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| Looking so happy and so fly in Moscow. |
If you want to make your cray cray dreams come true and want to get a small itsy-bitsy baby idea of what it might cost, here's a little break down:
- Multi-city (aka open-jaw) ticket to Eurussia (San Diego --> Moscow, Dublin --> Salt Lake) (United Airlines/Lufthansa): $903.26
- Traveler's insurance (probably a smart idea even though I don't know what it's for): $49.95
- Russian visa (Thanks, Obama/Putin): $351.90 (I got it through Travel Broker, which is a company that basically does all the paperwork for you and you pay them $100ish. So I could have gotten the visa for cheaper, but I really don't know how, so it was worth it in my oponion.)
- Flight from Moscow (Domodedovo) to London (Gatwick) (EasyJet): $158.53 (could've gotten it for, like, $50 if I'd bought it a month or two sooner :(((((( )
- Flight from London (Standsted) to Oslo (Rygge) (Ryanair): $24.51 (#unbelievablycheap)
- Flight from Oslo (Rygge) to Milan (Bergamo) (Ryanair): $21.09
- Bus from Austria/Germany back to Milan: $25.58
- Flight from Milan (Bergamo) to Dublin (Ryanair): $29.43
I bought all this (minus the bus ticket) BEFORE going to Europe.
Total pre-Euro costs: $1,564.25
Once I got to Eurussia, my bank charged me $5 every time I withdrew money at an ATM or 3% every time I used my debit card to pay for things. I always withdrew cash and avoided using my card. Some countries, like Norway, have chip cards instead of magnetic strip cards, so American cards don't always work, so I used cash 99.99% of the time. At the start of my trip, I withdrew in increments of $50ish, but by the end of trip, it was increments of $150ish.
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| A harbor in Norwegia. Literally so pritt. |
The total amount I withdrew while in Europe was $1,295.15, which combined with $55 in withdrawal fees, is $1,350.15.
What did I spend all that $$$$ on? I didn't keep an exact record, but according to what I remember/train tickets and phone cards I saved (none of this is exact, y'all):
- Food and chocolate: $388.43
- Intercity transport (long train and bus rides): $189.56
- SIM cards and data: $186.50
- Housing: $160.50
- Public transport (short train and bus rides): $101.64
- "Cultural experiences" (museums and junk): $100.50
- "Souvenirs" (pants, sweater, hat, socks, and an extra bag): $81
So, in total, it cost this little boy $2,914.40 to make his dreams come true for 24 days in Eurussia. He thinks he's a winner.
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| A sample of the exotic cuisine this little boy sampled in the Eurussian wilds. |
I went to BYU's Kennedy Center website and compared this to what it costs to do a study abroad in Europe. I always thought, "Why pay tuition AND pay to travel? That must be a crap-ton expensive!" but I never knew for sure if I was right.
Well, after a quick survey, I found out that I'm right. A study abroad that's 33-days-long and visits 8 countries (I went to 9) is $5,200-5,600 NOT INCLUDING airfare, public transport, museums, and most meals. So, crap, that'd probably be, like, three times more expensive than what I did in the long run.
Of course, there are other study abroad options that are cheaper/might be more worth it (like a water study that's only $2,200-2,400 in Belgium and The Netherlands INCLUDING airfare and museum entry) and if you have a scholarship, it would be cheaper for sure. BUT if you're like me, you've never had any luck getting a scholarship (#BaveragestudentatBYU) and you love figuring things out for yourself without The Man interfering (we all know I like to avoid hanging out with The Man).
So, yeah, I'm a major ... I mean Gordy's ... a major winner. Go Gordy, right? And I coulda done it cheaper!!!! (keep an eye out for those blogs l8r)
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| Joy that cannot be contained. Honestly, my eyes creep me out in this pic. |
And the adventure's not over yet! Maybe some Taiwan or South Amricka this summer? And keep an eye out for #EURUSSIACRAYCRAYVAYCAY2016 next March. And give me money maybe so I can go?
****Urban Dictionary spells it both "vaycay" and "vacay," just FYI. Not sure which I prefer -- vote below!
