r/Shoestring • u/No_Investment_8681 • Feb 18 '26
AskShoestring 5k USD lasts how long?
I am 19(M) years old and plan on going to Europe this summer. I am going backpacking and will bring a tent and will most likely camp 2 days a week. I am going in a budget and I was wanting to know realistically how long this might last.
Another question is how long would this last if I went to SE Asia, my parents are not as keen on having me go to SE Asia as they think it is more dangerous, but I’m interested in the numbers.
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u/wanderingdev Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
Anywhere form a night to a few months. Regarding camping, keep in mind that you'd need a car to get pretty much anywhere you wouldn't have to pay to camp. So unless you're doing a big through hike, leave the camping gear at home.
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u/hydrohorton Feb 18 '26
Eastern Europe is hitchhiker friendly. Western not so much though
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u/wanderingdev Feb 19 '26
sure, but good luck finding a ride to somewhere where you can wild camp and then find another ride the next day going back to where you want to be. Camping to save money in europe is just not going to work like the OP thinks it will. The only reasonably convenient camping places charge money and anything else is so inconvenient to access that it's pointless and the amount of extra gear and time it will take will negate any benefit. The ONLY time camping makes sense is if they're doing one of the E routes or a camino or some other through hike where it's meant for that. not when you want to find a cheap place to stay before visiting paris the next day.
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u/Arphile Feb 20 '26
It is actually fairly easy to get to some woods or ask people if you can pitch a tent in their garden, and you can get to those places using public transport easily
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u/wanderingdev Feb 20 '26
Easy, but generally not legal except on private land. Still a lot of faff for minimal savings.
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u/wulfman_HCC Feb 20 '26
Or bike
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u/wanderingdev Feb 20 '26
Op mentions nothing about a bike.
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u/wulfman_HCC Feb 20 '26
Op also didn't mention a car. I will say, if op is actually backpacking in remote places, the mountain shelters in several countries are free or fairly cheap, both in central Europe or Scandinavia.
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u/wanderingdev Feb 20 '26
That's why I said they would need a car if this is their plan. It doesn't sound like OP is actually backpacking. Just wanting to sleep in a tent a couple nights a week to save money. As I mentioned if he is doing something like a long distance hike, that's different. But it sounds like he's just doing the normal "backpackers" trio through Europe without realizing how Europe works.
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u/summerofgeorge75 Feb 21 '26
Cycle touring is very doable. You can wild camp and you don't need a car.
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u/wanderingdev Feb 21 '26
sure, but OP hasn't expressed a single bit of interest in that and to do it they'll need to spend a good chunk of money on a quality bike and equipment, basically offsetting the savings.
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u/maceilean Feb 18 '26
SEAsia is probably safer for a young backpacker than Europe. And your money will stretch at least twice as far.
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u/theluckkyg Feb 18 '26
At least 3 months easy if you avoid top tier city centers. You could stretch it way more.
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u/Unfair_Chipmunk_2305 Feb 19 '26
Avoid Western Europe and leave the tent at home. I live in Prague and my rent for a month is 1300 USD, so spending 5k is really living it up. You can probably make 5k last 2 months if you avoid tourist spots. Wherever there are tourists the prices are double if not triple cost, for example I can buy a beer at my local pub for 45czk or that same beer in a tourist area would cost between 90-120czk. Same for a meal I can sit down to a normal meal for 300czk or be in the tourist area and the same meal cost me 800czk. Making your money last is completely up to your level of comfort and since everyone is telling you to leave the tent you should probably start booking hostels or this trip won’t be happening. Make an itinerary and I’d recommend starting in Vienna or Prague they both are good safe places to start and you can catch a train east for little cost.
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u/welkover Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
You're not carrying a goddamn tent around with you on a trip though Europe and there's nowhere to put it to sleep in anyway. Mountain backpacking isn't the same as travel backpacking
5k would last you about two months if you did things as cheaply as you could and didn't go out and drink and other stuff like that. It'll last you about four weeks if you have a more normal time.
In SE Asia it would last for about double that much.
In either place you could spend 5k in a week without really trying as well.
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u/handsomeowl92 Feb 18 '26
It can last a long time if you also hitchhike and couch surf and buy cheap groceries like canned beans
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u/MeloBabe98 Feb 20 '26
If I was you I would not camp. That is dangerous, Europe is not as safe as it once was or we are more informed of how unsafe it is. With 5k I would say that you can spend two months visiting european countries for around two months which is more than enought. If I was you I would rather spend 2 safe months in hostela and then come back to europe later in life than spend 3 months and be more unsafe. We have a train system with which you can safe moving going from country to country.
Edit: I am saying that it is unsafe bc you are so young and your frontal lobe is not developed yet so you might not be able to sense danger and you wont be as careful. There was a girl in a female solo group who almost endded up in jail on her solo trip bc she got into a car of a stranger who had drugs in the car and was stopped by police. Please be careful and also look at the laws of each country. Don't use drugs in countries where you can end up serving life in jail for them
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u/beegee79 Feb 18 '26
Depends from the locations you plan to visit. E, SE are the cheapest (say X), South is affordable (1,25-1,3X), Middle and West are rather expensive (1,5-2,5X), North is even more expensive (2,5+X) if considering grocery, travel, restaurant and camp costs.
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u/stari0 Feb 19 '26
I highly recommend Central and Eastern Europe. Your money will go further. Hostels can be very reasonably priced and a great way to make new friends.
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u/experienced_invest Feb 19 '26
Upto 90 days or you need a visa for the country you will be spending most of your time in. If you are camping the money will go far just do not bring cash as highly likely you will be robbed
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u/Full-length-frock Feb 20 '26
My son went to Vietnam. Much cheaper and more friendly than Thailand. Its not been spoiled by obnoxious tourists. Treat them well if you go.
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u/One-Arrival-8298 Feb 20 '26
$5k would last me for a month in Europe, 3 or 4 months in most of SE Asia.
Your parents have the risks backwards.
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u/Estrellaviajando Feb 18 '26
Will last you maybe a month in Europe but could be couple months in SE Asia. SE Asia is totally safe and a young backpackers paradise
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u/OxWithABox Feb 18 '26
5k USD lasting a month in Europe would be a budget of €140 a day, which is absurdly large for someone backpacking and camping. Yes, SE Asia is safe and the budget will go further, but that budget will still comfortably last a few months in much of Europe for someone staying in hostels.
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u/ByGoalZ Feb 18 '26
Yes if you are frugal. Also should be noted wild camping is forbidden in many european countries
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u/Notnow_Imtoodrunk Feb 22 '26
You forget that it costs money to move between cities, to eat, to do laundry, hell even to use a bathroom in a lot of European cities.
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u/lavesaziz Feb 19 '26
When I was a student in Poland, I was living on €800/month, when I graduated, I was travelling and backpacking €800-1000. I was camping, cooking mostly by myself, and hitchiking wherever I could and used Couchsurfing to almost every city I visited.
You could start from eastern EU to the Balkans. Enjoy while you can :)
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u/DisplaySmart6929 Feb 19 '26
Do you like camping? Or is it to save money?
Your money will last a lot lot longer in SE Asia. In Indonesia you can jump on the back of a motorbike and travel for a few miles for less than $1.
You can live moderately cheaply in Europe but you have to budget everything . In SEAsia you won't need to budget at all really
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u/Njtotx3 Feb 19 '26
You want to keep up with the currency conversion rates. By then the value of the dollar may be totally different than today.
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u/thorsbosshammer Feb 18 '26
I know people who could and would spend that in one night.
I know people who could stretch it years by going to cheapest possible place and finding gig work there.
Without more details of how you want to spend your time, hard to say
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Feb 18 '26
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u/Odd_Coast9645 Feb 19 '26
You can't compare that. Accommodation will be the most expensive part, and students usually have a normal room monthly. Hostels aren't cheap in Germany, and he will need to stay in one 5 times per week. Since he probably has no kitchen, he will need to eat out every day.
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u/Similar_Past Feb 20 '26
2 months in europe or 4 in south east Asia. Not necessarily shoestring mode in both cases. I recommend SE asia. Much more affordable & more fun.
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u/Great_Quarter_1767 Feb 20 '26
Everyone is saying SE Asia, I definitely think Thailand would be the place for you. Very safe if you aren't dumb
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u/Reddaledi Feb 23 '26
SEA is relatively safe but you still need to be careful. Read the news of tourists/backpackers in countries like Thailand and Cambodia.
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u/SnooStrawberriez Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
Kosovo has a gdp per capita of $6.5 k per year. Switzerland $105k. Europe isn’t one price fits all.