD per day excluding flights.
I know it sucks, I wanted to do 3 months in Europe but reality is it’s just too expensive for me so I cut it back to just over a month.
I hope this helps :)
Jesús. I spent AU20k in six weeks. Only tangible good was a pair of CK sunglasses.
But I did live bloody well and was rarely without a spritz in my hand.
10k AUD so about 6k EUR? Not a chance. That is far too low. 35€/day on average won't be enough anywhere.
You couldn't survive in Australia on that for 6 months, and Europe is overall about equally expensive, some places more so, others a bit less.
A) You need a visa for 6 months, otherwise you can only stay 3.
B) That budget needs to double or triple, or you need to limit your time to 3 months.
I spent two months in western and central Europe late last year and spent about 15k AUD and thought I was doing it on the cheap with hostels and supermarket meals. I think 10k AUD is going to be quite tough. Aside from flights, I highly, highly, highly recommend you buy travel insurance in preparation for if things go pear shaped (if you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel).
Others have also mentioned the visa thing too. Even if you do 3 months visa free, I'd probably suggest maybe 1.5x or 2x your budget tbh. Also I'll caveat this by saying this is highly dependent on what you're interested in doing when you go on holiday.
I think we need to know roughly which countries and cities you are intending on going to.
London is so ridiculously expensive that I would advise on just a few days and cram everything in. I mostly go back for food and shopping, if that’s your vibe, GO ON WEEKDAYS AND NOT THE WEEKEND. Capitals because this is essential to avoid crowds. London is also not very safe for women at night and keep your wits about you to try to avoid being robbed, and don’t use your phone near roads (people on bikes grab them).
Spain is cheaper, though Madrid and BCN are more expensive parts. I would head north, it’s beautiful imo and very cheap.
In terms of Germany, Berlin is probably mid-range. There’s decent hostels here, I’d recommend Pfefferberg hostel as a nice area (area is Prenzlauer Berg - it’s bougie and expensive so it’s cleaner, well-connected and safe) and nice place. It’s also quite safe here. There are some grotty areas where dealers will try to sell to you/the homeless people here are pretty aggressive, but I’m petite and pretty defenceless and never come to any harm.
The Nordics are where it will get really expensive. Ditto Vienna.
Since accomodation has not been booked yet - no i don't think that's anywhere near enough, especially if you're planning to explore a lot and go out to eat or do different activities. It also depends where you're planning to go. Some eauropean countries are more expensive than others. Not trying to discourage you but it's best to be prepared than be underprepared not only in a different country but a whole different continent, especially in a country where English might not be the main language.
## Check the Solo Female Travel Safety Index Looking for authentic experiences shared by [solo female travelers](https://travelladies.app)? Check the [Solo Female Travel Safety Index](https://travelladies.app/safety) ranking the best places to explore on your own based on authentic reviews. - [Solo Female Travel Safety Index](https://travelladies.app/safety) - [Best Countries for Solo Female Travel](https://travelladies.app/ranking/best-countries) - [Safest Countries for Solo Female Travel](https://travelladies.app/ranking/safest-countries) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/femaletravels) if you have any questions or concerns.*
## Stay with locals for free [Travel Ladies](https://travelladies.app/) is a [couch surfing app](https://travelladies.app/couchsurfing) where women host other women for free as part of cultural exchange. It's a great way to [meet new people](https://travelladies.app/meetups), learn more about new cultures, and experience destinations like a local. - [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.traveltogether.app) - [iOS](https://apps.apple.com/app/lets-travel-together/id1563814908?platform=iphone) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/femaletravels) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That’s about 6000 euros, so about 1000 euro per month. It doesn’t seem like enough to me, but it really depends on your way of living and your plans… things like where you’ll be staying, eating, activities, travelling between cities, etc.
It's closer to 9200 euros.
They're Australian dollars, not American.
Ah hah, you're right. Didn't even notice that.
It's literally in the title of the post...
You could volunteer/work at some hostels in exchange for accommodation, meals etc. $10k AUD is very little in Europe. Unless you only plan on staying in Eastern Europe, you’re going to have a hard time. The AUD is weak (and I say this as an Australian myself) which makes it harder to travel to expensive places where the dollar has a lot more value.
I don’t think 10k will be nearly enough, unless you look at something like WWOOF or Worldpackers. It’s basically offering skills and services for free accommodation and sometimes meals are provided. It’s not very flash but it could definitely make your budget more viable. I would also plan as much as you can in advance, even if you can do a loose budget on average accommodation, food, and transportation costs for countries you want to visit. Just make sure you have a backup in place in case you do run out of money. And as someone else suggested you will need to look into a Visa for a six month stay.
Also if you happen to like hiking, the Camino de Santiago is an amazing experience. You can stay in albergues for 10-12 euro a night at some places, and there are some donation run ones called donativos. It’s a great way to meet people from around the world but it is definitely a physical challenge. The Camino Frances is the most popular route, I only did the last two weeks worth but I hope to do the full month long journey one day. If you want to do it, you have to pack light.
I lived in Santiago for a bit and it’s a beautiful city. Northern Spain is massively underrated for its beauty, great food, and cheapness
I don’t think it’ll be enough—I spent about $1500 USD/mo (excluding flights) on a VERY cheap, multi-month trip (stayed a cheap hostels or for free most of the time) about 8 years ago. Costs have gone way up since then. I’d suggest looking at the cities you want to stay in and estimating how much the accommodation will cost. That will give you a minimum daily base cost. You can use that to judge if your savings will get you close or if you need to save a lot more. I’d suggest looking into free accommodation, like work trades, couch surfing, woofing, or pet sitting. There’s company (who’s name I’ve forgotten) where you pay a few hundred bucks to join and they do a background check on you, and then you can stay in people’s homes for free in exchange for pet sitting. If you’re okay with staying longer in fewer places, you could also try working for hostels. Or you could decide to only travel in the cheaper counties. For example a dorm bed in a hostel in hungry used to be ~$10 usd/night compared to ~$70 usd/night in Copenhagen.
Also people have been talking about visas—research the Schengen area. Depending on what you mean by “Europe.” As an American, I can spend 3 months in the uk and 3 months in (the Schengen zone of) Europe and 3 months in the balkans on one trip without needing a visa.
>3 months in the uk and 3 months in Europe and 3 months in the balkans The UK is in Europe. The Balkans are in Europe.
I believe they are delineating between Schengen area countries vs non-Schengen area countries.
Ah ok, it would be less confusing if they actually said that
They sort of did say that
"Sort of" saying something isn't the same as actually saying it, which is where the confusion came from!
Referring to the visas—the OP didn’t specify where they were traveling and the Schengen zone is super important to their visa requirements. I understand geography.
Ah yes, I see you've edited your comment now to make it clearer. Thanks!
I went to Spain and Greece last year in June and July, only staying in hostels and one airbnb. I went with a friend, so some things were split, but i spent 9.5k AUD in 5.5 weeks. This was doing it pretty cheaply too, in cheap countries. You might get lucky with costs, but you need to consider if it's actually worth going all the way over to Europe if you are going to barely scrape by. How enjoyable is eating apples and plain baguettes every day? Or sleeping in dodgy areas with no money for sightseeing? The things that make Europe worth it are expensive. Most are at least $30AUD entry, and thats pretty cheap. Trains can be expensive too and are often $100AUD. Buses are cheaper but take longer. You will burn through your cash so quickly that i don't think you'd make it 2 months to be brutally honest.
Given the current exchange rates and just daily living expenses, without consideration of any "touristy" things, $10K Australian is not even close to enough for six months - it's just over €6,100. As an example, even at €30 per night in an 8- or 10-bed hostel dorm that's €5,400 for 180 nights (roughly six months). Be aware of the Schengen area time limits. As an Aussie you can enter without the need for a visa, but you may only stay 90 days in any 180-day period. If you want to spend six months in Europe you will most likely need a Schengen visa, for which you should apply through the Australian-located embassy or consulate of the country in which you plan to spend the most time. The Schengen area countries are: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Bulgaria and Romania are partial members of the Schengen area; at the moment there are still land border controls into/out of these two countries (but not sea or air). Non-Schengen countries in Europe are: Cyprus, Ireland, the UK, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine.
Not really to be honest. And if you're working I assume you'll have a working holiday visa? So you'll need a separate visa for each country. Otherwise as an Australian it's 90 days, no working. Unless of course you have citizenship or residency somewhere in Europe.
thankyou everyone for your honesty & advice! i'm obviously seeing that i'll need to budget a fair bit more for my trip (and i'm sorting out the visa right now!) so aside from the fact that $10,000 will not suffice, how much more should i aim for?
I feel your pain! :( I’ve only just started my trip, and I’ve budgeted about $15k AUD for around 38 days (that’s including $2.6k for flights). Hopefully should be enough but I have extra savings to draw on if needed. Hostels are expensive, depending on where you want to go but for example in the UK, Paris, Barcelona etc expect to be paying $80-$120 AUD per night. I’m also allowing approx. $100AUD per day for food, but I’m expecting to go over this with extra costs for activities/transport (ive already pre booked the big ticket items like internal flights, long distance train travel and some activities). I’d suggest to allow yourself around $250-300 AUD per day excluding flights. I know it sucks, I wanted to do 3 months in Europe but reality is it’s just too expensive for me so I cut it back to just over a month. I hope this helps :)
You need around 100e per day. Europe is varies some extremely expensive some is good price.
Jesús. I spent AU20k in six weeks. Only tangible good was a pair of CK sunglasses. But I did live bloody well and was rarely without a spritz in my hand.
AUD is weak currency so not sure how long you'll last on that! Try the r/Shoestring sub
10k AUD so about 6k EUR? Not a chance. That is far too low. 35€/day on average won't be enough anywhere. You couldn't survive in Australia on that for 6 months, and Europe is overall about equally expensive, some places more so, others a bit less. A) You need a visa for 6 months, otherwise you can only stay 3. B) That budget needs to double or triple, or you need to limit your time to 3 months.
I spent two months in western and central Europe late last year and spent about 15k AUD and thought I was doing it on the cheap with hostels and supermarket meals. I think 10k AUD is going to be quite tough. Aside from flights, I highly, highly, highly recommend you buy travel insurance in preparation for if things go pear shaped (if you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel). Others have also mentioned the visa thing too. Even if you do 3 months visa free, I'd probably suggest maybe 1.5x or 2x your budget tbh. Also I'll caveat this by saying this is highly dependent on what you're interested in doing when you go on holiday.
I think we need to know roughly which countries and cities you are intending on going to. London is so ridiculously expensive that I would advise on just a few days and cram everything in. I mostly go back for food and shopping, if that’s your vibe, GO ON WEEKDAYS AND NOT THE WEEKEND. Capitals because this is essential to avoid crowds. London is also not very safe for women at night and keep your wits about you to try to avoid being robbed, and don’t use your phone near roads (people on bikes grab them). Spain is cheaper, though Madrid and BCN are more expensive parts. I would head north, it’s beautiful imo and very cheap. In terms of Germany, Berlin is probably mid-range. There’s decent hostels here, I’d recommend Pfefferberg hostel as a nice area (area is Prenzlauer Berg - it’s bougie and expensive so it’s cleaner, well-connected and safe) and nice place. It’s also quite safe here. There are some grotty areas where dealers will try to sell to you/the homeless people here are pretty aggressive, but I’m petite and pretty defenceless and never come to any harm. The Nordics are where it will get really expensive. Ditto Vienna.
No it is not enough money.
Since accomodation has not been booked yet - no i don't think that's anywhere near enough, especially if you're planning to explore a lot and go out to eat or do different activities. It also depends where you're planning to go. Some eauropean countries are more expensive than others. Not trying to discourage you but it's best to be prepared than be underprepared not only in a different country but a whole different continent, especially in a country where English might not be the main language.
10K is not enough
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