Oh Berlin where do I start, you got me drunk, connected me with another travel blogger and I found an amazing little hostel to park my backpack. Just like my Amsterdam Budget was very much shaped by when the rain was going to fall so too did my stay in Berlin. Luckily having a great little hostel full of fun people made all of that was irrelevant.
Berlin on the whole seemed cheaper than Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam that had preceded it. Apart from the night out on the beers which was always going to break the bank I survived really well. Especially when the hostel I stayed two nights at was serving 1 euro pint size beer.
| Day | Transport | Hostel | Attractions | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Misc | Total € | Total $AU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8.2 | 20 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 76.2 | 112.05 |
| 2 | 6.1 | 17.5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | – | 2 | 43.6 | 64.11 |
| 3 | – | 17.5 | 5 | – | 9.2 | 8 | 16 | 55.7 | 88.91 |
Transport
I failed in the train department while in Berlin. It all started when I got lost in the massive 5-6 story main train station on arrival. And then again not 15 minutes later when I missed my stop due to the station having two different names. I also seemed to spend much more on train transport here, partly because you need them just to get around and because I was forever buying the wrong tickets. Oh and be warned don’ try and skip getting a ticket here as you are guaranteed to get done.
Hostel
Berlin had me staying at two different hostels. I was unable to book my entire stay at the same hostel as my friend so had one night somewhere else before spending the final two nights in the same place. The second hostel was by far my favourite as it felt like living at home, the staff were majorly friendly and had the kitchen decked out with help yourself food if you wanted along with 3 notebooks for surfing the internet.
So far it was small quiet hostels that were providing me the greatest fun in Europe.
Attractions
In Berlin I stuck to walking tours to keep me amused. Mainly because there was just so much to see by getting out there and pounding the pavement. The benefit of these tours is that you tip what you think the tour was worth at the end of the 2-3 hours.
Walking tours were not the only attraction expense, there was a Pub Crawl too. For the fee of 12 euro’s I scored 3-4 free drinks and got to associate with a few backpackers I’d never met before. This event started next door to Tacheles and while it could have had some more exciting folk running the show, it did serve its purpose in getting us all sloshed.
Food
Due to increased drinking and always going out to get food with someone else I spent up more here. Even with breakfast provided I found myself buying something in the morning to keep me going.
One place I can recommend stopping at if you find it, is a little kebab stall called Mustafas which is located outside the entrance to a train station (I cant remember what one). It’s not the best kebab I’ve had but it came very close indeed.
Miscellaneous
You guessed it, beer was the big killer here. I did also grab a souvenier bottle opener to add to my collection that I’d started in Paris but hey the cost doesn’t really count unless everybody else plans to collected them as well.
Total Cost for Berlin
All up, three days in Berlin came in at 175.5 Euro or 265.07 AUD (at an exchange rate of 1 AUD = 0.68 Euro). This averaged out to just on 58.5 euros a day. Well under my planned expenditure of 75 euro per day. I never once stopped myself buying something or felt like I was holding back here either.
To compare the costs to today’s exchange rate, leaving Australia now (November 2014) it would cost you $250.85 AUD with the current rate of 1 AUD = 0.70 Euro.
Like Paris, Berlin sucked me right in, so even with the rain slowing me down I didn’t care. The graffiti scattered across the city is amazing to see, there is a bucket load of history to take in and if you are so inclined you’ll also find dance clubs raging all night long.
Originally I intended to stay longer in Berlin for all of the above reasons. Unfortunately that meant finding yet another hostel to stay in (was only two free days at my second hostel) and possibly missing out on catching up with another travel blogging friend who was going to meet me in Copenhagen.
The upside to missing out on staying longer is I can now go back again knowing how to get around and where to stay, I can hit the ground running so to speak.
Love that you’re doing this. Also like that you’re figuring out what you did well and bad so you can do it better next time (and the rest of us can, too, if we visit these places).
Cheers Lauren. I could have really used this info when I was planning my trip so hopefully it wiill help others out.
I think beer needs its own category! You must find a way to trim that beer budget. ‘Will blog for beer” is a good motto.
lol Charles. I’m pretty sure there was no way I could possibly trim that beer budget. As the weather warmed up along my travels it only increased 🙂
While I loved Berlin, I found train rides outside of town to be confusing (plus they were never on time like they were in Italy). I had a cheap grocery store around the corner from my hostel which made my food budget cheap and I loved the free walking tour I took!
Laura I never had problems with the trains except for when I was given the wrong name for the station I needed. Travelling on them did seem expensive compared to everything else in Berlin.
I did two walking tours while in Berlin. One was an alternative tour that looked at the graffiti and less tourist orientated sites, then the other was to see all the major tourist hot spots.
Chris, Thanks for breaking these all down. It’s so helpful to be able to see how much someone else is spending so I can know whether I’m doing shitty or awesome on my own budgetary requirements.
haha Abbey, wait for me to get to spain and then I’ll be asking you about budget tips.
Berlin rocks! Living in this city since June last year and I do I do I do love it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. And yes, Berlin is pretty cheap! And awesome! Spread the word! 🙂
btw I think you had a Kebab at http://mustafas.de/ it’s in Kreuzberg next to Mehringdamm train station. Just discovered their site because of your post…soooo cool!
I’m going to Berlin for the month of May and was planning on spending maybe 1000 Euros. I live really frugally and am open to couch surfing, do you think that’s possible? I just can’t afford 58 Euros a day at all! : )
Ashlea if you couch surfed a bit and spread out your sightseeing costs I’m sure you could manage around the 30 euro mark. I can’t see you doing something expensive everyday and its free to walk around 🙂
Just remember there may be days where you can easily spend more if you go out for a night of fun, after all Berlin sure has some amazing clubs.
Maybe check with JustTravelous who commented above you as she’s living there now.
Hi Ashlea… if you need anything – just let me know! 🙂
Great that you are doing this! Budgeting is always the scariest thing when planning for extended travel. Ha ha and we also were constantly “surprised” by our beer budget the next morning 🙂 But some of our best memories, albiet a bit hazy, came from random nights out meeting people.
One of the things I loved about Berlin was how much fun you can have on so little money!
Hello,
I found you blog travelling very interesting. I am about to visit Berlin for 2 days from the 14 of September, and I would like if possible, to have the name of the hostel where beer pints cost 1 buck.
Thanks in advance.
Yan Philippe
thanks for the info about Berlin. My daughter and I are going to Berlin for 5 days with 300 Euro pocket Money. My daughter said that it’s not enough. But reading your blog gave me hope that it is possible. Tickets and Hotels are paid anyway, breakfast included. We might as well buy that Berlin Welcome Card so we can just train and bus hop anytime.
Keep moving,
Menchu from Switzerland
P.S. I must visit that Hard Rock Cafe with my daughter. They don’t have that stuff in Switzerland. But Im originally from the Philippines where there is so much fun!
I’m planning on living in Berlin for two months this summer and am looking for a place to live. At which hostel did you stay and did you like the location?
Hi Becca, I honestly can’t remember where I stayed in Berlin now and looking up my old emails from then doesn’t seem to be helping either. I can however say I have friends living in Kreuzberg and Schöneberg who love the areas.