Scandinavia, British Isles and the Balkens – weeks 17-25

Here is the recap of our travels for weeks 17-25

Travel Mode

Throughout our 9-week journey, we experienced a variety of transportation modes:

• Ferry from Bornholm Island, Denmark to Ystad, Sweden
• Train from Sweden to Denmark to Sweden to Norway
• Flight (Norwegian Air Shuttle) from Oslo, Norway to Dublin, Ireland
• Car rental for Irish road trip (I was never so happy to return a rental)
• Flight (Ryanair) from Dublin, Ireland to Liverpool, UK
• Train from Liverpool to Edinburgh to Glasgow to York to Richmond to Hastings to Gatwick airport (also used the Underground in London)
• Flight (Wizz Air) from London to Bucharest
• Bucharest Metro
• Train from Bucharest, Romania to Chisinau, Moldova
• Private car service from Chisinau, Moldova to Constanta, Romania
• Train Constanta to Bucharest airport
• Flight (Air Serbia) from Bucharest, Romania to Belgrade, Serbia
• Train from Belgrade, Serbia to Sutomore, Montenegro (Montenegro Express)

Cities & Stays

We visited 8 countries and stayed in 19 different places:

• Denmark
  • Copenhagen Strand
• Sweden
  • Scandic Europe (Gothenburg)
• Norway
  • Bjorvika Apartments (Oslo)
• Ireland
  • Hampton by Hilton Dublin City Centre
  • David & Clare’s house in Roundwood
  • Flannery’s Hotel (Galway)
  • Atlantic View B&B (Doolin)
  • Hotel Killarney
  • Belvedere Lodge (Cork)
• United Kingdom
  • Crown Plaza Liverpool City Centre
  • Hotel Indigo Edinburgh
  • Holiday Inn Express Glasgow City Centre Riverside
  • Coppergate Apts (York)
  • Roomspace Service Apts (Richmond)
  • The Bank Hotel & Bistro (Hastings)
• Romania
  • Holiday Inn & Resort (Bucharest)
  • Crown Plaza Constanta-Mamaia
• Moldova
  • Courtyard Chisinau
• Serbia
  • Belgrade Waterfront Riverside

Budget vs. Actual for Jul-Aug

Our budget overruns continued into July and August. July had 5 weeks which explain its larger budget amount.

• July
  • Budget $10,800
  • Actual $12,496
  • Over $1,696
• August
  • Budget $8,740
  • Actual $9,608
  • Over $868

For budgeting, there are six cost categories – Airfare, Lodging, Food, Activities, Transportation and Miscellaneous.

Our biggest overrun in July was for transportation (244% of budget) and activities (107% of budget). Transportation was higher because our Eurail passes expired on July 1st, and we incurred about $600 in train fares in Scandinavia and Great Briton. We also rented a car ($380) for 10 days in Ireland. The biggest expenditure on activities was $265 for an all-day Scottish Highlands tour. The other categories were also over, but not as significantly.

August showed the same with transportation being at 308% of budget and activities at 238% of budget. The biggest transportation costs were our private car from Moldova to Romania which cost $335 and our use of trains in Great Briton, Romania, and Serbia at a cost of about $300.

From a budget standpoint, I underestimated Transportation costs by not taking into account how much we have been moving in Europe. Activities are also underestimated, but not to the same level. The Miscellaneous costs have consistently been under budget, but this category was always meant to be the budget buffer for other cost categories.

For the trip to-date, which covers 25 weeks on the road, we are $1,585 over budget or about 3%.