Costs of RTW
 

Ok so I've saved some money and want to go! There are two of us on two bikes. Have a house listed for sale that should contribute to the finances some. I know the costs of going around the world vary tremendously, depending on if you camp, if you cook, how many times you ship the bike, costs of visas, bike repairs etc. I would love to hear what your entire trip cost you, though everyone's trip and expenses are different hopefully if I get enough replies I can get an idea.

My very vague plan at the moment is to head from USA up to Alaska as a trial run, then down to TDF. Hopefully hang out in SA for a while. Would then love to fly to South Africa and work my way up. Go over to SE Asia, India etc. Then up into the Stans and Russia. I spent some time in EU and feel Europe is well preserved let's say, and all the historic sites will still be there tomorrow, and no hurry to go there and spend lots of money. Would love to go to Australia, but uber expensive it seems! Maybe another trip.

The question do I have enough money to go on the cheap while I'm still young, and willing to camp/eat whatever, or do I need to work more save more money, prepare more etc? The two ideas I have are one: either just go to Alaska then down to SA and around(maybe ride back up to US to save money on shipping?) for now, save more money, by building and selling houses so might take years. Or two: if it's realistic go for the big trip everywhere. I am wondering what other people spent on similiar trips. I know like I said that everything is a variable and it seems hard to get an answer, but if you went on a similiar trip down to Central and South America and have what it costs, or you went all over and know what you spent please let me know. Costs of solo trip, or trip with another person/bike are appreciated. I prefer camping and cooking, but not so strict that I will pass up every hotel/meal/tourist thing, want to experience it all! Esp, the food!!

Please let me know anything you know on what your costs were, or any advice is appreciated.

This is going to be interesting. I wonder what others will say? All I can say is I've just been from Alaska to Panama. And I would say that my average was about $1500-2000 a month.

Of course you also have to factor in buying the bike/equipment/insurance/flights/shipping at beginning and end but as an average, once on the road I'd say about $1500-2000 a month.

I KNOW lots of people will say they did it cheaper than that and I'ms ure you can. I'm guessing my estimate will be higher than most but that's what i spent.

>>Would love to go to Australia, but uber expensive it seems!

Compared to where?

US-Europe or developing countries?

Camping and cooking is quite cheap down under.

Yeah, why do you think down here is expensive? Maybe just because your dollar is down against ours for a change :)

Anyway, I can tell ya I just did the Americas and in the US there is nowhere to camp, unless you own an RV or want to live like a hillbilly. But, once you get out of town and hit Canada and Alaska then it is good to camp, everything is local.

Basically, I spent a lot of money on motels in the US, even the cheap ones were expensive to me. But, down south of the US border, it gets cheaper right away, so it is a waste of time taking camping gear, unless you really want to live like grizzley adams.

If you budget for $100 a day, or $1,000 a week for a solo(depending on how many beers you want to sample) then you would be not far wrong. That includes all expenses, including new tyres and chains/sprockets etc.

Cheers
TS

Ok I should clarify I think it's too expensive at the moment because of the shipping the bike there, the plane tickets etc. I have been looking at flights, I actually was offered a job there and do currently have a visa for Australia but one way was $1,500USD, I didn't even check on the bike. It's also not attached to anything, not like shipping to Africa and then going wherever. I'm not saying I don't want to go there, I just want to go to as many new places as possible on a budget. I'm also don't care so much about hitting the 1st world countries, for one expensive, and two I think in the coming years they aren't going to change as rapidly. Would like to see everywhere at some point though! I've ridden all over the US, and camped everywhere, mostly for free. If you're ok with sleeping in hay fields, church lawns work well(seem less likely to yell at you) etc., then it can be done. Campgrounds are too expensive most of the time, when all you're looking for is a place to sleep not showers etc., why not sleep in a field?

Thanks for all your figures. Any insights help so much to try and figure a realistic budget!

Europe to India to Australia (in Oct07-Apr08), six months, 34.000kms, 2-up on one DL650. Had no tent with us, first had a cooking device, but sent it home after around 1/3 of the way.

Generally, Europe (from Germany to the Balkans and Greece) was the most expensive, but Turkey wasnt far off. Iran, Pakistan, and especially India were a lot cheaper (India was dirt cheap), Thailand and Malaysia possibly a bit more expensive than India (but still very cheap compared to Europe!) and Indonesia was about on par with India, so highly recommendable to move fast through Europe, and stay longer in that region (between India & Indonesia) to keep the costs down. Camping could make it considerably cheaper in Europe or in Oz, but in many parts of Asia I simply wouldn´t bother, accommodation is so aplenty and so cheap.

Australia felt very expensive right after Indonesia, but I think was in fact a bit cheaper than Europe. (We did another trip to the western side of the US in 2009, and I think it was a tiny bit cheaper there than in Oz, but remember we come from the Euro zone, so the picture might look a bit different depending on exhange rates - Euro to dollar has changed a lot from that time already!)

Freighting the bike and flying ourselves is something most people end up doing a lot on that trip, because first of all the difficulties to get into China or Burma, then the sea between Asia and Australia, and then finally to get out of Oz (getting back home in our case).

The estimated breakdown of freighting and flying on this trip:

- Chennai->Kuala Lumpur->Bangkok, Jan-08, Malaysia Airlines MASKargo, on an open crate, about 600EUR +total 400EUR for our own flight tickets.

- Malaysia to Indonesia, the bike on an onion boat and us on a speedboat... can´t remember exactly, but it´s pretty cheap over there, so I guess about 200EUR probably got us all into Indonesia.

- Bali->Perth with Qantas, March-08 (this wasn´t planned, but needed to be done, because all hell had just broken loose in East Timor, from where we could´ve shipped the bike much cheaper to Darwin by sea, but were running out of time, so couldn´t wait for that to settle down, and couldn´t wait 5 weeks for seafreight from Bali either)... the bike on a closed crate, about 1200EUR (the plane on the direct route couldn´t swallow a package this big, so it had to make a nice detour via Melbourne, flight time went from 3 to 10 hours!) And again we payed about 400EUR for the direct flights for two.

- Sydney->Helsinki, bike by sea on a closed crate, forwarded by Tradelanes in Melbourne, only about 700EUR. Our own flights home via Tokyo were about 1000EUR each (probably possible to get 200-300 cheaper, but with more stops on the way, and taking much longer).

(So as you can see, we spent a bit less than 3000EUR for the above mentioned transport over the seas between India and Oz, and then again about the same amount, to get the bike and us home from Sydney).

All visas, the carnet (mandatory on this trip), and other required papers probably cost in the region of 700-800EUR total. And we didn´t spend a whole lot on entrance fees to sights, didn´t participate on many tourist trips while staying somewhere. And weren´t looking for classy accommodation (but also stayed out of the worst ratholes!) and we usually ate in local places. Especially in Europe & Oz, we often bought something to eat in the evening from the shops.

The "grande totale" of this trip, including all those mentioned above, and our costs of living + bike maintenance + fuel = everything, was about 15000-16000 EUR (or 7500-8000 per head).

And we stayed away for 182 days, so that means we spent about 41-44EUR per head per day, when including all freighting, flying, papers and everything.

Or if leaving everything else out, and calculating only our costs of living + bike maintenance + fuel, it looks like we spent about 24-26EUR per head per day.

And you probably could bring that figure down a bit by camping and cooking your own food, especially in Europe, US and Oz.

You don't mention beer!!!

I have been to Europe the last two years and yes you can eat in a restaurant in Paris cheaper than you can eat in a pub in Australia now.
Locky

LOL. I think 1/4 or my budget was on beer and I still lost weight!

Over 11 months travelling from Sydney, Australia to Oslo, Norway, 2up on 1 bike back in 2009 all included the trip cost too much to tell here. Not that I have any regrets, quite the opposite but I don't like to discuss big $$$ on public places. Call me old fashioned...

What I will say is the the 44,000kms we travelled we spent Approx AUD$2,666.88 only on fuel (approx because of the exchange rates). We kept log of every time we filled up the bike to track how expensive fuel was in each country.

On average all expenses included we spent for both of us AUD$100 per day. RBTL.

When I say all it includes EVERYTHING. Parts, accommodation, beer, food, tourism etc.bier

Oops did I just contradict myself?? :innocent:

UK-India-UK 270 days (150 days in India)27000 miles, 2 people, 2 bikes, cheap hotels, street food or cafe's, 1 set tyres each and chain sprockets sets. flight and shipping 1 bike from north Pak to Goa. Oh yeah both big drinkers! spent much more on beer than on food.
£75 ($120 US) per day for the 2 of us.

For Developed countries and 'touristy countries I would budget euro150 a day just to cover petrol and miscellaneous costs. Less developed countries 100.

You also need to have some contingency for breakdowns and replacement parts. If you are off the beaten track then you might well have to ship parts in and this will easily take a week so that's another say 500euro in subsistence -not counting parts shipping and labour. For South America, I remember reading about a traveller having to ship their bike to BA to the dealer and then having to wait for parts to arrive in. Similarly parts are sometimes only shipped to major cities so you might have to travel hundreds of miles to check if parts have arrived and/or collect them. This is hard enough without adding the extra worry of not having the funds to get the bike fixed.

Given the choice, I would save and have a generous budget rather than goining sooner and counting every cent all the time. If you know you have the money, you will relax and enjoy yourself more. When you're short of cash, you spend the whole time trying not to spend money.

Enjoy

I spent most of 2007 touring Africa so this is a little out of date but not including shipping, insurance or things like rafting or diving my costs were about $1,000 per month. This included petrol, usually 50 US cents per litre, cheaper hotels, hostels or camping $10-15 a night, cooking my own food where possible or using cheap restaurants, a few beers and visas. I thought this was about as cheap as it could be done and still have some pleasures, money could have been saved with a more economical bike, my ageing BMW only does 50 miles per UK gallon.
I hope this is helpful.

I don't have any useful information in terms of dollars/day for a trip like this, I only thought it was curious that your trip plans, sound just like what I'm conspiring (at least up to and through Africa) - my plans aren't quite as mature as yours, so I'll be listening in on this thread.

I know there a few good, recent, ride reports over on ADVRider.com too - especially covering the Prudoe Bay/Ushuaia/SA portion. If you haven't already pinged folks over there yet, it might be a good resource.

Are you planning a departure this summer up north? Any travel blogs or sites setup yet to track your travel progress? Where are you in CO?

GL with your plans and trip!

Mike

Hi,

Traveling can be really cheap if you are doing wild camping. Yes you can do wild camping in Europe as well as in Africa etc. You have to calculate about $100 per Country for Visa and about $1,20 Euro per Liter petrol. Therefore your average cost per day are depending on the millage you want to travel.

Riding the rough west coast through Africa part 3

Have fun, Tobi

I've just worked out a prelim cost for our trip from Cape Town to Holland and for 2 including tyres, flights, shipping, hotels, food, petrol for the distance, oil, visa's, general living expenses, etc, it came to AU$45000.

Food I calculated as US$40/day pp which is probably conservative in Africa and a bit under in Europe, 4 hotels per week @ US$60/night just as a contingency. This can be savings during the trip by camping more if you spend more elsewhere. Fuel in Africa US$1.15 and US$2.5 in europe with a usage of 21km/l.

It's pretty simple really. Just be honest to yourself and don't freak out about the price. I use to always go to myself, surely not that much. But end up coming heaps short. The second trip it was about right. A friend of mine went to Europe for a 5 week holiday and rented a car or two, stayed at 3 star places and it cost him AU$25k. Trips are expensive.

$25k Aus for five weeks in Europe??? That's over £3k per week. I'd say your mate got absolutely, totally, truly butt-fcuk'd.

In 2006 I spent about $11,500 on 25 weeks from Texas to Tierra del Fuego, all in. 19,000 miles, so I used roughly 400 gallons of fuel. This includes shipping around the Darien, and sending the bike to Houston by sea from Buenos Aires, and flying home myself. I lived pretty cheap, stayed in a few hotels no girlfriend of mine ever would have, but didn't realy deprive myself of anything. I did a back pack trip, and a couple of mountain bike trips on the way, so the off the bike things I did were fairly inexpensive. I was lucky in that I had no significant bike problems, but I did buy 3 tires. Shipping costs have gone up since then, so be prepared for that. Shipping costs and flights were about 30% of the cost of my trip, fuel about 10%, the rest daily living expenses. Have a great trip.

Nah, you're making the same mistake I used to make and other are still making. Budgets should be calculated door to door. So this includes flights, excursions, knowing this bloke probably plenty of beers. I know finishing my trips in London trying to find a job you spend a lot of money real quick. Especially if you live out of hotels. Do the experiment of adding absolutely everything up down to the 20p toilet fees and you'll be unpleasantly surprised. Few internal flight or the Eurostar and you've lost a few hundred there.

Well there is a HU meeting where you can get info from the people that have done this. It is a bit of a ride but not bad http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/meetings/California2011.php

There is a saying about riding the world it is. Twice as much money as you think, twice the amount of time you are planing but you need but only half the stuff. Some thing like that anyway.

Some place there is a old thread about riding the world on the cheap. You need not do it all in one go. You do not need to go to all the places people list they go. You do not need ride your bike you can fly and rent or buy there. Ride slow and short where it is cheap fast and long where it is not.

Some things you want spend the cash on.
Food! Yes ramen is cheaper but the food and people is some of the reason for going.
Go and walk on the ice. Antarctica is not that far off a boat trip may run $4,000 but when are you ever going to go back?
A vacation from the trip. Riding looks like fun till you do for weeks on end day in day out.
Stop and take some pics. Get a camera and lots of cards for it.

Cost
 

Yes I agree with the above, my wife and I flew our bikes to Egypt and then took about 95 days to get to Kenya including Uganda. It has so far cost us $30000Aus but that included a 4 day Trek in the Siemien Mountains, 4 day Fellucca Trip on the nile (While waiting for ferry) Masai Mara 4 days, Rafting in Uganda, and also a trip to see Gorillas. We did however splash out and stayed at Mena House in Cairo for 1 night ($480) We also included a trip into the Omo Valley for 12 days. Apart from that we stayed at fairly average lodgings and camped, being aussies we were not backward in having a beer either. This also included all flights to get to Egypt and Visas etc along the way. I think excluding extras for a Cairo to Capetown I would allow $100 a day for 2 people 2 bikes, whilst on the road, but I have got the attitude save a little more and do the things you want as it is cheaper than going back, and you forget the price a long time before the memory.

Cheers
Paul:thumbup1:

Is that with the two bikes or are you planning on only one this time?

How much time (months? or better still years?? :thumbup1:) are the costs calculated for?

2 bikes for about 3 months.

Goodness. I've taken a few trips in my life (bike, car, backpack, train, plane, boat....) and never spent near that much. $45k for two for three months is $250/day (and sharing rooms, at that); $25k for five weeks is over $700 per day.

I've calculated expenses door to door more than once--even including the cost of the bike brand new, then writing it off at trip's end, and even including the Antarctic cruise I took last year--and never come close to $250 per day. I'm not saying it can't be done, because obviously anyone with a taste for life's finer things could accomplish this. But I'm sure saying I've never done it...and hope I never will.

I think I'd have to concentrate very hard to spend $700 per day; I guess I could do it if properly motivated and equipped with a shovel, a pile of cash and an open window. But I don't think these figures really apply to the majority of riders....and I'm usually the one scoffing at lowball figures which exclude tires and repairs, flights, touring away from the bike, shipping, or depreciation.

Maybe I'm wrong and there are hordes of riders staying night after night in $150 rooms and eating $50 dinners. Wouldn't be the first time I was out of step with the universe.

Safe journeys!

Mark

$150 for a room doesn't even include taxes and at $50 for dinner? ...no aperitif, no wine? :innocent:

A bit of a sample of costs I've allowed for. This is all for a single person/bike. $8000 for shipping return which allows for flying in because I can't wait around for it and don't want to deal with port changes and the like, flights $3500 return, 4 sets of tyres about $1500 which is based on assumed inflated prices of tyre prices (1.75x) from my normal supplier, $1500 in fuel, $900 carnet (haven't looked into that one), insurance $800, $3000 in hotels (4 night/week @ $60. This is my contingency fund), $1400 in visa's allowing for $100 in visa and border costs for 14 visa's, $4000 food (40 bucks/day). Just these items comes to nearly $25000.

I reckon my spreadsheet will only get bigger, because I haven't allowed for the ferry into Europe nor Egypt or any excursions. Calculating daily costs is misleading.

And people wonder why I don't travel as much anymore. Hitchhiking is heaps cheaper. Last hotel in London I had was a complete dive in the Victoria station area for 50 quid. Living in hotels all day everyday adds up. Especially in tourist hot spots. For tourists from Australia you want to see as much as possible which only adds to the cost. Few cars, museums, theatre, etc.. etc..

Your right it does add up in the end!! Im travelling at the moment, and I am on a 'cheap as chips' budget! The only problem, countries like India have gotten more expensive in the last two years, so Ive gone from thinking I am able to save a bit of money to compensate for the extra spending in Australia and Sri Lanka to not even been able too as I am boarder lining my budget or even some days overing over!

Currently I am traveling 400km per day - that gas is 80% of my budget let alone a 6-9 hotel (with safe bike parking! i could get cheaper but this is a scary option for a girl alone with a 'race' bike (as the indians call it!). Most of the time my food is about $5 AUS per day for all meals (but im a girl and can eat off the street for 20c)

I am hoping once i can start wild camping the cost of everything will come down!! Damn inflation! But saying all of this, I wasnt serious at working out what my budget would be, I just always thought I could fit everything into $1000 AUS per month - im going over this if you include shipping, parts etc up until today!

This would be a great poll, based on a single person.

Big difference between #20 at $100 per day, #25 at $250 per day, and #26 trying without success to stick with $35 per day (A$1000/month).

I would suggest that $35 per day including everything is impossible to sustain on a long trip unless very dedicated to living cheaply and also not moving very fast (so little petrol consumed). It would probably help to be lucky too. You could do this in Venezuela with its 6 cent/gallon gasoline, or in a place where you could couch surf, or if you didn't need to do any shipping, or if you never needed to buy tires....but over the long haul some of this stuff is going to catch up to you and destroy your budget.

I would suggest that $250 per day is far more than most people spend, no matter what you include in your calculations, unless traveling in Western Europe, staying in comfortable hotels, eating well and drinking lots of microbrewed beer. It sure doesn't match my experience, even including the actual cost of buying my bike.

But one obvious difference tmotten is that you're allowing $8000 for shipping (!!!) and $3500 for flights on a relatively brief trip. Apparently, you're looking at a different sort of trip from anything I've ever even considered: one where you pay top dollar for air shipment and flights both directions for a couple of months of riding. I've never taken this sort of trip; instead, I've paid far less for shipping and flights, then rode the bike for a year or longer. Big difference; you've got much higher fixed costs averaged into far fewer days.

Last year, for example, home to Tierra del Fuego and back: $1200 for shipping, $400 for flights, $465 for visas, 11.5 months riding 35,000 miles. My costs for shipping, visas and flights are just background noise in the yearly budget. Even my $4000 Antarctic cruise added less than $10 per day overall. The whole trip came in around $35,000, and I wasn't even trying very hard.

Mark

What shipping costs $8000 - do they send on golden crates?? I payed about 700 euros Sydney-Helsinki one way by sea. And I asked about air as well, was roughly double, or sometimes a bit more. Admit, that was 3 years ago, but prices must have really skyrocketed!

8000 is based on the costs we incurred flying into BA from Brisbane and shipping out from Cusco which was a complete disaster and took 3 months to get back. The actual cost was a lot more.

The plan is to fly into Durban if possible or Jburg otherwise and ship out from Rotterdam. I don't think I'll get much change from 8000 return. I thought I paid enough going to BA but as soon as I landed I was asked to pay all up another 500 to get my hands onto it. Looked all pretty official, so don't think I got ripped. Even getting my hand on them in Brisbane the govment asked me to pay up another 2k. Better to allow for plenty than not enough. Sure, I'll be earning income when I ship it back, but don't want to stick my head in the sand about the costs any more.

Last I checked a flight from Europe to Australia one way was about 1300. Say 1500 with taxes. To Jborg is about 2000 + taxes. So actually I'm a little shy.

Don't think 40 buck/day for food is a lot either. Sure, in Africa I'll probably eat like kings but I'm not going to search for $2 greasy burgers. Those days are well gone. But in Europe a coffee in the morning will eat into it pretty quick. What is a road side panini in Euro's these days?

As I said, the accommodation is my contingency because rather than just adding the typical 10% to the overall I rather control the budget with this.

Besides the costs of shipping, what else do you guys think I've over budgeted for?

Sadly the days of packing my bag, cleaning the rented room and shutting the door to set off in the sunset are well behind me. I could definitely do this (if I'd be single) but the price of boredom at work upon my return isn't worth it to me any more. So sure, I've got time constraints, but I don't think massive holes were torn in my prelim budget from what I've heard. Not at all trying to be a smart arse, but to me it's just reality. Open to suggestions otherwise.

$40 a day on food in Europe is more than enough, much much more.
Just cook your own food and make your own coffee then you can stay on the road longer, simple

Sure you can go longer. But why would you want to miss out of all that great local food to dave a few dollars. To me food is a very large part of the travelling experience. You'll forget about those dollar a lot sooner than the experience.

$40 bucks in Europe is still pushing it for decent meals. Don't see the point of cooking spam and tomato pasta's somewhere in a forest or field camping rough. I'd rather stop in a town at dusk, find somewhere to eat, find a camp spot and crash out for the next day's riding. Each their own though.

But surely we're not turning pennies here in a food budget are we?

I was thinking about it a bit as well. It's all very regional. In South America you'll manage to keep the food cost down once you leave Chile and Argentina, but in those countries it's western prices. Same for accomodation. And what about the hotel costs in former Soviet countries? They ain't cheap either.

Cost me a hundred a day in southern Chile and Argentina. Cost me a hundred a day throughout Europe, including ex-soviet countries. *Shrug*

I don't know why your costs are so much higher than mine, aside from what I posted previously. If you're going to spend over $11k for shipping and flights on a two or three month trip, I guess that's your choice. Same with meals, hotels or whatever else. But it doesn't necessarily follow that this is what it costs for anyone else. It probably means something that no one is scoffing or expressing astonishment at the prices I'm quoting...although I suppose sooner or later someone will.

Mark

That's hardly evidence, that no one is scoffing about your costs. In perticular since I'm the only one so far that's quoted hard costs per cost categories and you can't really argue about the maths.

So if we want to compare apples with apples yourself or someone has to start costing in the same format as I am because saying you spend AVERAGE $100 doesn't mean much to me at all because like I said, average daily costs are misleading. This is not how budgets are developed proffesionally for a reason. Summed costs become pretty large which starts looking rediculous but that's the reality. I started doing this for a lot of things, and it surprised me how things add up. Do this for your normal living/existing costs and it becomes scary.

You can easily spend a third of $100/day on fuel in some places. And you haven't even moved yet. Say from your viewpoint $20/food and drink? I buy bottled water, I'm guessing most people do. Coke can here and there. Coffee, 3 square meals. This leaves $50 to pay for lodging, excursions, visa's, insurances, flights, shipping, spare parts, tyres, carnet, immunisations, personal supplies such as toilet paper, soap, shampoo, sourvenirs, sun screens, to local costs, public transport, museum entry, the list goes on. This isn't adding up to me.

As I said, lets turn this thread from 'I don't like the total amount this costs' to a proper costing exercise which you can't do based on daily average cost. So far all I've heard is that I'm spending a lot of money on a relatively small trip. I can't change anything about this, because a lot of those costs aren't relative to time.

tmotten, average daily costs over the course of a long journey is how I cost out my trips. It works for me. Apparently it doesn't work for you. That's ok. But there's a reason why people do it that way (as do guidebooks). We're not all clueless dolts.

As I said earlier, I'm usually the one who's lecturing everyone about the need to include all costs--including those incurred before and after their trip--in their budgets. For example, I don't see you including the cost (or depreciation) of your bike. Everyone draws the line in a different place, including (or not) certain trip-related expenses but not others. It's not like your system is so pure.

What's more, please note that I've already done what you find so "scary." I spent under $35,000 for a yearlong trip, all included. I stayed wherever I pleased, and I ate whatever I wanted. I went to parks and museums. I took some tours. Notably, I went to Antarctica, which is not cheap. It's all included in my accounting.

Want details? Sorry: you can busy yourself arguing with the ones I provided above. It's not rocket science, and I don't need to speculate about how much I did or didn't spend on gasoline or hotels: I just need to know how much money I spent in a full year of traveling, plus how much I spent preparing and how much decompressing from my trip. I'm calling it a hundred bucks a day because that's what happens when you divide my actual costs by 365 days per year. Neat, huh?

There's a lot that's valid in what you're posting, but there are also reasons why you're way out of line with the costs others are reporting. It's not a matter of differences between accounting methods: it's just the simple facts. For example, you spend far, far more on shipping and flights than I ever have, and also more on lodging, meals, visas and tires. Then you take shorter trips. No mystery that your trips cost way more than mine. If I ever take a short trip which includes eleven thousand dollars in shipping and flights, my daily expenses will skyrocket. I get that, but I don't know what relevance it really has to the subject at hand, which was "Cost of RTW."

I suppose it's time I stopped repeating myself, at least for a little while. Safe journeys!

Mark

Mark, sit back a second please and realise that you've just both argued for and against the reason I now budget the way I do. And reading you last post it seems you actually do the same but only quote the daily cost.

Exactly right. My daily costs are massively higher because of the short duration. Which is exactly the reason it's pointless to inform others about the cost of RTW by quoting daily costs. Guidebooks only do it for the time you're already in the place you want to travel. Not for getting there any back and sideline costs which can be the largest. In my case due to my location things like flight costs are what they are. Guess there is a price for living in paradise. :Beach:

This post and sadly others always end in a right or wrong discussion which then just stops altogether. I never said that the money I budgetted for is the money I end up spending. Because I haven't been in those places before it's impossible to know exactly the costs. This is why I break it down to do sanity checks. Which is why these posts should stop being about 'my way is better' and just report the costs as they are. Surely it's far more usefull to know what range a standard meal in a standard restaurant or road side diner comes to than providing an average daily costs. I didn't know tyres would be so much inflated in Russia for example. Didn't really allow for the cost of fuel in a place like Turkey which was more than anywhere in the EU. Apparently they use this inflation to counteract income tax evation. This is what I was told anyway. Information about typical costs of accomodation in southern South America was vastly outdated on this forum.

I certainly know that I'm not the only one doing these trips. Not many people do though, and this is usually the biggest question with the worst answer available if there even is one. So I'm all for providing some help.

Good effort for keeping the cost as low as you did. Dunno if I'd even manage to do this. Obviously planning the route to keep costs down is a luxury I don't always have. Or ever being in Australia. I know I try to rough camp 7 days/ week where possible. Prefer my own 'house' over a different bed every night. But depends on regions in the world. In former Soviet countries it's easy. In Argentina is was harder. Europe even harder. This is why I make it my contingency fund. Something I learnt about the hard way.

You seem to actually keep records like the ones I'm re-developing/re-visiting. So why not just share it? I thought this forum was to inform people. I know I'm interested to hear about it.

Is the $400 flights across the Darien? I'm guessing shipping is from Valparaiso back to the States? I met a Kiwi who told me a rediculously good price he paid to get it to there. You raised a good point about depreciation. I do calculate this but not as part of my travel budget. I actually under budget for it though. But with a mortgage you can afford to do this to some extent. It's just moving the debt across.

I share per-day costs because that's what people ask for and because that's what people find helpful; it has more predictive value and makes a better basis for comparison than telling them the total cost of my journey. Either way, my primary and most emphatic answer is "it depends."

Sometimes if you're trying to be helpful, you've got to speak the shared language. Per-day is the consensed language of overland travelers of all stripes. That's why people get what I'm saying here, and don't get what you're saying. Am I over-stating this? Probably. Full of it? Maybe. Worth the price of admission? You decide.

Mark

PS: I rode both directions. Went places more expensive than most people do (e.g., throughout Brazil, not to mention French Guiana). Shipped my bike once by air ($600) and once by Stahratte ($400) around the Gap. Added in some fudge factor for taxi fares, ferries and other shipping-associated stuff....plus one truck ride in the Amazon to get $1200. My flight was actually less than $400, but I also paid $50 to fly over Nazca. Subtract $4000 to Antarctica and my year cost me just under $30,000, including 1/3 of my bike's useful life (35,000 out of a total of 95,000 miles on my KLR). I thought the whole thing was pretty luxurious. In other words, "It depends."

Now we're getting somewhere. This would be much easier over a beer, but sadly I'm sitting at my desk trying to work all this stuff out.

Just a quick correction. The OP never asked for daily prices but total price. Admitions were made regarding under budgeting so to me this proves this method not to work and I can't say I agree with your supposit 'industry standard'. I certainly don't find it usefull because it doesn't tell me anything. Some posts in this thread adressed this by providing daily costs + additional costs. In the end, if you save up for something you require a target. But it doesn't matter anyway, because I think we're getting into the nitty gritty now which I always took this thread to be about.

Hey Taco, this sure is getting interesting. By the second page I was about to slit my wrists as it looked like we would never be able to afford it doh

Anyway, seems to me that Turbocharger (edited for brevity sake)


has direct bearing on your projections as he states $100 per day over 11 months 2 people 1 bike on a similar route to yours. He does say "average" but reading between the lines that might be a mis direct (hey Turbo care to elaborate?).

Of course your additional bike is going to change the game a bit, and your shorter time frame will increase the impact of shipping costs. WHich if you ask me you have about right (I ship stuff to and from Europe to Oz all the time)

What say you Taco?

..worth every penny
 

how much? everything I have ever worked for, bought and owned.
is it worth that...oh yes!

Im with you GS-girl....I adore camping and doing my own cooking is not just a way to save $..its because I also adore cooking! and like you however, I also like the odd meal out and more often than not this is the 'real' local and very basic foods.

everyone travels differently and what one person 'expects' or wants to experience during thier trip is often very different to another persons expectations of quality of living whilst on the road. so to say..I think I live a basic but good quality life on the road is one thing....however, my life may be considered too frugal and basic by others...so to estimate ones costs on the road is a really hard thing when advising others as to what they may or may not require.

so the best thing to do is to get some of the 'estimates' provided here then do some of your own research of the absolute basics and known requirments ie...look at the basic cost of living in each country. using websites like this one : Cost of Living in India. Prices in India.
these can easily be researched on the web. then look at the cost of gas in the countries..once again current information on gas prices can be found online. ie CNN/Money: Global gas prices
the shipping is a little more difficult as costs do vary amazingly from sea - air and what the oil companies are doing at that time. and to get a definite 'quote' from a company unless you are there face-to-face can be nigh on impossible.

however, the HUBB has the shipping information pages too...so if you get basic costs, then take into account the year the report was made you can once again provide yourself a basic estimate.

ultimately..if you have lots of money avaiable you WILL spend it. if you dont then you cant. and you will deal with those restrictions as and when they occur. if and when emergencies occur and you dont have the cash to deal with them, you'll find it, often compromising in another area. but such is life, whether you are at home or on the road!

GS-girl - young enough to camp...? camping is not an age thing its a state of mind 'thing'.

:-)

enjoy the research!

I say I'm fried on a 5.37 on a Tuesday arvo. But to me your post sums up the apparent row Mark and I have had. Not enough information.

Obviously the longer you go the lower the average becomes which is exactly why I broke it up for others to interpret. One-off costs that are relative for just about all travellers, regardless of duration but relative to the route shouldn't be included because it skews the result.

I'm not arrogant to say people's experience are removed from the truth. For the sake of my own planning I'm just seeking information the same way the OP is. I just know what's involved but am seeking to put realistic costs behind those items. This obviously also differs depending on the region. In South America I missed out (thanks to the GFC) on the 'cheap' areas. Those Peruvian 'menu del dia's' were a nice introduction in our routine.

Are you talking about my trip that signature directs to? Sadly we were that clueless that we didn't keep any records. I'd love to know what we spent and what on. I hadn't discovered Horizons yet either.

I'd like to hear more about the shipping costs you have to work with. Any rules of thumb? We're a bit limited in our option. For BA I could only chose between Qantas and Malaysian I think. Qantas fobbed me off, so I had to go indirect. The return showed to me the inefficiencies of shipping though. What was meant to go via Tokyo went via Hamburg!!!!! Didn't save any money compared to the flight in either.

Where??

Simple budget first
 

Dude, what's your beef, I don't see your correction. Did I miss something :confused1:

Daily price x Number of days away = Total $$$ ... OP question answered.


We all know this estimate is just a starting point. But for RTW you have to start somewhere, n'est-ce pas?!


You know, all the arguing just dilutes the important stuff and takes longer for anyone else reading this thread to have an indication of the costs of RTW.

Sweet, with ground breaking and important information like that she must be ready to go. Pick a number x days you'll be on the road. doh To me it doesn't add anything. You can find that in guidebooks. Why not really help her out by giving her an idea on some of the big ticket items she'll face which surely people develop this daily figure on? At least she'll have a better idea how to fill in her estimates. I'm guessing that that's why chris scott made his book.

I thought I was starting something when I put those costs out. But it seems all I started was people telling me it was a lot. Sure, if I didn't know this already it do now. Let's move on to how to reduce that.

Thanks for this information Lisa - I just checked the Indian prices out and they are spot on (since im in India). I am about to head into Pakistan, so i was surprised to find its only marginally cheaper than India. HOWEVER fuel Is a lot cheaper and at the moment that is my biggest daily cost.

After Pakistan I am heading in to Iran, where they have no international ATM. This is where working out what you are going to spend even more critical.

The problem with budgeting is, every year the cost of things go up and IF your travelling for several years like me, what you budgeted for in the lead up to your departure might not be the case when you finally make it to your destination... Just something to remember or to Budget in.

BUT - po\eople, everyone can stop and work along the way.... AND like someone has already said, if you have the money you spend it, if you dont you dont. I dont, so Im really careful in what I do and see, I get recommendations for other travelers to see if its worth going to see something.

-JUST DONT LET THIS BE THE REASON FOR NOT LEAVING HOME!-

please note - In 2008 I left home with $10,000 AUD in my pocket. I spent $12,000 AUD on my bike and my set up from camping equipment to pannier bags and first shipping. I flew the bike to Thailand and then flew it from Cambodia to Korea. Shipped it from Korea to Russia. I spent ten months on the road. Got to Moscow and ran out of money. I sold my bike in Moscow to purchase my flight home.

Wow that's a good effort. Dying to find out more on that. How much do you reckon the shipping and personal flights took out of your 10k budget? I'm thinking half?

Ummmmmmmm
 

Turbocharger & Tmotten 1 question: have you heard of Gillard & Abbott ?bier

The CNN Money website seems to be somewhat out of date.
In Egypt fuel is now twice what it states, as is the UK.
Maybe a more recent one would apply better.

One thing as regards costs that rarely seems to be factored in to calculations is the varied costs of chocolate and ice cream. It may not be important to you, but it is to me.

crazy! doh

You could live a whole year in an expensive city like Barcelona with AUD 25K.

Australia to Thailand
My flights - $400
Motorcycle flights - $1,000 - I was lucky and they only charged me per kg not volume also please note - this is for a 250cc motorcycle.

Cambodia to Korea (from memory)
My flights - $400
Motorcycle flights - $1000 under - once again, they only charged me per Kg.

Then there was the flight home without the motorcycle because I sold it to get the money to fly home with was around $1,500

SO comparing apples with apples ( the rest of this thread)
I spend $13,000 AUS from the day I left Australia to arriving back (includes the money i gained from selling the bike to pay for the tickets) in ten months.

Set up cost would come down to $9,500 (this includes the cost of the bike)

I wild camped a lot when It got too expensive to stay in hotels (ie russia). When it got too cold to camp (again in Russia) I learnt that truck stops were the cheapest places to stay!

Moscow was the most expensive city I had to stay in for a period of time (due to selling my bike). I found a dorm room and a place where I can cook my own meals. I never ate out.

ps - i lost a shit load of weight because if it!!

Especially if you don´t camp & cook your own food, where you are really makes a huge difference in costs.

Generally speaking, western and northern Europe are probably the most expensive places on the planet. Followed closely by other parts of Europe, USA & Oz. But big cities can be very expensive everywhere.

Some places in Asia, you could stay almost a week for the price of what you usually end up paying in Europe. But of course the standards of accommodation, eating out, etc., are not 100% comparable.

:rofl:

I'm glad someone can see the humour here.

IMHO the more details you give about prices on a RTW the more wrong you will be due to inflation, exchange rates, current economic situation of the country, and when you factor in that everyone has a completely different budget and spending profile it is next to impossible to predict the exact costs. In any budget or forecast you must factor in +20-25% and then to be safe have an emergency fund 'just in case'.

Since the topic of Travel Guides was brought up then let's face the fact that all travel guides are only correct at the time of publication and yet they have been publishing for decades so they should know what a realistic budget is for the country in question but still get it wrong. My point is prices are the first thing to go out of date.

A higher estimate is always better than a lower one. With the leftover $$$ buy a few beers or take your hosts (if/when you get invited as guests) out for a dinner, they'll definitely appreciate it.

Dunno if I want to be the Slugger or the ginger. :funmeteryes:

Jees Turbo, we're agreeing here. This is why I'm kind of pushing for an idea on what the individual big picture item cost and what the lifestyle the person allowed for with the daily costs. I've always struggled accepting the guidebook estimate. I've done it heaps cheaper, and heaps dearer. But probably never on par. So I gave up on the whole daily costs and simplified it by taking out the big ticket stuff that I could actually accurately predict. That's the key to me.

Can you remember what the ballpark cost was getting to Russia including the usual getting out of port rip offs? That is my biggest gripe with shipping, but that's besides the point. Massively pissed off when in Australia I got ripped of more than any other overseas place I've ever visited. In the end shipping was as dear as flying.

Losing weight is the biggest upside of living on the cheap. Again, good effort. Shows that if you want to experience something you gotta look at your means and do what you gotta do.

I've struggled organising shipping out of a developing country in the past which ended up in not being able to negotiate lower or reduced fairs. How did you go about organising this in Cambodia? We tried once in Mongolia, but got completely fobbed off. Didn't seem like they needed the business no matter how often we went in to ask how the quote was coming along. This was at a freight forwarder. You'd think it would be bread and butter work for them to work out.

I can live in London on that and probably travel in developing countries for years. But that wasn't the point. The point was to show it depends what you do with it and without this information you're none the wiser. He'd lost a fifth of that (it was for his and his Mrs. Should have said. My bad) in flights to Europe. Stay in 3 star hotels at the max and rent a few cars to go about. Eat out every day 3x/day. Entry fees. But let's keep it about RTW.

I am only planning my trip so don't have any experience to add, but here is how I am planning my finances:

I have planned my finances off an on for almost 2 years now using various methods. It gave me a target amount of money to strive for. But I have come to realize that I really have no clue how long that money will last because I'm not certain how frugal I will be when traveling and how many touristy things I will do along the way.

To complicate this I also have less money now than I had hoped because I lost a lot of money selling my house (but not selling would have lost me even more).

Once I came to the conclusion that my finance situation is less than ideal for the trip I want, I realized I have two choices:

1. Delay my trip until I have such an excess of funds I can guarantee the full trip will be comfortably funded.
2. Leave at the end of May (as originally planned) and see how much of the world I can see on the money I have available.

#1 is a possibility and in fact was my original intention, but is rapidly losing its appeal. So instead I am choosing #2.

I am almost certain I have sufficient funds to travel for a minimum of 2 years. I have a route planned that will visit the majority of the locations I most want to visit in that time.

Once I am on the road I should have a much better idea of how fast I am going through my available funds. From there I can do better estimates and alter my route as I go to expand the scope of my trip.

I am also considering options for ways to make money while on the road. As a software engineer I may be able to do freelance work remotely. Or I may be able to work for a few months in Europe.

hi othalan
...my choice would be No 2...."Leave at the end of May (as originally planned) and see how much of the world I can see on the money I have available."

something always works out. if you put it off until you are better prepared financially or otherwise, the time never seems to come as there is always something else to organise/buy/save for...etc.

there are many places in the world where you can get computer work (however general ie fixing networks, or fixing softward glitches) where hospitals or VSO's/NGO's will pay for your accomodations and maybe food in exhange for services. always something to consider. these 'jobs' can not be organised prior to leaving however...it is usually a face-to-face contact whilst you are on the road. meeting the right person at the right time.

go in May as planned.....you will have the time of your life.
note: there will be 'bad' (difficult) times, but without those you cant rate how good the good is!!!

It doesn't have to be that expensive
 

I'm with you Othalan.

My budget got destroyed due to unforseen factors and I now have 21K to spend on my journey from Canada to to Ushuaia.

I figured that I'd be travelling for about a year, so that brings me to about 55 bucks a day. As sparse as that sounds, I'm at a point in my life where I can afford to camp and boil my own rice for days.

Trying to move on the cheap is more "travelling" than "vacation", but better this than just not going.

On the other hand after all the reading I've done here I feel like I might end up arriving on foot if my budget doesn't receive a boost somehow along the way... Still though, it's now or never - and it sure as hell isn't going to be never. What's the cheapest you can make it down the American Continent? I intend to find out!

ElExplorador: I'm planning a trip from BC to Ushuaia and have a similar budget...Only I consider it to be plenty, not sparse!!! I suppose this highlights that whatever constitutes adequate food+lodging for one individual may be 'roughing it' for another.

$55/day? I can travel the USA on that, sleep in motels, and never cook my own food! If I can do that in the USA being careful, it should be easy in South America!

You're kidding?? I certainly can't do that in Australia. Maybe a day's petrol and a lunch and breaky.

othalan, you might be more convincing if you stated what's included in your $55 per day. At $4/gallon for fuel (US gallons) my KLR will go 300 miles/500 km for $24. $31 hotels are hard to find these days, although they exist. That leaves nothing for food, beer, parts and repairs, oilchanges, insurance, park entry fees, mobile phone bills, souvenirs, tolls, splurging....

I could make it add up if I was mostly wild camping, but not otherwise--and it would be difficult to sustain on a long trip.

Mark

First let me note that in the past I have only traveled short trips, 1 month at a time maximum. Some "yearly" costs such as insurance are not included in my consideration at all, but I agree they will change the numbers somewhat.

I also do not include fixed non-daily costs I cannot control such as bike maintenance. Those I plan for separately because I do not have control over when it occurs & how much is spent.

I never pay tolls because I am never in such a rush I cannot take the long way around the toll road. My phone bills are inconsequential because I almost never use a phone while traveling.

As for daily costs, here is how I break down the numbers and why:

GAS: $8/day
50 mpg (KLR650), $4/gallon, 2 gallons/day (100 miles/day)
Averaged over time, I travel relatively slowly because I will stick around a place I enjoy and explore. Even on the "long" days I rarely travel more than about 300 miles, so it doesn't take much to bring the average down.

Food: $15/day
Drink only tap-water (filter if needed), and $5/meal is not hard to find most places if you are careful, the exceptions being California and big cities; but even there it is possible if you are careful and not too picky.

Lodging: $30/day
I have found motels are frequently willing to drop the price a bit if they are mostly empty. Be certain to pay in advance!

Add up all the above: $53/day.

$2/day is not a lot of spending money to have fun with I admit. But in reality, the above does not even come close to representing my travel costs. Here are some examples:

I frequently find free lodging for the night. Friends & relatives are happy to host me for a few days. I recently started using Couch Surfing, which has led me to some great people who provide free lodging and free food. I've setup my tent in public places many times ... but always ask first! City parks and churches are good locations to look for these. Full hotels have allowed me to setup a tent in their yard at no cost. If camping, showers can be found many places ranging from free to $5.

I also look for people to share a fire with at campgrounds instead of spending the night alone. I always travel with a musical instrument (guitar or fiddle so far), and offer music & stories in exchange for a warm fire. It is a fun way to spend the evening, and I have frequently been offered food & drinks even though I never ask. But always have a backup plan for food or you might go hungry!

All the above saves me a lot of money for those days when the only lodging is $65/night, or I have an entrance fee to some activity. I never feel like I am going hungry, nor that I am suffering with only rice. I never feel like I am forced to camp to save money.

Perhaps it won't be sustainable on a long trip. Perhaps I'm in for a big surprise once I leave on my trip this June. No way I can really tell until I get there and find out what type of traveler I am after I'm on the road a few months.

On average during my trip through Arg, Ch, Bol, and Pe I paid AU$1.54/l which was trading at about USD0.7- 0.8 ish I think. I reckon it wouldn't be cheaper in most of South America than in the US. Probably dearer.

A crap leaking hotel in Potosi was about AU$30, a nothing flash motel in Osorno AU$40. Basically Australian Pub prices. AU$ for a family camp ground on the edge of La Rioja.

Thanks, othalan. Sounds like your budget estimate is for shorter trips, near to home, riding short distances per day, without including amortization of longer-term costs. To some extent this is a function of different ways of accounting; for example, I used up 10 tires last year, ranging in price from US$40-200+, did about 20 oilchanges, four chains and multiple sprockets, etc. etc. etc. On top of all that, there were unexpected expenses like a new rear shock and silencer.

On a long trip these are mostly predictable and inescapable expenses; on a short trip they're part of the background noise of everyday life at home. It will be interesting to see how your budget works out on your upcoming trip to Ushuaia. I hope you'll post an update.

Mark

I actually include all the maintenance expenses you mention in my short trip budgets because they are directly trip related. Chains have a somewhat predictable life expectancy, so I just pro-rate the cost for the miles traveled. What I don't include are yearly costs that are forced on me by every-day-life but would be different for long-term travel. Insurance for example.

I do plan to report on how my budgeting worked out compared to reality.

I actually expect my budgeting to be 100% wrong because I don't know what type of long-term traveler I will be. Its why my plans are so vague in some places.

Oops, I see I've confused you with someone leaving for Ushuaia next month. You're going first to Alaska, then Asia?

I thought you'd not included maintenance costs because in your previous post you said "I also do not include fixed non-daily costs I cannot control such as bike maintenance. Those I plan for separately because I do not have control over when it occurs & how much is spent." Now it sounds like you do include chains, tires, sprockets oilchanges and other predictable expenses.....? You leave out less-predictable stuff? Like what?

In my experience, humility and a sense of humor go a long way--in budgeting as in most else in life. Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Mark

Leaving in early June. Alaska first, then Ushuaia.

Oops, I appear to have created a great deal of confusion. A budget for any trip I put together, short or long, has three parts:

#1 is my daily budget
#2 is my fixed overhead for the trip (bike maintenance, etc.)
#3 is optional luxury activities (e.g. boat trip to Antarctica)

I use this separation because it makes sense to me. Combining everything into a single number does not make sense to me as it obscures how much is being spent on things I have at least some control over.

What #2 does not include in my past planning for trips of 1 month or less is any expense which cannot be directly calculated because there is no travel equivalent. I would never use the same phone plan traveling as I do at home, but I'm not going to switch for a 2-week vacation.

It may make sense to you but for others it doesn't because it doesn't tell the whole story which is what the OP was all about. Putting everything together how much do you think it'll come to?

I've been planning a RTW forever now. The cost keeps varying so much that im at the edge of frustration. Plus, Im from india and our currency doesn't help one bit. To make things worse, im planning a trip on my Bandit 1250S which, im estimating, will return 12-15kmpl at best.

Still, ill figure this out and head out ASAP. This thread is helping out a lot.

Great thread, this is also my first post. While I'm not planning on going RTW right now, halfway is good enough. Oz to Morocco or Mali, nothing is set in stone and anything could change between now and whenever, very early stages here. I've just ordered a couple of books and a vauge plan to start with.

I wonder what % of RTWers go back to something resembling their life before their big trip? Or are they so financially ruined that they must, lol. :p

No financial ruin here, but more an emotional ruin every time I realise how itchy those feet are every day. You get so used to moving around, changing scenery that going to work and sit there all day is just torture.

Deadman, no fret. As you can see in this thread you can do it with whatever you've got. But certain things you can't get around. Such as the price of fuel and tyres. You can limit your daily cost, but this than makes it time vs distance. You can cook yourself to keep the price down, camp wherever you can and stay with newly made friends. It's all in your hands. Shipping can be minimised by choosing your route carefully. Being from India you are limited to the east, but can go west all the way to Spain or Morocco. It's all in your own hands.

Good to hear Taco, just watching your vids, you've done a great job with them. Love the Tenere awesome bike.

Thanks mate. Not bad bikes, but bloody viby compared to what I've got now though. Wouldn't go back to them.

I can't really remember doing a budget for that trip at all which shows. I hadn't discovered HU yet and relied on Chris Scots book. Dave sorted the bike out, which is only just as well. Talk about being clueless. But I enjoy those trips the most...... in hindsight. The experience from all the other trips before really helped sorting the bike related problems out though, which helped calm the nerves. The footage for the South America trip won't be near as entertaining.

Hey!

We're travelling the world at the moment and are just finishing our South American part of the journey.

I agree with the average 100$ US per day. That's what you roughly need to go RTW. Mind you we're travelling on one bike two up and are averaging around 80$ per day within the last 8 months.

Hope this helps!
Happy travels!
Andy

So thats $80 per day for two people? Take out the extra costs of food, more fuel, greater wear and tear on Tyres etc for that extra person and it comes down somewhat Im guessing?

gsgirl
 

For two people and two bikes I would budget around $120 US a day for reasonable travel.
However.


If you have some money saved up and a loose plan You should just Go.
Go until the money almost runs out.
See how far you can get.
See if you really like travelling by motorcycle.
It is not as easy as it sounds, Or as hard as everyone says.
Just do it, you will never regret it.
have fun.

You can camp in our yard on your way to and from Alaska if you want.

Cheers, Peter bier

Your KLR650 gets, say 55 mpg, @ avg. $3.75/gallon. So, 275 miles/day would be $18.75 in gas alone.
$55 - $18.75 = $36.25

Three $5 meals a day = $15
$36.25 - $15.00 = $21.25

I've travelled the U.S.A. from top to bottom, and coast to coast, and I've NEVER seen a motel room for $21.25 or less, and seldom eaten out for $5 or less. Please do give some suggestions/locations for those spots, 'cause that's where I'll be staying and eating on future trips.

The OP asked for RTW costs. I haven't made that trip, yet, but agree with a previous posters formula for average daily costs being "total cost divided by number of days away". Pretty simple in my eyes, but then again I can't see worth a damn.

I hope to be departing this fall on a meandering adventure with no particular destination or return date on a KLR so this is all very pertinent info for me too.

Two parting thoughts on keeping accommodation costs under control.
1. Couchsurfing.org
2. Globalfreeloaders.com

Cheers all!

From my experience in travels through Canada, US, Europe, Central America and SA my costs run about $80 to $120 US per day while on the move. Thats the cost for a solo rider. Fuel costs while touring through US and Canada can get more expensive if you are trying to cover long distances in a day.
Set yourself a budget and keep to it. I always carry a log book with me and track my expenses as I go.

Ride4Adventure
http://www.ride4adventure.com/