Travelling through all of Europe? (best, hotel, hotels, train stations)

[Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights]

Ok, I am going to Europe by myself and my budget is like 3,500 Euros. I was wondering if it were possible for me to travel all through Germany, Austria, Prague, and Switzerland? What will be the cost for a cheap but decent hotel room and what about the food costs without eating at any restuarant, just food from the grocery store? Also, is it possible for me to travel using a train pass from place to place or not?

[Chicago60614]

Sure, just google "rail europe" and pick a site. You can get passes for all those countries and combinatin of countries together. It'll save you money.

I'm not sure about food, but I usually just get small sandwiches and take-away food from small shops, it's always good and cheap.

[ontheroad]

Check youth hostels and youth hotels for sleeping; yes, a train ticket is the best choice for inter-country travel (don't forget visas); and eating can be alternately eating in small neighbourhood restaurants and finger-food.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights

Ok, I am going to Europe by myself and my budget is like 3,500 Euros. I was wondering if it were possible for me to travel all through Germany, Austria, Prague, and Switzerland? What will be the cost for a cheap but decent hotel room and what about the food costs without eating at any restuarant, just food from the grocery store? Also, is it possible for me to travel using a train pass from place to place or not?

3,500 Euros is a lot of money. How long are you traveling for?
You should do very well indeed.
Look at Rail Europe to see what you like, but you do not have to buy your pass through them. Go to railsaver.com first and punch in your itinerary, see what fits you the best.
To get a real Eurail pass, you have to buy it before you leave the USA.
Go to their site, or buy from any site that suits you (doesn't have to be Eurail.)
With the exception of Prague, the places you are going to are not exactly the cheapest in Europe, but the places you stay at will be comfy and clean.
We stayed in a couple nice hostels in Germany last summer. Shopping at open markets and even the train station, we had some nice meals.

[Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights]

Originally Posted by ontheroad

Check youth hostels and youth hotels for sleeping; yes, a train ticket is the best choice for inter-country travel (don't forget visas); and eating can be alternately eating in small neighbourhood restaurants and finger-food.

For which countries do I need a visa to travel in?

[Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights]

Originally Posted by cil

3,500 Euros is a lot of money. How long are you traveling for?
You should do very well indeed.
Look at Rail Europe to see what you like, but you do not have to buy your pass through them. Go to railsaver.com first and punch in your itinerary, see what fits you the best.
To get a real Eurail pass, you have to buy it before you leave the USA.
Go to their site, or buy from any site that suits you (doesn't have to be Eurail.)
With the exception of Prague, the places you are going to are not exactly the cheapest in Europe, but the places you stay at will be comfy and clean.
We stayed in a couple nice hostels in Germany last summer. Shopping at open markets and even the train station, we had some nice meals.

I don't know like over a month. And I planned on at least going in and out of nations just to see a different nation at least once. I was thinking of seeing whether I could take a ferry from Denmark to Norway or Swedan. I don't know but I hope it's possible.

[ontheroad]

I believe we still need visas for all the countries East of Austria (the countries that were formerly under the USSR).

Originally Posted by Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights

For which countries do I need a visa to travel in?

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by Mexi_in_Arlington_Heights

I don't know like over a month. And I planned on at least going in and out of nations just to see a different nation at least once. I was thinking of seeing whether I could take a ferry from Denmark to Norway or Swedan. I don't know but I hope it's possible.

If you make it to northern Germany, I believe there is some sort of train/ferry combo leaving either from Hamburg or Berlin (as strange as that may sound) that will take you to Sweden. Otherwise, there are trains in between Denmark and Sweden, and also Sweden and Norway. It's just a matter of whether or not you'll have enough time to squeeze them in during your trip.

I don't know your spending habits, but you should be more than okay on that amount of money. I spent a summer over there with less than 1/3 of which you are going over with (NOT a good idea for the record people), and granted, I was an EXTREME budget traveler (slept in airports a good number of nights to defray the cost of hostels, and bought food at grocery stores) and I had no money left over at the end of my trip, but you should be fine. Switzerland in particular is extremely expensive however. Be warned. When you see how beautiful it is though, you'll realize why it is that it is so expensive. I largely stayed in youth hostels which ran on average around U.S. $20/night whereas two star hotels which are decent in my book I was seeing at around double that, although this was largely in Italy and France. I wasn't really looking in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I found the grocery prices and prices at farmer's markets to be virtually identical to the prices in the U.S. Maybe I just lucked out though.

One thing to note about the rail passes is the fact that some routes will require a reservation, so there will be a supplemental charge in spite of whether or not you have a train pass. This is usually only a few Euros, but I recommend showing up at the train stations a little early and going to the ticket counter (they will 90% of the time speak English, at least in Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and ask them whether or not you need to purchase anything else or if your rail pass will cover it.

Originally Posted by ontheroad

I believe we still need visas for all the countries East of Austria (the countries that were formerly under the USSR).

I was apt to agree but then I remembered that when I was in Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, I didn't need a visa to enter. However, if my memory doesn't fault me, I recall running into a girl in the Budapest train station who mistakenly thought I was going to Prague telling me that I would need a visa to get there. She, an American herself, had been there earlier and I guess didn't realize it.

[recycled]

No visa required for US citizens to visit Czech Republic. I don't know of any country in the European Union that requires visas for US citizens. Russia requires visas but OP isn't going there.

Czech Republic Visa,Embassy Requirements,Prague Tourist,Travel Visa Application Form Info,Work,Student,Visitor,immigration information

From Germany to Copenhagen, take train that goes through Hamburg and Puttgarten. They actually load whole train onto train ferry to get to Denmark, pretty neat. From Copenhagen, you can catch a quick hydrofoil to Malmo, Sweden. The trip to Oslo is much further, about 16 hour trip on a large ship that is also a ferry for cars and trucks.

Ferries to Norway - Book a ferry to norway with Direct ferries UK

A cheaper alternative to Eurail pass is buying a country specific rail pass. If most travel will be within Germany with just short sidetrips to Vienna, Switzerland and Denmark, Deutsche Bahn (German rail line) has good deals on Germany rail passes. Then just pay for the additional short rail trip from Germany border to your destination in other places like Prague or Copenhagen. The distances from there to Germany are so short that it might work better to get just the Germany rail pass.

German Rail Pass, offers,

You can also get a limited Eurail pass that is good in just 3 or 4 countries instead of unlimited pass. Look through the link above for info about that also.

[ontheroad]

Well, my apologies then, I needed a visa when I went to the the Eastern bloc!

Too many changes for my brain to handle, I suppose.

Thanks for the updates.