...What do you reckon your per-couple per-day cost would have been, all-inclusive except to exclude airfare and pro forma for one couple not two? In other words, how much per day on the ground in Europe had you and your spouse done this alone?
Previously, I did not track closely how much a trip cost, and only knew to the nearest $1K. I looked at the CC statement afterwards, and if we spent about $5-6K for a 2-week trip, then that was about what I expected.
This time, as mentioned, I was surprised to see how cheap it was. Surely, the exchange rate is now US$1.12 to a euro, and we had traveled when it was almost $1.50! Also this time, I did a more accurate accounting in order for my traveling companions to share the cost. Before the trip, I had told them that to keep it simple I would pay for all common expenses incurred during the trip, including all meals that we had together. So, my wife had to collect all receipts, and we sat down to figure out afterwards, then divided it by 2.
Knowing what I know now, I think that we can repeat a similar trip by ourselves, and it will cost no more than $200/day. The estimate is based on renting a smaller car and staying in 1BR apartments.
Car expenses/day: $30 rental + $30 for gas/toll/parking
Airbnb lodging expense: $80/day
The car rental cost is for a smaller car for 2, with all insurances and no deductibles. You can save a bit of money with a car with stickshift. My first car when I was 19 was a stickshift, but in unknown cities with crowded streets I prefer to have all my attention devoted to other cars, pedestrians, and street signs. In addition, my wife cannot drive a stickshift and I want her to be able to help if I get sick.
The Airbnb expense of $80/day assumes that you stay mostly in the countryside (the reason to have a car!), and not in the cities. Look at Airbnb's in Paris and London to see what they cost, vs. Airbnb's in small towns in Provence, Tuscany, or Umbria. In this trip, we alternated between small towns and large ones, although in the latter case we stayed mostly in the suburb in order to have a parking space. The gas/toll/parking is from my recent trip, and it will be lower for someone who drives less.
That adds up to $140, and leaves you with $60/day for admissions, groceries, bars, and restaurants.
Regarding admissions, I was surprised to see that we spent only $175/pp on this trip, and that already included the 72-euro ($81) Firenze card. More on this later.
Restaurant expenses are the wild card, but we are not the type to eat a heavy dinner every night. Most of our dining places are also the common trattorias or bistros frequented by the locals. We had some memorable dinners that way.
One can have a run-of-the-mill 3-course dinner with a glass of wine for $30-40 per person, or just pizza and beer for $15/pp. However, we can be picky about the food, and if we cannot find one that serves something special that we like to sample, we go back to the Airbnb and make simple meals ourselves. I saw quite a few restaurants that charge 50 euros/pp for a 3-course dinner, whose main plate was steak tartare. I am not going to pay that much for them to not cook!
