Check out this post — Expense Report: Pre-Trip Costs — for a better understanding of other costs associated with a RTW trip, as well as a definition of my travel style and how it impacts my budget.

Let’s get right to it. Here’s what I spent in U.S. dollars over 4 days and 3 nights in the Cook Islands.

• Accommodation = $218.70 … $73 per night for 3 nights total
• Food = $85.05 … $21.26 per day
• Coffee = $8.91 … $2.22 per day
• Activities = $80.19 … $20.04 per day
• Cell & Wifi = $1.62 … $0.40 per day (I checked my email once; $2 NZD for 10 minutes)
• Transportation = $231.66 … $57.91 per day
• Miscellaneous = $2.10 … $0.52 per day (for two postcards and stamps)

And the grand total for 4 days in the Cook Islands is… roll those drums…

$628.23 USD, which works out to $157.05 per day.

One big reason it’s so pricy per day is because of the flight to/from Aitutaki. It was worth it. (NOTE: I purchased my R/T ticket for $268 a mere three days before I left L.A. After tracking prices, I realized they often dropped at the last minute so I held out and it worked. Return tickets are usually $500.)

I did not receive any discounts in exchange for writing blog posts about my Cook Islands trip.

And since the currency of the Cook Islands is also the New Zealand Dollar (NZD), the same exchange info applies. I used xe.com in mid-May to calculate the exchange rate and at that point in time, 1 NZD = .81 USD.

Here’s a photo of the Cook Islands (flying into Aitutaki) because it’s been awhile and I’ll take any excuse to gaze longingly into those turquoise waters.