Hi everyone! I've done quite a bit of searching on this subreddit as well as other threads, so I hope that my post is not excessively repetitive. I can also get carried away with my writing, so I apologize for the long-winded post that follows.

I finish up graduate school in May 2018 (YASSSSS) and have finally decided to travel to Europe. I will be going alone, with the possibility of meeting up with some friends/family friends at certain points in the trip. My big sister is also considering a mini trip to meet me out there. For now though, I'm trying to plan as if I'll be totally alone so that I can be as self-sufficient as possible.

Unfortunately I'm not going with a whole lot of money... I think my budget will be a maximum of $3,000 USD, if that. Well, I guess "a whole lot of money" is relative, but it seems to be on the lower end for Euro trips (at least for Western Europe) after reading through a bunch of threads and blogs.

I've purchased a one way flight from New York (JFK) and will be flying into Lisbon in June. My step-dad is from Portugal so I expect he'll have a bunch of recommendations for me (but please feel free to comment some of your own if you've been!). Since I haven't purchased my return flight, I'm very flexible with my itinerary. I'm aware that the lack of return flight may cause issues when I arrive in Lisbon, but by that point I expect to have train tickets/flights purchased for me to leave the country, so that shouldn't be an issue.

This is my tentative itinerary, and like I said, because I don't have a return flight to the U.S. just yet, I can extend this trip for as long as I have money (lol).

I'm thinking: Lisbon to Porto, Porto to Madrid, Madrid to Barcelona, Barcelona to Montpellier (if my friend will still be studying there), Montpellier to Paris, Paris to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Berlin, Berlin to Munich, Munich to Zurich, Zurich to Interlaken.. and then idk?? I know these are some very expensive places and my budget is limited, but I'm determined to make it work. I’m also ok with cutting out some places, but where I don’t really want to budge is on Switzerland, and Germany. I obviously have to stay in Portugal given that I’m flying into the country, plus I’ve always wanted to go. I’m not set on France, although I'll go if I can make it work. I don’t necessarily have to travel in the above order either, but geographically I was trying to have the route make some sort of sense..

I'm very ok with staying at cheap hostels, and am also considering the possibility of bringing a small tent and camping out where it is legal and safe to do so. I don't want to hop from city to city in a huge rush, so I'm thinking at least 4-6 days in the bigger cities. I hope to explore some of the smaller towns as I travel from city to city as well.

So, my question to you all.. is this realistic on a $3,000 budget? This amount would be to cover travel within Europe, food, lodging, museum entrance fees, souvenirs, etc. When I travel I like to get a bit of the history, so I think I’ll be visiting museums and taking tours. I enjoy walking around and taking photos as well. I think the food is what I’ll spend a lot on just because I like to eat and of course want to try new foods from these countries I’ll be visiting. Lodging is also another worry of mine.

I’ve sort of looked into WWOOFing, but since it varies by country, it’s hard to get an idea of how realistic of an option it is. I would love to work here and there in exchange for room and board, I’m just not sure what is real and what might be a scam.

I guess I’m looking for general advice given the above information I’ve provided. Too many countries? How long would you stretch this out for? Would 6-8 weeks be a good timeframe? What are your favorite cities in the countries on my radar? (Portugal, Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland).

Thank you for your input!! xx