We thought it would be beneficial to record and share our travel expenses. This makes it easy for us to keep track and for others to be able to see how much we spend when we travel. Hopefully, you can find some useful information and it can inspire you to give it a go!
If you want to learn about what we did while there, check out our Finland destination page!
Our trip was from Feb 20, 2022, to March 1, 2022
Getting there
We found our flights through Pomelo Travel in November of 2021. Check out how we find deals! There were a bunch of routes between SLC and Europe that were on sale. To help make the decision, we actually stuck a few into a hat and randomly picked one out. It happened to be Finland so that’s where we ended up!
The flights were $286 a person roundtrip! Which is insane! They couldn’t be passed up!
We used miles to cover the flights so the $572 was really $0. Check out how to use miles to fly for free!
For anyone that travels, it’s important to recognize and determine what level of travel experience you want to have. We are by no means “budget travelers”. We keep things cheap but we still experience the world. With this in mind, we decided to fly north of Helsinki to a town called Rovaniemi. These tickets cost us $315 for 2 people round trip. We could’ve saved that money, but we wanted to see Santa and to cross the arctic circle!
We also wanted to add Estonia to the adventure so we booked ferry tickets to Tallinn. Those were pretty inexpensive. We paid $139 for two, round-trip tickets. Again, we could’ve saved the money but we wanted to see the world. In our opinion, it’s always worth the extra money to get to more places while traveling.
Accommodations
For this trip, we averaged $83 per night in Airbnbs/hotels. Helsinki was a little on the pricier side and Tallinn was cheap. We typically go for average niceness and comfort. If you’re looking to save you can absolutely find well under $83 a night for good places to stay. Depending on comfort levels you can typically find really affordable housing anywhere you go. We stayed in pretty nice places and enjoyed additional amenities like washer and dryers, nice showers, extra space, etc… Airbnb’s are referenced below.
Food
When eating we enjoyed a mixture of grocery shopping and restaurants. Naturally, restaurants and shops will cost you way more than getting your food from markets and grocery stores. We’ve done both and we still continue to mix them. We typically try for one restaurant a day and groceries for other meals and snacks. On this trip, we ate quite well from both restaurants and grocery stores with lots of snacks throughout the day.
Extras
Additional money is typically spent on miscellaneous activities. We enjoyed a Finish sauna, a ferry to an island, little exhibits, and public transportation. These are often small but they can add up depending on what you want to experience.
With both food and extra activities, we spent an average of $88 a day for two people. We satisfied our stomachs and we spent money as we approached things that interested us.
Conclusion
Everyone can travel! It’s really just a matter of deciding on the level of experience you want to have and the expenses you’ll encounter. We could’ve stayed in Helsinki and saved us $500. We also could’ve flown to Sweden for another $300 instead of taking a $139 boat to Estonia. Helsinki is expensive while Tallin is cheap. We could’ve stayed in Hostels for $20 a night or luxury for hundreds. Groceries will always be cheaper than restaurants and everywhere has free tours and exhibits.
Look at your options and decide on what is best for you. There are extenuating circumstances, but money should really never be a reason to delay traveling! Set your budget, earn some miles, start your saving, and go see the world!
Our Expenses
| SLC – Finland (used miles) | $572 | Rt, 2 ppl, free | |||
| Rovaniemi Flights | $315 | Rt, 2 ppl | |||
| Rovaniemi Airbnb | $153 | 2 nights, 2 ppl | |||
| Ferry to Tallinn | $139 | Rt, 2 ppl | |||
| Tallinn Airbnb | $164 | 2 nights, 2 ppl | |||
| Helsinki Airbnb | $264 | 3 nights, 2 ppl | |||
| Chicago hotel (used miles) | $82 | 1 night, 2 ppl, free | |||
| Food and additional spending | $798 | 2 ppl. |
| Total cost | $2481 |
| Free flight/hotel | -$648 |
| Total | $1833 for 2 ppl |
In hindsight, we should’ve used miles to cover more of the expenses, such as flights, ferries, and even some of the Airbnbs. Capital one allows you to erase travel expenses from your balance. I’m just so dang stingy that even though we have the miles/points I don’t want to spend them. This also goes back to determining your level of travel experience. We’re fortunate to be in a place where we can use cash in a lot of what we do. Otherwise, miles can be used to easily travel for free. Determine what’s best for you, and go for it!
Let us know if you have any questions about finding information or planning your next trip!
Another great article! Sounds like a bargain!
Where to next?!