Cost for sailing through Europe – return trip

On this page we’ll share our cost for sailing in through Europe, on the way back home to Sweden. As far as we understood it, what you spend money on will vary throughout the world so that’s why we thought to divide our costs to separate areas of the world. Our hope is that what we share will make the planning easier for others. We have divided our sailing trip into four different geographical areas:

  • Northern Europe (Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, France)
  • Atlantic Europe & Africa (Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands, Cape Verde)
  • Caribbean (St Vincent & the Grenadines, Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda, Sint Maarten)
  • Europe return trip (Azores, Wales, Scotland, Sweden)

All of the above are quite detailed, if you just want to read the summary go to this page:

During our year sailing the Atlantic Circuit we have kept close watch on what we spend money on, and will present which categories we think it’s possible to spend less money and also when it’s not possible.

A little note, all crews and all boats are different and a lot of the costs presented here could be both higher and lower for another crew or boat. We have not lived on a minimum throughout our sailing trip. We have been eating out a bit, for example and done some excursions. We also have an old boat, so boat maintenance is a big post for us.

First some info about us:

  • In total we spent 72 days sailing from the Azores until we reached Stockholm again. We visited Azores, UK and Sweden. More details on how we sailed and where we stopped along the way can be found under Our route.
  • Our boat is 35 ft (10,7 meters) and 3,3 meters wide which is relevant for marina fees. The bigger the boat, the more marinas will cost.
  • Our boat is old (built 1965) so boat maintenance is a biggie for us.
  • We are on a work-leave for one year. During that year we will plan our budget so that the money will last for our entire trip but at the same time maximize our experience. This means enjoying local food, some touristing activities etc. This is a cost that could easily be less.
  • All the costs are for the two of us and not per person.
  • And finally, we have done a trip like this ONCE. We are not experts. Everything we write is based on our experience and is not an ultimate truth. Our tip is to read about different peoples experiences and conclude all of them.
Summary

Here is our cost for sailing through Europe on our return trip. More details of each category can be found further down the page.

SEK EUR USD
Food & Drinks 24’965 2’447 2’996
Boat Maintenance 7’809 765 937
Touristing 4’185 410 502
Cruising Fees 9’667 947 1’160
Communication 0 0 0
Fuel 8’710 854 1’045
Insurance 4’089 401 491
Other costs 1’440 141 173
SUMMARY 60’865 5’965 7’304

 

Food & Drinks
SEK EUR USD
Store 8’879 870 1’065
Eating out 11’308 1’108 1’356
Bar/pubs 4’261 418 511
Other 517 51 62
SUMMARY FOOD & DRINKS 24’965 2’447 2’996
Stores

As we were on our way back we didn’t buy more food than we needed. At the Azores the food in the stores were really good! Quite cheap and almost everything local. In UK it was also easy finding good food.

Sailing on a budget? Make sure to make a proper planning before buying food. Don’t buy food you’ll never eat. Plan where in the world you buy certain food. Buy beans, lentils etc instead of meat and fish.

Eating out

By the end of the trip we enjoyed some restaurant visits. In the Azores there was a lot of really nice restaurants 🙂

Sailing on a budget? This post could easily be less, by simply eating all meals at the boat or make sure to choose cheap places.

Bars & pubs

Same here, we spoiled ourselves with bar visits whenever we felt like it. It was the end of the trip and we had money left to do so.

Sailing on a budget? This is also something that could be less, if sailing on a budget. Buy drinks at the grocery store instead or just skip the drinks.

Other

Here we have other small food we might have bought, a coffee to go or something like that.

Boat Maintenance
SEK EUR USD
Spares & Repair 5’652 554 678
Other 2’157 211 259
SUMMARY BOAT MAINTENANCE 7’809 765 937
Spares & Repair

We had some repairs to when we arrived to Horta, Azores after the Atlantic Crossing. We bought new halyard, steering wire and a bunch of other stuff.

Sailing on a budget? The boat maintenance is an unnecessary evil and very dependent on what kind of boat you have. But all boats that do a trip like this break down eventually, you can only hope that it is something that can be fixed and that it won’t be too expensive… We do all work ourselves, though, and by doing that it saves us a lot of money.

Other

Other consumables that we have bought for the boat; engine oil, buckets, oil filters and things like that. Also paint and stuff for the painting on the pier in Horta.

Sailing on a budget? Don’t skip maintenance to save money. Service the boat and all that goes with it in time, or it might cost more than to just do it in the first place.

Touristing
SEK EUR USD
Transport 1’359 133 163
Excursions/tourist attractions 2’536 249 304
Other 290 28 34
SUMMARY TOURISTING 4’185 410 502
Transport

We rented cars to explore Faial and Pico on the Azores. In UK we took public transport a few times.

Sailing on a budget? Take the bus or walk instead of taking a cab or renting a car.

Excursions/tourist attractions

We went horseback riding in the Azores. We took the Snowdon train in Wales.

Sailing on a budget? There’s a lot of excursions in the nature and in cities/town you could do without spending so much money. Just walk around and don’t visit places that charges.

Other

Went to cinema in Sweden.

Cruising fees
SEK EUR USD
Cruising permits/check in costs 0 0 0
Moorings/marinas 6’402 627 768
Covid-19 PCR test 0 0 0
Other 3’265 320 392
SUMMARY CRUISING FEES 9’667 947 1’160
Cruising fees/check in costs

–

Moorings/marinas

We had to stay in marinas 33 nights out of 72 nights in total sailing from Azores to Stockholm. That results in an average an average marina fee of 194 SEK/night (19€/night; $23/night). 

Sailing on a budget? Anchor instead of staying in marinas, if possible. Stay longer at one place, in a lot of marinas you pay less if you stay a longer time.

Covid-19 PCR tests

We did three PCR tests in Horta, but they were free of charge.

Other

Caledonia Canal fee.

Communication
SEK EUR USD
Mobile 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0
SUMMARY COMMUNICATION 0 0 0
Mobile

With our mobile operator we don’t have to pay any extra fees in Azores or UK. (We paid for that but that is part of a payroll we have together with other things back home so therefore not presented here).

Sailing on a budget? Buy local sim-card, use Wi-Fi at bars/restaurants.

Other

–

Fuel
SEK EUR USD
Diesel/petrol 8’530 836 1’024
Propane/butane 180 18 22
Other 0 0 0
SUMMARY FUEL 8’710 854 1’046
Diesel/petrol

We fueled up full tanks before leaving Horta and in Inverness before the North Sea. We also topped up in Caernofon.

Sailing on a budget? Don’t start the engine if you don’t have to. Sail as much as you can.

Propane/butane

We refilled one bottle when we arrived to Sweden.

Other

–

Insurance

We have paid both our personal insurance and the liability insurance for the boat in advance. But as both are valid throughout our entire sailing trip we choose to divide it to all geographical areas, otherwise northern Europe would show a higher cost than is actually true. So below is the insurance costs corresponding to the time we spent in the Caribbean.

SEK EUR USD
Third party liability (for the boat) 1’421 139 171
Personal insurance 2’668 261 320
SUMMARY INSURANCE 4’089 401 491
Third party liability

We had a third party liability insurance only, with limit €3’000’000. The liability insurance covered all areas we would sail through. We used Y Yacht (now bought by Topsail). Finding insurance wasn’t easy, and you can read more about it HERE.

Personal insurance

We extended our travel insurance offered by the insurance company we already have.

Sailing on a budget? Have a third liability only for the boat (but of course depends on what your boat is worth). And research to find a good insurance. Don’t go without an liability or personal insurance to save money, that is stupid, in our opinion.

Other costs
SEK EUR USD
Medicine/pharmacy/health 0 0 0
Shopping/clothes/sport gear 1’230 121 148
Laundry/homey stuff 210 21 25
Sport activities 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0
SUMMARY OTHER COSTS 1’440 141 173
Medicine/pharmacy/heath

–

Shopping/clothes/sport gear

Bought some clothes, souvenirs and similar.

Laundry/homey stuff

Use of laundry machines in marinas.

Sport activities

–

Other

–

Sailing on a budget? Simple, don’t buy stuff you don’t need.

Comparison Different Geographical Areas

Here is our cost/day through the different geographical areas we sailed through. It is presented in EUR/day.

Northern Europe (EUR/day) Atlantic Europe & Africa (EUR/day) Caribbean (EUR/day) Europe return trip (EUR/day Entire trip (EUR/day)
Food & Drinks 31 33 40 34 36
Boat Maintenance 19 26 9 11 14
Touristing 1 4 9 6 6
Cruising Fees (excluding covid-19 PCR tests) 16 12 8 13 11
Communication 0 0 2 0 1
Fuel 16 13 2 12 9
Insurance 5 5 5 5 5
Other costs 3 5 4 2 4
SUMMARY 89 99 79 83 86

 

This was our cost for sailing in the Caribbean. Here are the links for the other geographical areas:

and also the page presenting the costs for the entire trip: