How much to budget for a 'round the world' trip in 2023/4?

TheLondoner

Hello everyone,

I'm at that stage of my life where I just can't be bothered to work anymore and need to change direction. Call it a mini (or big) mid-life crisis. Luckily I don't have any commitments so I am looking to quit my job in the next 6 months or so and go travelling around the world. Question I had was: how much would be a good amount of money to budget for, for a 1year trip?

I know there are many variables to consider including the countries being visited etc, but hopefully with this additional information, someone can help me figure out how much I should budget for the trip.

I want to go to south america, india/nepal, possibly central asia and SE asia. I do not want to go to the developed world. I might consider africa too, but not sure yet. I want to see new cultures, experience un-western cultures. 

So with the above in mind, how much should I budget for in total? I have a rough £20k figure in mind for a year. Is that enough for these places, or should I set aside more? 

Thanks!

tightauldgit

Assuming you are staying out of the expensive spots and sticking to SE Asia then the next question is to what extent are you happy to slum it and to what extent do you want a bit of luxury? Are you going to be hopping around frequently or sticking to one location for a while and then moving on etc? 

I did 3 months in SEA a few years back and once you are there it's pretty cheap although prices do seem to be sneaking up post COVID but short hop flights still seem fairly reasonable too if you can be flexible on dates. South America is generally a bit more expensive and can vary quite a bit depending on your locale. 

If you are backpacking - taking buses - sleeping in dorms/hostels - eating cheap - you can probably live on £15-20 a day, if you want a private hotel room and a bit more relaxation/fun then £40-50 a day allows that but equally you can splash £500 a night on a luxury hotel. 

I'd say a year with 20k is doable but you'd have to be careful with it and plan things out a bit - if you're doing multiple long haul flights so say UK to India to SE Asia to S America then back to UK you can be looking at 5-6k right there. The other thing to consider is if you have an emergency fund over and above the 20k should anything unpredictable happen - unpredictable things are very likely to happen in these countries and if you suddenly find yourself having to lay your hands on 2 grand to avoid a stretch in a Bangkok jail is that something you could manage?



 

Troytempest

That equates to £55 per day to cover flights / transport / hotels / accommodations' / food and drink.

The places you mention can be done far more cheaply than the western world but I think you will need more.....

Doshwaster

It's the classic how long is your piece of string question.

Travelling slower, spending  few week in each location before moving on is cheaper than constantly travelling as you cut down on transportation costs, can get better deals on longer rentals and you get to know an area better so you live more like a local than a tourist.

There are lots of channels on YouTube by people who do long term travelling which are a goldmine of advice and tips. Don't forget good travel insurance as if you are going to be away for a whole year then the chances of something going wrong are high plus the need to come home at any time for an emergency.

eDicky

TheLondoner said:

I am looking to quit my job in the next 6 months or so and go travelling around the world.

Excellent plan..!

As for budgeting how much to 'set aside', 20k might be enough and it might not, I don't think it's possible to know in advance with any accuracy (for me it wouldn't be), and I would question whether it's really necessary.

These days you don't actually need to take with you much/any money, you can retain access to your funds by using suitable 'travel' debit and credit cards, with your accounts accessed by smartphone apps. So, apart from anything that you might book far in advance, your money stays where you have it saved now and you can just use what you need as you go along, as economically as you choose or find possible.

If you want a higher degree of freedom and flexibility for length of stay in places, according to how you feel when there, it's probably worth paying more than the minimum air fare between regions to be able to make changes for relatively low or no fee. So this freedom would raise your overall cost somewhat, I've always found it's worthwhile.

If you're considering a new phone, a dual-SIM handset is very useful for such a trip, to save money by using local SIMs in addition to your home number.

tightauldgit

Troytempest said:

That equates to £55 per day to cover flights / transport / hotels / accommodations' / food and drink.

The places you mention can be done far more cheaply than the western world but I think you will need more.....

Very doable in SE Asia to live on £55 a day if you have a sensible plan - you can do a month's AirBNB for £300 in some spots, or bunk in a dorm for £8 a night. Stock up the flat at a supermarket so you can do breakfast, coffee, etc at home and if you want to find a cheap evening meal for less than a £5 you can track something down I'm sure.

That assumes you're happy to hang out in one place for a month though. If not then you can probably double your accommodation cost and you start adding £5 or £10 a day travel costs plus more if you fly somewhere. All starts to add up. 

Also depends where exactly you want to go. Singapore is going to set you back a lot more than the Philippines obviously.

My rough plan for the back end of this year/early next year is to hop around SE Asia a month at a time between Phils/Thailand/Vietnam and maybe Indonesia. I'm expecting to be able to live on less than £1000 a month, aiming for more like 700-800. Whether that can be achieved remains to be seen.

I'm just back from a month in the philippines - excluding the long haul flights (which were another £550 return) i reckon I spent £30-40 quid a day all in including I think 4 internal flights (which were literally £15-£25 each), accommodation, buses, taxis, a SIM card, meals, drinks etc. But also helps that its off season now for most of the tourist sites. 

Bicycleman22

Cycle touring would cut your costs by at least half, add to that it is more fun, keeps you fit and allows you to spend your time on or off the beaten path. Plenty of blogs out there to give you costs.

DullGreyGuy

TheLondoner said:

I want to go to south america, india/nepal, possibly central asia and SE asia. I do not want to go to the developed world. I might consider africa too, but not sure yet. I want to see new cultures, experience un-western cultures. 

Don't let my Mrs see that... she'd fully agree her country is under developed in South America but its certainly "western".. will produce any atlas/globe to highlight.

It varies massively depending on how you intend to move about and what sort of places you want to be staying at. You can have a fantastic time on modest budgets, particularly in SE Asia and India but there is plenty of opportunity for luxury too

gorgeousme

My last calculation was £25k

TheLondoner

tightauldgit said:

Assuming you are staying out of the expensive spots and sticking to SE Asia then the next question is to what extent are you happy to slum it and to what extent do you want a bit of luxury? Are you going to be hopping around frequently or sticking to one location for a while and then moving on etc? 

I did 3 months in SEA a few years back and once you are there it's pretty cheap although prices do seem to be sneaking up post COVID but short hop flights still seem fairly reasonable too if you can be flexible on dates. South America is generally a bit more expensive and can vary quite a bit depending on your locale. 

If you are backpacking - taking buses - sleeping in dorms/hostels - eating cheap - you can probably live on £15-20 a day, if you want a private hotel room and a bit more relaxation/fun then £40-50 a day allows that but equally you can splash £500 a night on a luxury hotel. 

I'd say a year with 20k is doable but you'd have to be careful with it and plan things out a bit - if you're doing multiple long haul flights so say UK to India to SE Asia to S America then back to UK you can be looking at 5-6k right there. The other thing to consider is if you have an emergency fund over and above the 20k should anything unpredictable happen - unpredictable things are very likely to happen in these countries and if you suddenly find yourself having to lay your hands on 2 grand to avoid a stretch in a Bangkok jail is that something you could manage?



 

Not total slumming but hostel/backpacker sort of vibe is my thing - and not the party hostel type of place - the sort of places where you meet actual travellers and not the ibiza types. Hopefully with that in mind, 20k works, but i might try stretch out my job a few more months to have a more comfortable cushion for emergencies

TheLondoner

Doshwaster said:

It's the classic how long is your piece of string question.

Travelling slower, spending  few week in each location before moving on is cheaper than constantly travelling as you cut down on transportation costs, can get better deals on longer rentals and you get to know an area better so you live more like a local than a tourist.

There are lots of channels on YouTube by people who do long term travelling which are a goldmine of advice and tips. Don't forget good travel insurance as if you are going to be away for a whole year then the chances of something going wrong are high plus the need to come home at any time for an emergency.

I'm totally into slow travelling. Last time I did a big trip was in 2010. I planned to spend a week in hawaii but ended up there 3.5 weeks as I enjoyed it so much. So my way is basically to go with the flow and stay longer if I like and move on if I don't. I don't rush around like a headless chicken like people on package holidays tend to do. I hate rushing between places and trying to do 'too much'.