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/ Backpacker travelling budget

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ClimberEd - on 04 Sep 2018

I'm helping my sister guide/plan/whatever her son's gap year travelling.

We both did the same 20+ years ago so whilst we have a few ideas we realised we have no idea what sort of budget is needed (or appropriate) now. You used to be able to get by on about $20-$30 a day depending on which country you were in etc.

Can anyone help with some up to date info for this? It's going to be in the cheaper countries of the world - Sub Saharan Africa, Central/South America, SE Asia have been suggested, rather than glamping across Europe, or hanging out in Oz. 

Thanks.

Skip - on 04 Sep 2018
In reply to ClimberEd:

Indian prices are 10 times those of 20 years ago. In those days my budget for the sub-continent was around £20 per week.

ClimberEd - on 05 Sep 2018
In reply to Skip:

Thanks - yeah I know things 'aren't quite what they were' !

Tom Blake - on 06 Sep 2018
In reply to ClimberEd:

It all depends on how fancy he wants to be with his accommodation and how quickly he wants to move between places! 

In my experience £20 per day will cover Thailand/Indonesia in reasonable comfort (2½ years ago), but it's also been totally fine for my current trip climbing in Europe as more of a dirtbag.

A good start would be to roughly figure out the route and any big expenditures (e.g. a festival or adventure activity) and portion away big chunks for flights/trains etc. After that a daily budget for food, a room and short transport will make more sense. 

 

ewanjp - on 08 Sep 2018
In reply to ClimberEd:

Guardian has an article on this today - they reckon a grand a month.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/sep/08/backpacking-basics-visas-money-tickets-health-insurance

Presumably that includes travel, or there is a lot of fat to trim there!

ClimberEd - on 08 Sep 2018
In reply to ewanjp:

Thank you!

PPP - on 08 Sep 2018
In reply to Tom Blake:

> In my experience £20 per day will cover Thailand/Indonesia in reasonable comfort (2½ years ago), but it's also been totally fine for my current trip climbing in Europe as more of a dirtbag.

Yeah, it's pretty much a "how long is a piece of string" question! I managed to hitchhike and tramp in Europe for two weeks with 60-odd Euros spent in total. A third of the total expenses was... booze! 

Granted, I was lucky few times and I got few nights under the roof through CouchSurfing and some random strangers letting me in to sleep at their homes. Few snacks and lunches bought by drivers, too. One of the driver's family trusted me with a 10 month old daughter, bought me a train ticket and gave me some cash as they weren't planning to visit Czech Republic any time soon. 

 

Was I ambitious and determined? For sure. 

Was it comfortable? Nope.

Could I do this again? Certainly not, even if I don't regret a single thing from that trip. 

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