How much one couple spent on their trip to Europe
It might look glamorous on Instagram, but how much does a Euro summer really cost?
Here's how much myself and my husband Josh spent – and how we managed to save money! – on a three week trip to the UK and Europe in September, 2023.
Prices have been converted to Australian dollars, rounded up to the nearest dollar.
READ MORE: The key things to know about visiting Paris on the cheap
How much does a Euro summer really cost? Supplied
Day One
Buy three books at Sydney Airport ($57) and go in the American Express lounge, which is free via our credit card and has free food and drinks.
Our return Qantas to LA flight cost 167,000 points and $682. It was far fewer points to fly this way to Europe rather than via Asia, even though it takes longer.
We reckon we saved over $3000 compared with paying for a flight. But we have a layover of around eight hours, so we get a taxi to Santa Monica ($78).
Have lunch ($69) and spend $75 on snacks and medicine and make-up. We get an Uber back ($59) and pay $79 for an airport lounge.
We then fly to Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic which was 80,000 points and $1141 return plus $159 for extra legroom seats.
TOTAL: $2399
READ MORE: The things you need to know before you visit Venice
We flew via LAX to London to save points - and money. Supplied
Day Two
Spend $7 on two Coke Zeros at Heathrow and catch the Underground ($32) into the city.
Spend $33 at a pub as we wait to check into our hotel, Point A Shoreditch, which set us back $1164 for five nights.
Spend $26 on food at the Beigel Bake on Brick Lane, and $13 on supermarket snacks.
TOTAL $1275
Day Three
Spend $54 at the Breakfast Club café, then buy a new foundation ($23) as the travel pot I had filled leaked en route.
Josh gets himself and my mum – who has met us in London – a coffee each, and that exchange rate really hurts, as it costs $19.
Buy some clothes at Uniqlo ($86) and COS ($160).
Have drinks ($46) and fish and chips at a restaurant called Poppies ($130 for three) and more pub drinks ($26).
Tube travel was $31.
TOTAL $575
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Fancy fish and chips at a restaurant called Poppies is tasty but not cheap. Supplied
Day Four
Get coffee for Josh ($8) then catch the Uber ferry to Greenwich (at $94 return!).
Lunch for three at Goddard's pie and mash café is $50, then have a pub drink ($29) before going into Primark for some singlets ($9).
Shelter from rain in a pub with two very expensive Diet Cokes ($14) then have cocktails and snacks at Cahoots bar ($169 for three people).
Tube travel was $31.
TOTAL: $404
Greenwich on the Uber ferry (which is a Thames ferry sponsored by Uber) cost almost $100 return Supplied
Day Five
Get bagels for breakfast ($13) and I buy some new sunglasses ($62). Drinks with friends cost $40 and a bottle of water $4. Eat more fish and chips ($26).
Theatre tickets for Oklahoma! were $208 via the TodayTix app, plus pub drinks cost $30. Tube travel was $31.
TOTAL $414
Day Six
See off my mum and have a pub lunch with friends to celebrate our wedding ($96). Supermarket dinner $34. Tube travel was $31.
All of our spending is done on an ING card which refunds the international transaction fees.
TOTAL $161
Day Seven
Tickets to Paris on the Eurostar were $194 plus sandwiches and snacks $37, and we grab 10 Paris Metro tickets for $34.
We are staying with a friend at her apartment for free.
We get macarons from Pierre Herme ($9) and cakes from McDonald's ($11) plus pub drinks ($15).
TOTAL $300
Discovering the Emily in Paris theme at McDonald's in Paris. Supplied
Day Eight
Croissants for breakfast are $5 then hot drinks in a café are an eye-watering $17. A coke later costs $3 at a shop. Lunch is $43 at a great vegan place called Jah Jah.
Later we spend $37 on drinks.
TOTAL $105
Day Nine
We get drinks from a supermarket ($5) and cakes from the bakery in Emily in Paris ($13).
I buy a notebook from cute gift shop Marin Montagut (at $47 it is the cheapest thing in the shop).
Two ice creams cost $14 and an obligatory tote from Shakespeare and Co is $34.
We also buy Metro tickets ($7) and supermarket snacks ($32).
In the evening we share a $8 Nutella crepe by the Eiffel Tower.
TOTAL $158
Drinks in Paris cost $15. Supplied
Day 10
Breakfast and cakes at bakery are $30 then we indulge in a pick and mix bag of Lindt chocolates for $21, plus flowers for our host are $50.
Treat ourselves to an Uber to the station ($38) to go to Nice by train ($192).
Bathroom at the station is $2 and more train tickets to get to the hotel cost $11.
The hotel is free using Josh's credit card points but it's a little out of the city at Cagnes Sur Mer.
He's American so gets a lot of good offers, however there are Australian credit cards such as ones run in conjunction with Qantas that have similar sign-up bonuses and are good for points to use on flights or hotels – as long as you can afford to pay them off of course.
TOTAL $344
Posing in Paris might be free but first you have to get there. Supplied
Day 11
Share a salmon baguette,($8), have two Aperol Spritz ($32).
Snacks at the supermarket are $20 and dinner at a restaurant is $53.
TOTAL $113
Day 12
Eat croissants for breakfast ($6), then catch a train to Monaco ($44) where the only thing we buy is a Coke Zero ($3).
Dinner in Nice is pizza, salad and two wines for $74.
I buy a Sephora lippie $21 and Josh gets a coffee $6.
Spend $109 on French pharmacy beauty products, and supermarket snacks are $33.
TOTAL $296
A salad Nicoise in Nice was part of a $74 meal. Supplied
DAY 13
Opt for an Uber to get to a medieval village call Èze ($50) as public transport is complicated.
We go in the cactus garden ($46), and bathroom costs $1.
We Uber back via Villefranche Sur Mer ($27) where we have a pricey brunch ($62) then get a train back ($15).
We spend $6 at the supermarket. More gifts and pharmacy cosmetics are $83.
TOTAL: $290
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An uber to the village of Eze cost around $50 Supplied
DAY 14
We're charged a surprise $39 'tax' when we check out of the hotel, then head to Nice on train ($11).
Our train to Riomaggiore in Italy's Cinque Terre (five villages) cost $126. We spend $24 on cakes and other snacks en route.
Our Airbnb, a studio apartment, cost $684 for three nights.
Spend $25 on wine and $43 on dinner – plus donate $3 when we go in a church.
TOTAL $955
Cinque Terre is cute but pricey. Supplied
DAY 15
Breakfast of coffee, cake and Coke Zero is $13 and we buy a travel ticket to go to the other four villages ($61).
A bus driver charges us another $33 when it should be included in our ticket, but we cannot argue in Italian.
Brunch is $42 and we spend $28 on gifts (including a 'beware of the cat sign' in Italian plus $23 at a little shop on snacks – there are no big supermarkets here and it's expensive.
We visit a new scenic walkway which is ticket only ($16).
Dinner is pasta and tiramisu ($35).
TOTAL $247
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Take away pasta in Italy. Supplied
DAY 16
Breakfast is coffee and croissants ($9) before we head to a beach club ($58) on the train ($33).
We have to buy a beach towel ($12) and lunch costs $43.
We later get two pre-made Aperol Spritz bottles at the supermarket ($13), take away fish and chips ($16) pesto pasta ($16) and crepes ($17).
TOTAL: $217
DAY 17
Breakfast is $21 and we get snacks from a supermarket in a nearby town which is far less touristy and hence cheaper ($22).
We catch the train to Florence ($65) and pay $2 for the toilet.
Our Airbnb cost $288 for two nights. It's a room in somebody's apartment which was cheaper than getting a whole place.
The best thing is the free fountain containing not just still but FIZZY water nearby.
Dinner is pizza and burrata ($57) and gelato ($13)
Spend $18 on trams.
TOTAL $486
Aperol Spritz at a wine window in Florence. Supplied
DAY 18
We catch a bus to Piazza Michelangelo to see the famous view ($6).
Later our coffee, Coke Zero and cake is $19 – at $2.50 this was the cheapest coffee in Europe.
Have an Aperol Spritz ($13) from a famous wine window plus a cafe lunch is $67.
Dinner at a restaurant is $57 and we spend $12 on trams and $11 on Gelato. I also buy a painting from a street artist ($41).
TOTAL $188
Take a bus to see the view in Florence. Supplied
DAY 19
Catch the train to Venice ($105) and spend a huge $47 on sandwiches and McDonald's at the station (but we do get a pistachio McFlurry and mozzarella things called panzerotti).
Waterbus to hotel is $31.
We got the hotel for free for three nights – including breakfast – using more credit card points.
It usually costs up to $1000 a night.
Buy two fancy notebooks at Libreria Aqua Alta bookshop ($50 – I really must stop with the notebooks) and later our Aperol Spritz is $16.
We over order on dinner, spending $116, and two Coke Zero on the way home from a corner shop is another pricey $8.
TOTAL $373
Aperol Spritz can strain the budget - unless you share sometimes. Supplied
DAY 20
The only way to have a coffee in notoriously extortionate St Marks Square is to take your own take away one ($7).
Share a sfogliatelle pastry ($4) before a 'free walking tour' which actually cost us a $10 booking fee, plus a donation ($66).
Have another Aperol for $16 and gelato is $17.
I also buy a picture from an old guy painting them for my gallery wall. ($41).
Spend $56 on supplies at a supermarket and dine for $56 at a place from Apple TV show The Reluctant Traveler which was delish.
TOTAL $227
DAY 21
Head to the Dorsoduro area on the waterbus ($31.)
Have Aperol ($10) at the Campo Santa Margherita which is a lot less touristy than other spots.
Later spend $10 on water and snacks at the supermarket, and eat a disappointing dinner by a canal which is rife with mosquitos ($71).
TOTAL $122
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The only way to have a coffee in notoriously extortionate St Marks Square is to take your own. Supplied
DAY 22
There's a water bus strike but we thought the airport route was running. But the boat never turns up, despite us having spent $31 on tickets.
We jog to the station instead, buy a bus ticket ($33) and make it to the airport seconds before check in closes.
The British Airways flights back to London were $696 and we spend $7 on a Coke Zero and $8 on a soggy sandwich.
TOTAL: $775
TRIP TOTAL $10,505.
Graphic: Polly Hanning Nine
The verdict
For the amount of time we were away, I reckon the total amount we spent is quite reasonable.
I'm grateful for all those credit card offers my husband collected, as we definitely saved thousands on hotels and flights.
I don't regret the money spent sipping Aperol in cute little squares, even if I did splash $100 (not including the ones we had with meals).
I do slightly regret the pricey notebooks...
My biggest tips to save on your Euro trip would be to look at alternative ways to fly to Europe, such as via America, consider renting rooms rather than a whole place on Airbnb and stock up on supermarket snacks rather than eating out for every meal.
And always have some spare Euros for the bathroom.
