On top of the costs of being in each country, there are also additional overhead to consider, like having the right gear to travel with. A proper backpacking bag will likely cost you at least $75 and you'll want a daypack (bookbag) as well. If you're a little crazy like me you might also spend a few thousand dollars on camera, GoPro (doesn't fall under camera...it's a toy), and computer equipment before taking off. I didn't include that information below, as it's not really a required/relevant cost for most people. I never got cell phone service or sim cards in different countries, but you might also want to consider those costs as well if you can't live off the grid. You'll also probably want travel/health insurance, which costs a pretty penny.
You should also have the expectation that some of your stuff will get destroyed along the way; My kindle died, the case of my computer is broken, it also caught fire, and the touchpad goes out at least once a week. My big bag is held together by an elaborate series of knots, carabiners, and terrible craftsmanship. I went through five pairs of shoes, five pairs of flip flops, and about 16 pairs of earphones. However, at the end of the day you can't worry about these things, there are a lot worse things that could happen in life... Like having to listen to Clay Aiken's Christmas CD when you go home... Even if it's not Christmas.
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| Mint.com... Maybe under the advice section you should write "Get a job". |
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| In some countries you will be absurdly wealthy... |
| Transportation | $7,475.00 |
| Activities | $5,966.50 |
| Food/Drink/Misc | $7,488.00 |
| Accomodation/Internet | $4,804.00 |
| Travel Insurance (World Nomads) | $923.16 |
| Grand Total | $26,656.66 |
| Destination | Days Spent | Transportation | Activities | Food/ Drink/ Misc | Accomodation/ Internet | Grand Total | Cost of Living Per Day (Accomodation/ Food) |
| New Zealand | 47 | $1,591.00 | $1,570.00 | $938.00 | $900.00 | $4,999.00 | $39.11 |
| Australia | 55 | $786.00 | $1,999.00 | $1,390.00 | $1,010.00 | $5,185.00 | $43.64 |
| Indonesia | 27 | $425.00 | $450.00 | $281.00 | $218.00 | $1,374.00 | $18.48 |
| Malaysia | 7 | $199.00 | $160.00 | $65.00 | $65.00 | $489.00 | $18.57 |
| Thailand | 30 | $242.00 | $535.00 | $498.00 | $197.00 | $1,472.00 | $23.17 |
| Laos | 29 | $117.00 | $74.00 | $402.00 | $184.00 | $777.00 | $20.21 |
| Cambodia | 30 | $135.00 | $163.00 | $508.00 | $112.00 | $918.00 | $20.67 |
| Vietnam | 25 | $156.00 | $443.00 | $389.00 | $117.00 | $1,105.00 | $20.24 |
| Philippines | 23 | $391.00 | $96.50 | $413.50 | $148.00 | $1,049.00 | $24.41 |
| Macau | 2 | $68.00 | -$35.00 | $12.50 | $141.00 | $186.50 | $76.75 |
| Hong Kong | 6 | $77.50 | $77.50 | $137.00 | $78.00 | $370.00 | $35.83 |
| South Korea | 20 | $332.00 | $42.50 | $367.50 | $243.00 | $985.00 | $30.53 |
| Japan | 28 | $769.00 | $222.00 | $714.00 | $607.00 | $2,312.00 | $47.18 |
| Fiji | 33 | $914.00 | $73.00 | $893.00 | $419.00 | $2,299.00 | $39.76 |
| Hawaii | 10 | $746.50 | $96.00 | $479.50 | $365.00 | $1,687.00 | $84.45 |
To be fair, you might drink or eat out more in certain countries depending on who you meet, so there should be some leeway on the average daily cost, but it's still a pretty reasonable estimate of what you'll spend. As you probably expected, the developed countries are pretty pricey, while Southeast Asia is unbelievably cheap. Looking at a Grid is only going to tell you so much, so here is an individual breakdown by country. Hopefully this will help you if you are travelling to one or more of them in particular!
Just a quick note - Transportation only covers long distance/required transport, not generic rides through town via bus, taxi, etc., so that stuff is lumped into the "Miscellaneous" category. I only separated local transport if it was a large amount or if the distance covered was a really long time. For instance, in Lombok a taxi ride from the airport is over an hour and a half and it's your only means of transportation, thus it's broken out.
New Zealand
Transportation:
Plane Kansas City to Los Angeles - $173
Plane Ticket Los Angeles to Auckland - $968
Stray Bus Pass: $450
Total: $1591
Activities:
Bungy Jump - $60
Glow Worm Caves - $60
Cultural Night - $65
White Water Rafting - $80
Tongariro Crossing - $120
Ferry Crossing - $40
Stunt Plane - $450
Nevis Canyon Swing - $120
Gondola/Luge - $40
Milford Sound - $100
Ferry Crossing - $40
Rugby Match - $65
Hobbiton - $100
Gambling with British Dan - $80
Skydive I prepurchased and didn't go on: $150
Total Activities: $1570
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
Total: $938
Accommodation/Internet:
Total: $900
Grand Total for 6 weeks, 5 days in NZ: $4,999
_________________________________________________________________________________
Australia
Transportation:
Plane Ticket from Auckland to Sydney - $211
Plane Ticket from Cairns to Darwin - $235
Greyhound Pass - $340
Total: $786
Activities:
Cape Byron Kayak with dolphins - $70
Nimbin Tour - $40
Noosa Everglades Canoe - $150
Fraser Island - $430
Wings Cruise - $455
Magnetic Island - $100
Raging Thunder Rafting - $160
Rafting Levy Tax - $30
Peterpans Discount - ($135)
Australia Zoo - $65
Skydive - $255
Skydive Photos/Video - $130
Skydive Tax - $35
Koala Sanctuary - $20Koala Photo - $15
Reef - $100
Barefoot Tour - $79
Total - $1999
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
Total: $1390
Accommodation/Internet:
Accomodation - $950
Internet - $60
Total: $1010
Grand Total for 7 weeks 6 days in Australia: $5185
_________________________________________________________________________________
Indonesia
Transportation:
Flight Darwin to Bali (Denpasar) - $225
Visa upon arrival - $25
Speed Boat to Gili Round Trip - $45
Flight Flores to Lombok - $100
Taxi Lombok Airport to Bangsal - $16
Departure Tax - $14
Total: $425
Activities:
Monkey Temple/ Coffee/ Volcano/ Rice Fields Trip - $35
Turtle Island and Snorkel - $20
Tanah Lot Temple - $15
Shoes/Apparel - $50
Gili Snorkeling - $10
Shrooms (3 times) - $40
Lombok to Flores Cruise - $155
Komodo Island - $5
Mount Rinjani Trek - $120
Total: $450
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
Total: $281
Accommodation/Internet:
Total: $218
Grand Total for 3 weeks 6 days in Indonesia: $1374
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Malaysia
Transportation:
Flight from the wrong Bali airport to Kuala Lumpur that I couldn't use - $65 (The cost of being an idiot aka idiot tax)
Real Flight from Bali (Denpasar) to Kuala Lumpur - $114
From Airport to Town using Bus - $4
From Town to Airport using Train - $16
Total: $199
Activities:
Christmas Gifts & Shipping home - $120
Shopping - $40
Total: $160
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$65
Accommodation/Internet:
$65
Grand Total for 1 week in Malaysia: $489
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Thailand
Transportation:
Flight Kuala Lumpur to Hat Yai - $63
Bus from Hat Yai Airport to Krabi - $18
Boat from Krabi to Ko Phi Phi - $11
Boat/Bus from Ko Phi Phi to Phuket - $11
Bus/Overnight Boat from Phuket to Ko Tao - $33
Boat Ko Tao to Ko Phangan - $13
Boat Ko Phangan to Ko Tao - $11
Boat/Overnight Bus from Ko Tao to Suratthani to Bangkok - $48
Kanchanaburi to Chiang Mai - $24
Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong - $10
Total: $242
Activities:
Christmas Dinner - $29
Jungle Experience Party - $10
Full Moon Entry - $3
Splitting Scooter w/ Peppe - $21
Elephant Park - $400
Golden Triangle/Long Neck Tour - $31
Tiger Kingdom - $41
Total: $535
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$498
Accommodation/Internet:
$197
Grand Total for 4 weeks 2 days in Thailand: $1472_________________________________________________________________________________
Laos
Transportation:
Border Cross Bus Chiang Khong to Huay Xia - $1
Visa Upon Arrival - $35
Visa Upon Arrival Weekend Processing Fee - $1
Slow Boat - Huay Xia to Luang Prabang - $30
Bus Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng - $14
Bus Vang Vieng to Vientiane - $6
Bus Vientiane to Thakhek - $7.50
Bus Thakhek to Savannakhet - $4
Bus Savannakhet to Pakse - $5
Sorngtaaou Pakse to 4000 Islands - $5
Boat Nakasong to Don Det (4000 Islands) - $2
Boat Don Det to Nakasang - $2
Boat Nakasang to Don Khon - $2.50
Boat Don Khon to Don Det - $2
Total: $117
Activities:
Chomsy Hill View Point - $2.50
Cave Tubing and Kayaking - $11
Lusi and Pha Poak Caves - $2.50
Rock Climbing - $21
Vat Sisaket Temple and Hor Phakeo Museum - $1
Replacing stolen shoes - $35
Dino Museum - $1
Total: $74
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$402
Accommodation/Internet:
$184
Grand Total for 4 weeks 1 day in Laos: $777
_________________________________________________________________________________
Cambodia
Transportation:
Bus 4000 Islands to Siem Reap - $35
Visa - $30
Bus Siem Reap to Battambang - $5
Bus Battambang to Pnom Penh - $7
Bus Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville - $7
Round Trip Ferry Sihanoukville to Koh Rong - $20
Round Trip Ferry Sihanoukville to Koh Ta Kiev - $10
Bus Sihanoukville to Kampot - $6
Minibus Kampot to Kep - $3
Round Trip Ferry Kep to Rabbit Island - $9
Bus Kep to Kampot - $3
Total: $135
Activities:
Angkor Wat 3 Day Pass - $40
2 Days Tuk Tuk for Temples - $29
Bamboo train - $10
Broken flip flops (twice) - $11
Killing Fields - $6
S21 Prison - $2
Tuk Tuk to Fields and S21 - $15
Poker Night - $ 5
Anniversary Party - $30
Acid - $15
Total: $163
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$508
Accommodation/Internet:
$112
Grand Total for 4 weeks 2 days in Cambodia:
$918
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Vietnam
Transportation/Entry:
Visa (Must get in advance) - $60
Entry Fee - $1
Bus Kampot (Cambodia) to Can Tho (Vietnam) - $17
Bus Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) - $7
Bus Saigon to Da Lat - $13
Bus Da Lat to Nha Trang - $7
Night Bus Nha Trang to Hoi An - $15
Bus Hoi An to Hue - $5
Night Bus Hue to Hanoi - $16
Night Bus Sapa to Hanoi - $15
Total: $156
Activities:
Floating Market Tour - $20
Cu Chi Tunnels - $10
Da Lat Countryside Tour - $30
Canyoning - $25
Vinpearl Amusement and Water Park - $24
Tailored Suit - $80
Tailored Shirt - $20
Hue Imperial Citadel/Museum - $5
Ngocson Temple - $1
Ha Long Bay - $75
Sapa Homestay Trek - $61
Replacement Backpack - $23
Fansipan Mountain Climb - $69
Total: $443
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$389
Accommodation/Internet:
$117
Grand Total for 3 weeks 4 days in Vietnam:
$1105
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Philippines
Transportation: (Boats include terminal, environmental, and baggage fees; Bus prices between cities include price of tricycle between town center and bus station if required)
Flight Hanoi to Manila - $173
Bus Manila to Batangas - $4
Boat Batangas to Caticlan - $28
Boat Caticlan to Boracay - $4
Boracay to Caticlan - $2.50
Bus Caticlan to Iloilo - $13
Boat Iloilo to Cebu City - $18.50
Boat Cebu City to Tagbilaran - $12.50
Bus Tagbilaran to Nuts Huts - $1
Bus Nuts Huts to Chocolate Hills and Back - $1.50
Jeepney Nuts Huts to Tagbilaran - $.50
Boat Tagbilaran to Cebu - $6
Boat Cebu to Iloilo - $17.50
Boat Iloilo to Cuyo to Puerto Princesa - $27
Bus Puerto Princesa to El Nido - $9.50
Bus El Nido to Puerto Princesa - $9.50
Flight Puerto Princesa to Manila - $49
Puerto Princesa Airport Fee - $2
Philippines Departure Fee - $12
Total: $391
Activities:
Replacement Shoes - $64
Chocolate Hills - $1
El Nido Eco Tourism Development Fee - $4.50
El Nido Tour A - $27
Total: $96.50
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$413.50
Accommodation/Internet:
$148
Grand Total for 3 weeks 2 days in Philippines:
$1049
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Macau
Transportation:
Flight Manila to Macau - $68
Activities:
Gambling Winnings!!! - ($35)
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$12.5
Accommodation/Internet:
$141
Grand Total for 2 days in Macau:
$186.5
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Hong Kong
Transportation:
Speed Boat Macau to Hong Kong - $40
Octopus Card (Public Transport) - $37.50
Total: $77.5
Activities:
Hong Kong Art Museum - $1
Hong Kong Space Museum - $1
Peak Tram - $6
Ocean Park - $37.50
Ozone Bar Beer - $11
Ozone Dragontini - $21
Total: $77.5
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$137
Accommodation/Internet:
$78
Grand Total for 6 days in Hong Kong:
$370
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South Korea
Transportation:
Flight Hong Kong to Seoul - $142
Bullet Train Seoul to Busan - $50
Flight Busan to Jeju - $30
Flight Jeju to Busan - $35
Public Transport (Buses/Subway) - $75
Total: $332
Activities:
Deoksugung Palace - $1
Changdeokgung Palace - $3
Seoul Tower Cable Car - $8.50
Seoul Tower Entry - $9
Geumjeongsan Mountain Cable Car - $7
Hallim Park - $10
Manjanggul Cave - $2
Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) - $2
Total: $42.50
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$367.50
Accommodation/Internet:
$243
Grand Total for 2 weeks 6 days in South Korea:
$985
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Japan
Transportation:
Flight Busan to Osaka - $98
21 Day Japan Rail Pass (Unlimited travel on JR routes) - $560
Here's what those 21 days would have cost if I had bought individual tickets instead of the pass:
- Train Osaka to Kyoto - $5.50
- Train Kyoto to Nara - $7
- Train Nara to Kyoto -$7
- Shinkansen Kyoto to Himeji - $22
- Shinkansen Himeji to Hiroshima - $43
- Round Trip Ferry Hiroshima to Miyajima - $3.50
- Shinkansen Hiroshima to Kagoshima - $92
- Shinkansen/Train Kagoshima to Nagasaki - $68
- Train/Shinkansen Nagasaki to Nagoya - $122
- Nagoya to Kanazawa - $43
- Kanazawa to Takayama - $25
- Takayama to Sendai - $114
- Sendai to Nikko - $50
- Nikko to Matsumoto - $61
- Matsumoto to Otsuki - $26
- Otsuki to Kamakura -$16
- Round trip Kamakura to Yokohama -$6
- Kamakura to Tokyo -$9
- Local JR Lines used within various cities ~ $30
- Total: $750
- (So in the end the pass saved me $190!!!)
Luggage Storage Himeji - $5
Round Trip Ferry Kagoshima to Sakurajima - $3
Luggage Storage Matsumoto - $6
Train Otsuki to Kawaguchiko - $11
Round Trip Bus Kawaguchiko to Fuji 5th Station - $21
PASMO Card (Tokyo subway lines) - $60
Total: $769
Activities:
Kiyomizu-dera Temple - $3
Heian-jingu Shrine Gardens - $6
Kinkakuji Temple -$4
Ryoanji Temple - $5
Tenryuji Temple -$5
Todaiji Temple - $5
Himeji Castle and Gardens - $7
Hiroshima Peace Museum - $.50
Itsukoshima Shrine - $3
Oura Church (Church of the 26 Japanese Martyrs) - $3
Cable Car Mount Inasa - $6
Kenrokuen Garden - $3
Hida Folk Village - $7
Taiyuin Temple - $5.50
Matsumoto Castle - $6
Cup Noodle Museum - $5
Tokyo Tower - $8
Souvenirs - $140
Total: $222
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$714
Accommodation/Internet:
$607
Grand Total for 4 weeks in Japan:
$2312
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Fiji
Transportation:
Flight Tokyo to Nadi - $771
Bus Nadi to Suva - $12
Bus Suva to Beach House (Coral Coast) - $6
Bus Beach House to Nadi - $5
Bus Nadi to Suva - $9
Boat Suva to Taveuni - $47
Boat Taveuni to Suva - $53
Minibus Suva to Nadi - $11
Total: $914
Activities:
Swimming in the ocean with a Fiji 20 in my pocket..and losing it (aka Idiot Tax) - $11
Beach House Waterfall Hike - $6
Rainbow Bay Snorkeling - $28
Tovoro Waterfalls - $28
Total: $73
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$893
Accommodation/Internet:
$419
Grand Total for 4 weeks 5 days in Fiji:
$2299
_________________________________________________________________________________
Hawaii
Transportation:
Flight Nadi to Honolulu - $626
Round Trip Bus to Diamond Head Crater - $5
Round Trip to North Shore - $7.50
Flight Honolulu to Maui - $108
Total: $746.50
Activities:
Diamond Head Crater - $1
Haleakala Volcano Entrance Fee - $5
Haleakala Tour - $20
Road to Hana Tour - $20
Souveneirs - $50
Total: $96
Food/Drink/Miscellaneous:
$479.50
Accommodation/Internet:
$365
Grand Total for 1 weeks 3 days in Hawaii:
$1,687
_________________________________________________________________________________
Home
Transportation:
Flight Maui to Los Angeles - $368
Flight Los Angeles to Kansas City - $158
Total: $526
_________________________________________________________________________________
Here's a link to a spreadsheet with all this info if you want to play around with it. You can copy it to excel and modify it:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UZG-TUK9zJ0y8qdzQ2w6LyZ9W_xceDtOt7JyzutLOlc/edit?usp=sharing
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| One day you'll wake up and say, "Fuck it, I'm rich!". A few days later you'll be in Hobbiton |
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| The most necessary purchase of my trip...nay my life. Suit up! |
I think that most people probably attempt to save money once they finish college or start their career, whatever that might be. I studied Finance, so perhaps I was at an advantage as I understood how to both save and invest my earnings. My first suggestion is to take advantage of any incentive programs that your work offers. For instance, a lot of corporations will match the first 6% of earnings that you invest in your 401k or retirement fund. You should at a bare minimum, put in the amount that they match, otherwise you're leaving money on the table. My company also offered a 15% discount on company stock and you were allowed to invest up to 20% of your post tax salary in that. After getting settled, with a comfortable level of cash on hand, I bumped up my contribution to the full 20%. Some people will say that's risky, because you're putting a lot of eggs into one basket, however as long as the stock doesn't fall by more than 15%, you have a guaranteed return on your investment. Any financial adviser will tell you that you should invest at least some percentage of your salary into that kind of offer. If they didn't, hire me instead ;).
So how does that work? The first thing to keep in mind with the money you put in stock may not be liquid, which means you might not be able to withdraw the money whenever you want like a checking account. The second big thing is the rate at which it's taxed. My corporate policy prevented me from selling any stock within one year of purchase, so that cash is not accessible for emergencies. After a year, you can sell it, but it will be taxed at a higher rate than if you wait until the two year mark. Thus if you wait the full two years, it becomes a long term asset, and you will be taxed at a lower rate. Thus, my recommendation would be to hold it for at least two years if you can. (FYI - Stocks that you purchase normally, i.e. outside of an employee incentive program, only need to be held for one year to be considered long term assets... Yup, it's a little confusing, but thems the rules.)
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| You're super rich compared to the people in the countries you visit, consider giving back a little bit or doing some charity work. You might even get to make friends with elephants! |
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| Baby, is this how you feel? I wanna know, wanna know. Is this how you feel? And I wanna, wanna, wanna, wanna, wanna, wanna..... |
With your next few batches, maybe you want to diversify your portfolio if you haven't already by buying different stocks or maybe even some bonds. This is known as risk diversification, also very standard advice you'd get from a financial adviser. I chose rather safe bets, buying stock in big corporations like Microsoft and Bank of America, because let's face it: "Too big to fail" is a relatively true term. The government can't afford to let companies that large die overnight, there are too many jobs on the line and the chain effect of them falling would be an economic disaster. So many people would be out of jobs, those people then can't afford to buy things from the service industry and bam, you have an economic downturn.
Even if you're not interested in any of this investment stuff and everything I wrote is confusing to you, just think about it from the stance of getting extra paychecks. How awesome would it be to just get a few extra thousand dollars every three months from selling off your stock? All kinds of awesome. If you saved 20% of your earnings for 5 years, you've just saved an entire year's worth of salary to go do whatever you want. If you invested that money and it grew, you have even more money. If you got unlucky and had some investments turn out poorly...well you still probably have a shitload (sorry, another fancy finance term) of money to play with.
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| We gotta get jobs. Then we get the khakis. Then we get the chicks. |
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| Unless you make this face, you're not going to get any girls looking like this. |
This leads to my next piece of advice: Most people say to live within your means, I say live below your means. You don't need a really expensive car or a house with a bunch of extra guest rooms, those extra loan payments will damper your financial flexibility. You can pre-game by drinking at someone's house instead of buying all your $6 drinks at the bar. That $80 shirt hanging in your closet that you wore twice....You probably shouldn't have bought it. Do you really need to spend $50 on cable each month? You can spend $10 to get Netflix and stream your favorite shows online for free. That would save you $480/year. Maybe drop your gym membership in the summer and just run outside, do some push ups and crunches. You'll save some money, breathe some fresh air, sweat buckets, get a tan, and grow leaner.
So how do you avoid the temptation to spend your money? Simple: Have the money taken out of your paycheck before you receive it. I had money going directly to my 401k and stock plan, so I never got used to having it. Whenever I got a raise, the percentage of money going to those two places always increased incrementally with my salary. You can also have your paycheck directly deposited into multiple accounts or set up an automatic transfer biweekly or monthly into a savings account. So even if you get a raise that adds $80 to each paycheck, you don't need to get used to having the entire $80. You can just get used to receiving an extra $40 and put the remaining half in your 401k, stock, or savings accounts. At 26 paychecks a year, that $40 being put away turns into $1040 and that's not even accounting for any gains you made on that money. Congratulations, you have now saved enough to spend a month in Southeast Asia!
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| Try to spend your money on the things you truly need. Like a speargun for $10, I mean that's just a steal, pull the trigger on that! (pun intended) |
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| Just so we're clear, this is who you are getting financial advice from... Tread carefully |
