Let’s talk money!
More on the story behind this photo here.
Whenever travel bloggers write about money, I am intensely interested. I usually have three questions:
- How did they save up for their trip?
- What do they spend money on while traveling?
- Exactly how much does travel in a particular part of the world cost?
As for how I saved up, it’s relatively straightforward: I held the same job for seven years and watched my savings account grow. Since the day I quit my job those numbers have been heading in the opposite direction, but I’m trying not to let that freak me out.
I’ll answer the next two questions by posting a complete budget summary by category (accommodation, transportation, food, etc.) for every country that I visit. And I’ll do the math to show exactly what one day in each part of the world will cost you if you travel like me.
Here’s what I mean by “travel like me” — I am on a backpacker’s budget but I allow for certain indulgences like a latte every day (around $4). I pay a few dollars a night more for a 4-bed dorm room instead of going with the cheapest option (usually a 12-bed dorm room); this means I’ll hopefully get a better night’s sleep with less people shuffling around AND it puts me in a room with other like-minded travelers who are willing to pay more for the same. I occasionally pay for flights instead of taking an overnight bus because it allows for a more efficient travel experience, even though it might cost more. And I enjoy at least one meal out a day, either lunch or dinner, rather than cooking every single meal in the hostel (that meal is usually under $15). It’s absolutely possible to travel for less money than I spend, but at this stage in the game (I’m 29 — not 19 — I want a full night’s sleep and to enjoy a caffeinated beverage in the morning) I’ve decided it’s worth it to spend a little more and be comfortable / happier. But there are plenty of barebones travelers out there who see the exact same sights that I do and pay less.
But today I want to write about the money I spent before I even left the States. There are some “start-up” costs associated with booking a RTW trip, like the price of my 1-way ticket from LAX to Auckland (there was no additional cost for adding a multi-day layover in the Cook Islands), plus things like travel insurance and new electronics gear. Here’s a complete list of items I paid for before my trip, all in U.S. dollars:
- 1-way ticket from LAX to Auckand = $780 *
- Nine months of travel insurance from World Nomads = $725 **
- Pre-trip doctor appointments and immunizations = ~$100 ***
- Backpack / rolling bag = $170
- MacAir (with extra RAM / memory) = $1500
- Canon camera body (5D mark ii) = $1580
- Miscellaneous items from Target = $185
- Miscellaneous items from Amazon = $200
- New sneakers = $65
* At the end of my trip I’ll list all one-way international tickets separately, rather than tacking them onto each country breakdown (since those tickets are inherent in the cost of a RTW trip rather than country-specific). But I’ll include any domestic flights in my budget breakdowns by country.
** At the time of writing, World Nomads offers two different levels of travel insurance depending on the types of adventure you plan to experience during your trip. I paid more for the higher level since I wanted to be covered for things like scuba diving. It also cost me more because I bought the insurance in 3-month increments instead of all at once — in hindsight that was silly and I could have saved myself around $150 if I’d just paid it all at once. (The reason I didn’t was because I thought that after I left Palau I wouldn’t scuba dive again, so I could switch to a cheaper level of coverage. But after giving it some thought and pouring over the specific details of the policy, I re-upped the adventure level package after all.)
*** Since everyone has different medical insurance back home, this number will vary drastically depending on the individual. Other factors include how many shots or immunizations you need, which hinges on where you plan to travel and where you’ve already been (e.g. I already got loads of shots for my trip to Peru in 2009 so I didn’t need as many this time since some of those vaccinations — like Yellow Fever, Hep A & B, and a tetanus shot — were still active). For my current trip, I had to get another Typhoid immunization (I had that for Peru too but by now I need another dose), a Polio booster, and a flu shot. Since my medical insurance is quite good (thank you DGA!), I paid very little for these — I think only around $30, most of which were co-pays. But then I scheduled a $70 visit with a travel doctor to talk more in depth about the areas I planned to visit. In hindsight this wasn’t necessary as he didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know from basic research on-line. So in my case, I shelled out around $100 on pre-trip doctor visits.
Here’s the info in a pretty graph:
So I spent a total of $5,305 before even leaving that States.
The new laptop and camera body were essential for my RTW trip — it’s the only way I can capture high quality images and share them with the world. My old laptop would never have held up and my old camera body was purchased in 2007 and due for an upgrade. I saved around $400 on the camera body by using Canon’s loyalty program and turning in an old point-and-shoot model (the 5D mark ii body retails on Amazon for $2000). I also saved money on my laptop and camera by having them shipped to tax-free New Hampshire. Most of the miscellaneous items from Amazon are camera-related (compact flash memory cards, spare batteries, a comfy neck strap since it’s so heavy). The miscellaneous Target purchases are mostly medicine and toiletry related. I got the sneakers from a Nike outlet store near LA mere days before my departure. I bought my backpack / rolling bag on-line at a discounted price. I tracked flight prices from LAX-Auckland for weeks and one day it dropped by $200 so I clicked purchase.
All in all, I did whatever I could to pay less for the items listed above. Obviously, if you don’t need a new laptop or expensive camera, then your RTW start-up expenses will be considerably lower. But in a roundabout way these items have saved me money — they are necessary to maintain my travel blog (which will save me money over the long run), plus photos preserve memories from my travels that will last forever, which makes them invaluable. And a few people have asked me if I can write off any of my travel expenses come tax season… and I have no idea. When the time comes I will meet with a tax accountant and research it myself. For now I’m not thinking about it.
And I should note that there are a few costs from back in the U.S. that I will NOT include in these country-by-country budget breakdowns. My monthly student loans are automatically debited from my checking account ($183 per month), as is the price of my storage unit back in Los Angeles ($44 per month). I will not include TV shows and music purchased on iTunes because I downloaded some before my trip and some on the road. Plus I’ll enjoy them over several months of travel so it doesn’t seem fair to tack those purchases on to the New Zealand budget when I won’t watch Downton Abbey season 3 until November in Israel (or however it works out). For the record I spent about $150 downloading eight seasons of various TV shows, which I expect will carry me through the end of the year. I had about $100 in iTunes gift cards from very generous friends as a pre-departure gift. I decided to download the episodes where the internet is relatively strong as I hear it will vary in parts of Asia (supposedly it’s lightening fast in Singapore and then slow in most other parts of the continent).
Whew, that’s a lot of info! I hope this has been informative to anyone who might be curious about the finances of a RTW trip, and helpful to those considering planning one of their own. I’ll do a full report from each country and a giant wrap-up budget post at the end of my trip.
