Spending money

Amanda had a great question: "How much money should we plan on spending in Europe?"

The answer is really tough to nail down specifically but here's some general guidelines.

You will need spending money for the following things (EF does not build these costs into the trip fee):
1) Lunch and snacks (also water as we walk around hot southern Europe)
2) Souvenirs
3) Added activities - things that EF has not built into the itinerary. For example, when I went to London, EF built the cost of a visit to St. Paul's Cathedral into the tour fee. They did not build in money for tickets to climb the stairs to the top of the dome, though. I had to pay an extra fee for that. EF pays for plenty to make the trip very exciting. These added activities can range in price.
4) Travel during free time - EF pays for buses and mass transit to get to scheduled activities. During free time, mass transit costs are not covered. (This probably won't be a huge expense on this specific tour.)
5) Incidentals - Toothbrush, Internet Cafe, Pool Tables, etc...

So, I think you need to be the judge. You can eat a light meal for 10 Euro, but of course restaurant prices vary greatly. Souvenirs -cost is totally up to you. Daily incidentals, activities, etc. may be nothing, may be 50 Euro (if you wanted to go to a play in Madrid, for example).

To be safe, plan a bit more than you'll think you need, then stick to that budget. My wife and I are planning for about $100 - $150 per day for the two of us, but we like nice lunches and buy way too much stuff for our kids.

Last note - remember the conversion rate and money changing fees. Use the calculator at the bottom of the page to see what your dollar is worth. Try to change money only once, so you avoid re-paying the fees.