Two years ago, we had the incredible opportunity to spend the whole summer in Europe. By opportunity, I mean I got the idea in my head and scrimped, saved, and researched to make it happen. On our trip, we visited nine cities in five countries over 63 days. To pay for the trip, we used a combination of cash, credit card reward points, renting our house out on AirBnB, and gig work while abroad.

Total: $15,364.95 USD (or $7,682.48 per person)

Transportation: $4,683.00
Accommodations: $5,097.49
Activities: $1,486.00
Food: $2,728.20
Souvenirs & Shopping: $340.63
Misc: $1,029.63

The costs above represent the total cost of the trip in 2022, but our actual out-of-pocket cost ended up being $8,069.02 total. This is $4,034.51 per person or $64.04 per person per day. You may be wondering how we offset over half of the cost of this trip (and how you could too). The breakdown is as follows:

Go-Today Credit: $2,479.54

We’d actually initially planned to elope in Europe in 2020 and purchased a travel package through a travel agency called Go-Today, graciously paid for by a family member as a wedding gift. When the trip was canceled, we were able to get a credit, which we used to pay for most of the flights over and our hotel in Athens.

Chase Ultimate Reward Points: $1,207.21

I’d honestly like to kick myself for this one. Before we got into travel hacking and how to maximize points and miles, I opened up a Chase Sapphire Preferred card with a sign-up bonus, then used the Pay-Yourself-Back option through the Chase portal, redeeming 100,000 Chase points for credit statements of $1,207.21. I could have almost doubled the value of these points had I transferred them to one of Chase’s partners like Hyatt or British Airways. But you live and you learn.

AirBnB: $1,209.18

I’ve talked before on the blog about how we AirBnB our house to offset our travel costs and we were really able to see significant savings here. While we were in Europe, we had five reservations on AirBnB totaling $2,784. After taxes and expenses like cleaning, management and lawncare, we netted $1,209.18. While obviously not a large chunk of change for the work required (it’s no joke running an Airbnb y’all, especially when the AC conks out in the Texas heat and you’re halfway across the globe), we considered it a win.

Gig Work: $2,400

This was a completely random occurrence, but in my life outside of travel blogging, I’m a professional event planner. I was planning weddings at the time and wanted to get into destination weddings so I reached out on an industry Facebook page and found a planner doing two weddings in Italy during our stay. I had honestly planned to assist for free, to get the experience, but the particular gigs I got paid $3,000. And we got to spend seven nights in Capri all expenses paid while I helped out. I’m not sure I’ll ever find an opportunity like that again, but it went a long way in lowering the cost of our trip for us. We also worked our regular jobs while abroad, which covered our monthly bills like our mortgage and utilities.

On this budget, we were able to see and do so much and had many of the creature comforts of home, but we still had to make many sacrifices. We weren’t backpacking, but we lived more like we do in our day-to-day lives than the extravagant attitude of many vacations.

Transportation: $4,683.00

Flights: $2,923.40 ($1,418 DFW - ATH, $300 ATH - FCO, $1205 BER - DFW)

Normally I book flights by waiting for cheap deals from Going and searching Google Flights obsessively, but our hands were tied here due to the restrictions on our travel credit. To use it, we had to purchase flights and a hotel with the company. So even though we could have spent almost half buying flights on our own, it was still no out of pocket cost to us.

With our invoice from the travel agency, there was no breakdown on cost, so I’m estimating price based on four nights at our hotel in Athens, then dividing the remainder of the package in two. We also spent $214 to upgrade our seats to Main Cabin Extra on the way to Athens. We tried to do this on the way home as well, but due to an unfortunate snafu missing our return flight, it was refunded and we flew standby in middle seats.

Our one-way flight from Athens to Rome was $300, which is a tad high, but we had to include a checked bag for each of us and I booked the flexible fare. Post COVID, I have never regretted paying for peace of mind.

Eurail: $773

We did quite a bit of train travel on this trip, going back and forth around Italy six times, then traveling from Italy to Switzerland, Switzerland to France, a few journeys within France, and then on from France to Germany.

When I priced it out, it made sense to purchase a 10-day, 2 month Global Eurail pass for each of us. With this pass, we were able to take unlimited trips on each day we activated the pass. For some journeys, this meant the ride was completely free. For most though, we had to pay a small seat reservation (between $10 and $30 pp) in addition to activating the pass.The Eurail pass also includes discounts and freebies across Europe, like the ferry cruise we took in Interlaken.

With several of our cross country journeys priced at around $300 individually, the Eurail pass provided excellent savings. For some people though, it makes more sense to purchase tickets individually. There are many blogs online breaking down the cost of the pass and whether it’ll be worth it and I would recommend doing your own research in order to make your decision.

Public transport, taxis & train reservations: $986.60

About $580 of the above number accounts for seat reservations and/or train tickets, with $100 in taxis and the rest on public transport.

We almost always get around by public transport when visiting cities. Especially in European cities, where the timetables are easy to understand and use. We used the metro extensively during our time in France and Germany, and mostly walked in Italy, Switzerland, and Greece.

Though public transport was easy to navigate in Paris and Berlin, we did struggle quite a bit trying to use the bus system in Florence. This might be user error, but they never seemed to run on schedule and quite often during our month in Italy, even taxis weren’t available due to strikes.

This meant lots of running with our suitcases trying to catch the train after waiting 20 minutes for a bus that never showed.

You can buy most transport tickets at metro and train stations, but not usually at bus stations so prepare ahead of time.

Accommodations: $5,097.49

The biggest chunk of change we dropped on this trip was for accommodations. But it was also the inspiration for the whole idea. Once I realized monthly stays at AirBnBs were often the same price as a week at a nice hotel, I concocted the idea to spend a month in Italy, a month in France, and include weekend trips from there to see Europe on a budget.

My general rule when booking accommodation is to stay as centrally located as possible in the cheapest space that looks comfy.

Athens, Greece (4 nights): $712.92

We started our European summer with four nights at the Polis Grand Hotel in Athens. Part of our travel package with Go-today, this cost is estimated, but still more than I would pay for a hotel on our own. I try to get as close to to $100 per night or under, if possible. It proved to be a great introduction to Europe though. With breakfast included and a stunning view of the Acropolis from the rooftop bar, it was cozy and safe as we adjusted to the time change and culture shock. If we had the budget, I would absolutely stay there again.

Florence, Italy (28 nights): $1,452.21

We stayed in a lovely AirBnB in the Santo Spirito neighborhood in Florence for the month of June. In this apartment, we were able to cook our own meals and do laundry, saving us SO much on food costs. We loved the neighborhood — it was convenient to attractions, while still maintaining an authentic cultural feel.

My only regret or gripe was the lack of air conditioning. I did my research on average summer temperatures, but the entire time we visited, Europe was experiencing an extreme heat wave. Over 60,000 people died during summer 2022 due to heat, and I can see why. The infrastructure simply wasn’t built to handle extreme heat and ventilation can only do so much if it’s 100 degrees outside. I would stay here again, but probably not in the summer!

While we booked this AirBnB for 28 nights, we actually spent seven nights in Capri, one night in Rome, and left a day early, spending 19 nights in Florence. The monthly rate was cheaper than booking separate stays, and this allowed us to leave our luggage while taking smaller weekend trips.

Rome, Italy (1 night): $153.15

On our way back from Capri, we stopped through Rome and spent one night there. We were absolutely sweltering, so we sprung for a room with AC at the Armoria All’Opera. This room was centrally located and close to the train station, clean, and cute!

Interlaken, Switzerland (3 nights): $311.71

This AirBnB was a lovely find in Interlaken, though it looks like the host is no longer on the site. The room itself was clean and comfy, and the access to the kitchen made it easy to save money on restaurants in Switzerland -- they’re SO expensive. Something to note in Interlaken is that any hotel, AirBnB, or hostel should provide you with a transport card. This allowed us to take the bus at no cost. Make sure you ask your host upon arrival!

Paris, France (29 nights): $1,615.61

We booked this apartment in Paris for a steeply discounted price for a month. We have mixed thoughts on it. The location was excellent and the apartment cute, but it was quite possibly the dirtiest lodging I’ve ever stayed in. When we notified the host, their solution was for the property manager to clean it again, though I asked for a professional house cleaner. So we rolled up our sleeves and cleaned the place ourselves. I would definitely not stay again, but Jarod LOVED it and would return. It was definitely a bargain for Paris, though some deals are too good to be true.

The other thing I’ve found across Europe is that customer service has very different standards than in the States. If you operated an AirBnB stateside the way they do in France, you would be crucified in your reviews and have a terrible rating. Not a bad thing per se, but definitely something to be aware of.

We booked this stay for 29 nights in July to get the monthly discount, but ended up staying for 22 nights. We arrived two days late, left four days early, and spent two nights in the middle in Annecy.

Annecy, France (2 nights): $281.05

This was another AirBnB bust. Mid-way through our sweltering month in Paris, we wanted to escape back to the Alps. This time, we took a quick weekend trip to the French Alps. Unfortunately, we booked this place specifically due to the advertised AC, which ended up being false advertising. It was cute and right in the Old Town, but the heat, along with the lack of cleanliness and indifference from the host made it a no-go in my book. It also looks like this host is no longer on the site and to that, I say good riddance.

Berlin, Germany (4 nights): $470.74

We ended the trip with a long weekend in Berlin and stayed at Hotel Zoe by Amano — this hotel was great! Close to the train station, super cute and trendy, and not too expensive is a win in my book. We actually booked through the AirBnB site, as it was cheaper than the hotel website.

Activities: $1,486

This was probably the hardest category to keep under budget. Being first-timers in every destination, there was SO much we wanted to see. But we had to be very careful to pick and choose our excursions.

In Greece, I really wanted to do the one-day island hopping cruise, but it wasn’t in the budget so we bought ferry tickets between Aegina and Agistri for $89 instead. We also visited the Acropolis and the Temple of Sounion. Read more about Athens activities here.

In Italy, we sprung for a tour of Tuscany as we were car-less and really wanted to visit some vineyards. The tour cost $97 pp, but it included lunch at a winery and transport and guided tours of Siena, Pisa, and San Gimignano. We also did a boat tour around the island of Capri, with a stop at the Blue Grotto for $50 pp. I timed our visit to take advantage of free museum day in Florence, which occurs on the first Sunday of every month. We stopped into the Galleria dell'Accademia to see David, as well as the Uffizi, and the Boboli Gardens (my personal favorite). This day made me realize we’re not really museum people and I’m so glad we didn’t have to pay $100+ to figure that out. In Rome, we did visit the Vatican and the Colosseum for $35 pp though, because you can’t go all the way to Rome and not go inside the Colosseum.

Switzerland held the most expensive excursions, so we were very selective. We paired our free ferry tickets with a trip up to Mount First in Grindelwald. Their Adventure Package includes unlimited gondola rides up and down the mountain and between one and four activities. We chose two activities for $98 pp. See our full Interlaken itinerary here.

We started off our time in France with a bang by visiting Disneyland Paris for Jarod’s birthday. Much cheaper than its stateside counterparts, one day tickets aren’t too bad. We paid $88 pp — the same ticket to Magic Kingdom would run us over $180 pp. We also did a Seine River cruise for $15 pp, visited the Sacré-Coeur, and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at midnight. Tickets to Versailles cost us $27 pp, but I honestly wish we’d skipped it. Otherwise we visited the Louvre on Bastille Day for free, and ate lots of picnics in the park to occupy our time.

Food: $2,728.20

While this number seems astronomical compared to our at-home food costs, I was pretty proud of it over this trip. The breakdown was $797 on groceries and $1,931 eating out. With this budget, we ate out about once every day or every other day, as well as splurged on croissants at every opportunity. I cooked a lot of basic meals at home, but almost all of the food we ate was incredible.

Memorable meals include a burger on top of Mount First in Switzerland, takeout lasagna across from the Pitti Palace in Florence, and afternoon charcuterie in the First Arrondissement in Paris.

I didn’t track the costs for food vs. alcohol, but I’m guessing it was about a 80/20 split. I got a lot of Hugo Spritzes out (around $7 - $10) and we shared wine for dinner most nights. For a budget of $22 per person per day, I’d say we did pretty well.

Souvenirs & Shopping: $340.63

I LOVE buying things in the places I visit. Of course the kitschy things like postcards and magnets, but also items I’ll use in daily life, like clothes. Pulling on a hat or purse and getting to remember where I got it helps to keep trips fresh in my mind.

I honestly don’t know how we kept this number so low, but for most of the trip, I was trying to avoid checking another bag. But by the time we got to Paris, I’d given up and we bought a cheap suitcase to carry home all our souvenirs. We bought prints of all the cities we visited and both basically got a whole new wardrobe in Italy.

Misc: $1,029.63

Travel Insurance: $442

We always, always purchase travel insurance. After COVID, I couldn’t imagine skipping it. Especially for a trip of this length. In this case, I purchased a $13,000 policy from AXA Assistance USA, that covered us in case of cancellation, interruption, or medical emergency.

Miscellaneous and Cash: $587.63

In most of Western Europe, you can easily pay with debit or credit cards, but it’s always wise to carry some cash. Most of this spend occurred in Berlin, where they’re decidedly less card friendly. I didn’t track what exactly we purchased with cash, but we tipped walking tour guides in each city, bought some street food, and purchased several metro tickets. Also, if you’re unlucky enough to need a restroom in Europe outside of a cafe or attraction, you’ll end up paying for it.

If you travel regularly, make sure you hold debit and credit cards with no foreign transaction fees. We have a Charles Schwab checking account that even refunds us for any ATM fees.

EURO SUMMER BUDGET GUIDE