Hi, I'm off around the world for four months in Sept, and am worried that I won't be taking enough money.
I don't plan to work and my itinerary includes:
Chicago to LA inc a 16 day trek america tour - 3 weeks
New Zealand - 1 month
Australia - 5 weeks
SEA - 6 weeks
What is the approximate average daily spend for a backpacker (excluding accommodation), and how much should I be taking for a trip of this size?
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Martin
How long is a piece of string martl?
You will find people here who will tell you they managed on £10 a day and others who will tell you it is impossible on less than £100 per day. One thing is for sure, as always you should pack half as much and take twice as much money.
Having said that, If you had £50 per day you'd probably survive.
You might find this website helpful- http://www.savingfortravel.com/index.php It's not perfect of course, but it gets you in the right ballpark.
Having travelled quite a bit around SEA I can tell you that it's really cheap by Western standards - if you're willing to slum it a bit, US$20-30 a day is entirely possible. If you want a nicer place and to eat out at better spots, then budget $50 and you'll be fine.
I'm in Singapore and you can get a hostel bed here for US$15 if you hunt around a bit. Meals start at $3 and go up as high as you like. It actually gets cheaper depending where you're going. Indochina (Vietnam and the like) are especially affordable. Have a great trip!
NZ is ok for food etc petrol ois cheap too probably live off a budget of less than a fiver for food only its around 15 quid for hostel accomodation there. Oz is much the same, but take into account travel costs. I recommend you get a greyhound pass there they are very cheap and well worth it its a huge country. SEA is dirt cheap we were booking beach bungalows with en suite for 8 quid a night foos is about 1 quid per main meal but if you eat at the local stools its about 40p we did and its the best food you can buy. Bus travel in SEA is cheap but worth payin the extra pound and getting a VIP bus just because they are cleaner.
Pasta is the way forward in NZ and OZ or a bit of kanga on the barbie. We have jsut come back from our rtw trip 1 month early because we ran out of pennies but was away 7 months and it was a totally amazing experience. We want to go again!
Have a good one.
ps. if you venture to H Kong beware its so expensive thats partly why we came back early!
That savingfortravel site is helpful but it is a bit high. I think bungle girl told me it was about 1/3 too high. Anyway check it against what you think it would be suitable to budget in your own country.
That said, its not a big problem to over budget. And then on the other hand, if you over budget too much you find you start to waste money even. So if you do find you have more than you think you might need, tighten you budget and use the excess later when there is something worthwhile to splurge on.
Certainly in Australia to do touristic things - like a reef trip or go up the top of the harbour bridge etc these cost a lot of money. Or sailing in teh whitsundays. So save up for those things. In Australia it is worth cooking your own food in the backpacker joints you stay in because so many food places are over priced and often as not disappointing food. If you want to splurge on good food, go somewhere like Tetsuyas in Sydney or the Nautilus in Port Douglas and have a really special meal or two. Also shopping at woolworths is cheaper than any other supermarket.