Florida Wanted $40,000 for One Round of IVF. Greece Did It for $12,000

Summer, 2024.

Emilie and Justin Solomon flew to Greece, and as far as their friends knew, it was just another trip for an adventure-loving couple.

It wasn’t. They had switched off location sharing on their phones so nobody would see them visiting a fertility clinic in Athens.

IVF was their only chance at a biological child together, because Justin had testicular cancer in his late teens. Then they found out their insurance wouldn’t cover it.

The IVF quote in Florida, where they live, was $40,000 for one round.

So they looked abroad… and landed at Pelargos IVF Medical Group in Athens.

The first trip covered the hormone shots and the egg retrieval. Between injections, they spent a weekend on the island of Milos, rented a boat, and swam in the Aegean.

Was it hard? Of course. Two trips, a language barrier, and a secret from everyone they knew.

The bill?

Medication, fertilization, embryo storage, and the transfer came to about $12,000, not counting travel.

That’s less than a third of the Florida quote. And it included a Greek summer.

They went back in October 2025 for the embryo transfer and squeezed in two days in Croatia on the way.

Their son was born in Florida this summer.

The Solomons aren’t unusual anymore. Jakub Dejewski, who chairs the European Fertility Society, says the number of Americans choosing European clinics jumped more than 37% in 2025.

Why? A July study by Axene Health Partners found one IVF cycle for insured Americans costs over $29,000 — about 35% of the median household income. Most patients need two or three cycles.

In Greece, a cycle using your own eggs typically runs $3,000 to $4,000 before medication. Serum IVF in Athens charges just under $6,000.

In other words, the Solomons’ entire Greek bill, medication included, was less than half of what an insured American pays on average for one cycle at home.

But it’s not a magic fix.

Greece limits how long embryos can be stored, keeps donors anonymous, and restricts sex selection and surrogacy for nonresidents. Moving embryos between Greece and the US takes paperwork.

It’s also worth checking home first. CNY Fertility runs IVF for around $8,000 at 18 US locations, which is why more than half its patients cross state lines.

And ask the hard question before you go: how many cycles might you need? If the answer is two or three, the gap between Athens and home gets even wider.

Compare both. Then book.