Almost everyone we told about this trip has asked the same question – what is your budget? We had long and funny discussions about this with friends and family before we left. The expectations of many were that we would have to sleep in really shitty places all the time and would have to be on a diet for a year 😉
Our budget is 66€ per day – this includes everything from accomodation, food and transport to excursions and scooter rentals – but also any kind of shopping. So we planned to spend only 33€ per person and day. We know that many of you are curious if that really works or if we might have to come home early. We have to disappoint you, after four months we are still totally in line with our budget 😉
We have decided to give you an idea of how much you really need in each country. This is for those who didn´t believe us and hopefully inspires others that a trip like this isn´t impossible. During our planning we had a look at many travel blogs and found this kind of information very useful. We will update this with new countries along the way. Please note that the budget may vary depending on how quickly you travel, where you stay and what / where you eat and drink. All prices are for 2 people.
Part 1 – Asia
Nepal
Nepalese Rupee; 1€ = 113 NPR
- Accomodation: 12€/night
- Food & Drinks: 12€/day
- Average daily budget: 61€ (including trekking guide for 11 days)
Myanmar
Kyat; 1€ =1414 MMK
- Accomodation: 18€/night (including breakfast)
- Food & Drinks: 14€/day
- Average daily budget: 58€
Laos
Kip; 1€ = 8610 LAK
- Accomodation: 10€/night
- Food & Drinks: 21€/day
- Average daily budget: 48€ (excluding the elephant experience)
Thailand (including peak season christmas/new years)
Baht, 1€ = 37,60 THB
- Accomodation: 20€/night
- Food & Drinks: 23€/day
- Average daily budget: 61€
Singapur
Singapur Dollar; 1€ = 1,50 SGD
- Accomodation: 46€/night in a dorm incl. breakfast
- Food & Drinks: 26€/day
- Average daily budget: 109,50€
So is it difficult to stick to this budget? In Asia (except Singapur as you might have noticed) it has been quite easy. It gets difficult when you are in very touristic places, where a papaya salad that usually costs 40 Baht at a Thai nightmarket, suddenly rises up to 150 Baht. It also gets difficult when you search for a hotel and see all the really nice resorts online… But then, you realize that a trip around the world isn´t the same as a holiday. And actually we don´t need these great hotels. All we really need is a clean bed and bathroom, and in many countries you can get that for 10€ per night/person. We do not miss comfort so far and we do mostly everything we want, so we would plan the same budget again if we would do this again.
The only country we are a bit scared off when it comes to our budget is Australia. Everyone who has been there knows that 66€ will never be enough. We have some extra budget for this, but still we know that we have to think about everything we spend there. We will keep you updated on how that will be!!