$30 per day..

[foofiter]

I have come to a number of $30 per day. My goal is to travel abroad for at least one year. My number has come down to $30 a day (11,000 for the entire year). This will cover everything except for longer distance travel (seperate budget). I will be camping as much as possible and hopefully picking up the free place here and there as well. Most meals will be grocery store or cheap diners/cafes. I will be hopefully going to Europe, Asia, and Latin America during this long trip. Is this enough? I know some are cheaper than others but this is an average. Does anyone have some good numbers for each region?

Thanks!

foofiter

[TimmyJames1976]

wow...that is pretty low...you better have a lot of free places to stay. also, don't fotget a years worths of travel insurance.

[foofiter]

Anyone have any idea of the going rates for campgrounds in the 3 regions? I know in Asia I can get nicer acommodations for the same amount as a hostel in Europe. Feel free to provide me with revised numbers that you think are better!

Thanks!

foofiter

[butterj]

UK £6- £10 a night
France/ italy 7-20 euro a night

the main problem iv'e incountered is finding somewhere you can get to on public transport that is cheap, the cheaper sites are normaly along way from most citys, i often find it costs more to get to them than a hostel, you will need to get good at getting lifts.

Good luck, you may also be able to pick up some work like fruit picking that often has free accomodation

[Tadpole]

Wow. 30 dollars a day/15 pounds, for an entire year around the world! I wish I had advice, this will be my first time this summer to go backpacking. But I can say cheers to your upcoming adventure buddy. I hope everything works out as planned. Cheers to it

[TheWills]

your gonna have to work for your accomidation as much as you can and also find as much work as you can, a good bit of advice is work at a restaurant doing dishes, because if you church up how your a budget traveler eating on 5 bucks a day and havnt had a decent meal in forever you will usualy get some grub from the restaurant, this saves you tons of cash not having too buy food anymore, and workin for accomo as well your looking at a budget of 10-15 a day all of the sudden

[skorch]

That's doable provided you're not staying in western europe (save a few places in the south). I lived off that little in Eastern Europe comfortably. $0.30 1/2L beers helped. Hostel was 10euro/night. Meals were about 10euro a day (less if you cooked on your own). That leaves plenty for having fun.

If you are going to spend any significant amount of time in an expensive region, your average estimate is probably a bit low.

There are some sites around where you can sign up for free accommodation. Its on the honour system. They expect you to put someone up at your place if someone ever requests.
There's a few sites out there. Here's a couple:
http://www.hospitalityclub.org/
http://www.globalfreeloaders.com/

Also, there are ride-sharing sites where you can grab a ride in exchange for sharing the gas cost. http://europe.bugride.com/ for example.

[Esterina]

I agree with skorch. In Eastern Europe, I've lived with $20 to $30 per day, including accomodation, food, local and national transport, and activities fees. The more east you travel, the less you expect to pay. And if it's low touristic season, you are in great position to bargain, especially in more remote cities and villages. Some days, I spent as little as $10, all included !

It's also possible to find private rooms that usually include one or two meals. I could help you for Romania and Slovakia, if you want.

Don't buy a Eastern Europe railpass. You'll save more and have more freedom without it.

The good news for your budget, is that Asia (and probably South America, but I've never been there yet) is even better budget. I stayed six months in Laos-Vietnam-Nepal. Some hotels and hostels are two or three bucks a night. In Laos, I shared a $1/night bamboo bungalow with two fellow travellers. No electricity, but in the middle of the Mekong River. Memorable ! Transport is cheap (but beware, you better have a strong heart and a lot of patience !!!!!!), food as well. If you're willing to let go a bit of your comfort, in most places you can live on $10 per day or less, all included ! And in Asia, bargaining is normal, try it !

Last tip : Doing your daily accounting helps stick to your budget. And essential to buy gifts with the surplus...

Have fun !

[foofiter]

WOW thanks guys that was rather helpful. I do plan on doing a little in Western Europe though. What is a good per day cost for that? I wanna budget for 90 days in Western Europe (even though I might do less.) I will be camping there for the most part. Anyone got some numbers? I would also like to hear a couple from South America if anyone has any!

Thanks a lot guys!

foofiter

[ChasinJason1313]

I will tell you from personal experience that you should plan on about $70US per day in Western Europe. I spent less and I spent more but I would guess that 70 would be a good conservative estimate for anyone who ate out once per day and drank at all. If you are totally sober and made Ramen noodles at every meal I would say $40US perday but you would be missing out on a lot of culture, which happens to be tied in with food.