The cost of glamping vs conventional travel in Europe

glamping

/ˈɡlampɪŋ/

noun or verb

An amalgamation of glamour and camping.  A form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping.

Eg.: "glamping is likely to satisfy any city slicker seeking a little refuge in nature—without foregoing any of life's luxuries"

or "they're on a glamping trip along the coast"

or "we're glamping for two weeks this summer"

My concept of tag-along glamping is to set out a route, provide the means of transport, the camper accommodation, assume all driving and invite others to share the experience as well as the costs.

The Internet is packed with detailed travel research, done by countless travelers in real time every year.  Thankfully, a ton of these sites include costings down to the last minutiae.  Two of the most comprehensive such sites that I regularly consult are www.priceoftravel.com (updated annually) and www.numbeo.com.

Grand ride, grand digs!  A perfect example of the tag-along glamping vehicles

This last site is spectacularly up-to-date and compares the cost of living in your home town to virtually any city in the world, even providing a detailed breakdown of the average grocery list!

To determine whether my plan to travel through Europe by campervan for a few months is viable (see my previous post), I had to compare it to the cost of conventional travel, going the hotel-and-car-hire route.

Priceoftravel.com compares the cost of travel in 56 European cities.  Here's how they calculated the costs for each city (February 2019):

• One night in the most moderately priced 3-star hotel available with a desirable central location and mostly positive reviews. Hotel prices are per person based on double occupancy per night (breakfast excluded)

• Two x 3-km taxi rides per day (one ride paid per person)

• One cultural attraction, such as a popular museum, per day

• Three meals per day using the top end of the range of the “budget meals” for each city

• Three drinks (beer or wine) each day as an “entertainment fund.” Non-drinkers might have dessert and coffee or attend a local music performance instead, so this is a general benchmark that should be proportional for each city.

I compared three of these cities to illustrate the low-to-medium-to-high price range, starting with Bucharest, then on to Lisbon and finally, Venice.  In the Priceoftravel model, none of these cities included inter-city transport, so I researched what it would cost to hire a car for 7 days, in order to compare it to campervan travel between destinations.  I included all the related costs that are never reflected in the initial rental rate but which pop up on your credit card statement long after the holiday.

The true average cost of hiring a compact car in Europe, including all related charges: 

• Car rental for 7 days from reputable company: €338 

• Insurance/CDW: €136 excluding excess, usually €1000 (blocked on your credit card) 

• Diesel: €155 

• Tolls: €65 

• Road tax: €16 (Italy)

• Parking: €158 

Car rental per day: €62

Total: €868

Of course you can get it MUCH cheaper in a lot of European destinations, but the point here is to add up every cost item related to your car hire.  The example above pretty much covers all your bases and anything cheaper is a bonus.

Cost of a stay in Bucharest, Romania (moderately priced) 

1. Best cheap & central 3-star hotel: Smart Rooms Bucharest @ €14/night
2. Local transport: €4
3. Meals: €14
4. Drinks/Entertainment: €6
5. Attractions: €3 
6. Compact car hire: €62 (shared)

Total daily 3-star Traveler Index for Bucharest: €72 per person

Cost of a stay in Lisbon, Portugal (medium priced)

1. Best cheap & central 3-star hotel: Dom Joao Residencial @ €47/night 
2. Local transport: €6.00 
3. Meals: €29.00 
4. Drinks/Entertainment: €15.00 
5. Attractions: €8.00 
6. Compact car hire: €62 (shared)

Total daily 3-star Traveler Index for Lisbon: €136 per person

Cost of a stay in Venice, Italy (expensive)

1. Best cheap & central 3-star hotel: Hotel Santo Stefano @ €117/night 
2. Local transport: €16 
3. Meals: €39 
4. Drinks/Entertainment: €18 
5. Attractions: €12 
6. Compact car hire: €62 (shared)

Total daily 3-star Traveler Index for Venice: €233 per person

In summary:

• Average cost of a stay in the above three cities: €147 per person per day.
• Cost of tag-along glamping: €100 per person per day
• The above costs are inclusive of accommodation, transport, meals, drinks, attractions & getting around locally.
• Average cost of renting and driving a campervan yourself: €110 per day.  Excludes all the above (except transport!)

In the above comparison, tag-along glamping turns out to be significantly cheaper.  Bonus:  there's never a block on your credit card. 😌

The biggest, most priceless bonus when tag-along glamping?  TOTAL FREEDOM!

See y'all on the road!

Allan B