Travelling Around Greece on a Budget – How to Live Frugally!

I never plan my trips too far in advance.  Often they are spur of the moment decisions (driven by depressingly grey UK weather) or the opportunity to take advantage of a cheap flight.  My last trip to Crete and onward around the Dodecanese was neither of these.  The summer of 2018 was probably one of the best I can remember and I had thrown myself wholeheartedly into growing vegetables in the garden and all things creative – such is the effect of the sunshine!

No, this time It was more of an opportunity to get away on my own to be with my thoughts and to have a bit of a personal adventure.  My mum had passed away the previous year and I had just about finished dealing with all the practical things that needs to be done when someone passes away.  I hadn’t however, dealt with the loss, so time away on my own is what I needed.

I have been on many solo trips over the years and the one thing that you need to do is be wholly reliant on yourself to keep to a budget. My train of thought for this trip was that the more control I had of my spending, the longer I’d be able to travel!

It is fair to say that I’ve always been a budget traveller going back to my first island hopping trip nearly 30 years ago.  I have very occasionally stayed in very nice hotels as part of package holiday where I’ve seen a good deal but this isn’t my modus operandi.  Staying in little domatia or pension run by a Greek family is perfect for me – all I look for is cleanliness, good location, air con or a good breeze through an open window and anything else is a bonus!

Here is the breakdown of my budget for my 2018 trip around the Dodecanese.  This is a for the first three weeks of the trip from 23rd August until the 12th September.  My family joined me after this for a couple of weeks before the final solo part of my journey and budget recording just went out of the window!

I have put in the cost of my flights to give an overall picture of the costings and anything purchased in GBP has been converted to Euros.

Note: Breakfast wasn’t provided in most of the accommodations I stayed in so I brought with me a plastic bottle of squeezable honey (easily transportable) and purchased large tubs of Greek yoghurt and either tinned or fresh fruit in local supermarkets.  The perfect budget breakfast!