I’m going on an exchange to UK from Sept 2015 – Jul 2016. Rest assured McMaster readers we can still service you as our team on campus is stronger than ever. We will still be posting about events abroad and locally, so stay tuned and see nolunchmoney take on UK.
I managed to squeeze in a backpacking trip across Western Europe in September, and here’s a pretty comprehensive list of all my expenses. It was worthwhile to see how much it really costs to do a euro trip – it’s not as expensive as every seems to think it is.
Total cost? About $1,400 for 3 weeks
Itinerary (days): London (3) -> Paris (4) -> Krakow (6) -> Prague (4) -> Berlin (3) -> London (end)
See the breakdown and analysis below…
Flight:
I spent 30,000 Aeroplan points to get a one-way flight to London Heathrow Airport for only $88.50. A regular ticket would have cost $400+! Churning credit cards does pay off indeed. Between my American Express Gold and CIBC Aerogold cards, I netted 60,000 aeroplan points, which was enough for a round-trip from Canada to Europe.
Travel Costs:
I stayed exclusively at the cheapest hostels in each city. Paris was pretty bad for hostels. The cheapest one was $25CAD, which was a terrible hostel. The showers and bathrooms were filthy and only 1 was shared between an entire floor. Wifi cost 3euro/day and there wasn’t a lounge area. The location was decent, about 5km from the center and was good if you only needed a place to sleep. On the contrary, my hostel in Prague cost $6CAD. Everything required key card access, so it really feels like a hotel and security was excellent. The washrooms even featured rainfall showerheads!
Transportation really killed my budget – train rides and flights made up the bulk of the costs. I usually booked a week in advance; booking months in advance would have been much cheaper but I needed the flexibility. I did take a 12 hour megabus ride from London to Paris for only $30cad. I overnighted that ride, thus saving me another night in a hostel. But that was pretty uncomfortable – the bus was freezing and we were woken up halfway for the ferry ride and border crossing.
Food was pretty interesting. In London food prices were outrageous. I didn’t spend a single dollar for the 3 days I was there. I lived off pre-bought granola bars and snacks I took from the airport lounge. In Paris, it was more/less the same thing, but buying occasional falafels and baguettes. In Krakow and Prague, things were dirt-cheap so I gorged myself on street food and restaurants. It was quite glorious.
Thoughts:
- I would have loved to try Couchsurfing or AirBnB, but stuck to hostels because of the ease with booking accommodations. Perhaps on my next leg of the trip I’ll try those options.
- I used my Marriott Premier CC whenever possible, no forex fees and I collect 2% in points for Marriott Rewards. Otherwise, I used my TD Unlimited Checking Account for ATM withdrawals. Oddly, it was cheaper to exchange at a local ATM than at a TD Branch in Canada. It’s still useful to exchange 50 euros or so beforehand so you are not forced to exchange at the airport, which charges like 10% higher rates.
- I exceeded my initial budget of $1,000. I aimed to average around $50/day including transportation etc. but it worked out to $67/day. It’s pretty damn hard to be frugal when travelling, especially when you are going out with other people.
- People-watching is truly the national sport of Paris. Every single corner is littered with outdoor cafes and public benches. I would just walk around until I was tired. Take a rest at a café and order a cappuccino, and then repeat.
- North Americans’ take public washrooms for granted – every single public washroom is paid in Europe – and even some washrooms in McDonalds charge. It’s only a few bucks so people generally make sure to use one at your restaurant, hostel, etc. where its free.
- A great way to get a sense of local culture is to visit grocery stores and observe how people interact and talk.
- Be sure to check couchsurfing meetups or Eventbrite for some interesting things that are happening locally. When I was in Berlin, I went to a free conference on workplace satisfaction. I managed to meet some interesting people and scored a free catered dinner and bar.