Every Malaysian out there who’s always dreamed of travelling through Europe but worry about the high expense it may entail can feel at ease knowing that this particular traveller managed to see 8 countries in Europe under an appropriate budget.
A Malaysian by the name of Chin Sen on Facebook had uploaded an album consisting of photos from his recent trip to Europe with full details on his expenditure throughout the entire journey. The description explains how he managed to go to 8 countries in Europe in under 33 days with just a budget of RM8.3K.
The countries he went to were Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Poland, Turkey and Netherlands. Here’s the breakdown of his budget to accommodate his travels.
1) Turkey
Chin Sen first flew from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam and made a transit at Istanbul where he spent half a day there. The flight that he used was Turkish Airline. He then took a train from Metro Artatuk Airport to Yenicapi staition and even stopped by the Blue Mosque, which was only 15 minutes away from his hostel.
Flight ticket: €425.85
Transport: €1.48
Accommodation: €10
Food: €3.57
Total: €440.9
2) Czech Republic
Moving on to his next destination, Chin Sen spent a total of 8 days and a half in Cezch Republic where he made stops at Prague, Český Krumlov, and Bohemian Switzerland.
Flight ticket: €99
Transportation: €4.44 (5 days Metro to town area), €7.41 (Bus Prague to Cesky Krumlov), €16.48 (Bus+Train Prague to Bohemian Switzerland)
Accommodation per day: Average €9.5
Food per day: €9.26euro
Expenses: €4.62euro (Prague Castle), €2.22 (Cesky Krumlov Museum & tower), €5.18euro (2 boats in Bohemian Switzerland)
Total: €289.40
3) Germany
He then carried on towards Germany where he managed to join a free tour in Berlin along with his best friend who lived in Europe. He spent 2 days there.
Transport: €32.44 (A return bus Prague to Berlin), €5.6 (2-way metro from station to city)
Accommodation per day: €17
Food per day: €30
Expenses: Entrance into the Holocaust Memorial (free), €4 (An audio guide)
Total: €113.4
4) Austria
In 3 days, Chin Sen managed to travel around a few parts of Austria from his trip in Germany where he visited Hallstatt, Salzburg, Konigssee, and Cesky Krumlov.
Transportation: €29.63euro (CK-Hallstatt), €15.1 (Hallstatt Obertraun-Salzburg), €9.8 (Day ticket RVO Salzburg-Obertraun)
Food per day: €15
Accommodation per day: €25 (Salzburg)
Expenses: €9 (Ferry round trip, Hallstatt Lahn-Obertraun), €17.5 (Round trip Königssee over St. Bartholomä to Salet)
Total: €161.03
5) Italy
A huge chunk of his trip was spent in Italy where he ventured around for 11 days. The places he visited included Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Milan and Venice.
Transportation: Flight €43 (Prague to Rome), Bus and train total €59.7 (City to City),
Accommodation per day: average €17
Food per day: €20
Expenses:
- €12 (Colosseum + Roman Forum + Palatino Hill), 7euro audio guide, buy the ticket at Roman Forum entrance to skip the line at Colosseum
- €20 (Vatican Museum+skip line)
- €12 (1 day train ticket to Cinque Terre)
- €2 (entrance to Milan Cathedral)
- €7.5 (3 days 2 ways train Venice Mestre-Venice Santa Lucia), €20 (Actv 1 day ticket boat in Venice)
Total: €553.2
6) France
The next country he made a stop at was France where he spent a total of 3 days at Paris.
Transportation: €34 (Night train Venice to Paris)
Accommodation per day: €15.5
Food per day: €25
Expenses: The Louvre Museum (Free on Friday 6.45pm-9pm), €9.5 (5 metro tickets for 3 days), €15.5 (train + bus, Paris Gare de Lyon-Paris Beauvais Tillé Airport)
Total: €165
7) Poland
After that, he went on to Poland where the 3 days he spent there was seeing sights at Wieliczka Salt Mine, Krakow and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Transportation: €1.86 (Airport to central), €3.9 (Krakow to Auschwitz), €1.7 (Krakow to Wieliczka)
Accommodation per day: €9
Food per day: €8.14
Expenses: €19.53 (Entrance to Salt mine*discount), €8.14 (entrance to Auschwitz concentration camp*discount)
Total: €52.27
8) Netherlands
His final country was in the Netherlands where he went back to Amsterdam and before leaving for his flight back to Kuala Lumpur, he managed to squeeze in some sightseeing.
Transportation: €15 (1 day travel ticket Amsterdam Schiphol to Amsterdam Central)
Accommodation per day: Night at Istanbul Artatuk airport
Food per day: €15
Expenses: €7 (luggage storage at airport), €4 (sex museum)
Total: €41
His flight once again consisted of a transit back To Turkey so when he returned back to Istanbul, he got a free tour by Turkish Airline that included breakfast and lunch, serving local Turkish food.
Transportation: €1.48 (metro to airport)
Food per day: Free meal by the Airline
Expenses: €20.8 (Turkish bath)
Total: €22.28
Grand Total: €1838.19 (RM8363.76)
Preparation Needed
So after all this thorough planning on the budget, one would ask on how long it took for Chin Sen to plan.
What started out as a trip to just visit his friend in Prague then grew into something more. In the album he had uploaded, Chin Sen goes into further detail about his expenditure process.
“The plan was made 3 months before the date. Most of the flight ticket, transportation and accommodations were brought during the planning. The reason why I travel for so many days? It is because the price of the flight tickets is so expensive, of course you have to fully utilise it!” shared Chin Sen.
The few tips he gave included getting suggestions for food on Tripadvisor that allowed him to find meals according to his budget and favour. He also relied on AirBnB and booking.com for his accommodation needs
“Basically I look for hostel and dorms. However, I consider my options by reading all the comments and feedback left by previous customers. I’m also grateful I brought along my sleeping bag because cheap places may not be really clean so do keep that in mind,” said Chin Sen.
He also commented that as a backpacker, walking is essential which saved him a lot of funds from transportation.
He ended the note by saying that although he managed to cover 8 countries in 33 days, it still wasn’t enough time for him to properly explore each country. However, if you’re seeking a fast-paced vacation under a certain budget to explore as many European countries as possible, he might be someone to emulate.
Feature Image Credit: Compiled from Chin Sen on Facebook
