SMALL-TOWN GIRLS, MIDNIGHT TRAINS

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— travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams —

travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams

7 days in Paris for PHP 50,000

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Over a year ago, I wrote How Much Does A European Trip Cost, where I advised people to budget PHP 10,000/day of their trip. That estimate was largely based on a 10-day trip my sister and I took a few years ago and included everything from:

  • Airfare (Cebu-Manila-KL-Paris-KL-Manila-Cebu)
  • Hotels (all double/twin en suites in central locations)
  • Sleeper trains: Paris-Venice, Rome-Paris, and Paris-Nice
  • Daytime trains: Venice-Rome, Nice-Marseille, and Marseille-Paris
  • Ferry trip to Chateau d’If and the Frioul Islands
  • Batobus (Paris) and vaporetto (Venice) passes
  • Admission fees (Louvre, Orsay, the Colosseum, etc.)
  • Food and local transport

…and other miscellaneous stuff. (See: 10 days in Europe: A sample itinerary for France and Italy)

People who actually lived in Europe — ie, people who knew better — told me PHP 10,000/day was too much, but I figured it was a quick, memorable, reasonable rule-of-thumb, and explained:

If I had to describe my travel style, I’d say it’s frugal but comfortable. There are travelers who like to compare trip costs — the cheaper, the better — but I don’t. My personal goal is not to have the cheapest vacation, but to have the best vacation within a reasonable budget, and I tend to be willing to pay a bit more for something if it means I would be happier during my trip.

(Like, you know, centrally located twin en suites.)

But then, this month, I had to write this Rappler article, and I challenged myself to come up with a budget that wouldn’t take an extremely long time or an extremely frugal pre-trip lifestyle to achieve.

So — apologies for the needlessly long intro! — here it is:

7 days in Paris for php 50000

As you can see, the airfare gobbles up half the budget and is a lucky, low-season rate at that — you’ll have to keep an eye out for seat sales or periodic low rates to get that price. But it’s entirely possible: I’ve posted about a P23,700 fare and even a P21,500 fare that I found through Skyscanner/Expedia (and which is why I would encourage you to subscribe to this blog HERE to get the latest news and updates). Plus, there are 30-euro centrally located hostels (thank you for the tip Jasmin!) with free WiFi and breakfast, tricks to save on food and still have your fill, and other ways to not spend so much, even in an expensive city like Paris.

Of course, there’s the valid line of thought that says: you don’t get to be in Paris often, might as well spend more. PHP 50,000 is really just the baseline (and not even the basest of baselines) and you’re absolutely free to spend more if you have more to spend. What this frugal budget tries to prove is that if Paris is really a dream of yours, there’s no reason you can’t make that dream come true. I’ve done it, and you can too.

 

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“7 days in Paris for PHP 50,000” was created by LSS for travel site Small-Town Girls, Midnight Trains. All rights reserved. 

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16 Responses

    1. Hi Bie Bambie! Nag-Air Asia kami. That time kasi, meron pang Air Asia flights between KL and Paris, pero they cancelled the route after around a year, siguro hindi nag-work-out for them. But try mo check every now and then sa Skyscanner, sometimes there are flights for around 20-25 thousand.

      Reply

  5. Hi we are flying to Paris in 2 weeks but we no accomodation, we will value your recommendation on where to stay & eat. Thank you

    Reply

    1. Hi Dianne! Based on experience, I would recommend any of the following:

      * Hotel Le Notre Dame Saint Michel (http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/le-notre-dame.en.html?aid=1725678) — very central, right on the banks of the Seine river, near the train station, near Notre Dame cathedral and the vibrant areas of the left bank.

      * Grand Hotel du Loiret (http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/grand-du-loiret.html?aid=1725678) — also just a short walk away from the Notre Dame cathedral, near the Metro train station, and on the edge of the well-regarded Marais district on the right bank

      Those two above are especially great if you plan to walk along the river, as most of the important sights are there.

      A more cost-effective option is Hotel Terminus Lyon (http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/hotelterminuslyon.html?aid=1725678), which is a little farther (but not too far) from the main sights but is just a few meters from the Metro station so you can easily take the train to anywhere you like.

      I usually just eat wherever I find myself at meal time so I don’t really have specific recommendations on where to eat, but I would recommend getting the prix fixe meals (around 15 euros the last time we were there) as a great way to sample the cuisine without spending too much.

      Enjoy your travels! 🙂

      Reply

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