Paris Video up now!

I just published a youtube video featuring clips from my trip to Paris! Watch for more videos to come about London and the Harry Potter Studio tour as well as Disneyland Paris!

How I went to Paris and London for 10 days for around $2,300 (EVERYTHING included)

So after months of planning for my trip I could NOT STOP RESEARCHING other peoples budgets for their trips and seeing what they spent so I could plan for my trip. I knew how little blogs I found this information on so I decided to write my own post for others to read to add to this information. So, if you want to know how I spent $2,300 for a 10 day trip to Paris and London then keep on reading! This includes everything from the time I left my apartment in Florida to the moment I walked back in the door at the end of my trip. Airplane tickets, food at the airport before I left and on my layovers, taxis to and from the airport in Florida as well as all my expenses on my trip are included.

Highlights of the trip/Things we saw and did
-Hop on, Hop off bus tour in Paris
-Sacre Coeur
-Disneyland Paris
-Eiffel Tower
-Seine river cruise
-Notre Dame
-Saint Chapelle
-Versailles
-Big Ben/Westminster Area
-Buckingham Palace
-Harry Potter Studio Tour/Bus trip


So it all started a few months back in August 2016 when my friend messaged me that she found cheap flights on a budget airline to Paris! We each live in different places, so her deals were better then the ones I got from my airport in Orlando. Turns out the really cheap flights were only from JFK in New York. But NO WAY was I going to pass up a trip to Paris when I finally had someone willing to go with me! So we asked our other friend if she was interested in coming as well and she said YES so we started planning! We also decided to visit London while we were in Europe and we decided March 2017 would be a good time to go for us. Immediately after deciding this I began researching flights. I knew there was no way I was going to find flights as cheap as my friends tickets, but I kept researching and researching. Eventually, after not seeing much change in price difference I decided to purchase a ticket from Orlando to Miami to Paris CDG as well as a ticket from London Heathrow-Charlotte-Orlando. I got these tickets for $922.46. This was on a major US Airline that included free a carry on, one free checked bag, free onboard on demand movies,tv shows games, inflight meals,snacks and drinks. I decided this was worth it since I would be on a little less then a 9 hr flight each way. In comparison, my friend from New York paid about $430 for her flights from JFK in New York-Paris CDG and from London back to JFK. She had 2 direct flights while I had one layover on each trip. She had to pay for everything on her flight including headphones,water,food,movies etc.. In a third comparison, our other friend who came on the trip flew from Charleston, South Carolina to JFK in New York to Dublin,Ireland to Paris CDG. Then from Paris CDG-Dublin-JFK-Charleston. She still paid less then me, but had multiple layovers as well as missed flight due to a short layover and an overnight layover in JFK where she slept in the airport. So remember when booking flights to weigh all of your options and make sure you are prepared for what you are paying for. Disappointment comes when you are not educated and prepared for a trip.

Now that the big charge was out of the way, we started looking at Airbnb's to stay in. We decided on Airbnb for a few reasons. Most hotels in Europe we were looking at only had room for two people in each room. If there was room for three it would be in a third portable bed set up. These three person rooms equaled out to be the same if not more then an Airbnb would cost us. We immediately found a very nice Airbnb in Paris but we were hesitant to book it since we were still waiting to hear back from a fourth friend to see if she would be joining us or not. Unfortunately by the time we had decided it would just be three of us, this Airbnb was booked for the time we wanted it. We found another nice one in our price range that we agreed would work for us and booked that one instead. The London Airbnb was more straightforward to book since it would just be two of us. We found one in a central location near Hyde Park and booked that. All of our Airbnb hosts were great with communicating with us and keeping us informed as to how check in and everything worked. This was all of our first times staying in an Airbnb and it worked out great for us!

The Paris Airbnb for 4 nights worked out to be around $432 total (so around $144 each).

The London Airbnb for 4 nights worked out to be around $463 total. I paid $289 for 4 nights and my friend paid $174. This was because I would be staying 1 night longer so I could do the Harry Potter Studio Tour on my own.

These were my big trip costs. So for my plane tickets and Airbnb stays my total trip cost was already up to $1,355.46


Transportation was the next big category I spend the most in.

Uber from my apartment to the Orlando International Airport-$20.71
Taxi from Paris CDG Airport to Airbnb- 50 euros + 5 euro tip (~$59.20)
Paris Visite 5 day metro pass (included unlimited use of trains and metro)- 63.9 euros ($68.78)
Eurostar train from Paris to London- $78
Oyster card/London Underground pay as you go for 5 days- 28.55 pounds ($35.52)
Heathrow Express train to Heathrow Airport (during off peak time) - 15 pounds ($18.66)
Taxi from Orlando International Airport to my apartment-$86.19

Total Transportation cost: $367.06

How I could have saved money on transportation:
- taken Roissy Bus or metro from Paris airport to Airbnb
-paid as I went for Paris metro and train tickets instead of buying 5 day pass
-had a friend drive me to and from the airport in Florida


Next category is attractions and things we did on this trip

Hop on, Hop off bus tour in Paris - 33 euros
Versailles- 20 euros
Seine River Cruise- 15 euros
Go to top of Eiffel Tower- 17 euros
Go to top of Notre Dame- 10 euros
Go inside Saint Chapelle- 10 euros
Lit a candle in Notre Dame- 2 euros

~$115.18 for Paris attractions/tours

Harry Potter Studio Tour/bus transportation tour (bought ticket online ahead of time in USD) - $85.25

$200.43 total spent for attractions in Paris and London

All of the attractions individually were reasonably priced, but they do add up if you plan on doing all of these and more. The best thing was that a lot of the attractions and things we did in London were FREE. We also all got into Disneyland Paris free due to connections we have, which helped A LOT.


The next big category was our food consumption. We honestly did not eat or drink much AT ALL, since we were so busy running around and walking 15+ miles every day so we did not have much time to eat or drink. In London we had more down time and our plans revolved around the awesome food places we wanted to visit. We splurged on a fancy dinner one night and ate a lot of snacks.

Paris total food cost: $61.39
London total food cost: $158.82
Food bought in airports on layovers/before flights: $15.54

Total food cost: $235.75


Miscellaneous expenses (includes travel insurance, souvenirs,transaction fees) $144.86


Total cost: ~$2,300


This trip could definitely be done for cheaper if you found a good deal on plane tickets and were more conscience and had more patience for public transportation and/or help from friends for airport transfers.

Not including my flight or airport transfers to and from the Orlando International Airport, I spent ~$1,280, this comes out to about $128 a day for food,housing,activities and transportation in the country.

EF College Break: New Years's/Spring Break Trips

As much as I want to go all out on a trip to Europe, I just don't know how realistic that is. I need to save money for when I graduate college and am in the real world. A New Year's or Spring Break trip may be my best option if I want to go to Europe, but want to save some money. Or this money could go towards a bigger trip when I am older. This post is to weight the options and see about how much these trips would cost.

New Year's Trips:
You can see my post on the London,Paris, Rome trip here. This trip can also be taken over New Years which is why I included it here.

Now on to other New Year's Trip options (note: most of these trips can also be taken in the summer)

London/Paris

Length: 8 days

Cities Visited: London, Paris

Countries Visited: England, France

Excursions I would go on: Versailles, New Year's at Ministry of Sound

Starting Price: $2,440

Price with excursions ect...: $2,810

Thoughts: Add $50 for food ect... This trip is short, so I would prefer to go ahead a few days early to spend more time in London, this would interfere with Christmas potentially then....I would also want to spend more time then 3 days in Paris as well. But at least I can say I went there? But is it worth rushing a trip just to say I was there? Also do I really want to go on a trip over New Year's? I will be missing New Year's at home, plus there will be people getting out of control at clubs ect.. in the group, which is bound to happen, but especially since it would be New Year's. Also there is no trip to Stonehenge on this tour.

Total Price: ~$3,160

                                     

Germany/Italy/Switzerland

Length:10 days

Cities Visited: Munich, Innsbruck, Venice, Verona, Mt. Pilatus, Lucerne Region, Rhine Falls, Heidelberg, Frankfurt

Countries Visited: Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland

Excursions I would go on: Mount Pilatus

Starting Price: $2,575

Price with excursions ect...: $2,870

Thoughts: Same thing with the partying as above. $50/day for food ect... I would get to see other countries. Not my top choices, but would still be VERY interesting to see. I would get to see more countries then the other tours.

Total Price: ~$3,320

________________________

Amsterdam/Paris/London

Length: 11 days

Cities Visited: Amsterdam, Paris, London

Countries Visited: Netherlands, France, England

Excursions I would go on: Versailles, Stonehenge/Bath

Starting Price: $2,900

Price with excursions ect...: $3308

Thoughts: I would want more time in London, I like how I can still go to Versailles and Stonehenge/Bath. This trip is more expensive, but there are 3 cities.

Total Price: ~$3,808
______________________

I was going to consider a longer New Year's trip, but between the price, weather and the time I would be away, I decided I would rather do a bigger trip in the summer. I would not want to spend most of my winter break on a trip to Europe and I would rather go to Europe in the summer.

I also was going to include an Ireland trip over Spring Break for St. Patrick's Day, but decided it did not line up with my Spring Break, plus it would get 'crazy' what with all the drinking people would be doing so I would prefer to go in a calmer atmosphere. I will just enjoy my spring break with my friends and family. 

My top trips (EF College Break)

I am looking into 3 different trips through EF College Break. Has anyone ever gone on one of these trips? Anyone know someone who has? What was it like?

My 3 top trip choices (well 4) are the London/Paris/Rome Trip, The European Panorama Trip and the Grand Tour of Europe Trip. The Australia/ New Zealand one I would like to go on after this first trip to Europe I am planning.

Overview of each trip:

London/Paris/Rome

Length: 12 days

Cities Visited: London, Paris, Rome

Countries Visited: England, France, Italy

Excursions I would go on: Stonehenge/Bath, Versailles

Starting Price: $3,039

Price with excursions ect...: $3,755

Thoughts: I don't know about spending 1 night on a train. It seems like I would be wasting time on a train for what I am spending. This trip would be good if I end up not being able to save enough for a longer one, however I would like to visit more places when I go to Europe to see the most I can while I am there. But this is better than nothing and is shorter so I will not be away for as long (I could add the stay ahead option where I go to London earlier then meet with my tour group once it starts). Take into account about $50 a day for food/souvenirs.

Total Price: about $4,355

                                                                                                                                

European Panorama:

Length: 25 days

Cities Visited: Dublin, North Wales, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Lucerne Region, Florence, French Riviera, Barcelona

Countries Visited: Ireland, Wales, England, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain

Excursions I would go on: Stonehenge/Bath, Amsterdam Bike Tour, Versailles, Mount Pilatus

Starting Price: $4,187

Price with excursions ect...: $4,896

Thoughts: This is also a good alternative if I can not save enough for the Grand Tour of Europe. I would get to see Ireland on this trip and skip Madrid, but I would only get to see one city in Italy (Florence), not Venice or Rome. I get 4 days in Paris instead of 3 like in the other two trips. Take into account about $50 a day for food/souvenirs for 25 days.

Total Price: about $6,200
                                                                                                                                   

Grand Tour or Europe

Length: 30 days

Cities Visited: London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Heidelberg, Lucerne Region, Venice, Rome, Florence, French Riviera, Provence, Barcelona, Madrid

Countries Visited: England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain

Excursions I would go on: Stonehenge/Bath, Versailles, Amsterdam Bike Tour, Mount Pilatus

Starting Price: $4,847

Price with excursions ect...: $5,773

Thoughts: This is my top choice of tours, however it is expensive. I need to take into account the fact that I will need money for food/souvenirs. With about $50 a day for food for 30 days that is $1,500 dollars. So the total price comes to be very high. I would get 3 days in Amsterdam as opposed to 2 days like in the European Panorama trip. Also a plus is that I can use the stay ahead option and spend a few extra days in London before my trip starts.

Total Price: about $7,300

                                                                                                                                   

All of my total price estimates are just that. Estimates. My final price will probably be lower than this number. I am just overestimating to be prepared to make sure I will have enough money. Some meals are included (all breakfasts and some dinners), and the first and last day of the tour are travel days on the airplane, so those meals do not need to be included either. My final estimates will probably be lower than this, but I just want to be prepared.

Have you ever gone on an EF College Break trip? About how much money can I expect to spend on food? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!