I have seen a lot of people ask this question in travel groups – how much is a solo trip to Iceland? The Maldives? Europe, with travel? (For what it’s worth, my husband and I spent less than $3k for nine days in Europe.)
Of course, the answer is that it depends! What is it you want to do? How fancy of a place do you prefer to stay in? Will you be taking public transportation or driving?
What I can tell you definitively is how much my solo trip to Osprey and Venice cost. Here’s the breakdown:
Hotel: $181
I found Casey Key Resorts – Mainland while poking around on Orbitz for a good deal in the area. There are definitely a lot of good reasons to book a hotel directly, but I went through Orbitz because:
- I had $121 in Orbucks available to use, which gave me significant out-of-pocket savings.
- Since I have VIP status with Orbitz, they said my room would be upgraded (if available) and I’d be given an $11 meal credit for the on-site restaurant.
- It was cheaper to book the room on Orbitz, even before applying my Orbucks to the total, thanks to the private sale Casey Key Resorts was running.
I also made sure that the ratings and reviews were solid. Since I was traveling by myself, I didn’t feel as comfortable staying in an Airbnb as I would have with someone else there. Don’t skimp on a place that will make you feel better/safer when you’re going solo!
Food: $59
I definitely took advantage of the aforementioned food credit to grab a happy hour dinner at Chef Rolf’s New Florida Kitchen on-site, which left me with just $2 to pay out of pocket. My other big food expenses were:
- $20 for a to-go order from Pinchers, which consisted of a blackened grouper sandwich with crab and corn soup
- $17 for lunch at the bar at Station 400, where I had the bacon and caramel pancakes (and a Diet Coke)
Everything else was under $8 apiece – I even scored a BOGO deal on my Publix breakfast snacks! While I am happy to splurge on a really good meal, like the lunch I had at Marchal in Copenhagen or at Hell’s Kitchen in Las Vegas (which, to be fair, was reimbursed by my company), I pick and choose where I want to spend and save.
Gas: $31
Saving money on gas is a trick, especially these days. While I normally try to get gas at Sam’s Club, since it’s cheaper (and super convenient to get while I’m already grocery shopping), I ended up filling up at the Wawa near our house. One thing I love about Wawa is that the price is the same when using cash or a credit card, so I make sure to use a card that offers me additional cashback on gas.
Tripod: $20
I mentioned this in my last post because the heyday™ Desktop Tripod + Phone Mount was probably my best purchase of the trip – and best travel-related purchase in a long time! I have turned up my nose at selfie sticks in the past, but there’s no way I could have asked a stranger to patiently take a dozen photos of me jumping, changing angles and such until I got the right one. This one had good reviews and was super easy to set up. Bonus: the remote! I can’t wait to bring this on future trips, so I can get more great shots without having to selfie them.
State Parks: $8
The entrance fee for me to both Myakka River State Park and Oscar Scherer State Park was $4 per park. It will increase a bit with multiple people in the car (to $5 or $6), but this was definitely worth it as an activity to get outside and enjoy Florida’s nature! If you frequently visit Florida state parks, you can also look into getting an annual pass – we got one for my mom for Christmas, since it can provide some serious savings. It’s $60 for an individual entrance pass or $120 for a family entrance pass.
Total: $299
For about $300, I had an excellent weekend away! Tyler just got back from his solo trip, and while he definitely spent more on food – after all, there are a lot of great eats in Orlando – know that you can take a weekend away for not a ton of cash.
Now to finish planning our next trip: Ireland! Just wait until I share the latest hotel drama…