My costs for a short weekend in Cologne

I had to travel to Cologne for work and I decided to make the most out of it and make a weekend out of it. I decided to travel by train as a solo female traveler and I found everything to be safe. It was a short weekend get-a-way and I traveled solo. Are you traveling to Cologne in the near future? Do you wonder how to set your budget and what will be your costs for a short weekend in Cologne?

My main tip for staying on budget while traveling is to actually set a budget and stick to it. You can only know your expenses when you keep track of them. Therefore, I give you my report on the costs of a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person.

I paid for everything in full myself. I was not paid or sponsored. All my opinions and experiences are my own.

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Do you wonder how much you'll spend in Cologne? I kept track of my expenses and can give you my costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person.

What were my costs for a weekend in Cologne?

I only spent 2 days in Cologne, one of which was for work. I traveled by train, stayed in a hostel, and only did free things around Cologne. My main goal was to see the Cologne Dom. I arrived on Sunday in the early afternoon and left Monday evening. Here is a breakdown of my expenses:

Costs to get to Cologne?

I wanted to see what it was like at the Cologne Main Train Station and it was easier for me to travel by train. Besides, I love traveling by train, so I booked 2 single tickets from my home town in the Netherlands to Cologne Train Station. The journey took me 2 hours and 40 minutes and I switched trains once per journey.

  • One way train ticket for 1 person Netherlands-Cologne: €23,40
  • One way train ticket for 1 person Cologne-Netherlands: €24,45

Total transportation costs for 1 person by train: €47,85

My main tip for staying on budget while traveling, is to actually set a budget and stick to it. You can only know your expenses when you keep track of them. Therefore, I give you my report on the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person.
Arriving by train

Costs for staying in Cologne

I found a hostel in Cologne, the Cologne Downtown Hostel. I paid €25 euro for a 4 person, ensuite mixed dorm-style room. This was for 1 night.

Total costs for 1 person on accommodation: €25

Costs for food in Cologne

Here is a breakdown of the costs for a short weekend in Cologne. I only had lunch and dinner on Sunday and breakfast on Monday.

Breakfast costs

The hostel I stayed at had a supermarket at the ground floor. I bought some cut meat, cheese and some breads and a bottle of juice for my breakfast on Monday morning.

  • Breakfast meats: € 1,89
  • Cheese: € 1,95
  • Bread: €0,93
  • Orange Juice: € 1,49

Total costs for groceries at the supermarket to make 1 breakfast: €6,26

I must say, it was more than enough to feed 2 persons. So I left the remainders in the fridge at the hostel and hope somebody else had a good lunch or breakfast with it.

Lunch costs

I didn’t exactly had lunch. I was hungry. It was around tea time and I stumbled upon a great coffee and cake house. I spend 10 minutes looking at all the cakes and finally decided on a chocolate layer cake with a latte macchiato. I didn’t even check how expense the cake was. As it turned out: not expensive at all.

  • Chocolate layer cake which was too big to eat: € 3,50
  • Latte Macchiato: € 2,95

Total costs for “lunch”: € 6,45

My main tip for staying on budget while traveling is to actually set a budget and stick to it. You can only know your expenses when you keep track of them. Therefore, I give you my report on the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person
Ahum.. “Lunch” in Cologne

Diner costs in Cologne

It was the week before Carnival and I strolled around town. I found a nice and warm restaurant that was full of people dressed up for Carnival. I spend a few hours there and took my time. As per usual, I ate too much and had a couple of beers. Oopsie.

  • Schnitzel with salad: € 13,50
  • Beers (2): €6,20
  • Tea: €2,50

The small beer was cheaper than the tea, but ok. For more beer, try beer tasting in Cologne.

Total costs for a diner and drinks at restaurant Gilden im Zims in Cologne: €22,20

My main tip for staying on budget while traveling is to actually set a budget and stick to it. You can only know your expenses when you keep track of them. Therefore, I give you my report on the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person
Small and larger beer. Cheaper than tea

Costs for a short weekend in Cologne sightseeing

I only did free things

  • Visit the Cologne Dom. I spent some time walking around the Dom and sat at one of the benches for a while to soak up the atmosphere.
  • I walked around the old Town and checked the old houses and city gates.
  • One of the Romanesque Churches I visited was the Big St. Martin Church.
  • I walked across the Hohenzollern Bridge with the love locks on there

The things I missed

  • Museums: there are several interesting museums in Cologne, but I felt my time was too short to visit them. The Roman-German Museum looked really interesting and at only €9, you won’t go broke.
  • Climbing the Dome: I really wanted to do this. It was only €4,00 but I wasn’t allowed to take my backpack with me.
  • More things to do on a day trip of Cologne by Go Beyond Bounds.

Total costs for sightseeing around Cologne: €0

My main tip for staying on budget while traveling, is to actually set a budget and stick to it. You can only know your expenses when you keep track of them. Therefore, I give you my report on the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person.
Gross St. Martin Romanesque church

Costs of getting around Cologne

I didn’t spent any money on transportation within the city. I walked everywhere. My step-checked calculated the steps I took:

Sunday: 11.714 steps
Monday: 10.532 steps

That’s a whole lot of calories burned and guess what: all for free.

Costs for getting around in Cologne: €0

Other miscellaneous expenses

I only tipped in the restaurant for €2,00. I didn’t buy any souvenirs or postcards. Luckily, you can drink the water from the tap and that keeps all the rest of your money in your pockets.

Total costs for tipping: € 2,00

Recap of the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1

  • Round trip NL-Cologne by train: €47,85
  • 1-night hostel: € 25
  • Total food and drink costs for 2 days: €34,91 / average per day: €17,46
  • Total costs for 1 day of sights: €0
  • and Total transport costs 2 days: €0
  • Miscellaneous: €2

Grand total:
€109,76 are the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1

My main tip for staying on budget while traveling, is to actually set a budget and stick to it. You can only know your expenses when you keep track of them. Therefore, I give you my report on the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person.
Costs for a short weekend in Cologne

Conclusion about the costs for a short weekend in Cologne

I recently did a costs report on the costs for a 5-day trip for 2 to Dublin. When I compare that to my weekend in Cologne, I notice that the transport costs to get to the destination are the same.

For Cologne a train ticket for 1 person, for Dublin 2 plane tickets. I know our tickets to Dublin were dead cheap, but 43% of all expenses, the train tickets to Cologne seem rather expensive.

My main tip for staying on budget while traveling, is to actually set a budget and stick to it. You can only know your expenses when you keep track of them. Therefore, I give you my report on the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person.
Percentage breakdown

As I only had 2 days, I didn’t explore that much and did free things. Entree for the main Cologne Dome was free. I did spend some money on food, but I think I kept things rather decent.

What do you think? Did I spend too much? Do you keep track of your expenses? Please share your experiences in the comment section below.

Do you wonder how much you'll spend in Cologne? I kept track of my expenses and can give you my costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person.
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4 Comments

  1. I love this post not for the info about Cologne (although that was great too!) but on how organized you are!! I keep track of my expenses that way as well, but I love your pie chart breakdown. Really detailed! (Maybe you can come guest post for me sometime!)

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