Probably this was the first question you asked yourself: what is the cost of a round the world trip? It’s much more feasible then you might imagine. It’s much cheaper than buying a house and even a car.
If you make a quick calculation of your annual expenses, you’ll see that that amount alone could pay for your trip. Of course you won’t have a monthly income anymore. But staying at home you will probably spend the same or more. It is crazy to think that it can be cheaper to travel the world for one year then to stay at home paying the bills!
The first step is to define what kind of trip you would like to do (comfortable, simple, adventurous…) and the itinerary. If most of your trip is in the USA, Europe, Australia and Japan the day-average of expenses will be higher, but if you intend to spend more time in Asia and South America the average will be lower. In Africa the average can vary a lot from one country to the other.
Find below a table that is a good reference for your plan (all costs in the table are for one person and they are in dollars – USD):
| Type of trip for 1 person | Total investment for 1 year (all expenses, including RTW ticket) | Daily average (accommodation, food, enterteinment and local transportation – without flight tickets) |
|---|---|---|
| Low spending | 15.000 USD | 30 USD |
| Average spending | 22.000 USD | 40 USD |
| High spending | 29.000 USD | 50 USD |
LOW SPENDING – prioritising accommodation in local people’s houses, ground transportation and buying food in supermarkets.
AVERAGE SPENDING – prioritising accommodation in hostels and simple hotels, using a mix of extra ground and air transportation.
HIGH SPENDING – accommodation in more comfortable and well-located hotels, with extra air transportation and eating in restaurants.
The reference of the expenses mentioned above includes the round the world flight ticket and the daily expenses: accommodation, food, local transportation, basic entertainment and visas. Any other extravagant expense (e.g.: balloon flights, helicopter rides…) and the purchase of equipment for the trip (e.g.: backpack, special clothes, camera gear, computers…) that you consider relevant, must be calculated on top of that.
To help other travelers we decided to register our daily-average spending by country and compare it with what we had planned. Of course, the spending will always vary with your travel style, so we put a recommendation of what we believe is feasible already with some variation. The spending below includes: lodging, food, entertainment, tours, land transfers and other necessities of the day-to-day.
| Continent | Country | Planned (avg/day/person) - USD | Real (avg/day/person) - USD | Recommended (avg/day/person) - USD |
| South America | Bolivia | 25.00 | 27.50 | 23.00 - 30.00 |
| Colombia | 30.00 | 33.50 | 30.00 - 38.00 | |
| Ecuador | 25.00 | 26.50 | 25.00 - 30.00 | |
| Peru | 30.00 | 30.00 | 27.00 - 33.00 | |
| Central America | Belize | 45.00 | 46.50 | 40.00 - 50.00 |
| Costa Rica | 40.00 | 36.50 | 35.00 - 50.00 | |
| Cuba | 45.00 | 35.50 | 33.00 - 40.00 | |
| El Salvador | 30.00 | 30.00 | 35.00 - 45.00 | |
| Guatemala | 30.00 | 32.00 | 25.00 - 32.00 | |
| Honduras | 25.00 | 30.50 | 25.00 - 32.00 | |
| Nicaragua | 25.00 | 36.50 | 30.00 - 40.00 | |
| Panama | 30.00 | 80.00 | 35.00 - 45.00 | |
| North America | Mexico | 40.00 | 37.50 | 35.00 - 45.00 |
| USA | 75.00 | 80.00 | 60.00 - 80.00 | |
| Asia | Cambodia | 25.00 | 29.50 | 23.00 - 30.00 |
| China | 50.00 | 45.00 | 35.00 - 45.00 | |
| Hong Kong | 50.00 | 45.50 | 35.00 - 45.00 | |
| India | 25.00 | 20.50 | 15.00 - 23.00 | |
| Indonesia | 25.00 | 40.00 | 23.00 - 35.00 | |
| Japan | 75.00 | 67.50 | 60.00 - 90.00 | |
| Laos | 25.00 | 34.00 | 25.00 - 35.00 | |
| Malaysia | 25.00 | 25.50 | 25.00 - 30.00 | |
| Nepal | 25.00 | 21.00 | 15.00 - 25.00 | |
| Singapore | 50.00 | 43.00 | 40.00 - 50.00 | |
| Sri Lanka | 25.00 | 24.50 | 23.00 - 30.00 | |
| Thailand | 25.00 | 28.00 | 23.00 - 30.00 | |
| Vietnam | 25.00 | 28.50 | 20.00 - 30.00 | |
| Europe | England | 75.00 | 50.00 | 60.00 - 80.00 |
| France | 75.00 | 52.00 | 60.00 - 80.00 | |
| Russia | 75.00 | 45.00 | 60.00 - 80.00 | |
| Serbia | 50.00 | 22.00 | 40.00 - 50.00 | |
| Spain | 75.00 | 49.50 | 50.00 - 65.00 | |
| Turkey | 75.00 | 62.50 | 45.00 - 55.00 | |
| Middle-East | Israel | 50.00 | 55.00 | 50.00 - 65.00 |
| Jordan | 50.00 | 59.50 | 40.00 - 60.00 | |
| Africa | Egypt | 50.00 | 37.50 | 30.00 - 40.00 |
| Overland Africa | 75.00 | 90.00 | 90.00 - 105.00 |
How to reduce expenses?
It is normal that we spend more on a vacation trip than when we are at home. But the first thing you need to understand is that this is not a fifteen-day trip. In that case, your day-to-day life will be a trip for one year. So, you really need to set up a daily goal for your expenses, learn how to control yourself and evaluate your options well, because one day your money will run out. Besides that, you have other ways that can help you to save:
| Accommodation | A good way to save in this item is making use of the website couchsurfing. This is a tool where people from all around the world register to receive other people in their home with no cost. Is not only a good way to save but also an amazing opportunity to meet people and the local culture. We did several times and we always had a great experience. We recommend! Go there and make your profile. You still can find hostels everywhere in the world in the website Hostelworld and hotels for a good price at Booking.com |
| Food | Try to eat in places outside the touristic circuit, when possible buy food in the super market to cook and give yourself the pleasure of a good restaurant once in a while. |
| Transportation | As much as possible try to use ground transportation. But sometimes those trips can be long and tiring. In that case try to use the low cost air companies. In the section “Tickets” you can find a good list. |
With all that information you can already plan pretty well.