I road-tripped through Southern Italy and lingered over high tea in London for about $2,000 - here's how I did it

I always try to stay in Airbnbs when I travel — they tend to be cheaper than hotels, and they offer a more unique experience. You feel like a local.

Our first Airbnb was a Trullo house in Cisternino that I had saved on my Airbnb profile over three years prior. We actually based our entire vacation around that Airbnb — it was absolutely gorgeous.

Then, we booked a cute house with a jaw-dropping bathtub on the side of the Amalfi Cliffs, with lemon and olive trees surrounding us.

Our last Airbnb in London was just a room, which worked out just fine — we only slept about 12 hours total over our two days in London.

We did two activities in Italy using Airbnb Experiences — the first was a visit to a family farm (the highlight of our trip). We learned how to make cheese and pasta, met the farm animals, and drank wine. We both cried over how amazing the experience was.

The second was a boat trip to Capri, complete with swimming, cave exploration, and drinking limoncello as the sun set.

While in London, we saw two West End shows — "Matilda" and "Waitress" — and loved both. We got day-of rush seats, which cost us about $30 each.

While in Italy, I bought olive oil for a friend and a pair of amazing sunglasses for myself. And in London, I purchased tea for a friend and mentor, coffee for my dad, and hot cocoa mix for my mom — all from Harrods.

Food is always the most important part of a trip for both Kristine and me, so we were committed to eating lots of pasta and gelato (most days were "two gelato days.")

The two more expensive meals we shared were an eight-course experience on the cliffs of Positano in Italy — one of the most memorable parts of our trip — and high tea in London, where we spent three languid hours eating finger sandwiches and sausage rolls.

Grand total: $2,191.43

For everything we got to experience — road tripping through Southern Italy, a two-day stint in London, amazing food — our trip was very reasonably priced.

It was the perfect way to celebrate my $100,000 goal, and a once-in-a-lifetime bonding experience with my best friend. Four months since our trip and we're still talking about it.

• More personal finance coverage
• 4 reasons to open a high-yield savings account while interest rates are down
• It took less than 10 minutes to open a high-yield cash account with Wealthfront and earn more on my savings
• How to buy a house with no money down
• When to save money in high-yield savings
• Best rewards credit cards
• 7 reasons you may need life insurance, even if you think you don't