How to Budget Successfully for Athens, Greece

When planning you are a vacation it is important to know what you are getting yourself in terms of transportation, stay, food, tours, and even souvenirs. In this guide, I will address the cost of visiting a place like Athens, Greece.
After spending 7 months in Athens and traveling throughout Greece this is my personal experience. For more on my journey check this out.

Getting to Greece

When planning a trip to Greece you must recognize the flight is going to cost you especially if you are coming from the United States. Most of the flights from the United States will usually connect in London then fly to Greece. This flight is usually for about 6 hours from London.

For a flight during the peak season of Greece in June-July will traditionally cost you 1200-1500 usd depending on where you are coming from. However, if you visit Greece after those times and book your flight about 6 weeks out you can find flights for about 650-800 usd. My recommendation is not to go during peak reason being it is more crowded and the hotels/airbnbs are higher in price because of demand.

Though the weather may not be quite as hot, Athens tends to stay around 50 to 80 fahrenheit year around. This makes it an attractive travel option anytime of the year. Below are the best resources for finding the lowest price in flight options.

Google Flights – looking at calendar view can help you see the cheapest days/months to travel
SkyScanner – best way to search all airline options
Rome2Rio – best way to look up travel by land or boat

Booking a Stay

For a typical hostel in Athens for a shared room will cost you between 10-25 usd per night. Most of the private rooms start at 25-45 usd for a place in the center of Athens.

As for hotels, the majority of places will cost you 50 to 100 usd per night. If you are looking at hotels I recommend checking Airbnb first.

Views from Airbnb in Athens — Views from a Airbnb in Athens

There are many affordable Airbnb options with insane views. Even some cheaper than hostels depending on when you book. Below are the best resources for finding the best-priced stays.

Hostel World – best pricing for hostels
Bookings – best pricing for hotels

Food in Greece

While visiting Greece food is the most affordable thing about the trip. A traditional week in Greece on food would cost me 50 usd to eat out and have a drink at dinner. I would say I would cook about 30 percent of the time.

A traditional breakfast in Greece will cost you 2-4 euros for a coffee and a pastry. Since Greece is a place tends to be more lively later in the day breakfast is typically had a bakery then taken to go.

As for lunch, you can find many places that offer a gyro for as low as 2 euros. This a traditional greek wrap is filled with pork or chicken and french fries. For a sit-down lunch in the center of Athen with a glass of wine, appetizer, entree would cost 7-10 euros.

As for dinner, this tends to be the same as lunch however traditional restaurants include pita to start, free dessert and chilled limoncello. The multiple courses is a greek tradition and is an enjoyable experience. One thing to note is water is not free in Greece so bottled water is an additional cost it can be 2-4 euros. If specifically asked you can have tap water and it is safe to drink.

As for buying groceries this is extremely affordable and would usually spend 10 euros a week to picking up 2 types of meat, pasta, and fruit.

The best way to cut cost on this is to go to street markets. These can be found throughout Athens on numerous days of the week and the fruit is extremely fresh. I would usually pick up 9 oranges for as low as 12 cents in euros.

Fruit Market in Downtown, Athens, Greece — Fruit market in downtown Athens, Greece

When it comes to drinking if you stop by a kiosk you can find large beer or pints of wine for as low as 2 euros. Drinks at a bar/club will usually cost you 5-10 euros depending on where you go in more clubby areas the drinks are more expensive. My advice is always to pregame or order pitchers at places as this can help bring down the cost.

Buying clothes and Souvenirs in Greece

This is another thing in Greece that is affordable. From downtown shops to little stores it is easy to find decent quality items for low prices. A typical shirt can cost you 8 usd, bracelet souvenir 1 usd, or a nice pair of shoes for 15 usd. The prices on these things you cannot beat and do not have taxes on them either.

Remember when visiting souvenir shops many of them will negation pricing with you and the majority of them carry the same things.
For the best prices wander off the square in Athens as the less-visited shops tend to be more affordable.

Attractions and Tours in Athens

When it comes to tours in attractions, there are countless ones to visit in Greece. The most expensive attractions are the Parthenon and Acropolis being 20 euros.

However, most museums are 5 to 12 euros. For best prices on these things check out STA as they can offer a great discount also if you are a student many places will let you in free.

If you are trying to save money I recommend doing free walking tours, visiting the Acropolis rock, or visiting for Lycabettus Hill for best sunset views. There also tons of street art in the Plaka this another one of kind free attraction.

Street Art in Downtown Athens — Street art in Plaka, Athens, Greece

Overall pricing and saving for Athens Greece

In conclusion, you can see Greece is a very affordable place to see and visit. I believe as a solo traveler if you stay in a shared hostel you can manage about you can budget around 200-300 usd a week if you eat some meals at home. For more luxurious travel I would budget 500-700 usd a week. It all comes down to what restaurants you choose and stay. For more insight check out my latest post on hidden gems in Greece. I hope you find this helpful and choose to visit Greece yourself.