Cost Of A Trip Around The World

• Tweet

• Tweet

Atop Franz Joseph Glacier, New Zealand

Methodology

I believe my record keeping was fairly accurate for the trip.  I tried to find a balance between providing current and useful data with not being too nerdy and spending all my time calculating exchange rates and accounting for every penny.  I rounded all expenses to the nearest $0.05 and after losing a little pocket exchange calculator in the beginning, I decided to use rough exchange rates to do the calculations in my head instead.

To determine the cost of a trip around the world, I categorized my spending into six buckets:

• Visas – solely the cost of visas, not inclusive of related administrative expenses
• Lodging – hostels, cheap hotels
• Transport – metros, trains, buses, taxis, rickshaws, ferries, boats
• Food – meals, water, alcohol, snacks
• Sightseeing – admission tickets, all-inclusive packages (rafting in Nepal, cruise in Egypt)
• Miscellaneous – internet, phone, guidebooks, clothes, souvenirs, shipping (of souvenirs) home

Some activities included meals and/or lodging for a night or more, such as my treks in Nepal and India.  I did not attempt to separate those costs.  I also did not factor travel between most countries into my daily costs.  This would include international flights, though not the trains and buses I used between countries in Europe.

Daily Expenses

• French Polynesia – 5 days – $66 per day – $330 total
• New Zealand -26 days – $116 per day – $3,005 total
• Australia – 28 days – $98 per day – $2,743 total
• Indonesia – 21 days – $55 per day – $1,151  total
• Singapore – 4 days – $51 per day – $204  total
• Hong Kong/Macau – 11 days – $65 per day – $711  total
• China – 20 days – $55 per day – $1,095  total
• Tibet – 0 days – $N/A per day – $150 total (cost of permit I never received, and loss of money on train ticket)
• Nepal – 42 days – $54 per day – $2,275  total
• India – 43 days – $51 per day – $2,179  total
• Thailand – 68 days – $55 per day – $3,760  total
• Cambodia – 18 days – $63 per day – $1,139  total
• Laos – 18 days – $61 per day – $1,095  total
• South Africa – 55 days – $77 per day – $4,223  total
• Botswana – 7 days – $110 per day – $771  total
• Egypt – 11 days – $90 per day – $992  total
• Europe (Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, Spain) – 27 days – $81 per day – $2,176  total
• Colombia – 49 days – $44 per day – $2,163  total

Total for Daily Spending = $30,162

Inter-country Flights

• $2,000 – Air Tahiti flights – Washington, DC to Auckland, via French Polynesia (Tahiti).  Jetstar flights – Christchurch to Brisbane, Melbourne to Bali*
• $127 – Jetstar Asia flight from Singapore to Hong Kong
• $476 – Air China flight from Chengdu to Kathmandu, via Lhasa, Tibet
• $247 – THAI Air flight from New Delhi to Bangkok
• $124 – Laos Airlines flight from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai
• $673 – Air Qatar flight from Bangkok to Cape Town*
• $593 – Air Egypt flight from Johannesburg to Cairo
• $122 – Jetairfly.com flight from Cairo to Brussels
• $505 – Iberia flight from Madrid to Bogota

Total for Inter-country Flights = $4,867

* Flights purchased through AirTreks.com

____________________
Cost of my 15-month trip around the world = $35,029**

Fulfilling a personal dream = priceless!

____________________

For further details, you can review my online spreadsheet.

** This figure does not include pre/post-trip expenses like storage, health insurance, immunizations, etc.  Check out my pre-trip plan for an idea of those expenses.

PS – Through online advertising, Dares, donations, and gifts, I was able to travel longer than I otherwise would’ve been able to on my own.  Thank you to everyone who contributed, whether it was offering a donation or simply reading this blog!

About the Author:

Dave is the author of 1527 posts on Go Backpacking.

Dave (Editor-in-Chief) blogged his way around the world from 2007-2009, and then started Travel Blog Success to teach others how to do the same. When not writing, he can be found salsa dancing in Medellin. Follow him on Twitter @rtwdave or look for him on Google+

The Travel Blog Success community offers practical resources and personal support to help you build a better travel blog.

Whether you treat blogging as a hobby, or dream of building a location independent business, you'll learn what's required to create a name for yourself in the online travel world.

Benefits of Joining:

1. Personal support from Dave, including site critiques and tips on negotiating advertising deals.
2. Ability to learn from others' mistakes, and save yourself time, energy and money.
3. Chance to network with other travel bloggers of all levels, from around the world.

Click here to learn more.

Categories: Budgeting & Finances, Features, Planning, Post-trip
Post tags: budget