Last month we brought you part 1 of a 2-part series on the Cost of Traveling Europe for the Summer and we were a little shocked at how much we managed to spend, even with house sitting in the French Alps for half of the month. However, we rented a car for the entire month and were not prepared for the insanely high cost of tolls and fuel. We hoped that our expenses would come down the second month since we would be turning in the car, picking up another house sit for two weeks, and then heading further east into Central Europe. Let’s take a look and see how we did.
Total Monthly Expenses
|
Month 1 |
Month 2 |
| Accommodation |
$1387 |
$1152 |
| Transportation |
$1240 |
$167 |
| Restaurants |
$613 |
$782 |
| Groceries |
$394 |
$367 |
| Coffee/Ice cream/Beer |
$71 |
$138 |
| Medical/Pharmacy |
$13 |
0 |
| Tours/Park Entrance |
$120 |
$72 |
| Misc/Shopping |
0 |
$22 |
| TOTAL |
$3828 |
$2700 |
*Month 1 we traveled France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, and a few days in Germany. Month 2 we were in Germany, Prague and Budapest.
Let me start by saying that month two was actually more than 30 days – it was more like 38 days to be exact. This is quite shocking since we spent way less money in the second part of our Euro trip! Just looking at the numbers in the table above, its clear that the transportation fees associated with having your own car and road tripping across the continent can really make a big dent in the bank account. After we returned the car in Munich, our only transport fees were our trains to Prague and Budapest and a few modes of public transport getting to and from our Airbnb’s. Everywhere we stayed was really walkable so the rest of the month we used our feet to get everywhere.
Speaking of Airbnb’s, our accommodation expenses came down a bit this month. Again, we were house sitting for the first two weeks in Munich and then we rented Airbnb’s in Prague and Budapest. In Prague we paid $45/night for a very spacious 1 bedroom apartment that was a little ways out of the city center but still walkable to everything. In Budapest, we paid $50/night for a one bedroom apartment in a great area of town, one block from the river and our biggest requirement was that it had AC!
Although our transportation expenses came down, you’ll notice our restaurant and coffee/beer expenses went up this month. The truth is, when we got to Prague and Budapest we got really lazy with cooking. Even though we rented Airbnb apartments equipped with full size kitchens, I think we only cooked 3 times in Prague and…oh wait…ZERO times in Budapest! The restaurants were just so much more affordable and the food was so good in these two cities we just had no interest in cooking another frozen pizza or pasta dish in our apartment.
In Prague we were spoiled by having a lovely coffee shop, the Alchymista, right below our apartment where we picked up our morning coffee every single day…at least once, if not twice. In Budapest, we had a bakery right around the corner with amazing pastries, breads and coffee and it just sucked us in each morning (I think it was the Nutella stuffed croissants). We also spent many days working in the coffee shops in Budapest when the heat was just too much to want to play tourist. So instead of picking up groceries and at least preparing our own breakfast and coffee, we literally went out for every meal and drink!
If we haven’t already made it clear, traveling became much more affordable when we hit Prague and I’d say even more so when we made it to Budapest. We were definitely wishing at that point we had stuck to our original plan of spending the majority of our summer in Central and Eastern Europe, not just because of the money but because of the vibe as well. But that’s for another post. Regardless, this summer was just incredible and it still feels like a dream when I think about all that I’ve been able to do and see in this lifetime. I feel very grateful for it.
But back to the money part of the post. In an effort to provide you with a clearer picture of how much we spent in each country we traveled, I decided to break it down a bit more.
| City/Country |
Accommodation |
# of Days |
USD |
| France |
11 nights House sitting & 4 nights hotel |
15 |
$1252 |
| Italy |
Hotels |
5 |
$1058 |
| Slovenia |
Airbnb |
5 |
$605 |
| Salzburg |
Hotel |
1 |
$169 |
| Germany |
16 night house sitting & 1 night Airbnb |
17 |
$728 |
| Prague |
Airbnb |
15 |
$1279 |
| Budapest |
Airbnb |
10 |
$911 |
Can I just say WHOA ITALY?! Maybe that’s where all of our money went 😉 That Lake Como is a beauty though. I’d say if you are looking to do Europe on a budget, stick to places like Slovenia, Prague and Budapest and you’ll be fine. We noticed a pretty significant difference in the cost of dining out, accommodations and even public transportation. Not to mention, Slovenia and Budapest were our favorite stops! Additionally, Airbnb has really great accommodations for a wide range of budgets and is especially useful for the really expensive cities like Paris and Munich. This also helps to keep dining out costs to a minimum when you can prepare your own meals. This may not sound like the best way to experience a new city or country, but I swear some of our best meals were picking up breads, cheeses and other treats from the local markets and throwing together a feast!
*If you are new to Airbnb and you sign up using my link, you can get us both a $40 credit when you make your first booking!
