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How much does a GREAT TRIP around the world cost? [Budgets]
Traveling the world is a dream many of us have, but we often think it's out of reach for financial reasons. However, Do you really have to be rich to travel to different countries and immerse yourself in new cultures? We'll tell you in advance: no. In this article, we'll tell you how much it costs to take a long trip around the world and share the best tips for saving what you need and make your adventure come true.
In addition, we will give you the figures for the total that we have spent on the great trips we've taken so you can use them as a reference for planningcar your budget.
How much does a big trip cost?
Defining a quantity depends largely on the style of travel you want to do and your standards. It will also depend a lot on the destinations that you choose. By asking yourself these three things you will be able to estimate a daily spending and multiplicarfor the total time The approximate length of your big trip. Finally, you should add a safety margin or cushion for unforeseen expenses or a return flight.
Great journeys are usually made in areas of the world where there are cheaper countries to whom you can travel on a budget and keep the budget under control. The star of the crown is the Southeast Asia, many travelers are encouraged to take their first trip to this simple, affordable, and enjoyable region. Many others choose to explore Latin AmericaSpeaking the same language makes it an incredible cultural and learning experience. To a lesser extent, there are also those who venture out to explore Central Asia, one of the African coasts or southern and eastern Europe.
Additional on a great journey
Let's go into detail, these are the expenses you should consider about how much does a big trip cost both before and once on the road.
1. Preparations
The expenses of a big trip begin before the trip begins. preparations are essential and represent a small part of the total trip budget.
The most obvious expense is shopping the outbound flight, the good part is that you probably have flexibility and can find an affordable date. Another big expense is the travel insurance long-stay, an essential purchase to be able to travel safely and with few worries.
On the other hand, you should prepare everything you want to take with you. luggageYou may need to buy a good one. travel backpack, a first aid kit, some medications, a toiletry bag, and some clothes. It will depend a lot on whether you have been on backpacking trips before or not. Another expense will be going to a health center. vaccination international to make sure which vaccines are required or recommended where you plan to travel.
And finally, it may be interesting for you to make some powers of attorney It allows someone you trust to handle any procedure for you, such as banking matters.cariOS or collect documentation.
2. Accommodation on a big trip
This may be one of the biggest daily expenses, but also one over which you can have the most control.
Staying in basic double rooms if you're two, or in hostels if you're traveling alone, will keep the price per night low. But you can also choose to stay in a hostel, both to save money and to enjoy a more cultural experience. couchsurfing As part of your journey, there are also other things. alternatives to 'travel for free' how to care for pets or volunteer, where you'll work a few hours in exchange for accommodation (and sometimes meals). And of course, you can sleep in your vehicle if you're traveling in a camper or tent, a common practice among cycle tourists and hitchhikers.
We do most nights we slept in cheap double roomsThey're usually not very nice and often have shared bathrooms. But it's more than enough; believe me, you'll spend most of your day outside. We only use them for sleeping, so we prefer to use the money we save on accommodations to do more activities or extend our trip.
On Southeast Asia It's easy to find rooms on Agoda or Booking.com for between €8 and €15 and in Latin America for between €15 and €25. In general, the price-quality ratio in Latin America is much lower.
3. Food and drink
In most countries this It is our biggest daily expenseWe prefer eating out to sleeping in nice rooms. If traveling cheaply is your priority, you can achieve it by eating out. in local restaurantsWith a little research (or asking around), you can find restaurants where the locals go. They're always the most economical option. In Asia, they're even so cheap that it's better than cooking your own meals, as many people don't even have a kitchen at home.
When traveling through inexpensive countries like Vietnam or Peru, eating at a local restaurant can cost you no more than 2 – 4€However, in less expensive countries like Costa Rica or Singapore, prices between €4 and €7 are common. Traveling in less expensive countries can save you money by cooking some meals yourself, which is worth it. pay a little more for accommodation and have a shared kitchen.
When calculating how much a long trip costs, keep in mind that if you go to Western or more elaborate restaurants, the prices skyrocket. These are places geared toward tourists or locals with high purchasing power. Often, for the price of a coffee, a beer or a bowl of fruit You'll pay twice as much as for a full meal at a market. We tend to eat locally, but with a margin for other things we like, like a good breakfast or a nice cafe. Below you'll find the details of how much we spent on each big trip.
4. Internal and inter-country transportation
This is one of the most important expenses of how much your big trip is going to cost and it is going to depend a lot on your travel style, roughly we could say that Traveling slowly is always much cheaperSlow in speed because you're using a public bus instead of a taxi, because you're spending the night on a train or ferry instead of flying, or because you'd rather take three local buses than a tourist van. But above all, slow on the road, of course, but if you plan to visit 3 countries in 6 months, you'll spend much more than if you visit three.
The price also varies greatly depending on the type of transport. Ground transportation is usually the best A backpacker's ally, then sea transport in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, or to change countries through the Amazon in South America. Finally, the one that usually increases the budget the most is air transport, although in Southeast Asia there are airlines lowcost at a very good price, it is always worth taking a look.
5. Activities and tickets
Even in the cheapest countries Doing activities is togo caro since it's something that generally only tourists do. If you prioritize free activities and visit places on your own, you'll make your trip much cheaper. Especially in Southeast Asia, it's very simple because you can rent a motorcycle and reach many places for a very low price.
However, if you don't want to miss any activity, sign up for all the plans and visit all the places, you will have to set aside a much of your budget at this pointMost of the tours and activities (like diving) we've done have cost us between 15 and 25€ per person.
A piece of advice we give you is that as much as you want to not spend a lot on your big trip, Don't stop doing some activities that make you excited, will surely be one of the best memories you'll take away from these months of adventure. Another piece of advice is not to try to do everything, either; you'll end up exhausted and your bank account will dwindle very quickly. You'll see what your body asks for; the pace is usually very different from that of a 15-day vacation.
6. Others (laundry, internet…)
Finally, there is many other smaller expenses that you'll have on a regular basis and they add up to the cost of a big trip, so it's best to take them into account when you set up your approximate budget.
We always do it we account for everything using the App of Tripcoin to know how much we are spending.
Here you can include Internet (the most economical way is to buy local sims outside the Airport), laundry (asking we have never paid more than 3-4€) and various purchases like some landscape or replace hygiene products.
In addition, in many countries ATMs have comissions so you will also spend a few 3-5€ per withdrawal, the ones you can do Avoid 100% of your bank's fees using a card you would travel without commissions, TradeRepublic it is our favorite.
If you need a lot of internet and also share it to other devices recommend Holafly Plans for digital nomads.
Emergency mattress or savings
Although you may not end up spending it, I think it's super important that you don't start your big trip without one. We would recommend at least the budget for 1 month of travel. Also save about €1.000 in case you have to return from emergency, the good part is that insurance as iati great trips o Chapka globetrotters include early return for a series of reasons such as death or hospitalization of a close relative.
That extra mattress can be used for some activity. carYou didn't have it in mind, but you really want to, in case you were overly optimistic when making the budget or in case you lose thego caror like a mobile phone.
How calculate the budget of a great trip
Now that you know all the expenses you'll have on a big trip, here's how you can define your budget. First answer these 4 questions:
- Where do you want to travel?
- How long
- What style of travel (backpacking, intermediate, luxury, etc.)
- Travel pace
These 4 points are decisive in order to define the quantity of money that save for the trip, so it's a more complex task than it seems. You need to be realistic, do some research on the prices in the countries you want to visit, and know what your standards are. Having a private bathroom isn't the same as sharing a room, nor is traveling to 10 countries in 5 months the same as visiting only 3.
You can prepare an Excel spreadsheet, some notes, or whatever you feel most comfortable using and start crunching numbers. You can searchcar Searching Google for other travel budgets for the same destination will bring up many real-world examples. Once you have the data you can estimate how much money you would spend per day.
Budget of our great trips
In 2021, we took a long 6-month trip, and we haven't been able to stop since! We're sharing our experience with you. 2 great trips so you can have it as a reference if they are regions you plan to visit.
👀 You can read How we manage our travel expenses (the habits we consider essential)
Budget for a great trip through Latin America
We wanted travel for Latin America avoiding the most caros (or spending the little time we had there). We didn't visit Chile or Argentina, and we didn't spend much time in Costa Rica or Panama. The pace of our trip was medium-fast, although we spent a lot of time in each country (1 to 2 months), visiting many places and doing many things in each destination, so our spending on transportation and activities was high. We set a daily budget. maximum of €50 between the two.
We travel as backpackersWe ate at affordable local restaurants and used ground transportation to get around, avoiding flights, taxis, or private transfers. For accommodations, we always booked the cheapest rooms with decent ratings and reviews on Booking.com.
Excluding preparations, international flight and travel insurance in 6 months of travel we spent €8.050 between two people, which is €45 per day. Distributed as follows:
- Activities: 2111€ / 11,5€ daily
- Accommodation: 1552€ / 8,5€ daily
- Food: 1941€ / 10,60€ daily
- Shipping cost: 1852€ / 10,1€ daily
- Telephony: 80€ / 0,43€ daily
- Others: 514€/ 2,8€ daily
I insist that these are data for two people and in 2021, with the rise in prices in recent years, the budget for the same trip should be slightly higher.
Budget Grand Trip to Southeast Asia
Now let's How much does a long trip to Southeast Asia cost?A few months after returning from Latin America and with some extra savings, we resumed the adventure by changing continents. This time We mainly visited Southeast AsiaLuckily, there are no countries carthings to avoid in that area. We also improvised a visit to Egypt before arriving in Asia and we stopped for 15 days in India y 7 in Maldives around the corner.
This time we were 7 months of travel And, excluding international flights and travel insurance, we spent €10.000, a total of €51 a day between the two of us. The total was distributed as follows:
- Food: 2818€ / 14,5€ per day
- Accommodation: 2051€ / 10,5€ per day
- Activities: 1773€ / 9€ per day
- Shipping cost: 1692€ / 8,7€ per day
- Others: 1694€ / 8,7€ per day
These prices are for 2022 and 2023; the same trip would currently cost slightly more.
How to save money for a great trip
It is best to establish a target monthly savings amountIf you don't have a clear goal and just save what you have left over, you might not have any leftovers at all. Ideally, you should set aside all your money at the beginning of the month.
By defining a monthly savings amount and knowing the budget you want to dedicatecar For this adventure, you can calculate how many months it will take you to achieve it. If the result is that it will take many years and you don't have the necessary conviction, you might get discouraged before that moment arrives. That's why we're going to try to give you some tips so that you reach your savings goal sooner.
increase your income
With a defined amount, it's time to get to work and try to reach that goal. If you want that moment to arrive as soon as possible, the best thing you can do is try to increase your income. a thousand ways to do itYour best allies here are your imagination and your skills. Some examples you might consider are:
- If you are employed asks for a pay raise. Claim good performance, seniority, more responsibilities—whatever you can think of, it's worth a try.
- looking for a second temporary job, whether by the hour or on weekends.
- Analyze what you like and what you are good at and tries to sacarThe party. Teach English, babysit, be a personal trainer, bake birthday cakes, whatever you can think of.
- Sell or rent things you don't use on secondhand sites, whether it's your own stuff or that of family and friends. Most people keep things that gather dust until they end up throwing them away. There was a time when we rented things out on weekends. our camping equipment through Wallapop and it worked very well!
Also, if you pay for some things in cash you can keep the change in a glass piggy bank to have the visual stimulus to keep putting in money whenever you can. The rest of the money is best saved in a paid account so that it increases a little each month, like that of TradeRepublic o N26.
Reduce your expenses
They say that The best way to save is not to spendAnd it's absolutely true. Let's be honest, to save money you're going to have to sacrifice...car Some things, but if you dream of traveling, believe me, it will be worth it.
To reduce your expenses The first thing you need to know is what you spendIf you haven't already, write down all your monthly expenses. With this information, you can make smart decisions to reduce some expenses while minimizing the impact.
Recurring expenses are the easiest to avoid and the ones you'll notice the most at the end of the month. For example, streaming platform subscriptions, gym memberships, a coffee outside every morning, phone plans, online store subscriptions, video games, etc. You don't have to go from everything to nothing, but if you It is useful to analyze what you can cut back on.
Other expenses that you can analyze are those that you do it punctually but with recurrence, such as going out to dinner, going to the movies, paying for parking, going to the hair salon, buying technology or clothing, etc. If you see how much you spend on these things and how often, you can decide whether it's possible to reduce those expenses or have them less frequently.
How manage savings before the trip
It's best to save in a separate account that you don't use on a daily basis. Taking advantage of the fact that in some cases the target amount before the trip is very high and that little by little you'll accumulate a lot of money, you'll be able to I would recommend making sure that those savings generate passive income. that help to continue growing the piggy bank or at least cushion the effect of inflation.
The easiest and least risky way is to save in a good paying account , the TradeRepublic which offer an interest rate of around 2,5% per year, one of the highest on the market. Most banks offer these accounts with no risk or commitment; check if your regular bank has one and how much they pay. Another low-risk option would be invest in bonds or put the money in a fixed-term deposit.
If your time horizon is a little longer, you can consider investing in more profitable assets, but also with a little more risk. A very good tool for managing your investments is the Mintos platform, crowdlending platform that It brings together all the options we just talked about which facilitates diversification.
If you don't want to take risks, you can use their Smart Cash savings account or invest in bonds. If you prefer something more profitable and riskier, you can use it to invest in ETFs or real estate, among other things. We personally invest our savings in several different tools and funds to diversifycarreduce the risk and above all so that our savings do not lose value.
We hope this article on how much does a great trip around the world cost We hope this has clarified your doubts and helped you establish a travel budget. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and we'll try to help you ☺️
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