5 Days in Oslo: What I Spent

I figured before I'm off to Amsterdam next weekend I should write more about Norway. Other than, of course, what I've written about our ridiculous CouchSurfing experience. So on a lighter note, onto breaking down what I spent!

View from the Opera House

Flight: 36 EUR (Ryanair)

Bus to & from Dublin airport: 14 EUR

Bus to & from Rygge airport: 36 EUR
Thinking back, it would've made more sense to just book with Aer Lingus to save us the one hour bus ride each way. In all honesty booking with Ryanair saved us maybe 10 or 20 euro tops.

Overlooking Karl Johans Gate

Accommodation (Hostel): 30 EUR
Fortunately after being stranded my Norwegian friends pulled through for us, except for the last night which we just decided to book a hostel. Booking last minute of course upped this price, but for reference hostels in Oslo do tend to be on the expensive side. We stayed at Anker Hostel.

Transportation: 35 EUR
Basically just metro tickets. I made the rookie mistake of buying single tickets until the 4th day where I finally caved & bought the 48 hour pass, though I was reluctant to, for no valid reason.

Food: 78 EUR
Food was my biggest cost, unsurprisingly being that I'm a hardcore foodie. I only ate in an actual restaurant once though & the meal cost me about 23 euro for a pasta dish that would've cost 8 euro in Dublin. Other than that we did groceries, but since we didn't have a homebase for the trip we did end up making a few fast food runs which weren't really necessary. A Big Mac meal costs about 13 euro in Oslo, which actually makes it the most expensive Big Mac meal in the world!

Oslo Harbour

Museums & Attractions: 0 EUR
Every museum I visited I saved for Sunday, which happens to be free entry for most museums in Oslo. This saved me a ridiculous amount, though an Oslo Pass is a possible option as well & a smart one at that. You have the option of choosing 24, 48 or 72 hours. Transportation is also included in the pass.

Alcohol: 25 EUR
We bought our Jameson duty-free at the Dublin airport & I actually only bought one beer out. Cheers for duty-free is all I have to say about that.

Total: 256 EUR, or 397 CAD... Which equals roughly 79 CAD a day, including flight.

Basically our trip... Ha

Now in reality I could've spent an insane amount more. But I also could've spent an insane amount less. Considering all of the mistakes I knew I was making, I'm pretty happy with what I spent & have no complaints. Saying that...

My backpacker budget tips for one of the most expensive cities in the world:

• Seriously consider which airline you choose, you may end up saving money by NOT flying Ryanair & flying directly into Oslo airport, saving the bus trip from Rygge.
• Stay with friends &/or family. I would say CouchSurf but I'm not the biggest advocate of it after our fiasco. Otherwise, book your hostel WELL in advance & go during off-peak dates, during the week & from January-March are most affordable.
• Buy either an Oslo Pass (price depends on length of pass), the 24 hour metro ticket for 9 euro, or the 7-day metro ticket for 23 euro. You can walk most places in Oslo, but it is a pretty large city & some of the cooler destinations you will need to use the metro. The Oslo metro system is one of my favourite in Europe though, being extremely efficient. Also, no matter how many zones you cross your ticket remains the same price & is usable for one hour after you buy it!
• Grocery shop! Noodles on noodles. Or live off the hot dog stands scattered around the city... I must say they're pretty amazing when you're a starved backpacker. Also, Grønland is one of the areas in Oslo with the best prices for fresh fruits & veg. Meat too of course. If you're into markets be sure to visit here! 
• If you don't want to spend the money on the Oslo Pass (like me), visit whichever museums you'd like to see on Sunday! Most are free. A lot of the attractions in Oslo though are honestly outdoors & free anyway.
• Don't drink or buy your alcohol duty-free & pre-game, hard. Enough said.

I'd love to know, do you guys skip the more expensive cities or try to work them into your travels anyway? & if you do work them in, which cities?!
xxx

Frognerseteren, last stop on the metro line 1

The Cost of Au Pairing

Getting closer & closer to the date of my departure, I'm kind of curious (& scared) to figure out the actual cost of my decision to au pair once again, this time in Ireland. I'll compare the cost with that of when I au paired in France, but to be honest my memory is pretty horrid & it will more or less just be educated guesses. This will hopefully help some of you who are thinking about au pairing yourselves! Especially because when I googled the subject, it was incredibly difficult to find any sort of information on the topic.

 

Ireland
Visa: $425 + $2,500 in Support Funds
Flight: Originally $600 one way, but I had to change the date so ended up being closer to $900.
Essentials: Unfortunately I destroyed my laptop, so I will be buying a new one, as well as a backpack for travelling within Europe & new travel adapters. Say $1000.
Savings: Will be bringing around $3,000 (which includes my Support Funds).
Total: $5,325

France
Visa: I believe it was around $200.
Flight: $700 (2-Way, family reimbursed me)
Essentials: I probably spent around $300, but on new clothing rather than actual essentials.
Savings: Maybe $500
Total: $1,000

Pretty massive different between countries, but then again the Ireland Working Holiday Visa does require Support Funds, which the Au Pair Visa for France did not. Also I will be buying practical equipment this round as well as of course bringing more in savings. I will definitely be more prepared this trip, happy to say!

Also, bare in mind that although this does seem pricey, just think of the cost of moving abroad without a job lined up, having to pay first & last month's rent right off the bat, putting down deposits on utilities, worrying about your spending until you actually can find a job, etc...

In all, au pairing is a great way to move abroad for those with less funds or with the urge to leave NOW. I will also be finding myself a weekend job to fund my travels even further, which will ultimately allow me to live on my own! Any au pairs out there?! Would love to hear your thoughts. 
xxx