Costs
If you're prepared to cut every corner by staying in youth hostels or campsites, and never eating out, you could get by on as little as DM70/?35 (just over GBP20/$30) per day, though DM100-150/?50-75 is a more realistic budget on which to enjoy yourself properly. Should you have the means to spend a bit more than that, you will be able to live really well. Bear in mind that visiting cities will cost far more than staying in the countryside - a gap that is widening - and that a trip to Berlin is guaranteed to knock a large hole in any budget. If you intend to base yourself mainly in one or two rural areas - even ones as famous as the Alps or Black Forest - as opposed to travelling around a lot, you should be able to reduce the above figures by a quarter. Accommodation costs per person can be confined to an average of about DM25-30/?12.50-15 per day for youth hostels, around DM30-40/?15-20 for rooms in private houses and around DM40-60/?20-30 for guesthouses, pensions and the more basic hotels: double rooms cost on average a bit less than twice the above rates. Food prices in shops are slightly lower than in Britain, and eating out is markedly cheaper at every level - except for the scarcity of bargain lunches. North Americans, however, will find prices slightly higher than at home, as will Australians and New Zealanders. Snack bars abound, and for aroundDM10-15/?5-7.50 you can put together a very filling meal. DM25-30/?12.50-15 should buy a hearty German meal plus drink in a traditional Gaststatte, while a decent dinner in a more upmarket restaurant can be had for around DM35-40/?17.50-20. Drink is marginally more expensive than in Britain, Australia or the US, but the quality, especially of the beer, is significantly higher. Though seldom a major expense, admission charges for museums vary markedly, and tend to reflect whether the relevant authority regards them as a social service or an exploitable asset, rather than their intrinsic quality. Moreover, temporary exhibitions do not always have separate entrance fees: often the normal cost of admission is bumped up instead. The free museum, which was quite common in western Germany a decade ago, is now a rarity. Historic monuments tend to charge around DM3-10/?1.50-5, comparing favourably with similar places in Britain, Australia and the US. Wherever you go, a student card usually brings a reduction in admission costs, often substantial. It's always worth asking about combination tickets or museum passes to several sights in the same city, which bring substantial savings. Public transport is the one area where prices are likely to present a problem. A single fare within a city, for example, is generally around DM3/?1.50, while a sample single train fare from Munich to Frankfurt would be DM147/?73.50. The only ways in which you can soften these costs are to use rail and other passes, confine your travel to a limited area or make use of the organized hitching alternative, the Mitfahrzentralen .
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Your Tip for Germany
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