The most popular question we were asked after the trip was about money.
There was no such person who would not ask, but how much does it cost to travel around the world for a year. And I, in general, understand these people, I myself probably would not have resisted.
In this post I will try to answer this question in as much detail as possible.
So, let's start our financial striptease -)
I warn you, the article is long and boring, only numbers and no photos.
Do not take this article for an axiom, i.e. if we have lost this amount of money, it does not mean at all that it will be acceptable for everyone. These expenses were determined precisely by our desires and capabilities based on our preferences.
It cannot be said that we kept ourselves in a black body and sat on bread and water, but at the same time, sometimes we had to limit ourselves in something. We lived both in hotels and hostels, flew on airplanes and hitchhiked, ate in restaurants and local cafes. It all depends on the country, season and your specific circumstances. Therefore, these figures can be considered as a certain indicator of the average temperature in the hospital, i.e. he gives only a general idea, without specifics.
The expenses below only include travel expenses: flights / transfers, visas, meals, accommodation, all kinds of tickets, bike rental, souvenirs, etc.
This does not include preparation costs: buying backpacks, insurance, trekking shoes, a camera, etc.
It also does not include unforeseen expenses that could have been avoided.
All expenses are indicated for 2 people, i.e. if you are traveling alone, you can safely divide the amount in half.
We traveled around the world for almost 1 year, from 2012 to 2013, the prices are respectively indicated for this period. So, let's begin.
We spent a total of 198 days in Asia and spent $ 8627 during this time.
On average, we spent about $ 45 a day for two, this amount excluding flights. Also, the daily expense does not include obtaining expensive visas: Chinese, Australian and American. But the daily expense includes travel and small visas, which are placed at the border, or relatively easily, quickly and cheaply obtained at the embassy.
Those expenses that were not included in the daily expense are shaded gray.
Daily expenses include everything except visas and flights, it is very convenient to use it to about estimate the cost of living in the country. This also includes the costs of entry tickets to various attractions. Once again, I will say that these costs are averaged and approximate, i.e. quite possibly we forgot to count something.
We made a visa to Moscow through an agency, of course it was cheaper ourselves, but at the beginning of the journey we had little time and had no experience in obtaining visas at all, so we decided to entrust the process to professionals. They made a double visa, because planned to call in, but never stopped.
China turned out to be very expensive, for some reason I naively thought that it should have been cheaper there, for example, like in Tai. It seems like cheap Chinese goods and all that, yeah, how is it -)
It turned out to be especially expensive in China to move around the country, because the distances are long, but I want to see more. Moreover, in China, we were just learning to communicate with Asian sellers.
The cheapest country in Asia for us turned out to be, for a decent double with internet in the Siem Reap guesthouse, we paid about 6-7 dollars per room.
I also note that the longer you live in the country, the less costs you get, especially if you rent a house for a month. This is exactly what we did in, as a result, for a month of living in a house in Ao Nang, we paid 5500 rubles. Prices for hotels in Ao Nang for a short time can be viewed.
The most expensive, of course, turned out to be, this was expected, and there is nothing to do there for more than 3 days. During this period, you can have time to see everything. You can get a rough idea of \u200b\u200bthe prices of hotels in Singapore.
After Asia there was Australia, where we headed from Bali. In Australia, $ 1301 was spent in 25 days
We received a visa to Australia in Bali, this process is described in great detail.
Australia was the most expensive country we visited, the minimum price for a hostel was on average $ 30. And this is for the largest dorm, far from the best hostel.
I wrote about prices in Australia and how you can save money there.
Basically, we managed to save money by living with couchsurfers. Especially many thanks Dima and Tatiana Komarov.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to see the country thoroughly, for this you need to either hitchhike for a long time or rent a car (the best option).
From Australia we flew to Buenos Aires, and began to travel around South America.
As a result, we spent $ 8333 together in 81 days.
The flight to South Africa turned out to be even cheaper than we had planned, the usual price is about $ 2,000 per ticket. we took the ticket the day before departure, the price was lower. Usually the opposite is true, but apparently there are exceptions.
The most expensive country turned out to be (which was quite expected) about prices in Argentina, there is such a wonderful one.
But what we did not expect at all was such high prices from Brazil.
In general, in almost all countries of South Africa, prices are higher than in Russia, exceptions are, and perhaps a couple more countries in which we have not been.
Argentina came out on top in particular because there is no cheap way to travel around the country. Or expensive buses, or planes. Moreover, the price of a plane is sometimes cheaper than a bus. The distances in the country are enormous, sometimes it is cheaper to fly somewhere by plane than 20 hours by bus.
Bolivia turned out to be the cheapest, and in my opinion, the most colorful country in South Africa. To be honest, I did not expect to get so many emotions from this small country. Housing prices in Bolivia can be estimated at the cost of hotels in the capital of the country, La Paz.
By the way, in Bolivia we got an American visa without any problems, perhaps this information will be useful to those who are going around the world.
The biggest expense in Bolivia was probably the Uyuni Salt Flats tour. We chose the most expensive company and were very satisfied.
an amazing place, unique and the only one on earth, and no money is a pity to see it. I can say with confidence that this was the main motive for me to visit South Africa.
Peru is a very tourist country, although once you get off the beaten path, you see something in between Cambodia and Bolivia. You can see prices for housing in, perhaps, the most popular tourist destination in the Peruvian city of Cuzco.
One of the most frequently asked questions about a trip around the world is how much money you need to prepare for it. Today we reveal all the cards, share our budget, as well as ideas on how to reduce it by at least a quarter. Complete guide for the upcoming expenses for those who are also planning a trip around the world!
Note: all prices are per person and quoted in US dollars (costs are usually in them). The final amount of the trip in rubles is calculated based on the exchange rate at the time of this writing - 56.5 rubles per dollar.
Transport
The biggest waste of travel around the world is transport. The more countries planned in the itinerary, the higher the final cost of the tickets.
On a trip around the world, you either move slowly and cheaply, or quickly and relatively expensively. We chose the second option. Of course, you can hitchhike around countries, canned on buses on 20-hour journeys, or sail for half a day on ferries, but this is good for those who are not limited in time. We want to complete the circumnavigation in six months and have chosen the plane as the main means of transportation. On rare occasions there will be buses, but usually within a country.
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The question that I have been analyzing for a long time, and to which I finally received the answer by the method of calculations and estimates, is how much money is needed for an independent, modest, so-called. backpacker, traveling the world? I drove a lot myself, all the time I counted, wrote down and analyzed, I learned a lot on the forums and from guidebooks.
Calculations have shown that people often estimate the level of travel expenses in a particular country incorrectly, and with a meticulous calculation, the average amount of currency spent per day, then per week, and eventually per month turns out to be different than they themselves expect.
The reasons for this phenomenon:
a) objective - in some 5-10 years the situation in a once cheap country may change, it ceases to be such, but in the minds of many it is still such;
b) subjective - if there is an opinion about a country that it is cheap, then trying to argue this for himself, a person remembers only the most cheap price for lunch / drink / candy, ever seen, but about what was more expensive, he tries to involuntarily forget. And vice versa - if a person is convinced that somewhere is insanely expensive, then he will try to keep in his memory only examples of this high cost.
So, after the calculations, it turned out that the price of travel in Ukraine and in some Vietnam or Syria is practically the same, despite the fact that for some reason Ukraine is considered more expensive by many. This is not true. Here's another. Eastern Europe is sometimes cited as a zone with average, moderate prices, but in reality they are very high there.
For the adequacy of the calculations, equal to equal should be compared. For example, someone gives an example of cheap food in a certain country, but after clarifying the essence of the dish, it turns out that it is an ordinary vegetarian cereal with spices and gravy. So after all, two or three servings of a side dish as a conditional dish will be inexpensive everywhere. Eating meat or fish should be compared to similar food in another country.
Another example. In very hot countries, a traveler from our latitudes needs an air conditioner for a minimum comfortable overnight stay. If its presence is considered as a necessity (which is certainly the case in some countries), then it should be compared with a hotel with hot batteries in our country. Norm? As a rule, yes. A very simple hotel, which has only a ceiling fan, is like our very poor hotel, where the batteries are barely full and you have to wrap yourself in three blankets. It is the same with hot water - its presence in the hotels of the countries of Black Africa will hurt and beat the pocket. So which Africa is cheap? Very expensive, of course. Or they write for some reason that trains are cheap in India. Indeed? Let's compare the cost of not a Stolypin carriage (which is completely free in the CIS), but a compartment with us, and the cost of a train similar in comfort there? Is it that cheap? That is it. Well, if you are really really a homeless person, then in Paris you can spend the night on the sidewalk and eat up leftovers from an urn. For zero. And ride freight trains in coal cars. Then there will be nothing to compare - everywhere one continuous communism.
One more point about human delusions. Prices in different countries very different, and accordingly, to maintain the same standard of living, they need very different amounts of money. The thesis would seem indisputable. However, no, there are people who think differently. Those who have never traveled anywhere, only wave their hand, talking about foreign countries, confident that everything is equally expensive, so expensive that there is no way to afford such expenses. Despite the fact that in their place of residence, prices can be much higher. Or the same thing, but vice versa: everything is equally cheap everywhere, in any country you will spend exactly the same as at home. These opinions are equally distant from reality.
So to the point. Calculations showed that the cheapest countries in the world for independent travel are: Ukraine, the countries of the Middle East (i.e. Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt; excluding Turkey), Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan), Southeast Asia (I myself have not been here yet, I analyzed prices according to guidebooks for the region, stories of those who have recently been to Vietnam, Laos and the "Vinsky Forum"). This is the first price group researched. The second is Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, etc .; without Bulgaria). The third group is Western Europe, where prices are not the same - closer to the south they fall, to the north - they grow. For Russia, no separate calculations were made, however, one can estimate by eye and so - Russia is located between groups 1 and 2. Turkey and Bulgaria are also there. Similarly, all other countries of the world can be attributed to one of the groups or to an intermediate position between them.
Prices for a modest (backpacker) trip around the world:
1. The cheapest countries to travel in the world: Middle East, Middle, Southeast Asia and Ukraine - 800-1000 USD per month per person. That is, approx. $ 30 a day, of which 15-20 goes to the hotel, 10-15 for meals, museums, souvenirs.
2. Eastern Europe - 2000-2500 dollars per month per person.
3. Western Europe - 3500-4500 dollars per month per person. 115-150 dollars per day, of which 30-50% is spent on accommodation, the rest is spent on transport - it is very expensive, food, etc.
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* When traveling with an inseparable two, you can save up to 30-40% of the above amount on hotels (for two they are often cheaper).
** The cost does not include tickets from home to the host country / countries and back, there are no visa costs.
*** The calculation does not take into account the possibility of spending the night for free by registration, in tents and hitchhiking. If you do this, then the costs are greatly reduced, at times.
It is from these numbers that it immediately becomes clear why independent travelers so many in Europe, and so little in our country. Spend $ 2,000-4,000 on a modest trip where you keep thinking about saving? Our people would better invest this money in a summer cottage or a car. And the majority simply do not have such amounts. So the class of backpackers has not yet formed as such and will not be formed soon. To do this, the country needs to get very rich.
A modest (backpacker) journey implies:
a) lodging for the night in some cases in multi-bed primitive rooms, often with other people (sharing), often in rooms without a toilet and shower. The rest of the time - in individual rooms in hotels. About once every 8 days, this budget includes an overnight stay in a typical 3-star hotel with hot water in the room, TV and breakfast. So to speak - once in 8 days to remember good comfort.
b) movement on the cheapest local transport - local buses without air conditioning, low and middle class trains (for the CIS up to a reserved seat), sometimes, four times a month, the use of buses or trains more high class if necessary. The budget does not include the use of aircraft - this must be added in excess of the indicated amount, except for possible cheap flights on promotions / low-cost airlines.
c) the use of public transport is included in the budget sufficiently for a full-fledged trip, however, with the constant purchase of passes for several days or tourist cards, the budget will be quickly exceeded.
d) 3 meals a day (sometimes 4 times a day) along the way. Due to the use of the cheapest hotels / hostels, the breakfast included in the price should be expected only occasionally and not particularly abundant.
Meals for money with such a budget are carried out in the cheapest establishments: for Ukraine it is - from a factory canteen to a self-service cafe like "Puzata Khata", for Western Europe - Turkish or Chinese primitive cafes and McDonald's, for Eastern Europe - left over from the times socialism canteens or the same Asian eateries. It is possible to use discounts for lunch at mid-level cafes / restaurants on weekdays (so-called "business lunch").
In order not to go out of the budget, breakfast or dinner in a cafe should often be replaced with a dry snack from products purchased in a store / supermarket. In stores with such a budget, you need to choose cheaper products, for Europe - preferably with promotions. When shopping for goodies on the streets (buns, ice cream, water), you need to carefully check that the price is not higher than the national average, otherwise the budget will be exceeded. You should also refrain from shopping for food in the very center of major European cities (with some, perhaps, exceptions). It’s a backpacker's tradition - in the evenings to drink a mug - another beer or other cheap drink in a cafe. This is included in the calculations.
e) the budget includes visits to museums, but a moderate number of them - one museum for every 2-3 days of travel. Fans of museums, paid monasteries and parks should prepare for an increase in the budget.
Is the quoted amount of $ 1,000 for cheap Asia and $ 4,000 for Western Europe strictly fixed, can a different amount of money be spent? My answer is - of course, you can spend another amount. Let's consider these cases.
Case 1, civil travel. If you want to travel between cities in new buses of good firms, and not in unpretentious regional ones, choose compartments and CBs on trains across the CIS, and in Europe - Intercity or sleeping cars, spend the night not in hostels all the time, but in respectable hotels " three stars "and sometimes higher, in the evenings from the bar to return home by taxi, so as not to wait for a long transport at the bus stop, to visit, in addition to museums, football matches / concerts, in a word, to rest the way most of our compatriots dream in their dreams, then on such a trip to the cheapest Asia you will need already from 1500-2000 dollars, in Eastern Europe - 3000-4000 dollars, and Western Europe - at least 6000-9000 dollars.
Of course, for lovers of comfort, it is much cheaper to use the services of travel agencies and buy a tour - because good conditions on an independent (!) Trip cost a lot, oh, how much.
Case 2, uncivil travel. If your finances are not enough for a backpacker trip, that is, to the level with which most people with backpacks travel around the world, then there is only one way out - to start rebuilding the entire structure of the trip.
The most expensive part of the trip is hostels / hotels, so if you start spending the night at local residents, at train stations in waiting rooms, in tents in parks or along roads, then the budget can be reduced significantly, at times.
The second resource for saving is transport. If you minimize the use of public transport and try to walk all the time, if you ride a bike or hitchhike between cities, you can also reduce costs significantly.
The third way, the saddest, is to save on food. If in all canteens and cafes you choose the cheapest dish from the menu, refuse meat, but add three portions of garnish each (gravy is free :), then the amount of expenses per month will decrease. An even more radical way is to buy the cereal yourself, cook it wherever you have to, and walk all day with a saucepan (plastic box) and slowly, as hunger arises, eat.
With a combined homeless-backpacker trip (that is, finding part of the overnight stay for free, but from time to time to stay in hotels, as well as transport and food), it will be possible to save up to 50% of the budget declared at the beginning of the article without a strong loss of comfort and pace of travel. If the costs are even lower (and you can reduce costs up to 3-5 dollars a day), you have to slow down, missing some countries / cities, spend more time looking for cheap food and / or preparing it.
An alternative way to save money is to give up a busy trip and settle in one place for a month. Then the amount for rental housing will drop sharply anywhere in the world - renting one hotel room for a month is much cheaper than paying daily, and renting an apartment will cost even less. Costs for intercity transport are falling sharply - you will have to pay only for radial departures from the place of the main deployment, and not for constant transfers. Costs for food are also reduced - with a long stay, you can get comfortable in the country / city, and know where, what and how much. It also becomes much cheaper with a permanent deployment cellular, internet, etc.
Based on the layout at the prices proposed above, everyone can determine for themselves the direction in which they could go, the level of comfort and the duration of the trip. Happy travel! :)
We decided to slightly open the veil of the secrets of round-the-world travel for you. And tell about one of the possible options for such a trip. How to organize this? How much is it? How long does it take to get ready? Are there any last minute round-the-world travel? And now about everything in order.
A trip around the world is a trip that must be prepared in advance. Even, probably, very, very early. If you are a US or European citizen, consider yourself lucky. AND visa-free countries much more for you than for the citizens of Ukraine. Because opening visas for traveling around the world is a laborious and lengthy process. Most likely, you will need an assistant in this matter.
Are there any last minute round-the-world travel?
Our answer is no! For example, the trip around the world, which we will talk about in this article, will take place from January 4, 2019, and the sale is already open for it. It is physically impossible to organize such a trip spontaneously. And the places, despite the high cost, run out long before the start.
How to organize a trip around the world?
The easiest way to organize a trip around the world is with a cruise around the world. You live on a comfortable liner with lots of entertainment on board. The cruise, which we will talk about today, will take place on the MSC Magnifica liner of the MSC Cruises company. So why is it so convenient to travel on a cruise and why from year to year hundreds of thousands of tourists seek to spend their vacation at sea?
Let's imagine that today is January 4th, 2019. You have arrived in Rome. Your passport is replete with all kinds of visas. A lot of preparation has been done and you have a journey ahead of you that you have probably been planning your whole life. Today at 19:00 from cruise port in the town of Civitavecchia you embark on a 119-day round-the-world cruise. Your ship will cross all meridians and twice the equator. During the cruise, you will spend 54 days at sea, and on the other days you will visit more than 30 countries.
On such a trip, you will have access to all the benefits of a 5 * hotel with only one difference: tomorrow morning you will wake up in a new city or even a country. And you will have a whole day for walks, photos, tasting local cuisine and whatever your heart desires. At 6-7 pm, you return back to the ship, where everyone is ready to feed and entertain you. If we talk about the liner itself, then there is everything here: from theater and karaoke, ending with a casino and picture gallery... The length of the ship is 294 meters, which is the same as if a house of almost 100 floors lay on the water. So, there was even a place for a tennis court and a basketball court.
So. If it is planned to spend 54 days at sea, then 65 days remain to explore new cities and countries. What route awaits us?
Italy - France - Spain - Madeira - Saint Martin - Virgin Islands - Puerto Rico - Curacao - Aruba - Colombia - Panama - Costa Rica - Nicaragua - Guatemala - Mexico - USA - French polynesia – American samoa - Samoa - Tonga - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Sri Lanka - Maldives - UAE - Oman - Jordan - Egypt - Greece
Not bad, right? Well, the main question.
How much does a round the world cruise cost?
The cheapest inner cabin for two will cost 24,958 euros. The cost of a cabin with a balcony starts at 36,958 euros. Well, the most expensive suite will cost tourists 76 358 euros. This is the cost for two people, including mandatory port taxes. It includes three meals a day and all onboard entertainment. Bonus includes 15 shore excursions.
- this is a journey through all time zones, through all meridians, crossing the equator 2 times.
How much does it cost to travel around the world: Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, USA. Airfare and visa prices.
Which way to travel to choose?
- The easiest way is to buy a ticket through a travel agency for a cruise ship Price from 1.000.000 rub. the simplest cabin, sailing for 3-4 months.
- The second way is by trains, buses, ships, i.e. do not fly at all. The cost of a trip around the world is from 2 million rubles. Duration - about 1 year.
- By plane - the fastest and cheapest way.
You can buy a round-the-world plane ticket (5-15 connections) - the most expensive option. Cost from 250,000 rubles. Economy class.
You can buy separate tickets by selected countries. Cost from 170,000 rubles.
Fly on low-cost airlines (low cost airlines) only with hand luggage - the cheapest option. The price of tickets only from 100,000 rubles. with all fees. Low-cost airlines fly across Russia: Pobeda, FlyDubai, AzurAir, Pegasus.
Visa to the USA... It is better to start applying for a visa at least 7-12 months in advance due to the current situation in Russia, when it is problematic to sign up for an interview at the consulate in Moscow. Alternatively, you can apply for a visa in Ukraine, Armenia, Kazakhstan or European countries (then the interview is in English).
Fill out the application form on the website, attach an electronic photo, pay the visa fee and sign up for an interview, pass an interview and receive a passport within 5-60 days (in case of an administrative check). Read more in.
Visa to Australia... Difficult to obtain a visa. You must submit documents at least 1 month before the trip. Fill out the application form on the embassy website (russia.embassy.gov.au), pay the visa fee, print the application form, collect required documents and by any means delivered to the embassy. At the end, receive a confirmation of visa issuance by email.
You can apply for a free transit visa online if you are in Australia up to 72 hours (3 days). It is much easier to get it than a regular visa. Confirmation will be sent to your email.
Tickets and route
Let's calculate the cost of a round-the-world trip by air (regular airlines + low-cost airlines) as of December 2018. Stops in each city are 2-3 days. Adjust the stopovers for yourself.
Moscow - Bangkok (no visa required). With a transfer in Irkutsk for 15.909 rubles. If you look at tickets from the regions, you can find it cheaper through Beijing. There is an option from Moscow via Istanbul on Turkish airlines.
Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur (no visa required). AirAsia ticket for $ 59 (4000 rub.)
Kuala Lumpur - Sydney (free transit visa up to 72 hours - issued via the Internet). Through AirAsia for $ 153 (10,400 rubles) Keep in mind that in Australia it is summer in January and winter in July.
Sydney - Hawaii (American visa required). The most difficult segment of the journey. A ticket through Jetstar.com or Australian Airlines to Honolulu for A $ 449 (£ 22,000) Catch a 50% discount. ($ 221 Australian flight - 11,000 rubles).
Honolulu (Hawaii) - San Francisco - New York (American visa). Making a stopover in San Francisco for 1-2 days. Ticket for 20 335 rub. via Aviasales (via the Alaska Airlines website it is 700 rubles cheaper) You can fly through Los Angeles (24 hours stopover) for 19 500 rubles.
New York - Moscow... Direct flight with Aeroflot via Skyscanner for 34,594 rubles.
I advise you to fly only with hand luggage. Be sure to use the GPS navigator on your phone (offline Google maps or Maps.Me). Install an online English-Russian translator from Google on your phone.
Take with you (order through Aliexpress) or buy an adapter to sockets on the spot (there are 3 types of sockets on your way).
Read about how to travel safely, save your money and documents.
Summarizing
Total airfare costs: 107 238 rubles... Visa costs: American $ 160 (10 880 p.),australian transit visa is free of charge, visas to Asia are not required.
If you buy all flights through search engines (aviasales, skyscanner, momondo), the cost will increase by 10-15%. If you wait for discounts and promotions from low-cost airlines, you can additionally save up to 20%.
If you fly in the summer months, in the off-season, tickets in Asia are much cheaper, plus you can find a ticket from Australia to Hawaii for 11.000r. In total, your airfare costs will be about 80,000 rubles.
If you buy tickets a lot in advance, you can still save up to 10%.
