Question for experienced backpackers/travellers?

Question

Im going on a round the world trip in May/June and I have broken down the cost of each area and the trip in total. Does this seem about right? I know I could probably get by on a bit less in Asia, Im just trying to allow for slightly more just incase.

Fiji or Samoa 2 weeks £20 per day
New Zealand 4 weeks £20 per day
Australia 20 weeks £20 per day
Bali 3 weeks £15 per day
Singapore 4 days £25 per day
Malaysia 2 weeks £15 per day
Thailand 3 weeks £15 per day
Cambodia 1 week £15 per day
Vietnam 3 weeks £15 per day

So far just the cost of living comes to £5140 !

Then I have my rtw ticket £1200
Travel Insurance £250
Visas £150
Innocculations -£100 approx
Internal Flights £150
I also want to do a Padi Diving course £150-200

So its now £7190...

Does anyone think that I have missed any other expenses, or that my prices need adjusting?

I am staying in Australia for 5 months and Im hoping to work for about 3 months to get more cash.

Thanks

Damn, by the sounds of it I am underestimating by quite a bit. Double it! That means I need about 12k! I

f I work in Oz I think I could maybe have 6.5-7.5k but nowhere near £12,000...

Answer 1

Travis W is exactly right. Take your conservative estimate and double it. that way you're covered.

Answer 2

I live in Australia but have travelled to a lot of the places that you have mentioned and you are TOTALLY underestimating. Especially for Australia, NZ, Fiji & Samoa. The main problem with Fiji & Samoa is that although you might be able to get accomodation, the cost of food is very high as they're islands - you just don't have a lot of choices. However, in SE Asia, the food and accomodation is amazingly cheap and you can eat a meal easily for less than 1 pound.
Your internal flights estimate will just cover a return ticket between two cities in Australia. I spent more than that buying 3 one way airfares in Vietnam.
Also, your Visa expenditure is way too low. I recently came back from Vietnam and the Visa for there was about 50 pound. The visa on arrival for Indonesia is about USD$25 for up to one month.

I honestly think you would be better off reducing the amount of time that you're travelling and then you could travel more comfortably. Also - if you work in Australia as a backpacker, you probably won't get paid more than about 6 pounds per hour.

Good luck! Sounds like an amazing trip.

Answer 3

Australia and NZ will probably want more money because the accomodation will cost more - depends on whether you are camping or hostels, then you have food and presumably beers? And souvenirs or telephone calls home or sightseeing, little things like that are going to bump the price up, eg are you hoping to do the Barrier Reef - then you need to budget fro a boat trip etc Also there will be things you want to do which you can't anticipate here - when I was travelling sightseeing was a big expense that I didn't anticipate but its silly to get all the way there and then not see something major and half of the stuff we saw we had no idea about until we got there. How about taking a credit card for unexpected costs and asking your mum to cover it and promise to pay her back? Just for emergencies so you don't get caught short somewhere with no food...?

Answer 4

Ive done what your planning and that was in 99 and i would say that your around 20-25% down on you daily costs. NZ, Aus and Singapore can be expensive, the cheapest digs i could get in singapore was 30 a nite. Try and use buses and trains and boats for travel around. use the places where the locals eat, really watch alchocol intake as i paid £9 for a bottle of beer in singapore and that was happy hour price so always ask the price first. Thailand was the cheapest to do my padi but ive now heard that vietnam is now. well it ended costing me around £12,000 for a years travelling and i was really doing on a budget but i did spend the first month having a bit of a blast. my best advice would be invest in a lonely planet or two, ask other travellers when your wandering and change your monies when you in whatever country when your there, i made £2000 by not changing sterling into baht here and doing it in thailand, as you will always get a better rate for sterling or dollars over there, hope that helps a little. have fun when your travelling you will never regret it.

Answer 5

I have had several but had a rather large jump 2 nights ago. Normally as Sirius says, I hear a very high pitch sound. This time however it was very loud in my ears actually blocking out most other physical sound. It lasted a moment or two, then was gone. When it left I felt "called to sleep". I woke the next day with a large increase in energy, & I felt light & laughed a great deal. Then last night about 24 hours after awakening, I had what I call a major Ah-Ha on some things I had been pondering. This whole "cycle" seems to be a continuing process of sorts for me over the past two years. It feels like there are many "influences" that are helping to push many along the Path to Remembrance now. I know I don't need to do anything but Be open & not stop it when it begins! Thanks for a wonderful Q! Many Blessings!

Answer 6

Just saying "double it" as if it's some sort of standard traveling rule doesn't take into consideration that he might've actually figured out nearly exactly what it will cost rather than that he's just guessing. How could "double it" be correct when several people suggest he could do it cheaper? I say plan it as best you can, and then have a credit card for backup if things get desperate and if you find you're in danger of going over budget, then it's time to head home.

Answer 7

I think it is always safe to double what you are expecting to pay then you can spend a bit more one day and maybe even a bit less another day. I have never been to any of the places you are talking about but think when you go on a holiday for weeks say. Do you not always spend about twice what you were planning to spend?

Answer 8

Hi, sorry but I can only chip in on your travel insurance costs but think I can reduce them massively!


I just got a quote for 2 months worldwide backpacking travel - £45.10

I know it's not a great saving on your total trip but it may provide a bit more slack for other areas!

Have fun!

Answer 9

I would add another £150 for anti malaria,
shop wisely and you don't need £25 a day

Answer 10

are you serious...7000 USD is nothing nowdays and you are going for about 40 weeks....i would spend this much in the one week you staying in bali...its 300 dollars a night hotels there

Answer 11

Well, the basic rule of thumb for any cost calculation is take your best guess of what you think it will cost, double it, and you should just squeak by.