If you’re wondering exactly how much the Grand Battle of Bicolline will cost you, I’m sorry, but this blog post is not for you. It is simply impossible to accurately tell you exactly how much Bicolline will cost you in particular. This is because Bicolline is an ever-changing experience, and not only do their prices and packages change from year-to-year, but you can have entirely different (yet similarly amazing) experiences to fit your budget.
To put it simply, your mileage will vary.
For example, are you looking to spend enough to be warm and cozy in a soft bed all week? Or are you looking to stay in a tent? Do you own your own tent or are you looking to rent one? OR, on the other hand, are you okay with roughing it in a non-decorum tent in order to save as much money as possible?
What about food? Are you bringing all your own food, or do you want two-to-three meals a day? Have you become addicted to poutine and fall into a midnight poutine routine?
The choices you make for your experience will decide how expensive or cheap your trip to Bicolline is.
That being said, here are some numbers:
Admission
In 2018, the price for non-members* was $270 CAD(about $205 USD at the time of this post). This was an early-bird price. After a certain date, it went up to $290 CAD (roughly $220 USD). That price stayed until about a month before the event when pre-registration ended. However, you could purchase tickets at the door for $320 CAD (about $244 USD).
Admission covers the cost of entrance to the event for the full week. There are also packages that Bicolline offers that include admission. See below for the Packages section.
The prices may change for 2019 and beyond. I will post an update with 2019 prices when they are available.
Lodging
Basic lodging is included in the cost of admission. If you have a decorum tent, you can have it on site without any added cost. You just need to get the tent approved by Bicolline before the event. They will assign you a spot. Alternatively, you can bring a non-decorum camping tent and this too does not cost any additional money.
Bicolline does offer decorum period-style pavilion tents, but as of 2018, these were only available in package deals. See the Packages section for more information.
I will go over the other lodging options in more detail in another post, but I’ll just mention them here. There is the potential to also get a room in the tavern, however, this is first-come, first-serve and usually sells out within weeks after the previous year’s Grand Battle. I am not personally familiar with the costs of these rooms, but they are a few hundred dollars at the least. Additionally, there is the option to rent out a room in a player-owned building on the site. These prices will vary from building to building. You might be able to find out information about this in facebook groups or by word of mouth. Both of these options (tavern and rent-a-room) are usually not accessible to new players because they require you to know other players and staff. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it’s very uncommon.
Food
Food at Bicolline is a somewhat complicated topic because there is a meal plan, but there are also food vendors who are not associated with the meal plan. That being said, if you do opt for the meal plan, I would suggest bringing extra spending money for food from other vendors if something strikes your fancy, or if you get hungry at night. Poutine is not covered by the meal plan, so be prepared to spend money to get this delicious Canadian delicacy at least a few times during the week.
The meal plan offered by Bicolline is split up into a Breakfast/Brunch option and a Dinner option. In 2017, the breakfast option (which came with 6 meals) costs $55 CAD (roughly $42 USD). In the same year, the dinner option (which came with 7 dinners) cost $98 CAD (about $75 USD). So all together, that is $153 CAD (or about $116 USD) for all your daily meals for the week at Bicolline. Not bad for a week-long vacation!
Bathing
“What? Bathing is a cost?” you are probably asking. Yes. Bathing is technically a cost. BUT! It could also not be a cost. It really depends on your comfort level.
The free option is to bathe in the river. Everyone does it. It’s kind of cold and you need special soap and shampoo that is eco-friendly and biodegradable (There are plants and animals in the river too!), but it’s honestly not bad. The only time this sucks is when it’s raining and cold. There are free showers down at the river, but they use the same water from the river, so it doesn’t help with the cold.
On the other hand, there are showers in the back of the main tavern (Auberge) in New Town. These showers do cost money, but they have hot water and electricity. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost my notes on how much showers actually cost. If you are a veteran player and have this information, please feel free to contact me so I can provide accurate pricing. As a vague estimate, I think it was about $6 CAD (about $4.50) for one shower, and there were bulk prices to save money.
When the 2019 prices become available, I will update with accurate information.
Group Packages
Now, for the information for anyone who wants a truly immersive Bico experience, but doesn’t own their own decorum tent: Packages. Packages are great because they provide a discount if you go with a friend or a group of friends. Bicolline packages come in 2-person and 4-person varieties.
The 2-person package comes with a decorum pavilion tent for two people, complete with two cots and a shared storage box. It also comes with 10 showers to split between the two of you. In 2018, the cost of the 2-person package was $965 CAD (or roughly $735 USD). Split two ways, that’s about $482.50 CAD (or $367.50 USD) per person.
The 4-person package comes with a decorum pavilion tent for four people, complete with four cots, a storage box, and twenty showers to split amongst the four of you. In 2018, the cost of the 4-person package was $1475 CAD (or roughly $1124 USD). Split four ways, that’s about $369 CAD (or $281 USD) per person. Considering that the basic cost of admission is $270 CAD/$205 USD, this is a fantastic deal.
The 2019 group package information will be updated when it becomes available.
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Now, I did not include the cost of transportation and alcohol because these are very variable costs. I will go into more detail about these topics in another post.
For now, this is a good starting point to give you an idea of how much Bicolline actually costs. This information can be very difficult to find if you are not an English-speaker.
Alternatively, there are travel packages that are available through companies not affiliated with Bicolline, such as The Voyage North. These travel packages can be a worthwhile experience, but they tend to be for people who have a high budget for Bicolline. You do get a quality package, but it is important to know the numbers in order to make an informed decision about what works for you.
I hope this post has helped clear up any confusion about how much Bicolline actually costs.
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*Non-members – Everyone is a non-member by default. You have to pay extra money to Bicolline to become a member. There are perks to this, including bringing down the cost of the event.
Bicolline for the English Speaker 