We spoke to 6 women who are heading to Europe. Here's exactly what it's costing them.

This article was originally published in June 2023.

Have you ever looked at someone's Instagram around this time of year and wondered how much they had to put away to afford that Europe trip? It's something I wonder often.

For the next few months, people will be ditching our Aussie winter for places like Italy, Croatia and Spain.

There will be boat days and beach clubs and photos posted online of it all, making you wonder whether it's appropriate to mute them on social media... just until they come home.

It begs the question, though – what have these people saved to make these trips a reality? Especially in 2025.

We spoke to six women* who are heading to Europe this winter. Here's exactly what it's costing them.

But first, watch horoscopes at the airport. Post continues after video.

Cass.

I purposely booked my trip in May 2025 to avoid the busy season (cheaper and less crowded, plus the locals aren't sick of you yet!). Spending three weeks in Greece (Mykonos/Syros) and Sicily, we tried to keep internal flights and transfers at a minimum in favour of an affordable and stress-free holiday.

My return flights from Sydney to Athens were around $1,800, and then all up for accommodation, internal flights and shared restaurant bills, it was $7,600 between me and my friend.

I probably spent another $1,500 on the ground, so roughly $7,100 all up (just for me)! Given the length of our trip and that we stayed in nice hotels, I felt this was an excellent deal — and a huge win for going out of season! It's my ultimate Europe saving tip.

Georgie.

"I'm going from August to September for three and a half weeks and have saved $9,000 per person for flights, accommodation and insurance. We're also budgeting approximately $5,000 for spending money.

"The $9,000 per person is split across international flights ($2,600), internal flights ($1,600), accommodation ($2,300), Croatia Sail ($2,300) and insurance ($200). We a little bougie."

Alice.

"We go to Europe annually because my in-laws live in Greece. We take the kids every year in September as it's not peak season and slightly cheaper (but still warm enough to have some beach time). We budget $16,000-18,000.

"The breakdown is approximately $10,000 on flights (two adults and two children) and $1,500 for hiring a car. A chunk of our accommodation is free as we stay with family but we budget $3,000 for the rest, depending on where we go, and then everything else in spending money (food, experiences, tours, shopping etc.)

"I imagine this will only increase as the kids get older and want to stay in hotels the entire time! Oh, and we go for three to four weeks at a time."

Anna.

"My partner and I have spent a cool $10,000 for the two of us for a little more than two weeks – and that's before we even hit the ground. That's $2,690 each on flights, $1,000 for five nights on the Amalfi Coast, plus all of our other accommodation and internal travel. Thankfully, we are staying with friends in London, otherwise that would've cost another $1,000."

Sophia.

"I have gone above and beyond to get the cheapest flights, deals and accommodation I can find for this five-week trip. Flights so far have cost around $7,600 for two people. I got an $800 flight to from Sydney to Athens with a budget airline, and to find that flight I looked at flights into every location we wanted to visit to see which would be the cheapest. Flying into Athens and out of Paris were the best deals, so we moved in that direction checking each flight individually as we went.

"Accommodation has cost around $5,000 upfront but this includes a five-day Croatia Sail trip for two people. To save for this, we have moved back home to live in a granny flat at my partner's grandmother's house. It’s not glamorous but we are certainly grateful to have the option.

"We are also counting on getting some tax back and selling a car to give us that extra cash. We are taking an additional $10,000 dollars in spending money. Total so far is $22,600 including projected spending money, which is close to the $25,000 I estimated it to cost when we started booking."

Alex.

"I thought I could get away with saving $15,000 for my three-week trip, including spending. I'm up to $19,000 just for accommodation and flights. I miss when we could get flights over there for $1,800 back in the day."

Hannah.

"I've saved $7,000 for 31 days of backpacking. My flights were paid for back in November 2022 ($2,400) and I'm staying in hostels the entire time. I've popped aside $100 euros per day for food and sightseeing, but most things are already paid for. Total for the whole trip is about $10,000."

Jess.

"My partner and I are going for three weeks and have spent roughly $12,000 in total. We spent $4,550 on flights Sydney to London, then returning Tel Aviv to Sydney. We spent $1,200 on internal Europe flights.

"As for accommodation, we've been blessed and are staying with friends in London, our hotel in Paris is $200/night for two nights, our Airbnb in Nice is $180/night for three nights, in Naples we are staying with friends, in Sorrento we're paying $190/night for three nights, in Vienna we are paying $230 for two nights and in Tel Aviv we are with family.

"So all up, accommodation is $1,970. This could've been cheaper if we stayed in hostels but we decided we didn't want that. We've also both saved $2,000 for spending."

*The women in this story are known to Mamamia but have chosen to remain anonymous for privacy reasons.

Feature Image: Getty.

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