I'm planning a RTW with my boyfriend and have drafted up a rough itinerary and budget. As we will be blowing our entire savings on this global extravaganza, I want to make sure I'm in the right ballpark with numbers... otherwise, this trip ain't happenin'.

Our traveling style is low-key and independent. We enjoy being where the locals are, eating street food, staying in guest houses, and simply soaking up the culture. A couple of years ago, we travelled Europe for 6 months at $10k per person. I was hoping to do South America, Middle East, India and Asia for 1 year for around $12k per person (i.e. $25k total for the both of us.) Am I kidding myself?

As of now, the grand total is adding up to about $18,00 per person:
$13,000 (travel days) + $3000 (flights) + $2000 (pre-trip costs) = $18,000

I've broken out the costs below. I'm basically wondering if anything sticks out where I'm allocating too much or not enough money.

I know it's tedious to go through yet another itinerary, but the advice I got from fellow booties while we were planning our travels through Europe was truly invaluable- it really made our trip possible! So any and all comments or advice are greatly appreciated, especially from those who have travelled to these places. Thank you!!

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ITINERARY (10/2009-10/2010)

SOUTH AMERICA – 3 months (Oct-Jan)
—> total budget ~$3000 per person (approx. $30/day per person)

• Peru – 15 days
• Bolivia – 10 days
• Chile – 12 days
• Argentina – 15 days
• Uruguay – 7 days
• Brazil – 18 days

MIDDLE EAST – 1.5 months (Jan-March)
—> total budget ~$2000 per person (approx. $40/day per person)

• Egypt – 15 days
• Jordan – 12 days
• Syria – 5 days
• Israel – 14 days

INDIA – 2.5 months (March-May)
—> total budget ~$2000 per person (approx. $25/day per person)

• Goa – 10 days
• Maharashtra (Mumbai) – 4 days
• Gujarat (Ahmedabad) – 4 days
• Rajasthan (Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Ajmer/Pushkar, Jaipur) – 22 days
• Uttar Pradesh (Agra, Varanasi) – 10 days
• Delhi – 5 days
• Nepal – 15 days

ASIA – 2 months (June-July)
—> total budget ~$3500 per person (approx. $50/day per person)

• China – 14 days
• Korea – 5 days
• Japan – 14 days
• Hong Kong – 3 days

SOUTHEAST ASIA – 2.5 months (July-September)
—> total budget ~$2000 per person (approx. $25/day per person)

• Vietnam – 25 days
• Cambodia – 10 days
• Thailand – 14 days
• Laos – 14 days

—> total budget (South America/Middle East/India/Asia) ~$13,000

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FLIGHTS

• Washington, DC to Cuzco, Peru (round-trip) - $800
• Washington, DC to Cairo, Egypt (1-way) - $750
• Amman, Jordan to Goa, India (1-way) - $600
• Bangkok, Thailand to Los Angeles, California (1-way) - $650
• Los Angeles, California to Washington, DC (1 way) - $200

*we will be traveling overland for everywhere else

—> total budget ~$3000 per person

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PRE-TRIP COSTS
—> total budget ~$2000 per person

• necessities (travel gear, travel insurance, passport, etc.) - $1500
• vaccinations (tetanus, measles, polio, Hep A & B, Typhoid, Yellow Fever) - $500
• visas (Brazil, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Nepal, Vietnam, Tibet) - $500

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I can help a little bit with SE Asia and India/Nepal. My wife and I spent the majority of our RTW trip in those regions, and here's what we spent per person in the countries you listed:

Thailand: $21.50
Cambodia: $31.50
Vietnam: $13
India: $17.50
Nepal: $18.50

That was in 2001, so prices are probably somewhat different in places now (although I was back in Nepal last year and it was still about the same there). On the other hand, we also weren't exactly going strictly "shoestring" either - we easily could have done it even cheaper. To give you a frame of reference, we'd usually stay in guesthouses/hotels that were at the mid-to-upper end of the backpacker/budget range. We definitely could have each saved another $2 or so a day by downgrading our accommodations.

Also, we only went to Siem Reap in Cambodia, so that total is a little artificially inflated by the cost of Angkor Wat.

And, probably 75% of our time in Nepal was spent trekking, but the cost of staying in KTM averaged out at about the same.

I hope that helps a little.

It's certainly possible to travel for around 12k for one year, especially in cheaper countries (India, SEAsia, Central America, etc.) Easier if there are two of you and you have 25k!

That being said, looking at your itinerary, it's much, much, MUCH harder to keep costs low when you're moving quickly through a country, because you're squeezing the expensive parts (overland travel, tours, tourist attractions, activities) into a smaller timeframe. My first thought at your itinerary is that you're squeezing an awful lot into a short time. For example, I spent 21 days in Syria - in 5 days you basically only have time for Damascus, Palmyra, and Craq de Chevalier, and you'll be rushing! 15 days in Peru also isn't enough, unless you're going to spend every few days traveling (which adds to the expense) and without any real "free" days. Actually, pretty much evey single country you have listed isn't enough time, at least in my opinion.

I think after a few months on the road you're going to want to rethink pretty drastically the number of countries you're covering, for sanity reasons as well as financial reasons Think about visa costs as well - the Chinese visa is close to $100 I think.

Another worry I have is that Israel, Japan, and Korea are pretty expensive. Two weeks in Japan is a real budget buster, or so I've been told (not heading there for a few months still...)

Anyway my suggestion is to just cut a region or two out, and you'll be fine budget-wise. With so many countries sticking to those numbers will be hard.

I think your budget for South America is a little tight. My husband and I are a little over 2 months into our year long trip and have been to Peru, Chile and Argentina and have been spending about $40 a day per person. All the bus rides and any activities add up quickly. We have also been camping quite a bit in Chile and Argentina and that has saved us a lot of money (and is very convenient here).

The other thing is that in South America it is not cheaper to travel as a couple, if anything we end up spending more. All the hostels charge per person, not per room and being a couple we are more inclined to get a private room which cost more then a dorm room per person.

Peru day to day living is less expensive but anything to do with seeing Inca ruins will cost you a lot of money, so the money you save on places to stay and food will be averaged out with those expenses.

We have a blog you can check out that will give you a better idea of what we have been spending money on at fadedbackpacks.wordpress.com

shyviolet53 wrote:I think your budget for South America is a little tight. My husband and I are a little over 2 months into our year long trip and have been to Peru, Chile and Argentina

We have a blog you can check out that will give you a better idea of what we have been spending money on at fadedbackpacks.wordpress.com

I could not get your blog to load, but will check again. We are in the first phase of planning and came across this post. I am wondering how you and other RTW travelers booked airfare (open ticket, or buy as you go)? This is the biggest up front cost and we want some flexibility, but want to save as much as possible.
Is the camping safe in Chile & Argentina? Are you in campgrounds, on private or public land? Do you have a vehicle, or are you backpacking/walking and using taxis and public transportation?

sunshinerton wrote:I am wondering how you and other RTW travelers booked airfare (open ticket, or buy as you go)? This is the biggest up front cost and we want some flexibility, but want to save as much as possible.

It's usually cheapest to purchase the big intercontinental flights in advance through a consolidator, and then buy the regional/intracountry ones along the way as you need them. You can often change the dates of the intercontinental flights later (I did with no problem), so it still leaves you a lot of flexibility. You need only commit to, for example, entering South America in Lima and eventually exiting from Buenos Aires. Where you go in between, and how long you spend in each place, doesn't need to be set in stone.

One thing to keep in mind is that certain flights fill up far in advance. So, while Bangkok is a great place to buy cheap plane tickets, I wouldn't wait until the middle of the October/November trekking season in Nepal to show up in a Khao San Road travel agency looking for a ticket to Kathmandu.

Also, you read a lot about having to be able to show proof of onward passage (i.e. a ticket to your next destination) in order to enter certain countries. I'm sure it happens but, for what it's worth, nobody ever asked me for that...

sunshinerton wrote:Is the camping safe in Chile & Argentina? Are you in campgrounds, on private or public land? Do you have a vehicle, or are you backpacking/walking and using taxis and public transportation?

We have found the camping very safe here. We locked up our tent at the first campground, but felt silly when our campsite flooded and some nice people had to move our tent with all our bags still in it. After that we have left everything unloocked, but of course we take our passports and other valubles like that with us.

Most of the camping is on private land, and includes nice or at least decent bathrooms with hot water and most include some sort of kitchen facility as well. Camping is very common in these countries and most towns have campsites within a few blocks of downtown. We are doing all our travels by bus and are always able to walk to a campsite from the bus station.

We have done some backpacking as well and it is the nicest backpacking I have ever done. Most of the campgrounds we have stayed in have refugios where hot water is provided and you can even buy all your meals so you don´t have to carry any food (for a price).

In general. For two people our camping costs $10 to $15. My email is on our blog and if you have more specific questions you can email me them and I would be happy to help.

We are about halfway through our year long RTW and have spent the first 5.5 months in S. America, so that's all I can comment on as of now. Like others have said, I think you are going to be rushing around like crazy trying to do all that. We spent a month in Peru, 3 weeks in Bolivia (not nearly enough, imo), 2.5 months in Argentina (that did include a month in BA where we had an apartment), about 2 weeks in Chile (Torres del Paine, Pucon, Valpo, and Santiago), and about 3.5 weeks in Colombia (also not enough time, and easily the best place we've been, look into it, I swear it will exceed all expectations you have, and everyone you meet in S. America who has been there will tell you the same).

The thing about S. America is that it is freaking huge and if you're traveling overland all the time, which is cheapest, it takes a long time, and you'll be spending a lot of days traveling, so only spending a week or two per country is not going to give you much time. Also, Brazil (didn't go ourselves, but met tons of people who did) is really expensive.

It is my wife and I traveling, and we have had private rooms most of the time (with bath most of the time as well), traveled by bus the majority of the time, ate a lot of street food and did some cooking ourselves, and did pretty much what we wanted as far as activities (Inca Trail, Pampas Tour, World's Most Dangerous Road, Salt Flats, Spanish classes, Patagonia during high season, climbing a volcano in Pucon--which was one of, if not the, highlight for me), and here is how our budget worked out. It includes everything, including a few short flights in Bolivia and Argentina, but not our initial flight into Lima and our flight from Santiago to Bogota.

This is total, for both of us:
Peru: $83/day
Bolivia: $75
Argentina: $94
Chile: $110
Colombia: $70

Now we could have cooked in more, stayed in dorms more, and done less as far as activities and things like that, and generally spent less money, but we could have easily spent more as well. We didn't really drink much, especially at first, and that's a budget killer. We actually went out drinking more at home than we have here (at least at times). So it all depends on personal preferences and what all you like to do.

But my advice is to slow it down more if you want to keep your budget. It's doable, but moving fast is going to make it really tough. We honestly could have easily spent our entire year in S. America. Hell, we spent nearly 6 months there and didn't even enter Brazil.

Feel free to check out our blog below for tons of pics and ideas and just to get an idea of how we've been traveling.

I would agree with the other posts - you are covering a heck of a lot.
The countries of South America are massive and take several days travelling to get across by bus so maybe think about flying?? This adds to the cost of course. Im not sure what Uraguay has to offer so I would personally skip it. i spent 3 weeks in Peru and 3 weeks in Argentina and still wanted more! They are amazing countries and it would be ashame to just blast through them.
I also didnt find SA that cheap, not in relation to SE Asia anyway.
Middle east I have only been to Egypt and would say that your time frames are about right.

I have spent alot of time (6 mths) in India and would say you will be comfortable with this time frame and it is really cheap - try and travel by rail / open sleeper (you need sleeping bags) - it is an amazing experience - I spent 44 hours from Goa to Delhi and it remains one of my all time highlights for sheer immersion into real India. Not sure that you need 10 days at Agra/Varanasi though. Pushkar was brilliant! Also March to May is HOT!
Have been all through SE Asia - spend longer in Thailand and less in Vietnam - you can travel top to bottom in Vietnam in a couple of weeks. It is quite cheap in Thailand and you can get really good budget accomodation.
Im researching China at the mo - planning to go in Oct - again massive country 14 days isnt that long I feel. Hearing Japan is ultra expensive i would probably save that for another time.

Try and purchase air tickets that are flexible - ie you can change the dates (not usually the route) for free if you want to spend longer or shorter in a place. I ended up scrapping my RTW ticket completely half way through the trip as my plans ended up changing completely!!!

Also I spent £3000 in 3 months - I like to party a bit and I also knew I was going to find work once I hit Australia so I didnt budget that hard.
Gosh Im very envious - have a wonderful time.

Jordan can be crazy expensive and even though I loved my time there, you might want to think about spending more time in Syria. More to see and far cheaper.

I was in Egypt in 2007, and my mum is there now. She's told me admission/food prices have gone up significantly since the "global financial crisis".

Sounds like an amazing trip though

I strongly suggest that you move around your Itinerary. India needs to be done in Oct-January, or January-march as a second choice. India can be very hot, even in the winter, and in the summer, you'll be playing "dodge the day" in the 105 degree heat, 100% humidity. Delhi becomes a frying pan.

Yes, you can do it on that amount for one person. But...moving so fast will get more expensive and tiring very quickly.

Do South America on a separate trip. An RTW with N and S hemespheres needs 18 months minimum just to work around weather conflicts. Trekking in Nepal is seasonal, so is the great migration and snorkeling in the Similans and you can't take the friendship road to Lllasa in the winter. Some places are O.K. hot but no fun at all when hot and wet, etc. The best time in Indonesia is also summer in the Northern hemisphere, go figure.

Take a big world map and spread it out. Give each place you want to go its own post-it with the times of year you can do what you want there and your general plan will suggest itself. But be ready to chuck it when something great presents itself, because it almost certainly will.

You can fly from the gulf to India/nepal/maldives and the malay pinnensula for half or less than your estimate on Gulf based carriers like air arabia (www.airarabia.com). Spend some time learning about seat61, skyscanner, hotelscombined, ratestogo, and other last minute booking engines.

Try to avoid big name tourist areas where your money is competing with people on a one week trip. You have the advantage of being able to go where they cant. Think Borobador and Bagan instead of Anghor Wat. Little Ko Chang instead of Ko Samui. Mt Kenya instead of Kilimanjaro.

Think about Ethiopia, its exotic and cheap and barely off your route if you get cheap flights.

Did you know you can take a train from Istanbul to Teheran?

That you can cruise accross an ocean for the same price as a flight when ships reposition? (As low as $399 transatlantic right now, check out vacationstogo.com or search "repositioning cruises") and see places like the Azores, etc?

You can do it for $12K if you are rigid about your expenditures planned in advance. I too would suggest you skip South America, saving Central and South America for a future trip. A main emphasis should be on studying the weather en route. You can get all sorts of historical weather data on weather.com and wunderground. Look at India in the winter, and Nepal before or after.
Use the internet to get visa costs. I used Cook's Overseas Timetable (available at amazon.com) to get a handle on schedules of surface travel. If you want to do the Amazon do it in the rainy season. The rain is mostly at night and it cuts the heat considerably.
At my age (71) I don't like backpacks, so use a carryon capped at 10 kilos. You can save weight by packing one change of clothes (wash each night when possible). I don't know if a carryon with wheels will last a year, however. Will be glad to e-mail my Central America (driven in five weeks) and South America (public transport through Guianas, Amazon and Venezuela in five weeks) to anyone who asks me at cboyer3154@yahoo.com. The journals include expenditures.

phileas fogg, you mentioned a minimum of 18 to cover both hemespheres. If you had 18 months and enough funds and could start anytime of the year, when would you start and what regions and in what order would you go? You don't have to be specific with countries/cities, etc, just general regions. Thanks.

It is possible to do it, but ask yourself if you are really, really going to stick to your budget. Are you willing to track your budget every day, itemizing all your expenditures? If so, are you willing to forgo any of expenses for the rest of the day/week/month to stick to your budget? Makes it sound like travel as a business enterprise, doesn't it? Don't do that. Spend some extra time saving even more money. Stuff comes up that you don't even think about before the trip starts. You will need the financial flexibility. And, if you do wind up sticking to your budget then you have some extra money to keep traveling or treat yourself even better towards the end of the trip.

Another piece of advice I would give is to make sure you have no bills to pay while you're traveling. It might seem like you can handle them, but if you're not being tight with your budget those monthly payments will start to hurt your travels.

Lastly, don't worry about 10 days here, 9 days there, etc. It's not going to happen that way once you get on the road. Instead, land in Lima and ask yourself where you want to go, and do it slow. Too many transportation costs are not good for the budget.

Also, you have a flight budget based on flights you have already purchased or just researched? If it's research these flights could be increasing in price as I type. Give yourself a little bit more budget room for those as well.

Good luck with the trip.