‘I’m a student with no regular income – my budget solo weekend in Athens cost £551’
I’m a 21-year-old university student, and my budget reflects that. My maintenance loan (average £2,500 per term) does not cover my rent (£140 per week) but I am fortunate to have support from my family, which I will pay back in the future.
I do not have a regular job. During university holidays I work on a casual contract as an exam invigilator, which pays around £11 per hour, and the hours I work vary.
During term-time I am sometimes paid to make content for the university, and I spend around eight hours per week working online “side hustles” such as data entry and research-based sites such as Prolific and DataAnnotation to cover weekly expenses and put towards some savings.
Before coming to university I took a gap year, where I worked more consistently as an invigilator, and at activity camps run for children in the school holidays.
I am lucky to go on family holidays covered by my family and I pay for anything I spend on myself, including any trips I take without my family.
I have been on a few weekend breaks outside of term-time with friends – and last summer I went on a summer study abroad programme with the university, which I used some of my loan to pay for.
When I travel I like to budget strategically. I am happy to stay in hostels and eat in cheap cafes during the day or eat street food. I guess, for many people, food is usually the most expensive part of the trip. I enjoy spending more money on activities and experiences.
I research my trips well and plan them around experiences. I look for what I want to do first and decide where to stay after.
This was a solo trip to Athens, the first trip I had ever taken alone. I loved the freedom of choosing what to do and when and how to spend my money. It was not without its challenges, but I had a fantastic time and really valued this experience.
Day 1
After getting off the plane, I bought the Athena three-day tourist transport ticket. It included transport to and from the airport and around the city (€20/£16.76). Another cost that had to be spent but not too bad compared to other cities I have visited.
At 4pm I checked into my hostel. Not the most glamorous of places but it was in a great location and had a beautiful rooftop. I enjoyed meeting other solo travellers, and the price was decent compared to other hotels. If I had booked this earlier (I booked less than a month before departure) then it would have been €10 (£8.38) less.
After checking in, I bought an Aperol spritz from Spezia bistro (€9/£7.54) while waiting for my 4.30pm slot to enter the Acropolis. More than I would ideally like to spend on a drink, but after ending up on the wrong bus and almost getting lost, plus a sweaty run to my hostel, I would have paid €90!
Before my trip I bought a five-day combined ticket from Hellenic Heritage which grants you timed entry for multiple sites in the city over five days. It cost €30 (£25.14) which I thought was amazing value. Most of the sites around the city cost €12 (£10.05) to €20 (£16.76) and as someone who wanted to visit all of them this was a great spend.
After walking around the Acropolis I paid €10 (£8.38) for stuffed tomatoes and tap water at Roof Garden and watched the sunset before returning to my hostel to get an early night.
Day 1 total: £41.06
Day 2
A really great breakfast was included with the price of the hostel (£0).
I went for Greek coffee at Café Veneti (Veranzerou 7) and ordered a cappuccino freddo (like a chilled cappuccino) which was €1.50 (£1.25). I love coffee and enjoy seeing how different countries prepare it. I fell in love with the different styles of Greek iced coffee.
Walking tour at 10am. This was free but the host encouraged us to tip if we felt like it. I gave €10 (£8.38) as it was an amazing tour. It was refreshing to put down the map for a few hours and see some local spots. One really great thing about Athens is that there are water fountains all around the city which meant that I never had to pay for any water as I just filled up my bottle as I went.
I had lunch with a woman I met on the tour from a cafe called Ydria which the host suggested. We sat outside, I ordered a Greek salad and a gemista and we split the bill (€19.50/£16.34).
That afternoon I went to the Acropolis museum. I paid for my ticket on my phone (€20/£16.76). It felt like a good addition to visiting the Acropolis. I didn’t buy anything but sat at a café with a gorgeous view.
I wanted to try ouzo so I went to Brettos bar, which is famous for serving the spirit. I went for the green triple-distilled ouzo €5.50 (£4.60) that the bartender recommended – I hated it! I always want to try the local specialties even if I don’t think I’ll like it. Unfortunately this time I was right.
On a whim I bought tickets to an open-air Greek theatre performance on Viator, called ‘Medea and Other Friends I Met in Athens’. The performance was in the evening and cost £21.70. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really enjoyed it. I had an amazing view and they served free local white wine during the performance.
I bought some loukoumades (crispy dough balls) drizzled with honey €3.90 (£3.26) and ate them while watching the sunset.
On my way home I bought gyros (a type of kebab served in a pitta with chips and salad) from popular spot Tylixto – my first one of the trip! I chose the grilled vegetable gyros (€2.90/£2.43) which I thought was great value for such a popular spot. Yum.
Day 2 total: £74.72
Day 3
Free breakfast again!
At 9.20am I took a cable car up to Lycabettus Hill (€10/£8.38), round trip. This was fantastic: the view over the city was incredible.
I bought a keyring as a souvenir (€3/£2.51) and a freddo cappuccino from Cafe Lycabettus (Ploutarchou 66) which cost €4/£3.35. This was pricier than I would have liked, but I was happy to pay more for the location.
At lunch time I went to Dope Roasting Co. and took my laptop so I could do a little university work. An iced Greek frappe and a pastry for lunch came to €5/£4.19.
That afternoon I spent around €5 (£4.19) on souvenirs including a braided bracelet and a postcard – I have been collecting vintage postcards for a few years now.
I spent the rest of the day visiting the archaeological sites that were included with my combination ticket and exploring the city on foot. For dinner I stopped at another gyros place called Quick Pitta, another cheap (but maybe less authentic) place. The vegan one cost €2.90 (£2.43).
That evening I went to a bar called Urban Attic Rooftop with the woman I met on the walking tour and a girl from my hostel. I only bought one drink to keep costs down. It had a really interesting cocktail menu and this was definitely the most “luxury” thing I bought on the whole trip – €14 (£11.73) for a vodka-based cocktail with apricot and peach.
Afterwards we got gelato at L’Arte del Gelato – €2.60 (£2.17) for a small sorbet.
Day 3 total: £38.95
Day 4
On the final day I only had time for one more free breakfast before I went to catch my flight.
