Costs For Attending A WordCamp

In this article I will do a moderate real-world pricing estimate for attending a WordCamp in 2017, and traveling out of town to WordCamp Cape Town and staying there for a couple of days. This article will also address South African pricing and prices will probably differ from traveling and accommodation to other countries – hopefully it will help you see alternatives and save some bucks at the same time!

Accommodation, The Most Expensive Of Them All

I found ourselves in a problem when wanting to attend WordCamp Cape Town back in 2016 when the same average hotel wanted to charge us more than double our stay than the previous year, I mean I’m talking about a 3 star express hotel with the bare minimum – breakfast included and we weren’t willing to pay close to $1500 for 5 nights for 2 people.

Thank goodness for Airbnb, this took our $1500 estimate and brought it down to around $300 (you get cheaper deals if you just need a single room). Sure it was a garden cottage that was self catering but it included free WIFI and we could come and go as we pleased! Sure we don’t get a ‘free’ breakfast but could I have eaten $1200 of breakfast over 5 days?

We had the mentality of let’s just have cereal for breakfast and eat at the WordCamp since food and snacks were provided for those days. Our breakfast alone probably cost $5 – $10 for the full 5 days and that’s overcompensating.

Just by trying out and loving Airbnb we saved more than just difference in accommodation, we didn’t have to pay extra for a crappy WIFI connection that most hotels have, we had uncapped fiber internet for the full 5 days while we were at our crib.

Flights And Transport, Thank Goodness For Deals

So let’s first say this, living in South Africa you can fly from one end of the country to the other end in about 2-3 hours so flights can be generally cheap. Since we’re flying from main cities the flights are cheaper. Flights (return/round trip) vary from $100 – $300 depending on the airline. I’m sure you can guess which airline we use frequently.

With services like cheapflights.com, finding the best flight for you and your budget is perfect. I often fly directly with SAFAIR because you get 20% off your car rental and their pricing is really great – for those that don’t know about our budget flights you do not get business or first class and you purchase or bring on your own food/drink on the flights. Since it’s only 2 hour flight it’s not a problem – I mean airline food is usually horrendous anyway, right?

So we usually rent a car as we spend more than the required time for a WordCamp and make a bit of a weekend getaway, hence why earlier I mentioned 5 nights instead of 2. Also having your own car works out cheaper if you are going to travel around the area and explore a bit otherwise Uber will be perfect. Again we go for the cheapest car available which is around $50 for 5 days and you top up your own fuel during this period and stick within their terms of 200KM or 125MI per day. You can estimate around $0.1 per mile or R1 per KM give or take.

Food And Entertainment

Maybe I’m sounding like I’m stingy regarding all these cuts and as you’ve gathered with anything it can either be really expensive or affordable. General eating out at decent non-fast-food restaurants you’re looking to pay around $10 per person – this is in moderation of course. You can easily get away with $70 for food for 2 people for 5 days in South Africa – if you’re willing to cook and eat at ‘home’.

So entertainment really depends on what you like to do, I’m sure it’s safe to say that everything is expensive if you want to do all the touristy things – if you just want to go to the beach for the day it is free. Since I’ve been to Cape Town quite a few times now, I’ve done and dusted the touristy things like Table Mountain.

Entertainment can cost anywhere from $100 – $1000 for 5 days depending on what you like to do. I’m chilled so I like to explore Cape Town and surrounding areas and will have a lunch or dinner and meet up with some friends here and there.

How Much Is It Going To Be To Attend WordCamp

This is how much I expect to spend (an over estimation) when attending WordCamp Cape Town this year:

*I have estimated that the Airbnb would be split 3 ways for this years travel.

So That’s It!

Hopefully after squizzing through this article you will see that it does not have to be bank breaking to attend a WordCamp and hopefully the pricing will spark ideas on where or how to save money when traveling in general. It would be awesome if WordPress could team up with Airbnb or local airlines to offer discount to people traveling to and from WordCamps and hopefully help reduce costs even more when attending a WordCamp.

If you haven’t noticed I have a couple of Airbnb referral links that you will get $40 off your first stay with Airbnb, and in return I will earn some travel credit for my next Airbnb stay.

Let me know your thoughts and what price do you estimate to spend attending your next WordCamp that’s out of town.

Featured Image by Nicola Gypsicola on Unsplash