What did you spend?

2 posts moved to this new topic: Help me find a cheap flight to Australia. Reply to this

Hi All

Just refreshing this thread. It's been a while since there has been any posts made and I would love to hear more on the topic from all you well travelled folk.

😱 Reply to this

Stefanie - can you be a bit more specific about how long you to spend in each country? Otherwise it will be difficult for people to help. Also, does that figure include flights/insurance etc? Ta. Reply to this

£9000 should be more than enough. In fact, two people could do that trip on £9k (living very very cheap). I'm doing pretty much the same route as you (minus fiji) and I'm taking £11,000 - but I'm going for a year!

£9k for 6 months is almost £50 a day. £20 a day would be plenty in SE Asia for example. OZ, NZ & the US will be more, but as long as you don't go mad (booze, overpriced hostels/hotels, booze, lots of pricey tours, and more booze) then your budget should stretch easily. I've budgeted £25 a day for OZ & NZ (although I'm buying a van so accommodation costs will be lower for me) and £50 a day in the USA. Don't worry - set yourself a daily budget for each country, watch what you spend and you'll be fine. Enjoy! Reply to this

Hi Guys

Just pushing this thread up as it would be good to get some new posts. With a terrible exchange rates and credit crunches, I wonder how much RTW trips are costing now a days and if there has been much of a change in what people are spending on their trips. Although I have been on here for over a year and planning to do a RTW, I only started saving proper in January. It's tough but i've kept on track so far.

Lets hear your totals.

Thanks Reply to this

With a terrible exchange rates and credit crunches, I wonder how much RTW trips are costing now a days and if there has been much of a change in what people are spending on their trips.

We are actually planning more trips and spending more on them, in the last 5 years. Despite the general world economic woes, we have finally got our financial act together.

I dont think the world economic trends necessarily affect or reflect an individuals financial situation. Also, I think when there is lots of unemployment it might be exactly the time to travel and spend ones savings, rather than spending them on being unemployed and searching for jobs that will be in very short supply for a few years.

When I was working, I used to save for a 'just in case' trip. That would be a trip I would take if I lost my job. I didnt lose my job, but I did get pregnant and quit, because of not wanting to burn the candle at both ends with juggling childcare and job. But, the money I saved payed for lots of small trips.

Anyway, back to the round the world trip. I think, ideally you would not spend all your savings on the trip, so you are not completely broke and dependent when you get home. But, thinking about getting home and what to do then is likely too overwhelming to do while planning the trip itself. Reply to this

Moderator comment: I deleted one post. Please, keep posts on topic. Reply to this

We did our 8 month trip last year (5 in se Asia 3 in oz/nz) spent about £16k between us! Wish I was still traveling! Reply to this

Though my trip finished a couple of years ago, I spent ~£53,000 for my ~3.5 years of travel, inclusive of everything. This broke down as:

India (4 months in 2005/6) £4,500
Australia (6 months in 2006) £14,500
Southeast Asia/China/Trans-Siberian (11 months in 2007) £8,000
South America (9 months in 2008 plus a month in Indonesia at the beginning) £12,500
Africa (10 months in 2009) £13,500

My backpacking style was a real mix of pennypinching and excessive spending, e.g. in Australia I stayed in dorms pretty much for the entire trip, but I also went on several tours, hired about 10 cars, and ate out often (plus this total includes 2 return tickets from the UK). My India figure is skewed up by over £500 simply because I spent my last few days there in an expensive hotel - I also took a few flights. Africa includes a few flights and tours too, though it was more expensive than I expected anyway. The Southeast Asia figure is probably closest to a backpacker norm, and even that is skewed high by the expensive month I spent in Russia at the end of it.

An important point to note is that I was viewing this as the trip of a lifetime so I didn't hold back on any activities that took my fancy - my philosophy was that I expect to be earning money until I'm pretty much on my death-bed, but my interest in (and ability to) travel will have waned well before then. Apart from a few exceptions, my accommodation was standard backpacker stuff (though I spent the latter half of my South America trip more in private rooms than dorms). I also have an alarming chocolate addiction which any normal person wouldn't have.

In short, I no doubt spent considerably more than the average backpacker, but it still worked out at "only" ~£1,325 per month or ~£16,000 per year. Unless you (or your partner) are similarly hell-bent on doing every activity that you come across, or spend most of your time in expensive countries, £12,500 each should see you through 13 months (also noting that 2 people travelling together is almost always cheaper than 2 individuals). Reply to this

We're also thinking about going off again in about a year. Plan to spend about 6 months in Asia. This time visit a few places we didn't see last time - Borneo, Indonesia & The Phillipines.

Anyone got any experience of these places cost wise? Reply to this