I've noticed that one of the more common questions of travellers is "what should I budget"? As my trip gets closer I am thinking more and more about my measly budget. I've run several searches for advice on budgets and have really tried to narrow it down. While I understand that a travellers budget is based on individual comfort and accustomed lifestyle, I am still interested to see what others opinions are of what a backpackers budget could/should be per day. Please feel free to elaborate if need be. I am looking a for a per day or per week budgets. Also, please specify what your currency you are would or did use;

These are some countries that are of interest to me and many other travellers:


New Zealand:

Australia:

Indonesia/Bali:

Thailand & SE Asia:

China, Japan, S & N Korea ;

Nepal,India:

South Africa:

Morocco, Egypt:

Spain, Portugal:

France:

Germany:

Italy:

Turkey:

United Kingdom:

Netherlands, Norway:

Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela:

Cenral America (Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica):

United States, Canada:


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Some daily budgets from my limited experience... mostly of big cities, which are too expensive!

Australia/New Zealand: £25/day (NZ slightly cheaper)

Japan: probably £40 a day, but I stayed with friends and spent £10/day

Malaysia: £15/day

US/Canada: £30/day

UK: £40/day

Western Europe big cities: £30/day

Western Europe small towns: £20/day

Central Europe big cities: £20/day

Central Europe small towns: £15/day

Thailand & SE Asia: US$30 a day

Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Italy: US$50+ a day

Turkey: US$30 a day

United Kingdom: US$50, except for London which is bloody unaffordable.

Argentina: US$30 a day

United States, Canada: $US50 a day

Would you really spend the same amount in Spain as you would in Germany, Italy, and France? I thought Spain would be cheaper then those ones.

come to England....you will get ripped off.

I've been doing a bit of research too and the prices quoted seem reasonable.....it shocked me just how cheap everywhere else in the world is compared to england.

a pretty poor hotel will set you back at least £30 a night (per person too)

Anywhere is North America in just as expensive as England as well, well maybe not as expensive as London, but the cost of living here is insane! I cant even afford to drive my car anymore b/c of the gas prices and cost of insurance.

South Africa would set you back about 200 rand a day preparing your own food in a hostels kitchen and drinking wine from the supermarket. Eating out drinking in the bars going to night clubs will add on another 200-300 rand.

quote:

South Africa would set you back about 200 rand a day preparing your own food in a hostels kitchen and drinking wine from the supermarket.

I did the conversion and that equals about $35(CAD) or $30(USD)



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Argentina - $30/day is good. The further away you get from Buenos Aires, the cheaper it gets.
- Buenos Aires hostels: $8/night

Peru - $20/day is sufficient. The northern parts (away from Lima and Cusco) I found were cheapest.
- Lima hostel - $5-$8+
- Cusco hostels - many at $5/night including breakfast but not the best of places to stay (some: old sunken in beds, drunk owners, no heat), just cheap. For around $7+ you can stay in a nicer place.

This is based on staying in a hostel dorm and eating in or at local restaurants (not touristy ones) or from street vendors.

I was able to do Peru for about $15/day, and a bit less in the north.