How much will it cost for a 4 month trip to Europe in the "off-season"?

Me and 1 other person are going to travel to Europe this September to January... exactly four months to the day.



We are visiting Ireland, Spain, possibly Germany France, Italy and Greece.

I have family in Ireland, Germany, Spain and Italy in the main capitals that we can stay with.

We are spending 3 weeks in Ireland, 3 weeks in Spain, a month in Italy, a month in France, and 3 weeks in Greece.

I have 4,500 saved up.



Will this be enough?

My plane ticket is already bought (I got it for under 1,000 dollars round trip - Flying into Dublin, Flying out of Athens), and since I know people in almost every country we won't need to stay in hostels 24/7.



We are ready to live cheap and frugal.



Is this going to be enough money to cover daily food costs, eurorail passes, and museum tickets for 4 months?



I am also looking into getting a work permit somewhere -- prob. Ireland or Spain -- so I can work if I run out of money; they're just super hard to get.



Any info would be great!How much will it cost for a 4 month trip to Europe in the "off-season"?
The first comment I would make is to ask what nationality you are because based on the fact that you mention you need a work permit for Spain/Ireland then I'm guessing you don't hold an EEA passport. Presuming you are an American/Canadian/Australian/ etc (ie travelling visa free under the visa waiver program) then you need to consider that you can only stay a max of 90 days within 180 in the Schengen zone. Sept-Jan = 123 days and the only non-Schengen country is Ireland so 123-21 = 102 days and this means you are exceeding the 90 days.



When you come to leave the Schengen zone and if this is picked up as an overstay then you can be fined , banned from re-entry to the Schengen zone or both. So you seriously need to re-think this plan, and especially flying out of Greece because Greek officials actively check this! http://livingingreece.gr/2007/07/25/over鈥?/a>



Secondly, a condition of stay is that you need to be able to proof financial means up front for the total period of stay because a Schengen visa or a visa waiver stay means you are visiting as a tourist and cannot work legally, and authorities want to ensure that people do not work illegally.



You say you have "4,500" saved up..... 4,500 what? USD dollars? Indian Rupees? It makes a big difference of course! Assuming you are talking about USD then 4,500 / 123 means you are calculating $36.50 per day for food, travel, tourist attractions (museum tickets are not cheap!) and also assuing that you don't have to pay for ANY accomodation whatsoever. That is completely unrealistic and there is no chance an immigration official would let you in with that! For Amsterdam alone (and this excludes train travel to other cities/countries) then people bank on about $100 a day for food, travel, museums etc, so even if you are planning to live frugually %26amp; off-peak, there are still some things like train prices, %26amp; museum entrance tickets that you will not be able to change



Concerning the work permits - you can also forget it. A work permit for EU countries will only be granted if an employer obtains it (in advance of travel) on your behalf and this will not be granted unless he can prove that the job position is so specialist (in terms of work experience or education) that no-one else in the total EEA can fulfil this position. Given that Spain has an unemployment rate of 25% and Ireland 12.6% then you are realistically not in with a chance for either legal or illegal work



I don't mean to sound harsh (which I think it may come across as) but I do think you need to do a re-think on several area's before travelling, and hope you will take my comments to help you do so.How much will it cost for a 4 month trip to Europe in the "off-season"?
How comes some people always think everything is so easy???



If you are not an EU Citizen, then you can only stay 90 days in the EU! You have to leave after exactly 90 days, if they catch you staying longer then you won't be able to come to Europe for a long time. So think about this!



The second problem will be your work permit. There is no way you will get one - I mean nooooo way!

People who want to have a work permit in the EU, who have no relatives living there, have to wait years to get one - and even then most people won't get such a permit. A working permit basically is the European Greencard - there is no such thing as a Work%26amp;Travel Visa like in Australia.

So again, there's not way you get a working permit!



The third problem will be your financials. Even if you don't stay at a hotel every night, and even if you eat and live cheap on your vacation, there is no way $4,500 are enough! The dollar is worthless compared to the Euro so your money will be gone in no time. 4,500 Dollars are only 3000 Euros - this is really nothing...





I am sorry I have to say that but your planning is a complete mess. You need to get way more information about this whole trip to Europe, you have to save up a lot more money too, and I hope you can still change your flight. If you stay 4 months in the EU, then you have to fly out from a non-EU country because otherwise they will realize that you stayed 30 days longer then you were allowed too. But again, don't fly out from somewhere else, just don't stay longer than 90 days - it's the law!