How I Planned An Epic 2-Week Vacay To Greece For Less Than $1,500

While I love traveling solo, not only does traveling with a friend ensure I'm never feeling lonely, but it also helps alleviate the cost of travel — especially for accommodations. I'm going to Greece with my best friend from college, so we're really comfortable with each other and don't mind sharing a bed if we need to. (Some cheaper Airbnbs and hotel rooms only have one king-sized bed.)

We're spending one night in Milos at a quaint Airbnb near the port that normally goes for around $39 a night. Because we're splitting the cost, we only had to pay about $19.50 for that one night.

Flights can end up being the most expensive part of traveling. A good family friend of mine travels home to Greece every year and recommended I try to fly on Emirates because it's the best flying experience she's had.

After looking into Emirates flights between Los Angeles (where I live) and Athens, I realized it would be extremely expensive to fly Emirates all the way from L.A. to Athens. (Cheaper flights between the two cities required me to have at least one layover.)

Instead, I booked round-trip tickets between Athens and NYC (about $700), and then round-trip tickets between L.A. and NYC (about $280). This allowed me to maximize my time — no long layovers — and kept the price relatively low.

Another crucial part of the flight booking process was to plan way out in advance. I booked my flights more than six months out to ensure the prices would still be relatively inexpensive. Even though I didn't have all of the plans for the trip set in stone yet, booking the flights that far out gave me a good guideline of when I would be arriving and when I'd be leaving.

According to one Greek travel agency, high season for many Greek islands is April through late October. The temperatures are still great during September and October, which fall at the end of vacation season. Compared to prices from earlier in the season, I ended up being able to snag accommodations, ferries, and flights for a bit cheaper.

Another part of traveling that can often be pretty expensive is tours and attractions. So instead of booking tours, I've been steadily doing research over the past six months or so to figure out which landmarks and attractions I definitely want to visit when I'm there.

I have a running shared note with my friend that we update whenever we come across something on social media or through our research so we can keep each other in the loop of what we're thinking of doing, and we have a pretty detailed spreadsheet that outlines our itinerary for each day.

I set aside a small budget for entry fees and attractions, and fortunately, we're visiting Athens during European Heritage Days, so entry to the archaeological sites like the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and the Erechtheion is free.

As you can probably tell, planning a trip this massive for this cheap took a lot of research, which meant comparing different rates to see what worked best in my budget. I took a look at different types of accommodations, as well as ferries versus flights (between Greek cities and islands) to figure out which ones would make the most sense and also help maximize the amount of time I'm spending there.

I found that, in some cases, ferries were cheaper than flights, and some flights were cheaper than ferries. For example, it was much cheaper to ferry on and off Milos (from Athens and to Santorini), but it was cheaper to fly to Mykonos and out of Santorini.

One tip I always tell people that's essential for saving money on trips is to book accommodations in a spot that's centrally-located. The gorgeous Airbnb I'm staying at in Athens is in the Kolonaki quarter, which is known for being a super trendy, upscale part of Athens, easily within walking distance of cute restaurants and shops.

In Athens, I'm also spending a night at the Grand Hyatt, which is located on Syngrou Avenue pretty much at the center of both the old and new attractions of the city. Being situated in such a central location will allow me to walk around and save money on public transportation and taxis.

While I love Greek food and want to eat as much local cuisine as I can while I'm there, I'm also aware of the fact that eating out for every meal will start to add up. I've set aside a budget of €150 (around $165) for meals eaten out, but I'm hoping I can use the kitchenettes in my Airbnbs to make food whenever I can.

Especially on days when I know I'll be out exploring, I don't mind packing a sandwich or something light to keep me going throughout the day until I sit down for dinner that night.