My trip to Greece in September was easily one of the best trips of my life. It was both my 30th birthday present and divorce present to myself – 10 days visiting Athens and some of the prettiest islands in the Cyclades. I keep track of how much money I spend on every trip – every metro ticket, every beer, it all gets written down so I can track my spending. So how much did my 10-day trip to Greece cost me? Here’s my Greece budget guide!
Greece Budget Breakdown
For this post, all expenses are divided into 5 separate categories: accommodation, food/drink, miscellaneous, sightseeing, and transportation. For days where I visited two places in one day, that day counts as whichever city I spent the most amount of time in – generally, where I spent the night on that specific day. I have listed how much money I spent in each destination and my average daily cost in each place. Costs are given in euros (EUR) and pounds (GBP).
Where did I go in Greece and how much time did I spend there? I had two days in Athens at the start, then three days in Santorini, three days in Paros, and one day in Athens at the end. I also had one transit day at the beginning of the trip (flying from Manchester to Athens), which I didn’t count as a destination but is included in all my total costs. Then, I had one extra day traveling back from Manchester Airport to York, but as I only spent money on a taxi to get to the train station, I didn’t count this as a specific day (although I did include that taxi fare in my total budget).
So with that information out of the way, here’s how much I spent in Greece and what my Greece budget was like!
Athens Travel Cost (3 Days)
Total Spent in Athens: €102.10 / £89.35
Total Travel Cost for Athens (including accommodation): €201.10 / £176
Average Daily Cost (including accommodation): €67 / £58.65
Average Daily Cost (excluding accommodation): €34 / £29.75
Santorini Travel Cost (3 Days)
Total Spent in Santorini: €89.40
Total Travel Cost for Santorini (including accommodation): €226.40 / £198.15
Average Daily Cost (including accommodation): €75.50 / £66.10
Average Daily Cost (excluding accommodation): €29.80 / £26.10
Paros Travel Cost (3 Days)
Total Spent in Paros: €103.35
Total Travel Cost for Paros (including accommodation): €133.35 / £116.70
Average Daily Cost (including accommodation): €44.45 / £38.90
Average Daily Cost (excluding accommodation): €34.45 / £30.15
Interesting Facts From My Trip
Most Expensive Day: 28 September, where I spent €51.65 / £45.20
Cheapest Day: 27 September, where I spent €15.90 / £13.90 (ironically, this was the day I was in Oia on Santorini, one of the most expensive places in Greece!)
Average Daily Cost (10 days including flights, accommodation, transportation booked in advance, travel insurance): €112.80 / £98.27
Average Daily Cost (10 days excluding flights, accommodation, transportation booked in advance, travel insurance): €35.40 / £31
Most expensive accommodation: Caveland Hostel in Santorini, 6-bed dorm €45.60 (£39.90) per night
Cheapest accommodation: Paros Backpackers in Paros, 4-bed dorm €15 (£13.15) per night
Greece Budget Category Breakdown
Wondering how much my costs were for each category? Here is each category’s specific cost:
Accommodation: €266 / £231.70
Food/Drink: €195.30 / £170.25
Miscellaneous*: €58.20 / £50.70
Sightseeing: €40 / £34.85
Transportation: €568.50 / £495.20
*On this trip, my miscellaneous items were souvenirs, travel insurance, and ATM fees
What about the things I booked in advance—flights, trains, etc.? How much did they cost?
Round-trip flights from Manchester to Athens: £208.11
Domestic flights within Greece: €75 / £65.65 (Athens to Santorini) and €57 / £49.90 (Paros to Athens)
Greece Ferry: €55.70 / £48.75 (Santorini to Paros)
Train tickets to/from the airport: £30
Travel Insurance: £33
Airport hotel on the way back: FREE (with credit card points through my Chase Sapphire Preferred!)
So, how much does it actually cost to travel Greece for 10 days?!
GRAND TOTAL: €1128 / £982.70 / $1168.80
The Takeaway
I gave myself a budget of £1000 for this trip and somehow I came in under budget – barely. Considering how much I ate out and (especially) drank out, I’m very impressed with myself! When I was doing the math I definitely thought I’d be over budget by about £100-150. So I’m really pleased that I kept to my budget, even on a trip where the motto was a constant TREAT YO’SELF!
Somehow, Santorini had my cheapest day of the three destinations I visited in Greece on this trip. Say whaaat?! I think it just goes to show that you can travel on a budget even in expensive locations. Santorini was the most expensive accommodation on my trip. I wasn’t even staying in Fira, but in Karterados – a small village with a bus stop about 25 minutes’ walk from Fira. I think because I knew it would be expensive, I did everything I could to keep my travel costs as low as possible. And clearly, it worked!
My sightseeing budget for this trip was actually really low. A huge part of that is because many of the things I chose to do were outdoor activities, which were free. Hiking from Fira to Oia on Santorini, or Lefkes to Prodromos on Paros, was free. Going to the beach and swimming all afternoon was free, too, as long as I didn’t pay for a sunbed/umbrella. This focus on outdoor stuff was huge in keeping my sightseeing budget low!
Another reason my sightseeing costs were so low was because I visited Athens on a weekend where the main historic attractions were all free! This was in honor of European Heritage Days, where state museums and archeological sites had free entry. I saved LOADS of money because of this – at least €50. I didn’t plan my trip that way, but it was excellent timing!
For my trip, I didn’t rent a car or an ATV/scooter on the islands. This helped save me a lot of money, as ATV rental seemed to be about €40/day on Santorini based on what other people told me. However, the tradeoff for this was that I was limited by bus timetables on where I could go and what all I could see. I definitely didn’t see everything I wanted on Santorini or Paros, and could have done with another day on each island.
I didn’t cook my own meals at all on this trip, and definitely wanted to treat myself to food and drinks. Of course, I could have saved a lot of money if I hadn’t have gone to so many rooftop bars for a glass of wine, or if I’d have cooked at the hostel once or twice. That being said, I did have a lot of snacks and cheap eats (pre-made sandwiches, gyros, etc.) to make up for eating/drinking out. My hostel in Santorini came with an amazing free breakfast in the morning – yogurt and honey, fresh fruit, toast, cake. This definitely helped me keep my food costs down on this expensive island, as I filled up each morning at breakfast!
One of the nastiest shocks for me was getting charged ATM/bank fees. There are no free ATMs in Greece – every single bank charges an ATM fee to withdraw cash if you don’t have a bank card with euros. The average cost was about €3 per cash withdrawal – this really adds up over time! I put everything on my Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, which doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. But unfortunately, I did have to have to withdraw quite a bit of cash as two of my hostels required the balance to be paid in cash.
Up until 2020, I had had a shared joint account with my (now ex) husband, that cost about £13/month in total and included free cash withdrawals abroad. My current UK bank account doesn’t have a monthly charge, but doesn’t have free cash withdrawals abroad – so I spent £5.26 in bank fees as well. This isn’t the end of the world, but on a long trip these things can really add up if you’re not careful! I left Greece with absolutely no cash at all, as I was determined not to get cash out again in Paros or Athens. Getting a debit card where I can withdraw cash without bank fees is definitely something I’ll be looking into!
Overall, I’m really happy with my budgeting in Greece. I never felt like I skimped out, and I treated myself loads – it was my birthday/divorce present to myself, after all! But I also balanced those splurges with budgeting tips where I could. I am a very seasoned and experienced budget traveler. And I know how to cut costs and travel on the cheap. I feel like only I could go on a treat-yo-self trip to Greece and still manage to be £13 under budget.
Greece isn’t necessarily an expensive destination. It can be, if you want to go all out in a pricey place like Santorini. But Greece is, overall, pretty affordable if you have euros/pounds/dollars. I think Athens in particular is great for budget travelers! So it’s definitely possible to visit Greece, and island-hop around Greece, on a budget. I hope this post helps planning and budgeting for a trip to Greece!
Have you visited Greece before? What was your budget like?
You might also like my posts:
Santorini on a Budget: A Thrifty Guide to the Greek Island
A Quick Guide to Paros, Greece: How to Spend 36 Hours on Paros
Hiking the Byzantine Trail on Paros: Lefkes to Prodromos
How Much Does it Cost to Travel the Balkans for 2.5 Weeks?
The Budget Travel Bible: 101 Tips for Cheap Travel
All of my budgeting and money posts!
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