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Traveling to Europe on a Budget

The content in this post was originally published on Business Insider.

What better way to celebrate saving $100,000 at 25 than going to Europe?

I recently traveled to London and Southern Italy with my best friend, and it was my first vacation longer than a few days in over two years.

I was thrilled to go on what we call our annual “#friendmoon” — our honeymoon-type trip as best friends. 

We initially looked at going to Greece, but the trip was going to be more rigid (with ferries and flights between islands), and more expensive. We knew we wanted to eat good food and be somewhere warm, which led us to Southern Italy.

In total, I spent a little over $2,100 on the 10-day trip — it was worth every penny. I used my travel rewards card to make sure that I was getting the most bang for my buck.

Here’s every dollar I spent on the trip (my BFF spent about the same).

Travel (including flights, rental car, train travel, gas, parking): $923

We found a cheap round-trip flight to London from the US — less than $500 round trip, with a direct flight to Seattle on the way back — and then flew from London to Bari, Italy. I typically use TheFlightDeal.com when I travel, but I got lucky and found this deal using Google Flights.

We rented a car in Bari and dropped it off five days later in Naples before flying back to London (and unexpectedly incurred an extra charge for dropping it off in a different city). 

We took public transportation while in London and had to finagle storing our luggage for our brief layover on day two.

Lodging: $448.50

I always try to stay in Airbnbs when I travel — they tend to be cheaper than hotels, and they offer a more unique experience. You feel like a local.

Our first Airbnb was a Trullo house in Cisternino that I had saved on my Airbnb profile over three years prior. We actually based our entire vacation around that Airbnb — it was absolutely gorgeous. 

Then, we booked a cute house with a jaw-dropping bathtub on the side of the Amalfi Cliffs, with lemon and olive trees surrounding us. 

Our last Airbnb in London was just a room, which worked out just fine — we only slept about 12 hours total over our two days in London.

Activities/entertainment: $320

We did two activities in Italy using Airbnb Experiences — the first was a visit to a family farm (the highlight of our trip). We learned how to make cheese and pasta, met the farm animals, and drank wine. We both cried over how amazing the experience was. 

The second was a boat trip to Capri, complete with swimming, cave exploration, and drinking limoncello as the sun set.

While in London, we saw two West End shows — “Matilda” and “Waitress” — and loved both. We got day-of rush seats, which cost us about $30 each.

Souvenirs: $70.40

While in Italy, I bought olive oil for a friend and a pair of amazing sunglasses for myself. And in London, I purchased tea for a friend and mentor, coffee for my dad, and hot cocoa mix for my mom — all from Harrods.

Food/drink: $430.03

Food is always the most important part of a trip for both Kristine and me, so we were committed to eating lots of pasta and gelato (most days were “two gelato days.”) 

The two more expensive meals we shared were an eight-course experience on the cliffs of Positano in Italy — one of the most memorable parts of our trip  — and high tea in London, where we spent three languid hours eating finger sandwiches and sausage rolls.

Grand total: $2,191.43

For everything we got to experience — road-tripping through Southern Italy, a two-day stint in London, amazing food — our trip was very reasonably priced.

It was the perfect way to celebrate my $100,000 goal and a once-in-a-lifetime bonding experience with my best friend. Four months since our trip and we’re still talking about it.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.

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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.