2024 South Europe Trip: Details, Expense report

Recently I concluded my 2 week trip to Europe. It cost me total of under 1.34 lakhs all expenses included. This post shares my plan, itinerary and expense details. 

What motivated my trip?

I saw an ultra cheap return ticket to Europe- Mumbai-Athens return for under 24k on Kuwait Airways. This is the cheapest ticket I had seen. Had seen similar priced ticket via Abu Dhabi with Wizz Air but that involved self transfer, visa, paying extra for bag and food etc. So regular one stop flight via Kuwait with food n bag included for 24k INR return was a very tempting deal.

When I saw it initially for December end I avoided as it is peak holiday season and too much cold, but when saw same price for Jan-Feb couldn't resist, booked instantly.

My trip plan was as below

Day	Plan	Details
-1	Udupi-Mumbai by train
00	Work from Mumbai	Urban POD at Mumbai central
01	Mumbai-Athens via Kuwait Athens local
02	Flight to Tirana, Tirana local
03	Work, flight to Bucharest
04	Bucharest local	Palace of Parliament
05	Day trip to Dracula Castle
06	Bucharest local, flight to Catania
07	Work from Catania	Local exploration in evening
08	Work from Catania	Local exploration in evening
09	Day trip to Mount Etna, Night flight to Malta
10	Work from Malta	Malta first impressions
11	Work from Malta, evening flight to Athens & then to Santorini
12	Santorini local	Santorini Guide Old Harbor
13	Santorini local
14	Flight to Athens, Athens local	Acropolis
15	Half day work, Flight to India
16	Back in India, train to Udupi

My expenses for this Europe trip are as below

#	Expense	Amount	Remarks
01	Mumbai Athens return flight	23720 INR	Kuwait Air
02	Hostel stay in Europe	31120 INR	Athens 2 night, Tirana 1 night Bucharest 3 night Catania 3 night Malta 2 night Santorini 3 nights (hotel) Hostels avg 12 Euro per night, hotels 30 Euro
03	Europe Local flights	19615 INR	ATH-Tirana (Wizzair) Tirana-OTP (Ryanair) OTP-Catania (Ryanair) Catania-Malta (Malta Air) Malta-Athens (Ryanair) Athens-Santorini return most expensive at 8.5k, Aegean
04	Day tours	20000 INR	Mount Etna, Dracula Castle
05	Local commute	7000 INR
06	Food	23222 INR	Self cook at hostel + few restaurant visits
07	Udupi Mumbai train & Stay, local travel	5000 INR
08	Shopping	2000 INR	Had to buy a towel, bought few magnets n chocolates
09	Museum/attraction entry fees	6000 INR
10	Visa	0	Already had multi entry Schengen visa, else 15k extra
11	Miscellaneous expenses	4500 INR	Insurance 899, Roaming + TSIM, Laundry expense
	Total	142177 INR

Things that worked for me:

• Already had visa, so 15k saved
• Could work remotely, so less leaves needed
• Off season, so hostel, flights, entry fees were cheaper
• Took some risks- tight connections etc- did work out
• No checked bag, managed with one cabin bag & used laundry. This saved need to buy checked bag or extra bag in Ryanair flights
• Multi entry Schengen visa gives access to few other countries like Albania and Romania
• Extensive walking & use of public transport
• Self cooking at hostel to save on food cost

Of the 14 days trip, I took leave for 4 days, had 5 days due to weekend+ republic day holiday and remaining 5 days I worked remotely. If I had taken more leave and booked more day trips that would have added another few hundred Euros to the expense list.

Risks I took

• Just 1 hour transit time in Kuwait to Athens and next flight several days away, risk of missing Athens-Tirana flight next day
• 90 minute connection between Malta-Athens and Athens Santorini flight- different PNRs, different airlines
• Walked 4 km from Santorini airport to hotel to save 25 Euro taxi cost
• Did not book day trips online- visited travel shops and booked previous evening
• Managing with 3-4 sets of cloths, reusing them after using public laundry, to save spending extra on checked bags
• Managed with one standard jacket, gloves and monkey cap in 1 degree or lesser temperatures.

Where I could have saved a bit

• Ate generously at Kuwait airport spending about 7 KWD or about 2000 INR
• Forgot towel at Bucharest hostel, so had to buy new one in Italy for 5 Euros
• Could have saved a bit more on food if I had carried more food from India
• Could have skipped visiting few museums, but decided to enter because there was nothing better to do at the time

Standby for detailed posts on various cities and attractions I visited during the trip.

Related posts: Pros and cons of visiting Europe off season * 2023 Schengen visa process *