The more I travel, the more I want to travel. Because one of my all time goals is to travel, we make our dollar stretch by budget traveling. Budget traveling is basically budgeting out your travels, spending less where you can and opting for the cheaper option in some scenarios. Most times, the cheaper scenarios are actually the more adventurous ones too! Which is why it’s easy to choose these options if you are traveling solo or without young kids.
If you want to make your dollar stretch, the easiest way to do this is to go to a country where the dollar has more value. For example, if you travel to Belize in Central America, 1 USD is worth 2 Belizean pesos. If you travel to India, 1 USD is about 70 rupees! This can go a long way in India, keeping expenses low. However, if you travel to Italy, 1 euro is worth only .9 of a dollar. This makes the dollar have less value in Europe.
Flight
Now, it doesn’t make much sense to spend a big amount on a flight across the world to Asia in order to travel budget there. But if you find a cheap flight to Asia, then I would jump on it!
For those who like numbers:
– I flew to Thailand for around $700, which I would say is a good deal. There have been tickets to Delhi, India for about the same range. I wouldn’t pay over that price range to that part of the world unless I was picky on the dates and was limited on time.
– Our recent trips to Europe have not been over $400. We were lucky to get those cheap deals, knowing that a normal ticket is usually over $1000.
(Check out how my Resources page to see where I look for tickets. )
– For all our trips to Central America, I’ve paid no more than $350. Booking in advance and being flexible on the dates is the key here. Traveling to these places off season is the best way to find these cheap deals.
– For trips around the US, we only fly when we really have to. Otherwise, we like to drive. I wouldn’t book a flight within the US for any more than $200 and that depends on the urgency of the flight.
Accommodation
Accommodation really varies based on what you are able to sacrifice and how you like to spend your vacation. When I travel, I would rather send less on luxury and more on experience. Some might say but luxury IS experience. For me, I want to experience the local life of the country we are in, not stay in a hotel which is similar to the US.
And here are a few numbers:
– In Central America, you can get hostels as cheap as 15-20 bucks or Airbnb for that price. If you want something more decent, you can get something for around $40. For a couple or family who wants a bit more room and convenience, expect to spend around $80-100. For hotels and resorts, you are looking at around $150-200 per night.
– Most of Asia is very similar. However, because getting a place in Asia is not expensive, it’s better to opt for something that has culture tied in to it, which might be a bit more pricey.
(I would not recommend winging it while traveling to India. Make sure to book a hotel and a good one, in a safe part of the town.) Check out more on my India post here!
-Europe in general can be a bit more expensive. Expect to spend around $40 per person for accommodations. Anything cheaper might not be a good place. There are some hotels that run for $500 a night (that I can’t give you any more details on)!
Food
What I learned about food around the world is this; just because it is more expensive, it doesn’t mean it is always better.
Estimates:
– In Asia & Central America, you can get a decent meal for less than $5, sometimes as little as $2! The price can easily fluctuate up depending on if you are in a tourist area and the size of the hotel.
– In Europe, expect to spend around $7-10 for a meal, depending on the same things mentioned above.
– North America; you can find fast food for as cheap as less than $5 or you can get more quality food for around $10-$15 per person.
– Africa; I’ve only spend a few days in Northern Africa in mostly tourist places and it was about $8-10 per meal in a decent restaurant. The more south you go, I expect it to be less, unless you are in a big city or tourist destination.
As you can gather from this, a day in Asia or Central America will definitely be more cheaper than a day in Europe or North America. If you are new at traveling and want to budget travel, I will recommend starting off somewhere in Central America or Southeast Asia. If budgeting isn’t an issue, start with Europe since it is safer to travel there. Wherever you decide to go, I would recommend to travel more locally and experience more culture!
Hope this has been a helpful post for anyone who wanted real numbers and budget comparison! I can only speak for the countries I have been to. So if you have been elsewhere, leave a comment and let me know below!