How much did I spend in Europe?

I spent $9611.58 on my 1 month long Europe trip. My original budget was around $10,500. I also to over a extra $650 (birthday money) with me to Europe.  I ended up coming home with £120 and €1,017 minus a few cents here and there and when converted back to my local currency AUD it gave me a grand total saving of $1589.

$1956.22: RT Flight

$1988: Contiki “Simply Italy” (12 days)

$429.84: Internal Flights (3)

$999.30: Accommodation (1 Hotel, 3 Hostels- 16 nights)

$322: Insurance

$1081: Attractions/Day trips

$400: Contiki Extras

$200: Public Transport

$2235.22: Food, Shopping & Other expenses

Review: Code Pod Hostel

Score: 9.1/10

Location: EDINBURGH, Scotland

Nights: 3

Dates: 1st April – 4th April 2015

Room: 6 bed mixed dorm

 

Staff 9/10

I didn’t have much contact with the staff as everything ran smoothly during my visit and due to my lack of time in Edinburgh I was out the door at 8am and not back till 9pm. But the few times I did speak with the staff they were incredibly always friendly and nice.

Location 10/10

The location was amazing in the new town of Edinburgh, literally only a 2 minute walk before you are on princess street that main area for shopping and public transport. But the street the hostel was on still had a medieval vibe with cobblestone streets. The old town of Edinburgh is also very close only about a 10 minute walk away so in the perfect position for both modern era shopping and history.

Cleanliness 9/10

The hostel was kept immaculate. Cleaned every day (as all hostels should) and done thoroughly the bathrooms were always spotless and never dirty or smelly, dorms are always clean and my sheets were in excellent condition. A lot cleaner than some of the hotels I have stayed in.

Comfort 8.5/10

The pods are such an awesome idea. Your bed/bunk has the head against the wall with two walls on either side and a curtain at the end for optimal privacy. My mattress, however was a little thin, so when you rolled over you could feel the wooden boards underneath. All pods were equipped with a charging point, reading light, a small shelf and a rack at the end of your pod for your towel.

Facilities 9/10

I didn’t use much of the facilities as I was rarely there. The bathrooms were great. The showers had two areas a drying/changing area and then the shower part, between the two was a glass door not a curtain which meant no water went everywhere. The common room and kitchen upstairs, I didn’t use, but did and a look and was good with couches and cooking appliances for you to use. There was also a balcony off the common room and it had amazing views of parts of Edinburgh. You did get free breakfast, but I never got a chance to try as breakfast was so late in the morning I was already gone. The best part of this hostel was the code you got in your locker and the front door, instead of a key or card they give each person a unique 4 number code that you type in to get through the front door and you use to unlock your locker.

So far the best hostel I have ever stayed at.

Day 1 – Brisbane to Rome

Well todays the day. I finally jet setting off to my Europe adventure. I have just arrived to Brisbane airport with my mum, I have checked in my luggage said my goodbyes brought a packet of M&M’s a bottle of water and the book “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac and I am now waiting at my gate for boarding. At this moment as I type this my nerves are starting to set in and it’s actually starting to feel real, I am travelling to Europe!

Last night I re-packed about 3 times not sure what to put in my backpack, am I over packing? do I really need this top? How many socks should I take? Should I buy my shampoo over there? So many questions were running through my head, I barley had time to realise what I was about to do. But now, sitting here with all the distractions out of the way I can start to focus on my excitement for this trip. I have saved for this trip for over 11 months and have been planning for a year now and it’s finally come around and I couldn’t be happier.

My Accommodation

I booked most of my accommodation today via website booking.com.

I decided to book hostels instead of hotels because I am travelling alone and it would be a lot easier to meet people my own age at hostels rather than hotels. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper which gives me more money to shop!

The hostels I chose are defiantly not the cheapest I based my choice of hostel on location and rating (7.5-10/10) and I decided to pick my dorm rooms on quality of services in the room rather than price.

Paris I am staying at St Christopher’s Inn Gare Du Nord Hostel. As the name suggests the hostel is virtually right next to the Gare Du Nord station. Its rating was 7.9/10 which is pretty good out of 2000 reviews. The room I decided on was a 4 bed female dorm with a en-suite with free breakfast. I decided on this dorm as this would be my first time using a hostel and to be honest, I’m quite scared as I’m unsure of how to do things like how long to spend in the shower?Do you dry and change in the shower or toilet or dorm? Is it okay to turn lights on in the morning or at night if people are asleep? Just mainly worried about courtesy and what’s not okay. In this dorm for 5 nights is $273.46AUD.

In Edinburgh I’m staying at the Code-Pod Hostel. I chose this hostel as it has a great location close to the shopping area of Edinburgh but a short walk to the Old Town of Edinburgh. It’s always a very new dorm and the facilities look incredible in the photos plus it has a great review on 8.9/10. I chose a 6 bed mixed dorm as there were no female only dorms available and it was between a 4 bed dorm for an extra $8 a night and it didn’t seem worth it.Free breakfast is included. There were no en-suites but what I learnt from the reviews is each floor (2 dorm rooms 4-6 beds) shares a bathroom which isn’t a lot of people so should be quiet. In this dorm for 3 nights is $192.44AUD.

My hostel in London I haven’t found yet is there are so many and the quality and price of hostels in London vary quite extremely. Will update with London hostel when booked.

My Itinerary

I have finally nailed down and completed my itinerary!

Heres my itinerary from March 13- April 11

Day 1: Overnight flight to Rome (via Hong Kong and London)
Day 2: Rome
Day 3: Rome
Day 4: Rome (Contiki starts)
Day 5: Rome to Sorrento (via Pompeii)
Day 6: Isle of Capri (day trip)
Day 7: Sorrento to Florence (via Chianti Region)
Day 8: Florence
Day 9: Florence to Venice (via Verona)
Day 10: Venice
Day 11: Venice to Milan (via Lake Garda)
Day 12: Milan to La Spezia (via Cinque Terre)
Day 13: La Spezia to Rome (via Pisa)
Day 14: Rome
Day 15: Rome to Paris (Contiki ends)
Day 16: Paris
Day 18: Paris
Day 19: Paris
Day 20: Paris
Day 21: Paris to Edinburgh
Day 22: Edinburgh
Day 23: Edinburgh
Day 24: Edinburgh to London
Day 25: London
Day 26: London
Day 27: London
Day 28: London
Day 29: Overnight flight to Singapore
Day 30: Overnight flight Singapore to Brisbane

Edinburgh to London

I have decided to spend 3 days in Edinburgh and then fly down to London. My reason behind my short stay is Edinburgh is quite a small city compared to London and it has less to see and experience. Besides Edinburgh Castle my main reason for visiting Edinburgh is the city itself the architecture of the buildings and streets as really interests me and last time I was there (2009) I knew I wanted to revisit.

I decided to fly London rather than bus or train as I found a really cheap flight almost half the cost of a train ticket and I would rather spend more time in London than use that time travelling by train or bus.

My flight from Edinburgh to London is on the 4th April 2015 with airline Virgin Atlantic. My flight leaves Edinburgh Airport at 11:20am and arrive to Heathrow Airport, London at 12:00pm. I got a really cheap flight for only ₤39.25.

My flight home leaves London at 8:00pm on the 9th April which gives me about 5 1/2 days in London.

Update on Paris + 2nd stop planning

I have decided and finalised my details for my trip to Paris and booked flights. Yay!

My flights from Rome to Paris is on the 27th March 2015 with airline EasyJet. My flight leaves Leonardo DA Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome at 3:15pm and arrive to Paris Orly Airport at 5:20pm. The flight cost me €94.49.

I have also decided on my second destination, which is Edinburgh, Scotland. I once visited Edinburgh for a day while travelling with a school friend and her family to the United Kingdom during Spring of 2009 (I was 14) and I remember loving the city. The medieval streets and building really wowed me and I just loved the cobblestone streets. Scotland and its rich history well all of United Kingdoms history has always interested and intrigued me, thus my decision to travel there again.

I have also booked flights to Edinburgh on the 1st of April 2015 which gives me 4 1/2 days in Paris. My flight is with AirFrance it leaves Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris at 10:05am and arrive to Edinburgh Airport at 11:05am the flight cost me €149.58. There were cheaper flight options available, but I really wanted a flight at reasonable time as I didn’t want to wake up at 3am for a flight at 7am especially when I would be wandering around Edinburgh with my luggage for hours as most hostels don’t allow check in until 2-3pm.

I’m not sure yet on what my plan is for the 4 days in Paris and how long I will spend time in Edinburgh for before my return flight on on the 9th, but I still have a long to plan this and I’m eager to do so.