This is a question for people who have followed the backpacker trail through S.E. Asia. I am going to be there for three months. I will be stopping in Japan for 14 days on the way. While in Japan I have a place to stay and free food (otherwise i could never afford to go there). I will be in se asia from June 6 to aug 15. I will visit Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, with a short stop in the phillipines to visit family.
I am wondering how much money will be enough. I don't mind sleeping with no air and cold water, maybe once or twice a week sleeping somewhere with warm showers and ac. My current budget is set at 58 usd a day. Including my time in Japan. If some people could tell me a bit about their style of trip and their average daily budget at the end that would be really helpful.
Reply to this My wife and I just finished about 3 months in SE Asia and found a wide array of budget issues. 60 USD a day sounds about right and you should not have much trouble sticking to it. Some things to think about are how much do you want to see. We found certain places, especially Lao is quite inexpensive, but travel is slow. Each transit will take the better part of a day and you need to account for that. Also visa costs for Cambodia (25 usd) and Lao (30 usd) muct be factored in. If In Cmabodia, you will undoubtably go to Angkor / Siem Reap. The accomodation is good value (6-8 usd / nite a/c hot water) and the food can be affordable as well but admission to the archeological zone is 40 dollars for 3 days. Totally worth it but still. And getting to and from the sites necessitates transport unless you are badass cyclist then you can do it on your own for about 2 bucks a day. As with all place speak to other who are around at that time and they will be able to give prices for that time. If in the area in summer it si low season and prices in Thailand are much lower than the rest of the time so that is good news for you. You will also be with family which means some of the time is essentially free so that money can be "carried over" for unexpected expenses. Vietnam visa (very imprtant) make sure you pick your entry date well b/c if you run out of time, an extension is both expensive and a huge pain in the ass. We had to do it. One option is to get one in Phenom Phen right before you arrive if you go overland. We did not go to Malaysia but heard excellent things about it. Weather is tricky so stick to the non-monsoon coast, I think east coast at that time of year. With only 3 months for all you want to do you may feel rushed. Don't be afraid to skip some things as constant travel will burn you out really really quickly (speaking from experience). SE Asia rocks.
Reply to this Thanks for the reply. I added vietnam in at the end of my planning, so that is really a if I have time scenario. I was worried I would be rushing it a bit myself. I am trying to put together another thousand for the trip, but that will only add $8 and change a day. I don't know how much difference that will make. I am hoping that with the $60 budget I will have the money to splurge on a room or restaurant sometimes. What do you think about that?
Reply to this $60/day should be more than enough in my opinion. You can do it for much less, quite easily. Transportation and unseen costs always need to be budgeted for, but you shouldn't have any problem at all. I'm a student, so my travel budget is understandably small, and I'll be in SE Asia for 3 months this summer as well (also doing the Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos "cirque"), and my budget certainly won't be $60/day.
Just shop around before you purchase anything or book accomodations, as a cheaper price can usually be found.
Think about it like this: $60(Canadian, for my sake) = roughly 1920 baht.
Average accomodations will cost you 700-800 baht per night (which is a gross over-estimation.. it's actually closer to 400-500), so that still leaves you $35/day for food, drinks and travel.. trust me, in somewhere like Thailand, that is MORE than enough.
So, I'd say you don't have much to worry about! It should be well within your budget to grab a nicer room every now and then or sit down for a "fancy" meal.
Good luck!
Reply to this Have you been there before? If so how long did you stay? what kind of accomadations were you staying in (for the most part)? What was your average daily budget at the end?
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