Countries that can be done on 35 USD or less per day...

Putting together a list, trying to really finalize where I am going to head...theres so much contradictory information on the web, its hard to really know true costs...I figure this would be a great place to ask considering many of you have been to these places...


I realize each traveler is different, so this is for cheap dorms, mostly street food/non-fancy restaurants, limited drinking, sightseeing but nothing extravagant like hot air balloon rides, traveling with a partner....So far, I am putting the following in the $35 or less category...

Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Nepal, India, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia.

Does that list seem about right to you all?

Morocco would be right at the top of $35 per day and thats if you are staying in the most basic accomodation. I imagine Egypt would be even slightly more expensive considering how touristy it is. But that's just my thoughts.

I would add Uganda to that list for sure, in fact most of Africa; Kenya & Tanzania (it can be done but again right at the top of the $35 mark), Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, etc. Costa Rica and almost all of the Central American countries were left out and I find them to be the cheapest of all (except Belize and Panama). A lot of South America as well like Ecuador, Paraguay & Bolivia. Also INDIA! is incredibly cheap.

I wouldn't say West Africa fits anywhere in this list as it seems much higher on average to travel, infrastructure is less here and getting better than seedy accomodation does cost.

I can't imagine Egypt as being $35 a day unless you didn't go to the sites (they all have admission fees) or do any tours, which at some point everyone seems to do while there! Africa is similar just because everyone eventually goes on safari or whitewater rafting or whatever, and these aren't cheap.

The biggest thing you can do to minimize travel anywhere btw is slow travel, as transport anywhere adds up if your'e doing it every few days. It adds up! Further, things like hiking and going to the beach tend to be the cheapest things to do that are memorable (whereas cities tend to have things with admission fees) so make sure your itinerary hits up lots of stuff like this.

I don't always stay in hostels so may not be totally representative of what costs could be, also haven't traveled to Middle East or SA but here's my list for under $35; ps some beer is included

Food & Lodging only
Myanmar & Laos $14
Nepal $16
Guatemala $16
Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysian Borneo, Russia $20
India $24
Vietnam $26
Indonesia $30

Total costs including food, lodging, travel, tours under $35
Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Nepal

Denmark, Sweden, Norway, UK, Japan. Oh wait a minute, you said $35 a day; not $235 a day.

In that case I would have to say: Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Egypt, Turkey (7 years ago at least), Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, Ecuador, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam.

Thanks so much for the helpful thread!

When planning on traveling with a partner, would you say the $35 x 2 = $70/day for a couple? Or is there a rule of thumb that when combining lodging expenses, the daily totals would trend toward maybe $50 or $60?

I ask because I don't want to end up kidding myself about how far we can stretch our dollars.... I'm working on a prelim budget, and I need to hear some voices of reality.

cheers

~b

My thought was that if a place were $35 per day, per person, traveling with a partner would be more in line with $25-30 per day, per person. I assumed the ability to split accommodation, taxis, etc. costs would bring the daily total per person down. Maybe I am wrong though...can anyone correct me if I am?

yanks26dmb wrote:My thought was that if a place were $35 per day, per person, traveling with a partner would be more in line with $25-30 per day, per person. I assumed the ability to split accommodation, taxis, etc. costs would bring the daily total per person down. Maybe I am wrong though...can anyone correct me if I am?

My cost/day is about the same whether I am traveling by myself or with my wife. However, I generally get a bit more value for the money when traveling with the wife. For instance, we can often get a double bed for the same price as 2 beds in a dorm. We also split meals which gives a greater chance to sample the various dishes. And, while we can save money on taxis, etc that money normally gets spent on a few luxuries from time to time that just make sense when you are traveling with a significant other (a room with an en-suite bathroom, nicer night out, etc)

Now, if I was traveling with a friend instead of a significant other than I would speculate that I could probably save 10-15% on daily costs.

Out of the places I've been: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Argentina, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia. Cutting it close, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Morocco, and Malaysia are borderline for $35/day.

It really does depend on how one does it. We have done 32 countries ( most in Europe) so far non-stop travel since 2006 on 23 dollars a day per person. We could do it on much less, but we like luxury.

The key is slow travel and living like a native, spend more time in the beautiful rural areas than the cities. We rarely stay at hostels ( too expensive) but love the camping which can be very luxurious and often free.

Argentina would probably be at the top end of that, but obviously it depends how much you move around. Buses are really good but pretty expensive as the distances are large. Paraguay was surprisingly not much cheaper although it definitely could still be done. We spent on average 36 UK pounds for 2 people, so about $55 for us both.

India, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Nepal are all easily done on much less than that.