#vacation costs

[lingocurio]

My imaginary trip to the Azores starts in 10 days! Let's figure out what it would cost.

TLDR estimate of per person per day cost: CAD $235/USD $172 for solo travellers; CAD $205/USD $150 for dynamic duos.

Read on to see how I arrived at those numbers.

I already have my flights in and out of Terceira, my accommodations, transportation and activities. The only thing left to figure out is how much food is going to cost.

I first used Google maps to find restaurants in Angra do Heroismo. For some of them I was able to see menus. It seems that most entrées range in price from around €15 to €24. I can probably estimate an average price of about €20/day for a nice dinner.

I would opt to have a hot meal at a restaurant as my mid-day meal when possible. Oftentimes lunch menus have cheaper items available than dinner menus.

For breakfasts and suppers, I would shop at markets and grocery stores. My accommodations has a kitchen with a fridge, stove, microwave and basic cookware, so I can easily whip up some easy meals and store food.

I found this website that gives the cost of common grocery items. Here's a sample grocery list for the week that would provide for hearty breakfasts and simple suppers:

1 liter of milk, €0.69

2 loaves of bread, €1.44

500 g (1 lb) of rice, €0.54

A dozen eggs, €1.98

500 g (1 lb) cheese €3.86

500 g (1 lb) chicken €4.00

500 g (1 lb) apples €0.72

500 g (1 lb) bananas €0.32

500 g (1 lb) oranges €0.72

500 g (1 lb) tomatoes €0.72

Bottle of wine (mid-range) €5.29

Domestic beer (0.5 liter bottle) € 1.89

The grand total for this list is €22.17, or €2.77 per day (my stay on Terceira is 8 days long).

I always like to round-up when estimating to allow for unexpected expenses. So let's say I need about €3/day for breakfast and supper.

It also occured to me in the meantime that if I'm eating at a restaurant, there's going to be tax added to the bill. I thought I saw somewhere that Portugal has an 18% VAT (Value-Added Tax). So a €20 meal is going to come to €23.60.

Then we also need to figure in tips. In Canada, I usually tip about 15-20%, so let's just use the VAT rate of 18%. That means we have to add another €3.60 to the €23.60 meal (€20 entrée + €3.60 VAT) for a grand total of €27.20, on average. Again, I like to round up when estimating, so let's call it an even €30.

So altogether we're looking at about €33/day for meals (€30 restaurant meals + €3 groceries). For the 8 days that comes to €264.

Let's add it all up!

Meals: €264

Cab rides to and from the airport: €40 + tip = €47.20

Guided tours: €279 + tax + tip = €379.44

Bike rental: €45 + tax = €53.10

So far the total is €743.74. Let's convert that to Canadian dollars. The current exchange rate is about CA$1.46 per Euro. So the total in Canadian dollars is going to be about $1085.

Now let's add the accommodations and airfare, which I already have in Canadian dollars.

Accommodations: $296 + tax = $349.28

Airfare Terceira to Ponta Delgada (taxes and fees already included): $107

Airfare Toronto to Terceira (taxes and fees already included): $341.

The grand total to the nearest dollar is: $1882, or $235.25/day. In US dollars that would be about $1377, or $172/day.

This estimate is for a solo traveller. If you are travelling as a couple or with a friend or family member that you can share accommodations with, the per person cost will be cheaper since the cost of accommodations will not be double the amount for two sharing a room. I think the accommodations I pretend-booked can accommodate two people with no change in price. For food, you would obviously need twice the amount, but often with groceries buying double the amount doesn't necessarily mean double the price, since you usually pay a premium for smaller packaging. For restaurant food as well, you can sometimes get shared platters or a set dinner for two that is cheaper than buying two individual meals. And obviously for a cab, the fare is the same whether there is one passenger or two.

So let's say that food for two adults might cost around €60/day (€55 restaurant meal + €5 groceries), or €480 for 8 days.

Cab rides to and from the airport will still be about €50.

Guided tours and bike rentals will be doubled at €760 and €106 respectively.

Convert the subtotal of €1396 to Canadian dollars at the current exchange rate of $1.46 and you get $2038.16.

Accommodations stay the same at $349.28. Double the airfare for the two flights to get $214 and $682. Grand total is: CAD $3283.44, or CAD $1641.72 per person (about $205/day per person). In USD that comes out to $1201.40 per person, or about $150/day per person.

And there you have it! Now I can start saving up for a real trip one day!

Next stop: Ponta Delgada.

[youthchronical]

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[neyatimes]

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[the-raindeer-king]

Simon and Price are the kind of guys that insist on paying for everything on a vacation. They're paying for the hotel, the rental car, food, any stupid knickknacks you want. If you even pull out your wallet, they're going to be all huffy. John will politely tell you not to worry about, he's got you covered. On the hand, Simon's taking your wallet from you, telling you that you don't need to spend your money, you've got him for that.

Johnny and Kyle don't mind splitting things with you. You pay for the hotel, he'll pay for the flights, dividing out the expenses so you've both got money for the actual trip. Johnny gets all lovey-dovey when you buy him things, jokes that you're spoiling him. But don't fret, he'll get you back later. Gaz gets all warm and fuzzy when you pay for dinner, staring at you with a lovestruck expression. He thinks it's so sweet, and it's just one more push towards finally pulling the ring out of his pocket.

[light-intothedarkness]

الساحل الطيب💕

[here-comes-the-moose]

When I’m writing my Modern AU but then try to figure out and calculate how the life I gave the Batch is financially possible:

[seraphirism]

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[twobrokenwyngs]

a beloved friend just said to me, "if you spend your whole life putting off experiences until you have more money, or to save more money, then one day you will wake up and you will have seen nothing and there will be nothing else you can see." man, I needed to hear that.

which is to say...

i've just booked my mid-july flights to/from manchester, england

hooooly shit

[heich0e]

i took an impromptu three hour nap and then woke up and spent too much money shopping online

[tazmiilly]

woke up from a disturbing nightmare before immediately passing back out and having another dream about this friend I have only in my dreams. she showed me her awesome kid icarus arcade machine. it was super cool

[youthchronical]

Major airlines are cutting services to China or quitting entirely amid low travel demand, high costs

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[barksbog]

I've been looking into hiking a lot with leon and it's honestly driving me up the walls how gentrified hiking is here in Austria. most of the nicer routes are overrun and/or have horribly expensive parking.

multi day hikes/short camping trips are impossible here if you're broke and have a dog because you need to reserve and pay to sleep in sheds in the alps (that don't allow dogs) and all forms of wild camping are illegal.

idk the realisation that all of the "hardcore" hikers sleep in little well temperatured huts that usually even offer food and drinks made me realise hiking like that is just another pay to play sport. i'll just keep crawling down the day trip mountains instead.

[skellydun]

thinking about ending it all (quitting my job)

[kalibabysworld]

I'd bet a lot of money that at least 50% of the reason Charly smashed his racquet today is because he's still carrying over frustration and anger (and disappointment) from the loss in Paris. That wasn't even two weeks ago and he himself admitted that that loss hurt more than most.

[steelthroat]

First time staying at the hotel of a theme park (against my will, but that's a long story) and... it's so weird??????

Like I feel like I am not supposed to be here, how do I put it... it screams luxury but I a... childlike/childish way????

And I feel restless, like something is wrong. Uncanny.

[alexjcrowley]

The Hobbit or Bilbo Baggins's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Not At All Fun Steppe Vacation