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What did your previous experience on the Camino tell you?I did some budgeting and based on a rate of 15€/person each night in France for a bed, about the same for a meal if we don't cook, and 10€ in Spain, it would cost us about $9,00-10,000 for a pilgrimage from Le Puy to Santiago for two people. This includes having to cover bills back home and plane tickets. Does this seem accurate? It would take us a few years to be able to save this much.
That's why I was budgeting them in. So I would have the total cost of what we'd have to have saved up for those three months spent not working. As you said, we still have to pay them.I'm really not sure what your bills at home have to do with the cost of walking the Camino. You'll have to pay those whether you're at home or away.
France: I estimated 15€ for a bed, 16€ for dinner if we purchased it and about 7€ if we were to cook, 3€ for breakfast, 7,50€ for lunch, and 3€ miscellaneous. The miscellaneous would go towards the pharmacy, toiletries, etc.
Spain: 10€ for a bed, 10€ for the pilgrim menu or 7€ for cooking, breakfast and lunch together was 10€, and still 3€ for miscellaneous.
Bills at home include car payments, internet, utilities, car insurance and health insurance, all together totaling about $1150/mo. (3 months). Plus $1500 each for airfare.
I didn't actually pay attention to what I was spending before since I was teaching and my salary was split up over 12 months, plus I was single.
$1500 each for airfair sounds way too much.France: I estimated 15€ for a bed, 16€ for dinner if we purchased it and about 7€ if we were to cook, 3€ for breakfast, 7,50€ for lunch, and 3€ miscellaneous. The miscellaneous would go towards the pharmacy, toiletries, etc.
Spain: 10€ for a bed, 10€ for the pilgrim menu or 7€ for cooking, breakfast and lunch together was 10€, and still 3€ for miscellaneous.
Both countries were 35-40 days each, and the estimates are per person, per day. I estimated based on what I remember things costing before.
Bills at home include car payments, internet, utilities, car insurance and health insurance, all together totaling about $1150/mo. (3 months). Plus $1500 each for airfare.
I didn't actually pay attention to what I was spending before since I was teaching and my salary was split up over 12 months, plus I was single.
Jersey, I fly from LAX (Los Angeles) round trip to Madrid, then connect from Madrid to Biarritz on a one way flight. Bus to Bayonne, train to Saint Jean Pied de Port. After I am done I take another flight from Santiago back to Madrid. A total of 4 flights, one bus and one train. The exact total for this year is $1,320. In both 2015 and 2013 it was closer to $2,000 because I booked the flights only a few weeks in advance. That is always a bad idea.$1500 each for airfair sounds way too much.
What airport do you plan on leaving from?
You might want to look into getting Amtrak or a bus up to Philly, Newark or JFK in NY.
A flight from these airports would be about $750 each. Specially JFK
Or you might want to look into a flight from Atlanta
SuperJersey, I fly from LAX (Los Angeles) round trip to Madrid, then connect from Madrid to Biarritz on a one way flight. Bus to Bayonne, train to Saint Jean Pied de Port. After I am done I take another flight from Santiago back to Madrid. A total of 4 flights, one bus and one train. The exact total for this year is $1,320. In both 2015 and 2013 it was closer to $2,000 because I booked the flights only a few weeks in advance. That is always a bad idea.
Jersey,
I heard about that train. Sounds like a good option for future Caminos. This year I am actually renting a car in Madrid and touring around to see friends all over Spain. I lived in Spain for 10 years so when I get back it often turns into a multi-stop adventure.
I think a little sensitivity may be in order here. Many of us might agree that if we looked at doing a Camino the same way we would look at a holiday, this one is a relative bargain. Throw in a little life changing perspective and maybe a saved soul here and there, and its a steal. That would be true for some of us. For 70% of the inhabitants of planet earth, its a cost that is nearly impossible to bear. Anyone trying to maintain a home on a couple of minimum wage jobs is going to have a LOT of trouble scratching together the $5K that you or I might throw on a visa card without a second thought. We have no idea about the OP's circumstances, and its not our business to ask or assume, rather to try to provide guidance based upon our experience.
I did some budgeting and based on a rate of 15€/person each night in France for a bed, about the same for a meal if we don't cook, and 10€ in Spain, it would cost us about $9,00-10,000 for a pilgrimage from Le Puy to Santiago for two people. This includes having to cover bills back home and plane tickets. Does this seem accurate? It would take us a few years to be able to save this much.
I did some budgeting and based on a rate of 15€/person each night in France for a bed, about the same for a meal if we don't cook, and 10€ in Spain, it would cost us about $9,00-10,000 for a pilgrimage from Le Puy to Santiago for two people. This includes having to cover bills back home and plane tickets. Does this seem accurate? It would take us a few years to be able to save this much.
I did some budgeting and / . . . it would cost us about $9,000-10,000 / . . . It would take us a few years to be able to save this much.
I did some budgeting and based on a rate of 15€/person each night in France for a bed, about the same for a meal if we don't cook, and 10€ in Spain, it would cost us about $9,00-10,000 for a pilgrimage from Le Puy to Santiago for two people. This includes having to cover bills back home and plane tickets. Does this seem accurate? It would take us a few years to be able to save this much.
Hi Biloute!
I'm attaching a spreadsheet of my EXACT expenditure a couple of years ago for three weeks on the Ruta del Ebro. Use it as a part of your calculation, adding in whatever home bills you may have, flights etc.
Also, remember I'm an old timer who needs comfort and an 'en suite' so, reduce the average 24 Euros a night, to maybe 10 Euros. Abergues will be much cheaper! Hope you may find this useful.
Buen camino!
P.S. Sorry - forum won't let me upload an Excel file.
I'll try a 'screen-print'......
View attachment 33854
Wow, This is some solid record keeping! Bravo on the detail Steven.Hi Biloute!
I'm attaching a spreadsheet of my EXACT expenditure a couple of years ago for three weeks on the Ruta del Ebro. Use it as a part of your calculation, adding in whatever home bills you may have, flights etc.
Also, remember I'm an old timer who needs comfort and an 'en suite' so, reduce the average 24 Euros a night, to maybe 10 Euros. Abergues will be much cheaper! Hope you may find this useful.
Buen camino!
P.S. Sorry - forum won't let me upload an Excel file.
I'll try a 'screen-print'......
View attachment 33856 I kind of did the same thing by creating a spreadsheet to keep costs straight. I have other sheets that have itineraries for both France and Spain so we can see when we'd need to be somewhere in order to have enough time to finish. We may end up taking a backpacking tent and camping as much as possible, at least in France, to keep costs down because 9-11€ for the both of us at a campground is a lot cheaper than staying at a gîte.
I used the Numbers app, but did it on my iPad. It's really nice to be able to access my documents from pretty much any device, since you can get to them by logging in to iCloud.com.Nice spreadsheet, just out of curiosity, what program or app were you using? Based on the screenshot I think we might have the same type of phone and I would love to have this kind of program to use when I do my Camino next month.
I used the Numbers app, but did it on my iPad. It's really nice to be able to access my documents from pretty much any device, since you can get to them by logging in to iCloud.com.
Thinking about this overnight I must say its difficult to estimate how much you will need to save for a trip two years out.View attachment 33856 I kind of did the same thing by creating a spreadsheet to keep costs straight. I have other sheets that have itineraries for both France and Spain so we can see when we'd need to be somewhere in order to have enough time to finish. We may end up taking a backpacking tent and camping as much as possible, at least in France, to keep costs down because 9-11€ for the both of us at a campground is a lot cheaper than staying at a gîte.
Unfortunately if I didn't worry about how much it cost and start budgeting, we could very easily end up falling behind on bills. Not everyone can afford to just take off like that. Just saving is all well and good, but you have to know approximately how much to save and it happens to be a very hefty sum for many, especially with added travel costs.Enjoy your Camino and stop fretting about the pennies you are spending.
7 months earlier air reservation from JFK in NY to Madrid makes us pay for $950 for my wife and me. In addition, air fare from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid is $71 for two of us. We will start the Camino this September: 25 euros/person/day (possibly + 10 euros) in Spain.$1500 each for airfair sounds way too much.
What airport do you plan on leaving from?
You might want to look into getting Amtrak or a bus up to Philly, Newark or JFK in NY.
A flight from these airports would be about $750 each. Specially JFK
Or you might want to look into a flight from Atlanta
How best to carry money on El Camino and how to exchange US dollars to euros. Does credit card work so as to not carry cash? Hitting the trail in Sept! Thrilled with the opportunity.
Before you leave get a few hundred euros cash from your bank
But my bank would have to order Euros for their local branch, which they won't do, so I have few options. Just use common sense and keep your eyes open when using any ATM.
How best to carry money on El Camino and how to exchange US dollars to euros. Does credit card work so as to not carry cash? Hitting the trail in Sept! Thrilled with the opportunity.
Norwegian is very hard to beat on price. All new planes (more fuel-effective), clean and good service. Norw.-Ryanair = 2 different worlds.@alexwalker
Nice airtravel site. SFO-MAD round trip 6Sep to 13Oct was $667 on Norwegian--- vs my usual Hipmunk search where Turkish was $807 and TAP $878 as the cheapest. Thank you
There are a few threads on the forum that go into this in detail. -- I take it you are from the US as you are asking about US dollars. Here is what I did: I took a credit card that does not have fees for foreign transactions. You can call your credit card company and ask them if there is a fee. I took my ATM card as well. The credit card was for large purchases and for emergencies (new hiking shoes, etc.). I used the ATM to get money from the many ATM machines found in almost every village. I got off the plane, I got money from an ATM. I usually get about $200 worth because there is a fee for each transaction. The ATM will ask you what language you would like to use. It will also give you an option on whether to use their exchange rate or your bank's. Choose your bank. I paid for almost everything using cash. But then, I didn't buy much-- food mostly. Because, what you buy, you have to carry.
This is exactly what I was looking for@alexwalker, Norwegian depends a lot on where you are. It drives us crazy in FL that it's relatively cheap going to Europe (but still not as cheap as flying them from CA--go figure), but usually crazy expensive coming back. I often fly Norwegian over and Iceland Air returning, because they are cheap from Europe to the US but not the other way. Go figure.
I got curious and just priced out airfare. There was a low (to me) fare just under $900, but apparently only one before jumping to $1200. Honestly, it would be just as or more expensive to take Amtrak to another city, and WAY more of a hassle. We live near the Charleston airport. And Amtrak is ridiculous for what they offer. Super slow and very expensive, considering that to be able to sleep on one of their trains I'd have to purchase a ticket for a sleeper cabin. I can't sleep sitting up.
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