Tag: Budget Travel

5 Days in Europe Budget Breakdown

I swear I booked this trip back in January, so this has felt like an eternity to finally arrive.

Now, I know these prices are going to look CRAZY to you, but I promise there is an explanation underneath to explain how I got here.

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

Let us start with the flight(s).

So January 25th, I am minding my chubby business and I see this INSANE deal pop into my inbox from either Secret Flying or Next Departure, or may have even been from both.

Holy banana bread Batman.

Would you look at that deal? And with Lufthansa? Like, a legitimate airline. Wow. So you knowwww I had to book that shit ASAP.

Total cost of my flight from Toronto to Lisbon = $301.81 Canadian. All taxes in. Everything. Oh my God.

And on top of that, I can’t believe I was able to get this flight price for a trip during summertime to Portugal. High season.

Since January, I literally know dozens of people from Instagram and TikTok who also took advantage of this deal and I’m so happy they did.

Because I don’t know how to remain still, I thought to myself ‘what should I also get up to while I’m in Europe?‘ I had considered taking a train down to the Algarve or taking a plane over to Madeira, since I’m already in Portugal. But of course, I said let me book a flight to Nice, France – so I can go see Monaco finally.

The cost of that flight? $110.00 Canadian, roundtrip. I love European flight prices!

This flight will take me from Lisbon to Nice, France (with TAP Portugal) and I return with EasyJet. I am slightly worried about TAP, because I haven’t heard the best reviews about them, but I’m staying hopeful that since it’s such a short flight I will be OK. Will update on return.

So for a total of $411.81 I am able to visit Portugal, France and Monaco. I mean, this is a fucking gem right here OK? I don’t think I’ve ever gotten such a sweet deal on anything.

Now for the stays, there had to be some picking and choosing done. I know I want to walk around a lot and eat everything. So the stays had to be central, and affordable.

I’m very lucky I booked so so early for my stays in both Lisbon and Nice because later? Everything skyrocketed.

This hotel is called the Vila Nova Guesthouse. It is centrally located, has good reviews and looks clean. Furthermore, total price for a two night stay was only $142.00 Canadian. I think that is a great deal and when I looked recently, the cheapest room for my dates was like $700+ for the same time? Nope.

To be honest, a place to stay in Lisbon wasn’t too hard to find back in February when I began booking. At that time the prices were really good and they have an abundance of hotels and AirBnBs. So this was not the tough part.

It was the booking a 36-hr trip to Nice/Monaco that would prove to be a bit more difficult to find a deal.

Both Nice and Monte Carlo aren’t exactly the cheapest places to go visit. I didn’t want to pay much for a one-night stay because I just literally needed somewhere to put my bags and get a couple hours of sleep. I didn’t intend on spending much time there, but I needed it to also be clean, well located and safe.

Then I remembered what I did when I went to Singapore (another hella expensive city for stays). I checked the hostel option. Now, I will absolutely never ever do one of them dorm things. Let me make that very clear.

I am not sharing a space with random people I’ve never met and sleeping in a room with 10 other women – that is something I stopped doing in grade 8 camp OK? I know other people love the hostel experience, but that is just not for me. However, MOST hostels also offer private rooms and typically, they are still cheaper than a hotel room.

I was right. On Hostelworld I ran across this hostel named Open House Hostel.

They have a private room with an ensuite bathroom, their location is superb in Nice and the reviews are great. Total cost for the one night stay = $90.00 Canadian. I have somewhere to leave my bag and go explore, and my own personal space to sleep for the night. Couldn’t really ask for more.

If you’re ever unable to find a good priced hotel or AirBnB, I always recommend checking the private room options available in the hostels. You can find deals like this all the time. Again, thankfully I booked this super early because that same room is like $200.00 for the night now. Yikes.

Finally, I return to Lisbon for ONE night before I fly home. But I get there at 10pm and fly home the next day at some super early hour. I needed something cheap and close to the airport. I was able to find an AirBnB that is a 15-minute walk from the terminal. Absolutely perfect location for what I need to use it for. Bathe. Sleep. Leave.

The total cost of the one night there was $58.36 Canadian. The link to the AirBnB can be found here, if any of you ever have a layover in Lisbon.

For this trip, hallelujah, NO TESTING IS REQUIRED. I think.

If you ever want to know testing requirements for whatever trip you have planned, make sure to check the Sherpa website. It is great because I can input that I am a Canadian citizen, fully vaccinated, traveling from where and to where + what my layover is. Then the website gives me a total breakdown of everything required for the trip. Fantastic. Such a big help.

But this time, I am hearing mixed information. The Sherpa site and the Government of Portugal Tourism site make it seem like if you have a non-EU vaccination proof you should get a test? But then when I speak to people who have been to Portugal in past few weeks, none of them needed a test. So basically, I am going to take my chances. Also, France doesn’t require a test for entry if you’re vaccinated as well.

Now the final thing is spending money.

Euros. Fucking Euros bro.

I hate having to buy USD but I especially hate buying Euros. I’m sticking to my typical amount so €500.00 spending money will be $675.00 Canadian. Frig.

This time I’m trying to not be too upset at the spending money exchange, but just know, I intend on spending more $$ on food than I did on the actual flights and stays. Yes. Seafood me.

The grand total for this trip to Portugal + France/Monaco (without the spending money) is $702.17 — I mean. Wow. That is for all my flights and stays for this trip. I literally couldn’t be any more happy with that total.

Now, with the spending money yes it’ll be more like $1400.00 total, or more. I intend on eating everything I want and I think I have about four restaurant reservations already between the three cities.

See you when I get back!

  • Mirna

5 Days in Costa Rica Budget Breakdown

Here I am again, spilling the beans on how much I spend on my vacations.

Thank goodness, after Antigua and Miami – this one seems WAY more reasonable in pricing.

This upcoming Victoria Day long weekend, my parents and I are heading to Costa Rica! Yay. This will be country #45 for me, and I am super duper excited to get to visit this country, as well as being able to do it with my favourite people in the world.

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

CostaRicaTripCost

Let us start with the flight.

There was a moment where Avianca Airlines had crazy deals for people flying from Toronto all over Central and South America. We were lucky enough to be able to grab this deal during that time. The cost of the roundtrip flight from Toronto to San Jose, per person, was $327.00 – with carry-on luggage. That is freaking insane to me. What a deal! We booked in February and that is usually ‘late’ for me to book anything, but sometimes these deals come up and you have to take advantage like we did.

Immediately after booking the flight I got to working on a place to stay in San Jose. Luckily I had done so many itineraries to this city, that I actually had a couple of them saved for myself.

AirBNB San Jose

The place has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and this beautiful pool. Also, everyone in the reviews said the location is great so it was an easy choice.

Total cost was $438.85 – so per person it came to $146.28 for the 5-night stay. Now I know the title of this post is ‘5 Days in Costa Rica‘ and the math is NOT mathing. The reason I made the title that is because we land super late on the Thursday and take off super duper early on the Tuesday morning to come home. So I couldn’t really say that’s a 6-day trip you know?

If any of you are interested in this AirBnB, here is the link to it. On my follow-up recap of this trip I will let you know if it was worth it and location etc.

Also, we have a second stay during this trip.

No way we could visit Costa Rica and not go to a beach destination!

For one of the nights, we plan on going and doing a trip to Jaco Beach. I know there are plenty of awesome beach destinations in this country, but because we are there for such a short time, we went for the popular and closest one. From my research it is only about 90 minutes each way from San Jose to get there.

We booked a one-night stay at Selina Jaco for this.

SelinaJaco

The total for a night here was $155.45 – therefore per person it is $51.81 and that is totally cool with me because breakfast is included and it is beachfront. For a one-night getaway, this will be awesome.

For this trip, hallelujah, NO TESTING IS REQUIRED. The layover in San Salvador doesn’t require it, the arrival in Costa Rica doesn’t and the return to Canada does not as well.

If you ever want to know testing requirements for whatever trip you have planned, make sure to check the Sherpa website. It is great because I can input that I am a Canadian citizen, fully vaccinated, traveling from where and to where + what my layover is. Then the website gives me a total breakdown of everything required for the trip. Fantastic. Such a big help.

Now the final thing is spending money.

Usually I bring $500 USD on every trip I go to, but for such a short trip to a place where my currency isn’t trash? I only am counting $300CAD, which is 154,036CRC (Costa Rican Colon). Furthermore, I’m going with the bank of mom and dad, duh! I intend on capitalizing being an only child very much on this family excursion.

The grand total for this trip to San Jose and Jaco, Costa Rica is $825.09 per person – I think that’s not so bad. I know I definitely could have found cheaper AirBnB’s in San Jose and likely a cheaper place in Jaco, but I’m traveling with my parents. I am not putting them in some of the shenanigans I end up in. No way. They deserve some comfort, and I still think the price worked out to be really good.

I’m really looking forward to this trip with them and I can’t wait to tell all of you how it went when I get back!

  • Mirna

4 Days in Miami Budget Breakdown

Another trip that has felt like it took FOREVER to get here.

I finally get to see Miami, this will bring me to my full hot girl form. You can’t be a hot girl until you’ve visited Miami.

Back in 2020 my boyfriend and I had booked a Miami trip and because of Covid we had to cancel it, so I thought for his 35th birthday, I would take him to Miami. Unfortunately the stupid MLB lockout ruined some of the plans, as he loves baseball, but there is still plenty of fun to be had, I’m sure.

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

Excel Sheet Miami Budget

Let us start with the flight.

I booked this flight back in the beginning of November 2021. There was some random Priceline sale for flights to Fort Lauderdale and I was able to get a STEAL of a price for these dates, paying a total of $292.72 for BOTH of us combined, so $146.36 for the flight. (roundtrip, direct)

I took my time finding a place to stay in Miami because they have so many options and I also was worried that Covid would maybe mess it all up again. After speaking to my hot girl friends who have been to Miami a million times (shout out to Alicia and Lorren) – I decided the best place for us to stay was in the Wynwood area. I’ve done enough itineraries for folks going to Miami, so although I haven’t been there, I somewhat understand where all these various neighborhoods are situated.

Furthermore, there was this brunch party I wanted to hit up nearby as well as (at the time) wanting to be close to where the Miami Marlins played. Fail. Stupid lockout.

AirBnB Miami
The AirBnB

Places to stay in Miami can go from decent to crazy expensive, but I found the Wynwood area to have some nice deals for AirBnB’s. The week prior to us going to Miami, there was a curfew put in place for South Beach because of all the violence during Spring Break, so again, thankfully I picked a place away from all the shenanigans. Although I plan on visiting South Beach, I don’t need to sleep there. If I sleep in Miami at all?

Total cost was $515.35 – so per person it came to $257.68 for the 3-night stay. If any of you are interested, here is the link to it. On my follow-up recap of this trip I will let you know if it was worth it and location etc. It isn’t the fanciest pants place but I don’t really intend on spending much time in there anyways. I rather spend the money and time on my boyfriend at some place that serves deep fried ice cream with a side of Havana Club. Something wild.

So, although the lockout ruined some plans – one good thing did happen. The Canadian government dropped return testing as of April 1st! Yay. So I wouldn’t need to get a test to come back to Canada, as we fly back on April 3rd.

The only test I would need is a rapid antigen to enter America, so we went to Shoppers to do that. Cost = $40.00 per person.

The two final things to take care of were travel insurance and spending money.

I literally bring the same amount of money to every trip, and that is $500 USD. Doesn’t matter how many days and the destination, that is my go-to. Usually that total is around $650.00 Canadian on the exchange rate, gross.

Now, I know Miami can be pricey so there is a high likelihood I may go over this amount, you know, alcohol, clubs, strip clubs etc. But we will see what the weekend brings!

Due to the chance that I might catch Covid in another country, I also bought us some CoverMe travel insurance from Manulife. I have regular travel insurance through work, but I wanted just a little extra in case of Covid and quarantine being needed. This only cost $31.04 for BOTH of us to be covered for the USA. I think that’s a great price for the amount of coverage we get.

The grand total for this trip to Miami is $1125.08 – I think that’s alright. Most of this total is the damn spending money anyways.

I am super duper excited to get to experience Miami finally and also to give my boyfriend a wonderful 35th birthday gift.

Hope this helps for any of you other Miami newbies who might be looking to go there soon as well!

  • Mirna

5 Days in Antigua Budget Breakdown

We booked this back in October and it has taken FOREVER to get to finally going to Antigua.

365 beaches? Yes. Need.

I knew that Antigua (like Aruba) was one of the pricier Caribbean islands. I knew that I should prepare accordingly for a certain amount of $ to spend.

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

Let us start with the flight.

Like I said we had booked back in October, so the cost was $746.00 per person, roundtrip, with a carry-on only. For five days in a hot country? I can do that with a carry-on without even trying too hard. Very simple. Luckily we booked this flight with American Airlines and therefore had a layover in Miami because during this time Air Canada stopped their direct flights to ‘sunny destinations‘ and one of those destinations was Antigua. So we would have been screwed. My cost for the flight was $436.50 because I had some credits left over from a cancelled trip from 2020, thanks Covid.

Shortly after booking the flight, we found this beautiful AirBnB to stay in as well. The cost of hotels and resorts in Antigua isn’t too favourable, so AirBnB’s offered a nice cheaper option.

The AirBnB

I mean, seeing what our balcony would lead to made this choice very easy. It is located in Saint Mary – at Jolly Harbour. There was 2 bedrooms, 3 beds and 2.5 bathroom. For three women? PERFECT.

Total cost was $933.71 – so per person it came to $311.23 for the 4-night stay. If any of you are interested, here is the link to it. On my follow-up recap of this trip I will let you know if it was worth it and location etc.

Of course, now we have all the testing shenanigans. Try to follow me here on how all of this went….

First test: Friday before flying at MedioneRx. Antigua requires a negative PCR test prior to your arrival. However, they do also accept rapid tests but you may end up being chosen for a ‘random’ test when you get to their airport and have to quarantine until you get your results. We weren’t taking any chances, just took the PCR. Cost = $90.00

Second test: Now, because we have a layover in the USA, their requirement is a rapid test 24-hrs before you enter the country, even for transit. Can’t do that with a PCR because results can take 24-48hrs to get back. Super right? Went to Shoppers to do that. Cost = $40.00

Third test: We did our research about the cost of PCR and Rapid Antigen tests in Antigua. For the PCR tests we were reading they cost between $200-$240USD and that the rapid were about $100USD. Therefore, to return home the testing would have cost us about $475 Canadian. Absolutely, the fuck, no. I’m not paying that.

Luckily, Switch Health finally did something of use, and made a portable LAMP test kit. This is accepted by the CDC and by the Canadian Government to use for entering the country. This kit is something we purchased before leaving Canada, and would bring it in our bags and test ourselves on the Thursday (we fly home Friday) and receive results within 45 minutes. Therefore, we could use it for both the transit through USA and to return to Canada. If you are an Aeroplan member, like I am, the total cost for the test is $168.00 and can be ordered here.

I still think $168.00 is crazy to get back home but when put against $475.00 – not so bad.

The two final things to take care of were travel insurance and spending money.

I literally bring the same amount of money to every trip, and that is $500 USD. Doesn’t matter how many days and the destination, that is my go-to. That totaled $633.00 Canadian on the exchange rate. Ew.

The two currencies on the island of Antigua are the East Caribbean Dollar AND the US dollar. I realize the XCD would have given me a better exchange from Canadian and probably on the island – but I LOATHE carrying two currencies. It is my own laziness, I refuse to do it. I rather just have USD and if I do or don’t use it all, there will always be a trip coming up where I can use the USD (literally, next month in Miami). Not so much for the other currency, as I don’t intend on returning to the Caribbean for the remainder of 2022.

Due to the chance that I might test positive abroad for Covid, I also bought myself some CoverMe travel insurance from Manulife. I have regular travel insurance through work, but I wanted just a little extra in case of Covid and quarantine being needed. This only cost $20.00 for my 5-day trip and it covers up to $200 a day for any stays I might have to pay for in Antigua as well as up to $5,000,000 in any medical costs I may incur related to Covid-19. I think for twenty bucks that is fine by me!

The grand total for this trip to Antigua is $1698.73 – and for it only being a 5-day trip that is crazy to me. But. If you want to go to fancy-pants places, and also travel during a pandemic, you’ll pay up. That is just how it is. I’m sure there might be times where the flight is cheaper and I may or may not actually spend the full $500USD, but knowing how I like to drink and eat on vacation? I probably will.

I pray as you read this post that I am actually spot-on for this budget, because again, during Covid you just don’t know what kind of expenses MAY pop up.

*Update: we fly home today (February 25th) and thank goodness no Covid so we don’t have that expense for quarantine etc. However, definitely went over the spending budget because I like eating and drinking a lot. No regrets.

Hope this helps for anyone trying to go to Antigua soon!

  • Mirna

Hamilton to Las Vegas: Weekend Group Trip

SPECS

Who: Four People, Two Beds

Where: Hamilton to Las Vegas, Nevada

When: Friday, November 30th – Monday, December 3rd

Budget: $400

Flight: Hamilton to Las Vegas | November 30th – December 3rd

$234.60 CDN: roundtrip (direct, add $73.50 for carry-ons so $308.00)

 

Stay: AirBnB for four | November 30th – December 3rd

Option 1: $345.00 CDN ($86.25/per person); Looks cozy, Perfect reviews, Close to Strip

Option 2: $357.00 CDN ($89.25/per person); Perfect reviews, Good location, Looks cozy

Option 3: $338.00 CDN ($84.50/per person); Looks cozy, Perfect reviews, Great location

Option 4: $347.00 CDN ($86.75/per person); Next to the Strip, Perfect reviews, Looks nice

 

Total: Overall, if you go for the LEAST expensive options I posted it’s about $392.50 per person for the trip and for the MOST expensive options it’s about $397.25 per person for the trip.

Extras: If you plan on using AirBnB for the first time, click here for a free credit towards your stay OR if you choose Booking.com for the first time click here for a free credit. Also, if you plan on using Uber for the first time, click here for a free credit towards the ride.

– Mirna 

 

I am not a licensed travel agent of Ontario and make itineraries as a hobby. Any itineraries used by readers are of their own free will and choosing. Site owner is not responsible for any misadventures, mishaps, airline issues or accommodation issues that occur on trip itineraries that are posted or individually e-mailed to readers.