What We Spent Living in Athens For One Month

In the midst of the pandemic, we’ve had the rare treat of being some of the only tourists visiting Athens, Greece. Normally, August would see this city filled with a parade of tourists, likely staying for only a night or two to take in the iconic sights before heading to the islands. Instead, we’ve had a full month to leisurely enjoy the sights at our own pace with just a thin sprinkling of other tourists. And all for a very reasonable total spend. 

Just like with our visits to Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Italy and Canada, we’ve tallied up everything we’ve spent on accommodations, dining out, groceries, entertainment and more to give a picture of what life costs as a full-time traveller. 

Why Athens?

First, however, why a full month in Athens instead of basing ourselves in the Greek islands? Surely Naxos, Crete, Rhodes or another island would be the usual choice during the hottest time of the year. When we decided to resume our travels in Europe with the COVID still going on, we didn’t know what to expect when we landed and wanted to proceed with caution. We knew we would be subjected to random testing upon arrival — and in fact Gillian did get picked for a throat swab.

 

If we tested positive, we would need to be quarantined for two weeks. We felt that it would be better to be in a large centre like Athens where there are services to meet our needs. Also, even with a small number of international tourists, it is still peak holiday season in Greece with a lot of domestic tourism. So the AirBnB prices on the islands were much higher than the cost of staying in Athens. 

Since we’ve never seen the sights of Athens, we thought we would stay for a month and take it all in. That said, we wouldn’t recommend that anyone spend all of August in Athens since it is very hot with temperatures reaching 35 C or 95 F most days.

Tourist experience

Despite the heat, it has been a great time to be in Athens because there are fewer tourists than ever before. In terms of safety, we’ve found that everyone is wearing masks and practicing social distancing at tourist attractions specifically, where it is closely monitored by the staff. 

Outside of tourist attractions, most people are wearing masks on public transit and in stores but the word doesn’t seem to have gotten around about social distancing. And in general on the street, it’s really up to the individual to move aside if they want some distance. 

Accommodations

Now for our spend in Athens, starting with the biggest ticket item: accommodations. Knowing how hot it would be and that we would spend a lot of time at our AirBnB, we wanted a very spacious and comfortable apartment. When we were searching for an apartment, we used our usual process for getting a great place at a great price.

First we compiled a list of up to a dozen apartments that met our basic criteria, including wifi, a fully-equipped kitchen, washing machine, central location and, for Athens in August, air conditioning was a must.

We reached out to all the hosts and let them know that we’re traveling with well-behaved two dogs and asked if they have a better rate for a month-long stay. From there we had a short list of dog friendly apartments; some with and some without additional discounts. Then we went really deep into the photos and reviews and even asked questions to figure out which apartment would be best for us. We ended up with a very large and stylish apartment that came at a discount, plus free cleaning services thrown in by the host. Total cost for accommodations was $1,290 USD.

Dining Out & Takeaway 

As usual, when we’re visiting a new city, we love exploring all the local flavours. We really enjoyed dining out in Athens because it’s been so many months since we were last able to eat in a restaurant due to the lockdown. Fortunately Athens has a ton of open air eating options so it’s easy to feel safe while enjoying a meal out. We tried all the Greek classics: grilled meat, seafood, spanakopita, spit-roasted lamb, kebabs, and more. We even sampled a sweet or two from the Beneth bakeries found throughout Athens. Our total spend for the month was $365 USD.

Groceries

Of course, we’re still cooking a lot of meals at home because we enjoy it and it’s healthy. Having just come from Toronto, we’ve found that our grocery dollar stretched a bit further in Athens. Generally we find that our food budget is fairly high because we eat a lot with our active lifestyle and always choose high quality ingredients. In total we spent $483 USD. 

Entertainment

We really made the most of being some of the only tourists in Athens. We had the unique opportunity to enjoy some of the most popular tourist sights in the world with hardly anyone else around. Just imagine being one of a handful of tourists walking through the Acropolis. We also had similarly quiet visits to the Acropolis Museum, which is a stunning building. If you only have time to visit one museum in Athens, that should be the one. 

We also went to the National Archeological Museum, which provided a great overview to Greek art history. Our total spend on paid attractions was $86 USD however we also found lots of free things to do. 

Shortly after arriving in Athens, we did the Rick Steves walking tour of the city, available through his app. This introduced us to all the key historic sights. We also visited the National Garden and took daily walks through our local park, Pedion tou Areos, which was a lovely place to spend each morning. We also hiked up Filopappou Park in the early hours for an inspiring sunrise view of the Acropolis. And we did a self tour of Athens street art using an online guide.

Local transportation

In order to get to these attractions, we were mostly able to walk because our apartment was located so centrally. However, because of the heat, we often took public transit or sometimes cabs, which are fairly inexpensive for short trips. Our total spend for local transportation was $96 but this also includes $48 for the ride from the airport.

Fitness

Fitness is always an important part of our everyday routine but we are choosing to stay away from gyms due to COVID-19. This month we spent $18 on a new at-home online program that requires no equipment. 

Data 

For data, we used $13 worth of data on our global data plan with Flexiroam. We’ve found that we don’t need much data because we rely on the wifi in our AirBnB and download Google Maps and Translate so that we can easily navigate the city. 

Insurance 

We have an international medical insurance plan with Cigna Global. We pay annually in order to save 10% but have assigned a value of $140 on a monthly basis.

Storage

Normally in each cost of living video, we include the $109 for our storage locker, which we have been paying for the past seven years. We finally cleared out our locker while we were back in Toronto and stored our remaining few boxes with family. For the first time in 7 years, we’re paying zero dollars for storage, which is a liberating feeling.

A quick note about what our cost of living doesn’t include: our flight from Toronto to Greece, any personal expenses like clothing, technology and toiletries, and any dog-related expenses. 

Comparing Athens 

How does Athens compare to the other cities where we’ve stayed for a month? In Istanbul, we spent $2,357 USD and that got us a spacious apartment in a traditional neighbourhood. We made the most of the city with meals out once or even twice a day, a couple tours and visiting paid attractions. 

In Florence, we spent $2,506 for a lovely traditional apartment in the low season. We cooked lots of meals at home, enjoyed great food when we did go out once or twice a week and did a lot of self-touring around the major sights. 

In Toronto, we spent $2,632 and for that we had a decent apartment at a steep discount due to the pandemic. We cooked almost every meal at home with just a few exceptions. Because of the lockdown we didn’t really go anywhere or do anything that costs money. 

Here in Athens we spent $2,491, just a bit less than what we spent in Toronto. For that we got a very spacious, stylish apartment, enjoyed a lot of paid tourist attractions and ate meals out every couple of days. 

We find that we spend roughly the same in each destination. The difference is the value we get for our spend. 

All amounts in USD

Item	Budget
Accommodations: A spacious and stylish two-bedroom apartment in a central location close to public transit and a large park. The neighbourhood was a little rough around the edges like many areas of Athens.	$1,290
Dining Out & Takeaway: We had a restaurant meal or takeaway every couple days.	$365
Groceries: We ate a lot of proteins plus salads for both lunches and dinners. With August being so hot, we wanted to keep our meal prep simple and avoid turning on the oven.	$483
Entertainment: Visits to the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum and National Archeological Museum	$86
Local Transportation: $48 for the ride from the airport plus public transit and cabs	$96
Data: Small amount of data from global plan.	$13
Fitness: At-home workouts with a new online program	$18
Insurance: An essential for travel. Our new plan with Cigna provides comprehensive medical coverage.	$140
Total	$2,491

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