
To help others get an idea for the cost of a trip around the world, I realized there was no better way than to track my actual expenses.
I tried to find a balance between providing current and useful data with not being too nerdy and spending all my time calculating exchange rates and accounting for every penny.
I rounded all expenses to the nearest $0.05, and after losing a little pocket exchange calculator in the beginning, I decided to use rough exchange rates to do the calculations in my head instead.
Table of Contents
Methodology
To determine the cost of a trip around the world, I categorized my spending into six buckets:
- Visas - solely the cost of visas, not inclusive of related administrative expenses
- Lodging - hostels, cheap hotels
- Transport - metros, trains, buses, taxis, rickshaws, ferries, boats
- Food - meals, water, alcohol, snacks
- Sightseeing - admission tickets, all-inclusive packages (rafting in Nepal, cruise in Egypt)
- Miscellaneous - internet, phone, guidebooks, clothes, souvenirs, shipping (of souvenirs) home
Some activities included meals and lodging for a night or more, such as my treks in Nepal and India. I did not attempt to separate those costs.
I also did not factor travel between most countries into my daily costs.
This would include international flights, though not the buses and trains I used between countries in Europe.
Cost of a Trip Around the World
Daily Expenses
- French Polynesia - 5 days - $66 per day - $330 total
- New Zealand -26 days - $116 per day - $3,005 total
- Australia - 28 days - $98 per day - $2,743 total
- Indonesia - 21 days - $55 per day - $1,151 total
- Singapore - 4 days - $51 per day - $204 total
- Hong Kong/Macau - 11 days - $65 per day - $711 total
- China - 20 days - $55 per day - $1,095 total
- Tibet - 0 days - $N/A per day - $150 total (cost of permit I never received, and loss of money on train ticket)
- Nepal - 42 days - $54 per day - $2,275 total
- India - 43 days - $51 per day - $2,179 total
- Thailand - 68 days - $55 per day - $3,760 total
- Cambodia - 18 days - $63 per day - $1,139 total
- Laos - 18 days - $61 per day - $1,095 total
- South Africa - 55 days - $77 per day - $4,223 total
- Botswana - 7 days - $110 per day - $771 total
- Egypt - 11 days - $90 per day - $992 total
- Europe (Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, Spain) - 27 days - $81 per day - $2,176 total
- Colombia - 49 days - $44 per day - $2,163 total
Total for Daily Spending = $30,162
Inter-country Flights
- $2,000 - Air Tahiti flights - Washington, DC to Auckland, via French Polynesia (Tahiti). Jetstar flights - Christchurch to Brisbane, Melbourne to Bali*
- $127 - Jetstar Asia flight from Singapore to Hong Kong
- $476 - Air China flight from Chengdu to Kathmandu, via Lhasa, Tibet
- $247 - THAI Air flight from New Delhi to Bangkok
- $124 - Laos Airlines flight from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai
- $673 - Air Qatar flight from Bangkok to Cape Town*
- $593 - Air Egypt flight from Johannesburg to Cairo
- $122 - Jetairfly.com flight from Cairo to Brussels
- $505 - Iberia flight from Madrid to Bogota
Total for Inter-country Flights = $4,867
* Flights purchased through AirTreks.com. Cost of my 15-month trip around the world = $35,029**
Fulfilling a personal dream = priceless!
For further details about the cost of a trip around the world, you can review my online spreadsheet.
** This figure does not include pre/post-trip expenses like storage, health insurance, immunizations, etc.
PS - Through online advertising, dares, donations, and gifts, I was able to travel longer than I otherwise would've been able to on my own.
Thank you to everyone who contributed, whether it was offering a donation or just reading this blog!