NorahAs a teacher that loves traveling, I always appreciate financial transparency when it comes to planning trips. In this post, I will be discussing my trip to Greece, and will go over every cost associated with the trip. I will also include recommendations for saving money and my philosophy around spending money while traveling.
I also have a full Greece guide if you are looking to plan your own trip!
My philosophy around money and traveling.
I am by no means a financial expert. I am a random 26 year old teacher who loves traveling. However, one of the best pieces of financial advice I ever received was to choose my rich.
In theory, this means looking at your life, recognizing that you cannot spend money on everything, and prioritizing those things that are most important to you. For example, say you really love eating at nice restaurants. If that is the case, then that is your rich. And that is amazing! It might just mean that you are not able to buy the clothes, or the trip, or the fancy apartment. Choosing your rich means prioritizing what actually brings you the most joy and fulfillment.
My “rich” has always been travel. I adore traveling, and believe that spending my money on experiences is a good investment. However, even within the realm of travel, I have found ways to choose my rich and prioritize the experiences I actually want to have.
Here are my priorities when I travel:
- Safety above all-if there is a more expensive option for say, transportation, I will take that option. Safety is my number one priority when exploring.
- I do not care about fancy lodging. I actually do better in small spaces, so I tend to lean more towards hostels when exploring. Comfort and luxury are not super important to me, and I save hundreds of dollars every night I decide to stay in a hostel.
- I will gladly spend extra money on activities. I am a big activities girl, and when I am traveling I will gladly spend more money on excursions and tours, especially if they are something I really want to do. I will prioritize that over fancy dining, expensive seats on a flight, and extravagant hotels.
It is completely ok if you disagree-that is the point of saving while traveling! Do some internal work and figure out exactly what you want out of your trip, and plan your budget around prioritizing that thing.
With that being said, use my guidelines as a loose base to help you plan your budget for your Greece trip.
Greece Cost Breakdown
Flights-$800
I live in D.C., but opted to fly out of JFK because it was cheaper, and because the friend I was traveling with was based out of New York. We did not have direct flights, did not utilize miles or points, and did not fly during the peak travel season.
As I do more and more research on flights, it is becoming more and more difficult to find cheap and effective flights, especially to popular places like Europe in the summer. My best advice for cutting down on flight costs is to really study websites like Google Flights to learn when the best time is to buy your tickets.
There is also a whole world of miles and points out there, which I am only just now beginning to understand. I have heard so many people say so many great things about travel credit cards. There is a quick starter guide here and here if you want to dive into that realm of travel saving.
Lodging-$750
Over my two week trip, I stayed in four different places. Two were hostels, and two were Airbnbs. In the more expensive islands of Santorini and Mykonos, I opted to stay in hostels. In Athens and Ikaria, I was able to find very cheap Airbnbs.
I really recommend hostels if you are looking to save money. Yes, yes, there are horror stories out there. However, I have found hostels to be engaging, interesting places to stay that are always much more memorable than a generic hotel room.
I am linking my hostels in Santorini and Mykonos. I highly recommend all of these places to stay!
Transportation-$100
This mostly includes Ubers and taxis to and from the airport, but also includes ferry transportation to the different Greek islands. We used Ferry Hopper to find the best deals and book our tickets! I really recommend the ferries for traveling around the different Greek islands. They were very helpful in saving money.
Meals/Drinks-$250
This is definitely an area where I could have been a bit more frugal, but who wants to be when Greek food is so good! During the trip I ate at a variety of different restaurants-some were very cheap, and some very expensive.
If you want to save money on food, I would recommend going away from the tourist routes for meals. Typically, in any given tourist destination there is one area of town that has the biggest congregation of tourists or explorers. Restaurants and stores will typically raise prices in this region. Even going one or two blocks over from this strip can result in cheaper, more authentic food.
We found this to be especially true in Athens. Plaka is a gorgeous neighborhood right by the Acropolis, but everything in that neighborhood is quite expensive. Traveling even to the outskirts of the neighborhood is a great way to avoid the crowds and have a yummier meal.
Another great way to save money is by not drinking. I did not do this, but drinks are quite expensive, and can really raise the cost of a meal! I was young and wanted to dance the night away in Mykonos, but if you want to save money, starting by cutting out alcohol is a great option.
Activities-$250
I choose my rich, and I firmly believe that my “rich” will always be activities. Sure, I could have made this category a little cheaper. But, where would the fun be in that? This category includes a sunset sail in Santorini, ATV rentals, Acropolis tickets, and hikes along the remote coast in Ikaria.
Miscellaneous/Souvenirs-$40
This is a random category, and includes the $10 I spent on an Athena figurine and some extra medicine I got during my trip. I recommend always having a small amount of money tucked away for random emergencies or things that pop up.
Total-$2190.
This was about what I had budgeted for a trip to Greece. In retrospect, there are definitely ways I could have budgeted differently to save additional money. But, I wanted to see what I wanted to see and eat what I wanted to eat!
I have no regrets from the money I spent on the trip. Let me know if these types of blogs are helpful and if you want to see another location!
