Go Backpacking

  • About
  • Travel Tips
    • Accommodations
    • Budgeting & Money
    • Adventure Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Gear & Gadgets
    • Packing Tips
    • Travel Blogging
    • Travel Insurance
    • Trip Planning
    • UNESCO Sites
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Morocco
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Thailand
      • United Arab Emirates
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
      • United States
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • French Polynesia
      • New Zealand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
  • Advertise
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Travel Tips
    • Accommodations
    • Budgeting & Money
    • Adventure Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Gear & Gadgets
    • Packing Tips
    • Travel Blogging
    • Travel Insurance
    • Trip Planning
    • UNESCO Sites
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Morocco
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Thailand
      • United Arab Emirates
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
      • United States
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • French Polynesia
      • New Zealand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
  • Advertise
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Travel Tips
    • Accommodations
    • Budgeting & Money
    • Adventure Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Gear & Gadgets
    • Packing Tips
    • Travel Blogging
    • Travel Insurance
    • Trip Planning
    • UNESCO Sites
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Morocco
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Thailand
      • United Arab Emirates
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
      • United States
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • French Polynesia
      • New Zealand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
  • Advertise
×
Home » Budgeting & Finances

What is the Cost Of A Trip Around The World?

Modified: Nov 21, 2019 · Published: Mar 20, 2009 by Dave Lee |

Heli-hiking to Franz Joseph Glacier was worth it, even if it increased my overall cost of a trip around the world
Atop Franz Joseph Glacier, New Zealand

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
  • Cost of a Trip Around the World
    • Daily Expenses
    • Inter-country Flights
  • Pin for Later

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!

Pin for Later

 

Related Stories

  • Rice fields, Bali (photo: Jamie Fenn).
    Savvy Savings Tips for Your Next Vacation
  • Travel inspiration (photo: Annie Spratt).
    How To Save Money for Any Vacation You Want
  • Working in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, India (photo: Dessidre Fleming).
    The Tax Details Travel Bloggers Need to Know
  • RV
    How To Buy a Great Motorhome With a Tight Budget
844 shares
  • Share
  • Email

About Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 68 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.

Dave at Ahu Ko Te Riku on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.

Hi, I'm Dave

Editor in Chief

I've been writing about adventure travel on Go Backpacking since 2007. I've visited 68 countries.

Read more about Dave.

Footer

back to top

About

  • About
  • Archive
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Follow Us

Contact

  • Contact
  • Work With Us
  • Submissions

Copyright © 2025 Go Backpacking

844 shares
  • 752