Every single convention (with few exceptions) is paid. It means that one need to pay for an entrance. The entrance costs around 25-60PLN. On average, it costs around 40 PLN. However, literary conventions are much more expensive and entrances cost even 60-200 PLN. Sometimes though, even while attending a common convention one can invest in a good sleeping place, if there is such a possibility.
Nevertheless, it’s still not enough. The entrance is only a part of money that one should prepare. One need to pay the travel costs too. A discount ticket costs around 28PLN (regular ticket – 44PLN). One should remember that the coming back tour needs to be paid too.
To sum it up:
discount ticket: 40PLN (entrance) + 2*28PLN (travel) = 91PLN
regular ticket: 40PLN (entrance) + 2*44PLN (travel) = 123PLN
Of course, it’s still not all. There are still board costs, since it cannot be obtained for free at the convention. Let’s take a “super low cost” situation: 5 instant soups, one loaf of bread, a piece of process cheese, 2 fish cans (if we take the tea and sugar from home). It gives around 20PLN in all. One should also include drinks for the travel – it gives 25PLN at all. However, it’s a pitiful portion.
A “normal costs” situation is when one eats instant soups but also buys food in restaurants or buys sweets. It gives around 60PLN at all – 30PLN for Coke during travel and at the convention and 30PLN for fastfood. All together it gives 120PLN.
To sum up the “super low cost” ver.:
discount ticket: 91PLN+25PLN = 116PLN
regular ticket: 123PLN + 25PLN = 143PLN
The “normal cost” ver.:
discount ticket: 86PLN + 120PLN = 206PLN
regular ticket: 123PLN + 120=243PLN
Travel cost is high. One can save up money in following ways: by finding other participants from your city who want to get to the convention too eg. by car. If it’s about discount ticket users there’s not a big difference between travel costs, but it is profitable for those who have to buy regular ticket.
The other scenario for regular ticket users is to buy a tourist train ticket (eg. weekend ticket). It costs around 60PLN and one can travel since Friday to Sunday with this ticket. However, it is not profitable in case of 4-days conventions, untill they are organized during long weekends.
The third way to save some moeny is to buy 5 train tickets – while buying 4, the fifth one is for free. One should check all the possibilities at PKP’s webpage. Expensive options are also avaliable, but then one may pay even 300-1500PLN for the whole event.
Caution!
Conventions do not require additional lodgings costs. One can take a foam pad, sleeping bag and nooone will ask you to pay for a piece of the floor in a classroom (though we had cases like that already). If it is about literary conventions, noone sleeps on the floor – the lodgings in a hotel or a dorm is required and it costs around 50-150PLN per night. Therefore, literary conventions’ costs are simply higher.
Author: Puszkin
Editor: Laureanne
P.S. Since the discount train tickets got reduced to 37% the difference between buying a discount and regular ticket is not big anymore. Moreover, convention participants are getting more money so it is rather rare to see them eating only instant soups and fastfood is more popular. Therefore, the travel becomes an equivalent part of convention’s costs.
Posted in: Conventions FAQ