Many people think about going to Europe for vacation means I must have saved up a lot and many called us “rich” for attempting to travel Norway, Iceland and Netherlands (the former two with famously high costs of living) over the course of one month.
But we only used less than USD $4000 for EVERYTHING inclusive of airfares, food, accommodations and attraction fees!!
We travelled smart, avoiding luxuries while we could and saving up so we could visit attractions. Here’s how we did it, so you can do the same too!
- Timing
-We chose to book flights very early, half a year before our travel date.
-We researched on which location brought us over for the least money, at that point in time, it was Oslo, with a two-way flight at less than $700.
-We also chose to travel at “off season” periods from mid May.
-Booked train tickets and internal flights and rooms very early on as well
- Cooking
-In Norway, we had a whole grilled spring chicken at $10, which we ate on a daily basis. It was the best value for money
-Local brands sell for cheaper prices. Bread from a local store brand can be as cheap as $2 for a whole loaf compared to $5 onwards for others. They are dry and plain, but it keeps you full.
-When we eat out, we splurge.
-We meal prep the day before.
-Grocery shopping: buy in big packs and bulk. We wanted to eat ice cream one day and bought a box of 8 sticks to eat because it is much more worth it than one stick each.
- Transport substitutes
-Walking the Flam Valley instead of paying $60 for a 30 minute train ride.
-Drive instead of taking the train/bus. In some parts of our trip, there was either limited bus timings or no busses to the areas we would like to visit. Driving is definitely the way as we can plan our time around it as well.
-But choose the train if the views you’ll get from the cabin is not accessible by other forms of transport. (or if the journey is too long to drive)
- Accommodations
-Airbnb referral discounts
-Living in the backseat of our car (a little extreme, but rooms go over $100 per night and we weren’t wiling to splurge since we knew we were going to come home late and leave early the next day!)
-Hostels
- No shopping, no alcohol
-These are pretty expensive in some areas.
-The only souvenirs I brought home are fridge magnets
-We tried to save money in unnecessary luxuries so that we can have more to spend on the road, like to pay for attraction entrances, etc.
For example, we paid S$200 for a 45 min snorkel in Iceland’s Silfra Fissure. Expensive as it may seen, we see value in it because of its uniqueness to Iceland, and we spent lesser money in other areas such as food, avoiding snacks and anything too expensive, cooking our own pasta with limited vegs and loads of cheap pre packed meat like sausages. Many health junkies will be concerned but it keeps us going and is pretty yummy after a long day on the road!
