 | Yesterday I mentioned that one of my options would be getting on the road again this winter, which has me thinking about how much I would really need, financially, to be able to travel for another 5-6 months. So I decided to write a list of travel expenses from last year in decreasing costs. Here it goes: 1. Vaccinations/Immunizations without health-insurance coverage was around $800. This covered a wide-variety of different shots, as recommended by a travel-nurse to me. It also included the cost of Malaria pills for one month (which I still haven't used), general medicines such as Advil, Ibuprofen, Probiotics (for digestive health, if you've traveled you know the importance of these, heh) and a few other general medicines. |
2. Computer, $750 I bought a light-weight travel laptop for uploading photos and videos before leaving. I wish that I had purchased something with a little more power, so that I could edit videos without the thing crashing :/. However, it was great to have for days that it rained, and worked fantastic for uploading photos and short videos.
3. Camera(s), $600 For me, I actually spent this money prior to traveling, but I know that a lot of people will invest in camera(s) and equipment for traveling so I decided to include it. Personally, this was just a single GoPro Hero 3+ Black, one SD card, and a few accessories. These things add up fast and already I am outdated by the Hero 4...
3. Camera(s), $600 For me, I actually spent this money prior to traveling, but I know that a lot of people will invest in camera(s) and equipment for traveling so I decided to include it. Personally, this was just a single GoPro Hero 3+ Black, one SD card, and a few accessories. These things add up fast and already I am outdated by the Hero 4...
4. Backpack/Tent, $400, This is just an estimate again, as I was lucky enough to borrow my brothers pack and tent. I would strongly recommend picking a backpack that you really enjoy, and is extremely comfortable. This is your house for the next few months or years. My brothers was great, but as an older model, it had a bulky metal frame support that made getting on and off buses a living nightmare.
5. Flight, Each way was around $300 for me, but as I purchased these separately, and well in advance, there is huge fluctuation in this area of travel expenses. Take a look on google.com/flights to see prices ahead of your departure and maybe use sites like cheapoair to find the best rates.
6. Hostels, I primarily stayed in shared hostel rooms, which run for around $8-$16 per night, this price goes up for private rooms and down for tent-space. Prices also change depending on proximity to cities, location in the world (1st vs 3rd world countries) but I would say a budget with $20-$25 per night would do you pretty well in most areas of the world for hostel dorms!
7. Food, this is another fluctuating expense, I tend to be extremely frugal when it comes to food, often eating pasta with butter or several bananas for an entire meal (beans and rice when eating out). I don't recommend eating that way, it simply was another way to save for me. Usually I tried to cook my own meals, and would splurge on a very nice meal once or twice a week to assure proper nutrition! Budget another $15 a day for food in 3rd world countries, more for populace areas.
5. Flight, Each way was around $300 for me, but as I purchased these separately, and well in advance, there is huge fluctuation in this area of travel expenses. Take a look on google.com/flights to see prices ahead of your departure and maybe use sites like cheapoair to find the best rates.
6. Hostels, I primarily stayed in shared hostel rooms, which run for around $8-$16 per night, this price goes up for private rooms and down for tent-space. Prices also change depending on proximity to cities, location in the world (1st vs 3rd world countries) but I would say a budget with $20-$25 per night would do you pretty well in most areas of the world for hostel dorms!
7. Food, this is another fluctuating expense, I tend to be extremely frugal when it comes to food, often eating pasta with butter or several bananas for an entire meal (beans and rice when eating out). I don't recommend eating that way, it simply was another way to save for me. Usually I tried to cook my own meals, and would splurge on a very nice meal once or twice a week to assure proper nutrition! Budget another $15 a day for food in 3rd world countries, more for populace areas.
8. Fun, I'll lump activities, beer, social events, and all general fun into this. I really can't anticipate a cost for others here. I personally found plenty to do without spending any money, but if I had the cash, I could have spent it and done some really exciting stuff (i.e. I skipped out on Volcano boarding because I didn't think it was worth the $35).
9. Filler, This is the wiggle-room in your budget, $10-$20 a day should cover most buses under 10hours in Central America, South America was more spread out, so you may need more. Other than that it is good to have a few extra dollars a day in-case of unexpected expenses (boarder crossings, getting sick and buying more medicine, forgotten/lost sunglasses).
Total upfront (first-time) costs: ~$3000 ($200 more if you don't have your passport)
Daily Budget: $30-$40/day for myself last trip, recommended $50-$60/day with ample planning
I know this isn't a complete list of ALL expenses while traveling, and these should simply be used as guidelines for planning. If you have more detailed questions, especially when it comes to travel inside the US or within Central & South America, please feel free to email me!
9. Filler, This is the wiggle-room in your budget, $10-$20 a day should cover most buses under 10hours in Central America, South America was more spread out, so you may need more. Other than that it is good to have a few extra dollars a day in-case of unexpected expenses (boarder crossings, getting sick and buying more medicine, forgotten/lost sunglasses).
Total upfront (first-time) costs: ~$3000 ($200 more if you don't have your passport)
Daily Budget: $30-$40/day for myself last trip, recommended $50-$60/day with ample planning
I know this isn't a complete list of ALL expenses while traveling, and these should simply be used as guidelines for planning. If you have more detailed questions, especially when it comes to travel inside the US or within Central & South America, please feel free to email me!
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