Backpackers Guide 101: Budgeting + Money
Daily Average budget by country (USD) :
West Europe: $30 – $60
East Europe: $20 – $40
South East Asia: $10 – $30
South America: $10 – $50
Australia/ New Zealand : $20 – $50
Middle East: $10 – $30
India: $10 – $30
Pre-Trip Expenses
(All prices in USD)
Backpack: $120 – $200
For detailed information on backpacks, go to Backpackers Guide 101: Backpacks & packing.
Travel supplies/toiletries: $30 – $100
Keep these items minimal as you can buy shampoo, soap and a new toothbrush almost anywhere in the world. If you have expensive toiletries habits (J-Lo face lotion or what not), this is the time to drop them. You can go down to your local drugstore and pick up a travel size version of everything.
Vaccinations: $0 – $300
Knowing which vaccines you need gives you the power to bargain (i.e saves you money) as you can call around and see which travel clinic offers the best deal. Some vaccines take several weeks to take full effect and others are administered in sessions which means you must leave yourself about 8 weeks to take care of medical issues prior to departure. The Center for Disease Control makes it easy to determine which vaccinations are required for your trip; just click on your destination country and all suggested vaccinations and other health information will appear. Read on, Backpackers Guide 101: Health & Safety .
Passport/Visa fee’s: $60 -$250
When it comes to documents, everything must be current and valid. This costs money but if you do it in advance, it shouldn’t cost too much. Some countries require their own visas for both entry and staying for prolonged periods of time. Check out Backpackers Guide 101: Passports and Visas for complete, detailed information on this topic.
Travel Insurance: $60-$260
Plenty of people travel without out it. Then again, plenty of people don’t have regular health insurance, break their leg slipping on a puddle and have to file for bankruptcy. Most travel guides advise purchasing travel insurance, which will cover you should anything happen (from medical issues to baggage loss). Plug and chug these sites for comparisons: travelguard.com and worldnomad.com
Transportation: $300 – $5,000
Get the specifics at Backpackers Guide 101: Flight + Transportation
On the Road
Prices vary greatly depending on exchange rates. To find out what the current exchange rates are for any country, use XE.com
Accommodations: $0 – $60 per night
The bulk of what you learn and experience abroad will come from staying in hostels. You will live in a room with anywhere from 2 to 12 strangers. You will meet hoards of interesting, like-minded backpackers from all over the world, be part of impromptu hostel parties, get yourself easily laid and save wads of cash. And now, with the popularity of internet couch surfing you can sleep at a strangers home for free. You live in a local’s home and can ask all the questions guides and the internet can’t tell you. For more information, go to the Backpackers Guide 101: Hostels + Couches.
Eating/Drinking: $5-$20 per day
You will obviously want to check out the local food when you go to a new place and going to a restaurant or two won’t deplete your budget. But know that the best and least expensive tastes of local food are on the streets. Without a doubt, wherever you go, you will find street vendors selling the cuisine of the region for cheap, hot off the sidewalk grill.
Getting a hostel with a kitchen is also great for your budget as you can shop at local grocery stores, bring home the goods and share your culinary abilities with your hostel-mates. Its also a great way to stay healthy while you travel. Check out our Eating Healthy Abroad article for more insight.
Sightseeing/Museums: $0-$100 p/ week
Everywhere you go will have something of interest to see. Egypt has the pyramids, Rome the Vatican, you got Big Ben in England, Mayan and Aztec ruins all over South/Central America, wild animals roaming around Africa to catch on safari and more museums, castles, temples and cathedrals than you can count everywhere else. While some of these things are free for the seeing and picture-taking, others have admission fees. A lot of the touristy attractions offer various discounts (i.e. student, off-peak times, hours, etc.) Read on to learn how to get an ISIC and IYTC for international student discounts.
Partying: $10-$50 p/ week
Most bars and clubs abroad do not come with an entrance fee (although the more popular, bigger ones may). A party can be had for very cheap. Since you will be surrounded by young people looking to drink for cheap, you can go splitsies on bottles of any beverage. We highly encourage pre-partying at your hostel to save money on booze.
Communicating: $5 per week
There is no reason to spend the bulk of your travel time talking to people at home. Let people know you’re alive with a quick call or email. Internet cafes are all over the world and are cheap (couple of bucks an hour) and you can make phone calls via skype if you need some face time with your at-home loved ones. You can also purchase an international calling card upon arrival and use it sparingly to check in.
Laundry: $2-$10 per week
Hostels are great in this respect for a few reasons: some of them have laundry facilities included in your stay and soapy-type liquids are always left behind by previous guests. If no laundry room is available, the sink is your new washer and your bed poles your new dryer. Hand wash things as you go with aforementioned soapy-liquids or purchase a small amount of detergent for your laundry needs. If you choose to get fancy on yourself for a day, you can drop $10 for fluff and fold service.
Souvenirs: $5-$25
Sometimes coming back alive and with great travel stories isn’t enough and people want little things from the places your visit. While buying your mom a leather purse in Italy shouldn’t be in your budget, getting little local trinkets can be a cheap way to show your family and friends you were thinking about them while traveling. We suggest saving any souvenir buying for the last day of your trip, so you don’t end up carrying this stuff with you all over the place.
- When estimating your budget, always round up to the nearest dollar and over-estimate to consider for the unexpected.
- After long periods of roughing it, you will realistically want to treat yourself to a few luxuries here and there. Whether it’s the express ferry, a nice dinner, or swanky hotel room for a night, set aside a few bucks when making your budget estimations.
- Factor in High/Low season traveling
Discount Cards
If you’re a full-time student and under 26 years old, buying these cards before you go is an investment in saving money while you travel. You can save lots of cash on trains, buses, hostels and museums. Check out the International Student Identity Card (ISIC) here. If you are under 25 but NOT a student, you can get an International Youth Travel Card (IYTC) with almost the same benefits as the ISIC here. Both cost about $20 bucks for a full year and are recognized as student (or youth) identification cards all around the world.
Another card you can purchase is the the Hostel International (HI) card. The card is $28 for the year and is rumored to save you bucks on hostels you book through Hostelling International. Its cheap enough to buy it for the year to test it out but, our experience is that not many hostels honor the card’s discount and it is useless in combination with the ISIC and IYTC.
We Suggest…While saving money is definitely the goal, make sure to leave room in your budget for fun. Treat yourself from time to time while traveling (gelato in Italy, safari in South Africa) or risk being a boring penny pincher. The trick is knowing the difference between being practical and being plain cheap.
Check out daily travel cost calculator for more guesstimating fun. Be advised that the amount per day that pops up for your country may not be accurate due to this website’s idea of what is “budget” and “mid-range”.
Keep your budget flexible for fun but make sure you include the above essentials when figuring out how much you need to save/raise for your big adventure.
