When using our budget to plan your own trip, try to remember your costs will vary based your travel style. These figures are based on not moving too quickly (lower transportation costs), staying in budget accommodations, and self catering in expensive countries. On the other hand, we used web cafes extensively to work on the site, developed over 100 rolls of film, paid heaps of money to insurance companies, and took the more expensive route around the world (south of the equator).
TABLE 1: Costs of Trip Relating to Specific Countries (One Person)
Includes local transportation, food, lodging, and other expenses for 16
months. |
| Country |
Cost |
Days |
Cost/Day |
Mitigating factors |
| Panama/Costa Rica |
$893 |
35 |
$25.5 |
Stayed for free with friends for over 3 weeks. |
| Hawaii |
$557 |
14 |
$39.8 |
|
| Ind. Samoa |
$534 |
15 |
$35.6 |
Cost includes a lost $100 traveler's check |
| New Zealand |
$1,058 |
21 |
$50.4 |
Rented camper bus two weeks, flight from north to south island ($177)
and return car ferry tickets. |
| Singapore |
$168 |
6 |
$28.0 |
|
| Indonesia |
$572 |
30 |
$19.1 |
|
| Malaysia |
$353 |
15 |
$23.5 |
|
| Thailand South |
$569 |
25 |
$22.8 |
|
| Vietnam |
$736 |
28 |
$26.3 |
Bought $200 of custom made clothes in Hoi An, including a suit, several
pairs of pants, a wool coat, several silk shirts, and shipping. |
| Thailand North |
$756 |
34 |
$22.2 |
Includes parcel shipping costs of $64 and Thai massage course fee of $85,
but we also rented a room for an entire month for only $36 each. |
| Laos |
$197 |
12 |
$16.4 |
Includes roughly $18 for a visa. |
| Thailand |
$172 |
19 |
$9.1 |
Spent only $30 or so for all living expenses for an 11 day stretch in
a Buddhist meditation retreat. |
| Cambodia |
$260 |
7 |
$37.1 |
Spent $20 on a visa and $40 on an Angkor Wat ticket. |
| Thailand |
$133 |
2 |
$66.5 |
Only passed through 2 days - spent $53 on shipping and roughly $12 on
airport departure tax. |
| India |
$563 |
31 |
$18.2 |
Includes a $75 visa purchased at home. |
| Nepal |
$1,323 |
42 |
$31.5 |
Spent $35 on shipping, $60 on gifts, $286 on an internal flight for trekking,
roughly $300 on 21 day trek, and $20 on a visa. |
| Bahrain |
$0 |
1 |
$0.0 |
One night stopover - airline paid for hotel, transportation, food, and
departure tax. |
| Greece |
$848 |
23 |
$36.9 |
|
| Turkey |
$751 |
27 |
$27.8 |
Includes a $45 visa on arrival and $25 overnight intl. bus to Sophia. |
Michelle left and I started traveling solo. Starting from here, I stayed primarily in dorms rather
than double rooms. Keep note of how long I spent in each place, as some
stays might be too short to give a fair representation of sample costs.
|
| Bulgaria |
$78 |
4 |
$19.5 |
Includes $21 overnight intl. train to Bucharest. |
| Romania |
$164 |
6 |
$27.3 |
Includes $28 intl. train to Budapest. |
| Hungary |
158 |
5 |
$31.6 |
Includes $47.92 intl. night train to Split |
| Croatia |
$221 |
6.5 |
$34.0 |
Includes $10.10 intl. train from Zagreb to Ljubljana. |
| Slovenia |
$83 |
3.5 |
$23.7 |
Stayed with friend. Includes $27.87 intl. train to Venice. |
| Italy |
$338 |
4 |
$84.5 |
Only in Venice, which is very expensive. International train ticket to
Vienna was also pricey at almost $87.57. |
| Austria |
$156 |
3.5 |
$44.6 |
Includes $7.91 intl. train to Bratislava. |
| Slovakia |
$58 |
2 |
$29.0 |
Too much internet and good food. Otherwise it is a very cheap place. Includes
$5.26 intl. bus to Prague. |
| Czech Republic |
$133 |
4 |
$33.3 |
Includes $15.53 intl. train to Dresden. |
| Germany |
$269 |
7.5 |
$35.9 |
Includes about $10 for postage and $20 for Palm accessories, but I stayed
at a friend's house for free for several nights. Includes $36.74 intl. bus
ticket to Amsterdam from Berlin. |
| Netherlands |
$216 |
4 |
$54.0 |
Includes $12.85 intl. bus ticket to Bruges. |
| Belgium |
$122 |
2 |
$61.0 |
Includes $57.97 high speed Thalys train to Paris. |
| France |
$278 |
5 |
$55.6 |
Includes $52.48 bus to Spain and $20 haircut. |
| Spain |
$395 |
8 |
$49.4 |
Includes $35.15 domestic train and late night $25 taxi ride to airport,
but flight out covered under "flights" table. |
| UK |
$263 |
4 |
$65.8 |
Flight out covered under "flights" table. |
| Ireland |
$1,436 |
22 |
$65.3 |
Includes a $318.66 splurge for a hired car, $87 for gas, $117 for gifts,
and $63 for clothes that I needed for cold weather. |
|
| Cost |
$14,811 |
Country specific costs |
| |
|
|
TABLE 2: International Flights
|
| |
Cost |
Flight |
| $2,447 |
Air Treks (Half RTW ticket)
DC -> Panama City -> LA on Continental
LA -> Honolulu -> Samoa -> Auckland -> Singapore on Air New Zealand
Singapore -> Bali and Jakarta -> Kuala Lumpur on Malaysian Airways
Bangkok -> Ho Chi Minh City -> Bangkok on Vietnam Airlines
Bangkok -> Kathmandu -> Delhi on Royal Air Nepal (returned for new routing).
|
| $264 |
Koh Samui to Phnom Phen / Siam Reap to Bangkok |
| $167 |
Bangkok to Mumbai (Bombay) OW |
| $76 |
Varanassi to Kathmandu OW |
| $411 |
Kathmandu to Athens OW |
| $117 |
Barcelona to London |
| $51 |
London to Dublin |
| $306 |
Dublin to New York |
| Cost |
$3,839 |
International Flights |
| |
|
|
TABLE 3: Bills at Home (16 months)
|
| |
Cost |
Item |
| $2,334 |
Health Insurance |
| $215 |
Storage insurance |
| $843 |
Long term disability |
| $1,546 |
Photo supplies and processing |
| $936 |
Storage |
| $297 |
Evacuation insurance |
| $100 |
Two year hostel membership |
| $20 |
International driver's license |
| $1,000 |
Travel clothes, gear, shots |
| $183 |
Car insurance (stored car) |
| $258 |
Palm m105 and keyboard (for web stories) |
| Cost |
$7,732 |
Bills at home |
| |
|
|
TABLE 4: Wrapping it Up
|
| |
$14,811 |
Country specific costs |
| $3,839 |
International Flights |
| $7,732 |
Bills at home |
| Cost |
$26,382 |
Trip Total |
