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Monday, August 22, 2011

In Preparation for Spain

After the upcoming nuptials, Mike and I will be heading to Spain for two weeks.

Apparently, the only thing that rivals the expense of a wedding, is the honeymoon!

I have to say, I was not completely prepared for the sticker shock that came with planning this trip. I've always done past travels on a shoe string budget; it's pretty easy to be cheap in Ghana. However, as I plan this new trip with my hubby, I find myself completely unwilling to shack up in dorm-style hostels and eat granola bars for 2 out of 3 meals.

So, certain expenses come with those choices:

Airplane tickets for two -- This one was hefty but we bought them many months ago so it doesn't seem like a financial burden now.

Two weeks worth of hotels ranging from $50-$150 a night --Roughly $1,500

Meals -- Unclear as of yet. Probably a lot. Have I mentioned that we're foodies? We're budgeting $2,500.

Car rental -- It was important for us to take these two weeks to go on lots of adventures which means that we want to travel all over. That also means, realistically, a car rental. Roughly $500 for the 2 weeks.

We've got some money set aside for museum tickets etc. but our goals aren't really to see all the "guide book" sights. Mostly we'll be hiking, meandering, figuring out the agenda day-by-day.

In preparation - I needed good walking shoes ($70). I do mean "need". This wasn't just a good excuse to buy some new cutsie shoes. I also bought a cotton dress good for walking around and going out at night too (less of a need, but still, I categorize it as a honeymoon expense @ $50). Luckily Mike has had fewer needs!

During my "OH MY GOD I"M FREAKING OUT ABOUT MONEY" phases Mike is wonderful and says, "you know honey, we can cancel  the honeymoon if we need to"

N-O, NO! That is not an option. One, we'd regret it. Two, we've already sunk money into the plane tickets. Three, I want to go!

We haven't traveled abroad together before traveling is such a passion for both of us so I can't imagine a world in which we don't go on a honeymoon.

Obviously, all of those expenses add up - We aren't going into any debt to cover them (or the wedding) but we will come back with significantly less in our savings.




4 comments:

anna said...

Our honeymoon was a three-week jaunt through the British Isles, with a brief stay in Paris -- and it was so, so worth it, even if it did cost a bit....Do not skimp on the museums and the "tourist" sights -- most of them are famous because they, well....have earned their fame. Also keep in mind the most European countries have great, reliable public transportation -- you might think that you need a car everywhere, but you do not. Check out what can be seen via bus, train, etc. (especially in the cities!) -- you might save some money this way. As far as food goes -- I have two words for you: street food. In the UK and in France, we would graze during the day on the awesome (and inexpensive!) stuff from vendor stalls as we walked around, and then spend some money on a great dinner in the evening. Also, a lot of the hotels have breakfast included, which helps. Also, you will want some souvenirs -- trust me. And not the cheap tourist crap, but something nice, so budget a bit for that....Sorry for all of the unsolicited advice, but I hope that some of it helps....



anna

Michelle said...

Sounds like fun! And also sounds expensive! I hope you have a good time.

Anna said...

Anna, I'm super grateful for the advice. I figure since I'm posting about it on my blog, comments aren't unsolicited ;)

I think you're right about public transportation. We looked into it pretty heavily and given our goals/itinerary it won't work as much as we'd love for it too. Too much country time :)

I love your street food suggestion. We will definitely remember that one!

Anna said...

@Anna
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