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

tightauldgit

TheLondoner said:

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'.

I'm kind of the same but one thing to bear in mind with the 'wait and see' approach is that you potentially lose out on savings - if you book an apartment for a month you might get it for 300 or 400 GBP but if you book for a week it might be 150 plus you're tending to be booking at shorter notice so prices are creeping up.

 

SiliconChip

From previous research I did (quite a few years ago so may be out of date) including South America was made difficult by the lack of flights between there and Asian destinations, pretty much everything I found required travel through the USA which added to the cost. In the end I didn't do it and on that occasion just bought an open jaw flight to SE Asia (into HCMC and out of Bangkok) and spent 4 months travelling around on land (and a few rivers).

tightauldgit

SiliconChip said:

From previous research I did (quite a few years ago so may be out of date) including South America was made difficult by the lack of flights between there and Asian destinations, pretty much everything I found required travel through the USA which added to the cost. In the end I didn't do it and on that occasion just bought an open jaw flight to SE Asia (into HCMC and out of Bangkok) and spent 4 months travelling around on land (and a few rivers).

Yes there are few if any direct routes from Asia to South America. You'd generally route through LA, SF, etc 

Doshwaster

SiliconChip said:

From previous research I did (quite a few years ago so may be out of date) including South America was made difficult by the lack of flights between there and Asian destinations, pretty much everything I found required travel through the USA which added to the cost. In the end I didn't do it and on that occasion just bought an open jaw flight to SE Asia (into HCMC and out of Bangkok) and spent 4 months travelling around on land (and a few rivers).

Another issue with South America is that budget airlines aren't as well established as they are in Europe, Asia and the US. The market is still very regulated and dominated by national carriers. Add to this the large distances and lack of rail services means that getting around is harder than on other continents. 

It's also the continent that relying on just speaking English is going to be the hardest so better start praciticing your Spanish.

hugheskevi

I'm finding it is costing around £100 per day in Central America for myself and my wife to travel independent on a mid range budget at the moment.

I think £20k would be possible, but wouldn't give a great deal beyond the minimum accommodation, travel, etc. 

Personally to travel 1 year solo doing the sort of things you plan, I would be targeting something more like £25,000 - £30,000 for everything, but it would depend massively on what level of luxury and amount of activities you want to do - in particular, do you want dorm beds, or would you be looking at own room usually, the difference there for a single traveller can be significant.

tightauldgit

Doshwaster said:

SiliconChip said:

From previous research I did (quite a few years ago so may be out of date) including South America was made difficult by the lack of flights between there and Asian destinations, pretty much everything I found required travel through the USA which added to the cost. In the end I didn't do it and on that occasion just bought an open jaw flight to SE Asia (into HCMC and out of Bangkok) and spent 4 months travelling around on land (and a few rivers).

Another issue with South America is that budget airlines aren't as well established as they are in Europe, Asia and the US. The market is still very regulated and dominated by national carriers. Add to this the large distances and lack of rail services means that getting around is harder than on other continents. 

It's also the continent that relying on just speaking English is going to be the hardest so better start praciticing your Spanish.

Depends a lot on the country too... Internal flights in Colombia were super cheap... Bogota to Cartagena 20 quid etc but in Brazil super expensive more like 200 or 300 to fly anywhere. 

But yes hopping around South America is nowhere near as cheap and easy as hopping around SE Asia. 

If you keep your eyes open for good deals it's sometimes cheaper to fly London to South America than to connect from a neighbouring country so you could for example start your world tour with a month in Colombia or something and then bounce back to the UK and then head East. 

TheLondoner

some great tips and contributions, thanks everyone. I think I'll definitely keep my savings in an easy access ISA for now so I can dip into if needed. I was thinking of fixing, but probs not wise if i'm planning to travel. 

Another quick follow up question. Is it difficult to be strict vegan in south america? As I'm worried about food I'm planning to cook as much as I can. That should hopefully and in theory make my trip cheaper, but I was just wondering how feasible it is? In india they don't really do hostels (more guesthouses). I'm hoping in south america hostels with kitchens is a thing. 

tightauldgit

TheLondoner said:

some great tips and contributions, thanks everyone. I think I'll definitely keep my savings in an easy access ISA for now so I can dip into if needed. I was thinking of fixing, but probs not wise if i'm planning to travel. 

Another quick follow up question. Is it difficult to be strict vegan in south america? As I'm worried about food I'm planning to cook as much as I can. That should hopefully and in theory make my trip cheaper, but I was just wondering how feasible it is? In india they don't really do hostels (more guesthouses). I'm hoping in south america hostels with kitchens is a thing. 

Not sure about hostels with kitchens as I never really did hostels - you could certainly go down the Airbnb route to get a kitchen. 

I would guess that being vegan in South America is doable given how prevalent it is nowadays but I would think the difficulty in many places might be language skills to actually check what is in something if you aren't sure.

Even in Asia it can be tricky at times - yes it's a vegetable dish, but is it cooked with fish sauce? - so you cant always be 100% sure.

TheLondoner

Quick follow up question everyone. How feasible is it to 'wing it' with flights? I don't want to book all my flights before I leave. I would prefer to book one way tickets as I go along. Will this cause issues with immigration in certain countries? Can I get visa on arrival for most places, or would I have to do something as laborious as interview at a country's mission in london for a visa prior to departure?

hugheskevi

TheLondoner said:

Quick follow up question everyone. How feasible is it to 'wing it' with flights? I don't want to book all my flights before I leave. I would prefer to book one way tickets as I go along. Will this cause issues with immigration in certain countries? Can I get visa on arrival for most places, or would I have to do something as laborious as interview at a country's mission in london for a visa prior to departure?

Winging it with flights is fine - that is what I do on all of my travels and I have never been asked for evidence of onward travel. Many countries ask for evidence of onward travel as part of travel requirements even though few ever ask - I know some people have been asked though. There are websites available to 'rent' an onward air ticket for about £15, which is a fully valid ticket that is canceled at the end of the rental period if you want to take a zero-risk approach.

Visas and entry requirements vary considerably by country - some countries do not require a visa and give you x days on arrival, others give visas at border, others you have to apply at an embassy prior to arrival and some even require you to send passport away for a period. It doesn't look like you plan to go anywhere far from the beaten track though, so most countries you are likely to visit probably won't need anything onerous in advance, but you will need to check each country.

You might also be asked for evidence of funds, so have a recent bank statement (within 3 last months, diarise to download an update when on the road) to hand - again, something many countries have as part of travel requirements, but something I have never been asked for. Generally, checks going into countries are far less onerous than they can appear when researching them - I haven't even been asked for evidence of COVID vaccination in the last 8 countries I've traveled to, let alone proof of onward travel or proof of funds.

You might want to get a Yellow Fever shot and certificate if you haven't already got one, that would give you more flexibility in where you might go. Also consider getting International Driving Permits (I carry all 3 so I have the flexibility to go anywhere).