I'm taking my first overseas trip next year and I want to get a good idea of costs
Hi all!
Recently my best friend and I decided that we would like to go on an overseas holiday next year, leaving sometime in September. I don't know if this is way too early to be planning but I want to get as much saved as possible. We are likely going for no more than 3 months.
This is our shortlist for where we may go:
Japan
China
Korea
India
South Africa
Egypt
Jordan
Germany
Italy
France
Spain
Peru
USA
Canada
Basically I'm just looking for some advice for how much we should expect to pay in these places (excluding flights). We are not backpacking and I personally would prefer to stay in a hotel but I know it would get very expensive so would be willing to stay in a hostel or something. We want to try local foods but will make our own food to save on costs sometimes. I'm not sure how much you all can help or if you need more information but I will really appreciate any help. I'm so excited for this trip even though its 18 months away! :p
Reply to this Nacho,
Welcome to Travelblog, and the adventure of travel! Eighteen months beforehand is a perfect time to plan an adventure. Beyond accumulating money, popular areas can require reservations a year or more in advance, immunizations can take up to a year, some visas require months to get, and it allows time for language study.
Travel costs depend on many factors, including the amount of comfort you want, activities planned, the time of year, and the countries involved. In general: Europe, North America, Japan, and Singapore are the most expensive; south east Asia is the cheapest; and the rest fall somewhere in between.
Recent guidebooks will have general cost guidelines about the areas they cover. For more specific info, find bloggers who have posted from the areas you are interested in and send private messages; most of us are friendly and will gladly share budgets, advice, etc.
Reply to this thank you for your reply 😊 I will take a lot at specific posts. A more general question I have, is there an easy way to find the best activities/tourist attractions that have an entry fee?
Reply to this Always keep some spare cash, things can go wrong and you might need the 'Emergency' fund. We found this out on several occasions during our travels last year.
Reply to this I think estimating costs is quite hard because everyone has their own way of spending and travel cost cutting. Not everyone like to stay at hostel, even hostels have different rate. Also some countries have higher cost of living than other (for example Japan vs China). 1 week in Japan could probably last 2 weeks or longer in China.
With that said, always have a spare backup stashed with your family back home, so when you travel and you do need cash, you can always call home and have them send you some money.
Reply to this I think you have to do a lot of research around it. You are looking at a lot of countries, first cut it down to the ones you really want to visit. Most importantly check the visa requirement for each country. group countries which provide visa on arrival vis-a-vis countries which needs visa application in advance. In three months you would like to stay at each country for how many days or weeks. (I suggest you make a spreadsheet) hotel will definitely get more expensive and even of you plan your budget you might end up spending on shopping or other activities. Try to find genuine people who accept housemates at reasonable rates or for free, there are lot of information on that on google. Couchsurf is one such website. If you have credit or debit card, convert your shopping or swipe rewards to air miles. This way you can even fund your air ticket. Try local food, but avoid completely street ones. Try to get some weekend or internship jobs around there if possible. Again there are sites that will have that kind of information. Again, you can think about volunteering travel, since I work for one such company, we have lot of volunteers coming in to spend their gap year or college or summer break volunteering in diff countries. You can think about that too. Best of luck with your trip and planning.
Reply to this Hello Nacho and welcome to travel blog!
Never too early to start planning.
3 months is a great amount of time. You will have a wonderful time no mater where you decide.
I would not attempt to go to all of the countries you have on your list. You won't get to see much.
If you decide to go to the U.S. or Canada I would spend the entire 3 months in either of those countries. September is beautiful in the U.S and we'd be happy to help you map out a trip.
I'm not sure where you are starting out and if cost are a consideration.
India and China will be cheaper than Japan.
Will you be renting a car or taking public transportation?
If you decide to go to Europe you will easily spend the entire 3 months in Italy, France, Spain and Germany. You could add another couple of countries. Portugal or Austria.
Let us know if you have additional questions.
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