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is $30,000 US enough?????
I am planning a RTW trip beginning in August 2007.
Me I am 23 now, which would make me 24 when i head out on the trip. I am planning on working and saving up enough money so that in August 2007 I will have $30,000 and enough money to be okay when i return home. I feel like i have a fairly decent knowledge of motorcycles, i have owned a 85 nighthawk a 2000 r6, and a 2003 r6, all of which i have maintained to some degree by myself, and i am in the process of rebuilding the transmission on my r6 (damn 2nd gear). So i think i have a decent idea of how a bike works, and how to fix it if i need to. My route I live in Charlotte, nc and from here i plan on heading (in rough approximation) to Alaska, and then through canada for a couple weeks while it is still warm, then down through central and south america, with no particular route planned. After that, I will head on to Australia, or Southeast Asia, wherever i can get cheaper plane tickets, and not necessarily with my bike. After a few months in asia, and when it starts to warm up, i will hit eastern europe and then west europe for the summer, returing home towards the end of the summer 2008. My bike, I have not settled on a bike yet, but i am going to look for a cheap honda, or maybe a bmw if i find a good deal, but in all likelyhood i will be riding a ~10 year old honda nighthawk or similar between 400 and 1000cc with a good bit of mileage on it, but in good working order, under $2000US. So my question is this is $30,000 enough money to get around the world the way i want to???? what can i expect for daily expenses in the various parts of the world which i intend to travel to (North America, South America, Asia, Europe)?? Can anyone tell me how much they spent on a RTW and how far they went????? any other advice you have for me would be greatly appreciated.. thanks, funklab |
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I will leave it to others to say how much they spent and so forth, but IMHO $30k is a heap of money and should be enough to keep you on the road until you are well and truly homesick! I'm planning on heading out in early 2007 and I won't have nearly as much. Living in third world and developing countries is a lot cheaper than living in the west. As long as you don't expect 5 stars, you should be fine. Have fun! Nick |
send me the money and i will definately let u know when and wher and how long it took to finish. just a thought.
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You could skip the segment thru The U.S., and spent the travel time elsewhere.
You'll need to set aside money for the Carnet, air freight for the bike, medical insurance, medical emergency flight home insurance, extra costs for down time when things go wrong, added costs for shipping parts from home, ect. If I had this budget, I would ride to the southern end of South America, and then ship my bike to South Africa, and head North along the West Coast of Africa. From Spain I would head north to Rotterdam, and travel to Iceland by boat.Although this is not a trip around the world, it would still be a trip of a lifetime. |
refering to what baxter said,
i am not planning on having the bike with me when i go out of this hemisphere. and i dont plan on shipping the bike anywhere, i dont even want to fly anywhere myself if i can avoid it. I was under the impression that in most of south america you could get away without a carnet. refering to the guy 1st person who posted a reply, i do not expect 5 stars, and i am not afraid to camp (even most of the time), but i do want to see a lot of the US and canada, so some money will be spent there, also i do plan on going to europe for the summer (you know classic backpacker college student style). So theres another big chunk of money, but besides europe and america (and maybe a short holiday in japan seeing as how i speak the language) i dont plan on lingering in any expensive countries. |
You DO NOT NEED a Carnet for North or South America, or Europe.
You DO NEED a carnet for Africa and Asia. You CAN USE a carnet for Australia and NZ. You CAN USE a carnet for South America. BUT you do NOT NEED IT! See the Carnet page, link on left. ------------------ Grant Johnson Seek, and ye shall find. ------------------------ One world, Two wheels. www.HorizonsUnlimited.com |
You might be able to cut down on your North American expenses by contacting HU communities on your route and camp/stay for little to no cost.
Also I spent several months in Central America with a family of 4 and came nowhere near your figure. Always in hotels c/w insurance, fuel, repairs, meals the whole 9 yards so I am going to be more interested to see how much you have left as opposed to how much you spend. Just a thought. Have fun Rick |
Funklab, if you think you can ride 'round the world on 30 grand, you're in for dissappointment. It ain't about money, it's about attitude. What's in your mind, your heart and your guts.
Please allow me to explain. I could provide you the names of people who toured the world on the ultimate bike of the day, got bogged down in a little mud, and left it there to fly home. Spoilt brats. Then I could mention those sportsmen who toured the world with a van and a movie camera filming every second of their ride, so they could flog it on TV when they got home. Rich spoilt brats. But I'd rather give you the names of those who did go around the world, on a budget, and budgeted their expenses by working a few days or maybe a week here and there, small jobs to earn enough to get by for another month or two. One of these guys rode a Vespa from Italy to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics in 1960, another decided he was bored with life and rode from Italy to India and got back two years later, sober as a Quaker and with more money than what he left with. Then there was that journalist who left London under pouring rain, and wanting to RTW ended up in Egypt the very day the 1972 Yom Kippur war broke out... he survived that, ejoyed the Sudan, explored Ethiopia... his name was Ted Simon, and he wrote a wonderful book, "Jupiter's Travels", I highly recommend it. Read "Investment Biker" by Jim Rogers, a highly entertaining read (he and his girlfriend rode two BMWs RTW twice!) One good piece of advice, stay well away from spaceship technology, R6, 12000rpm japanese bikes in general. You want something that you would be comfortable with changing a tire at the roadside, or asking the local mechanic (in Chile? Guatemala?) to change piston rings or a distribution chain. So my advice is a good 1-2 cylinder dual sports . Another piece of advice is, don't ride something that, fully loaded, you could not pick up just because it fell off the sidestand. Last, nothing that looks too expensive. Never mind what's cool and what's not, you want something that won't attract too much attention as you enjoy a well deserved beer, or that won't draw bribes at border checks. From a "foreigner's" point of view (I'm Italian), one major setback you have is your Passport, you're American, you come from the richest Nation in the world, be proud but don't flaunt it. Bikes go by personal preference, I've always ridden mid-sized Moto Guzzis or BMWs, they're tough as tractors and will pound the highway 24/7 if they have to, and never overheat. Ever. If that sounds too expensive, remember, a good quality air cooled engine is better than a mediocre water cooled engine, and shaft drive (or belt) is 1000 times better than chain. OK, 'nuff now, else I'll be hogging the thread. Feel free to PM me if you want to visit Europe, and remember, the juiciest bits are always off the beaen track! 8^) Maurizio from Rome, Italy |
sorry, I must have misunderstood your question. I thought that you were looking at a multi-continent motorcycle trip , using the same bike for the entire journey.If this were the case you would have to factor in shipping, repairs, possibly a Carnet,ect. anyway the point was that their are many extra costs, besides just food, fuel, and lodging.
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Hello,
I am brand new to this site and I have never done a RTW. I am interested in your journey because I plan on doing something similar around Aug 2007. As you get closer to your trip let me know. (Around Oct 06 I will have a better idea on my money situation.) Who knows, maybe we could hook up on the road? I have also read about people who travel with the same type of bikes. That way in case one breaks down they have swappable parts. I currently do not own a motorcycle but hopefully soon. |
I have found that I spend about $400 US/week in Mexico and Central America average. Less in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and more in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama. USA has cheapest fuel, most other countries 2x as much, but Mexico only 30% more than US. That is staying in cheap to moderate hotels, eating most meals in restaruants. Camping is seldom practical, except in beach areas. I think you could spend 20-30% less if you watched it, and stayed out of bars, but what's the fun in that? http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif You will have other expenses on top of that, such as shipping across the Darien Gap, border crossings, and insurance. Alaska and Canada are more expensive, but free camping is much easier, so that helps. No experience in your other destinations. (Yet!)
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We spent a year travelling and spent $60,000 CDN for two people on two bikes in Europe. We have the same budget for our 2007/08 trip through South America and up Africa to Europe but don't expect to spend as much. You're $30,000 U.S. should be plenty. We too are leaving in August 2007 but are heading straight south, having done the Alaska portion this summer in '06.
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I spend about 2 months touring Europe every summer, and average about USD $100 a day, exclusive of fuel. I don't camp and I don't drink, I usually stay in simple but good quality hotels.
My guess is that your expenses will be lower than this on most every continent except North America, where they will probably be about the same. So, $30K should be enough. Oddly enough, I have found that I don't spend all that much money when I am actually riding (e.g spending 6 to 8 hours a day on the moto), but when I get tired of riding and decide to stay in one spot for a few days, expenses tend to rise. Michael |
The US, Canada and EU are really expensive, manage that your budget is just fine. The best way is to minimise your time there, espeically at the beginning. If, for example, you head south first, then by the time you reach Alaska/NA at the end of your trip you will have the frugal travelling thing sorted.
Camp in the US and Canada, preferably at the beautiful (yet expensive) national parks. Get the $50 1 year national park pass - which gives you free entry, but not free camping. Camp in the EU, and consider free camping (i.e. not in camp grounds) every second night. Cook your own food. Overall try to stay in small towns and commute into and out of the big cities in day trips - you'll save heaps this way. Once you are through the expensive Western world then you can afford to reduce the amount of camping you do, albeit at a cost. You will also be able to cook less for yourself and enjoy the local cusine. I budget $10-15 per day on accomodation, and stay in whatever that gets me in that location. In South America this often means a hotel with bano privado. In Alaska this means a tent. Moving more slowly gives you more time for your money - e.g. if you find a great place and you have cheap accomodation, then consider staying for a few days. You get to chill for cheap, recharge your travel batteries, perhaps tinker with the bike in a location of your choice (as opposed to in a road somewhere), and read the latest on horizons.... Overall however, the best way to make the $30,000 last is simply to monitor your spending, and adjust your lifestyle and location accordingly. $30k is more than enough. good luck |
Wow... Grant made a link to one of my posts. I feel honored.
Just thought I would give you all an update. I was origionally planning on leaving august 2007. Then I thought that I wouldn't have enough money for a "real" trip until may 2008, so I was planning on that. Until about three weeks ago I decided that I have put off this trip long enough. I don't have the $30,000 that I was planning on, but I came close enough. Well it'll have to be close enough. And I will be leaving august 20th (or as close as I can get) 2007. Thanks to everyone who posted here, If this thread didn't teach me anything for sure, it sure taught me that you can spend very little money or a whole lot, and there is no telling how much YOU will spend until you hit the road. I ended up buying a good condition 1996 xr650l and strapping some cheap bags to it. I will be sure to let you all know how it goes. **an aside to the guy who was talking about spoilt brats** I am one of those spoilt brats I guess. When I was born, my father had a great job selling shoes at a local department store, and my mother stayed home to raise me. I attended fancy public schools and even managed to get a job when I was 14. I have rarely if ever been hungry with no idea where my next meal is coming from. I have been lucky enough to start a business which has allowed me to save up money for this trip while limiting my monthly expenses to around $1100 US. I have been very spoilt as you might say. But then again I imagine you have also. You were probably born in a 1st world country with access to an economy that can support you and your dreams. We are all spoilt brats, so deal with it** (rant off) Hope to see many of you on the road. Thanks, Funk |
Funk,
Well put. I spent 5 months in Mexico and stayed every night in a hotel, drinking and eating with no concern about the cost. I spent a little over $10k. You will do fine. Check out the "tent space" on ADVrider.com. Most people will be happy to have you stay and live vicariously through you. Travel well…. Peace, Love and Open Trails K. [QUOTE=funklab; **an aside to the guy who was talking about spoilt brats** I am one of those spoilt brats I guess. When I was born, my father had a great job selling shoes at a local department store, and my mother stayed home to raise me. I attended fancy public schools and even managed to get a job when I was 14. I have rarely if ever been hungry with no idea where my next meal is coming from. I have been lucky enough to start a business which has allowed me to save up money for this trip while limiting my monthly expenses to around $1100 US. I have been very spoilt as you might say. But then again I imagine you have also. You were probably born in a 1st world country with access to an economy that can support you and your dreams. We are all spoilt brats, so deal with it** (rant off) Hope to see many of you on the road. Thanks, Funk[/QUOTE] |
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From the Aus Customs website (importing a motor vehicle) Concessions for tourists and temporary residents As a tourist or temporary resident, you may bring a motor vehicle or a motorcycle and attached trailer or a caravan to Australia for a period of up to 12 months (or longer under certain circumstances) without paying duty on them, provided they are subsequently exported from Australia. For this concession to apply, you will need one of the following:
All fittings and accessories imported with your motor vehicle, motorcycle, trailer or caravan must also be exported with that same vehicle. |
last year I managed to spend 7 months riding trough Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and back to my hometown in Argentina with a budget of U$s3000. Mostly camping, but not much cooking, not a single dollar spent in spare parts. The bike (jawa 350) had no issues al all.
So with $30.000 you should be able to spend a really long time in the road. Good luck and just choose a simple and reliable bike. america en jawa 350 |
My wife and I on our 1150GS traveled from South Africa (Cape Town) to United Arab Emirates (Dubai) in nine months, 28,000km. It cost us ZAR40,000 ($5500) 2 years ago. Camping and cheap hotels all the way. We funded this trip by selling all our posesions, except the bike, and decided to go and explore the world by traveling and finding jobs on the way. My first job was a 3 month contract in Malawi, wife did some volentry (free) work at a local church in Blantyre.
We are planning and saving up for our second leg of our RTW any time from next year shipping our GS to USA or Canada, drive to Alaska and down to Argentina (10 - 12 months), from where we will ship and fly to Oz, and tour NZ and Oz for 4-6 months.Our budget is similar to yours, $35,000. When we run low on money, or out of money it is time to find a job (like we've done in Dubai) or go back home (South Africa for us). Maurizio is right, it's all to do with your attitude, rather than your budget. The lower the budget, the more interesting the adventure! Happy travels. Johan & Charmaine |
Funklab, it looks like you're about a week away from heading off!! Excellent move to head out sooner rather than later. You probably won't regret it. Good luck, you'll probably pass me going through S. America. I go slow. $30,000 could probably last me almost three years and I'm in an old Chevy van, and you know how much petrol they consume! The trick in my case is to hang out longer in places so as to not use so much gas. I'll probably be in Equador a while if I can find great camping because gas is only $1.48 a gallon and food is cheap. We'll see. Don't like planning too far ahead, who knows what life will toss in front of me. ;-)
Lorraine |
I've got the same problem.
We're planning a 2 person trip with 2 bikes to fly from Aussie to Chilli and drive around SA to NA and hopefully fly the whole lot back to Oz from San Fran. I've come up with this budget and would love to get some feedback: [all prices are Aussie dollars which currently trades at 1 US$ - 1.21 AU$] flying bikes there and back: 10000 flights ourselves there and back: 5800 crossing Darien: 3000 ferry to Baja: 600 nice hotel and a good night out (or 2) in Vegas [gotta do it]: 750 general personal items: 500 [one of us is female] Spanish course in the UK: 900 sleeping: (4 night/ week average at 40/night): 4200 eating: 5500 oil changes: 200 international driving permit: 60 travel insurance: 1600 petrol: 3000 (21km/litre for 2 x 23000 km) Totals nearly : 40000 aussie which is nearly US$ 36000 or US$15k each. Am I losing it? We've done a trip from Dublin to Vladivostok before and suffered the soviet overpriced accomodation more than we wanted. We camped more that 3 nights a week, but I like to have a margin. Just in case shipping out of San Fran will drag out and we end up staying in an expensive city longer than we thought. It's our experience that hanging out in a place (depending on the place) cost more than riding a distance you would have riden anyway. We're not very good at chilling anyway. That's probably why. |
Yikes!!
All this talk of budgets and planning is scaring the :censored: out of me. I am in Buenos Aires at the mo and i am trying to buy a bike for under 1000 USD.
I have no plan and no budget.!! I have until next October to get me and my intended bike to Mexico. Am i insane and crazy to be even attempting this. After i buy myself a bike and some gear i'll have about 5500 euros left in the pot!! Is this even enough for fuel for me and my machine? Or should i just forget the whole spontaneous nonesense!!! Gingergringo |
Gingergringo,
:mchappy: Sounds like enough to get there and back. No worries... |
Tell me where it is!
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Hes right though, its more about attitude and the way you are as a traveller than what you ride and how fat your wallet is.....although sayin that I wouldn't mind havin 30,000 Dollaz in the bank....... I would be out kitting my 18 yr old XT600 out with new spokes n rims and some panniers and Vrrrooooomm!! Dakar here we come! ( for starters):thumbup1: Martyn |
Hmmm... what to amke of all those answers??? lol
Mate,
I just got back form Mexico to Chile... 15 montyhs, ziz-zagged the whole way down. Had one big stop (4 months) in Colombia, and a 6 week detour via Medevac to Florida. I spent $13,000 USD to do that part. Basically, if you just want the stickers... ride all the countries via the main drag and thyen move on you can do that leg in about 3 months, for about $3,000. If you wanna live it I did it bloody hard (max budget $7 accomodation) eat the local tucker, seldom buy a tourist beer etc..., but saw everything, and to be honest never went without. I was drunk constantly, high mostly and ate maginficent foods by following some basic principles: 1) Walk 2 block past the touro prcinct and the food/booze/craic is 4 times cheaper and twice as good... 2) Y buy a $30 guide book when a $3 copy can be done one block away... 3) Buy a Jap bike that is common (Honda is almost a rule in Sth America), I had a DR200 (way too small) and spent $5USD for clutch plate and $100 for a cam shaft (fitted) 4) Sell the bike and rebuy when you move continents (Research bets countires for buying/selling. I suggest Leave US with a bike and sell Peru or Chile with a lawyers assistance so you are in te clear if the "import" shiite gets hairy). Brazil is muy difficulte! 5) Panama to Colombia by boat via Colone... but be bloody careful, Colone is a shithole you will wanna escape very quickly. Wanting to get out too quickly cost me four days being held for ransom and a "Welcome Bcak To The World" letter from my consulate. There are simple ways to avoid this, I can let you know. If RTW means Western Europe... you have no chance whatsoever! UR gonna have to work or do it how I do it... spend all ur money, go home and work, go away again...spend all ur money...etc....lol I suggest if you really wanna have agreat trip plan a time not a detsination and see how far u get :funmeteryes: Goodluck, I am happy to send you heaps of (quetsionable) advice on the run if you like, feel free to email me. Chris "Of course I'm lost... how else could I find somewhere no-one has ever been!" Cpt Barbossa, Pirates3 |
...Ginger Gringo...
Ginger... You'll romp it in mate, that's heaps of money.... Piece of piss. The main thread was talking about Round The World.
Mate: allow for a lot of time in Colombia on the way back. It is a mad party and a phenominally beautiful place, I was atounded by the range of landscapes so close to each other: bit friendlier than most of the other Latino cultures... I believe. (compliment to the Colombianos rather than ragging the others) Oh, and Cusco, Peru DO NOT MISS Hostel Loki. $2 dearer for constant good time in a 600 year old ex-monastery and the best hot showers you'll see till you get back home. Enjoy dude. |
...tmotten....
Dude,
I'm an Aussie just got bcak from that trip: Two big adjustments for your budget if you wanna save. a) Bikes: Buy there and sell in Chile/Peru (there are ways to do this, I did it last year)(US or colombia best) or; boat them ahead of you ( about $500 each ex: Europe, reckon equivalent Aus) ; book them as excess baggage at about $2.50 kg plus 70kg crate is a lot less than $10,000. b) boat 2 x bikes/people from Colone in Panama to Colombia $400USD. You also get the advantage of sailing purple waters, stopping amongst the Kuna people, Flying fish, giant turtles, dolpihins, sharks. I just walked into shipping admin and asked about a boat. You may have to wait up to a week and Colone is a shithole, but it has the biggest Duty Free shopping in the world outside HongKong so there's a week for the missus lol... Panama city is only 3 hours from Colone so you could just book the boat and head back there while waiting. There y'are mate. Now you owe me about 3,000 beers when ya get back home to Aus. :thumbup1: |
just an update on our spendings so far.
Europe (Including Turkey) cost us about $110/day, due to the high cost of petrol and camping. I cannot see how you would be able to do this part cheaper, we slept many nights next to the road to save on camping fees. ($30 and up) USA and Canada cost us about $80/day. This can be done in less, if you drive less distance in a day than we did (500km a day). This includes all costs for two people including a lot of replacement parts on the bike(BMW1150GS) Now we heading into Central and South America, where our cost should be half than that of USA ($40/day), or else we might run out of money before we reach Argentina. Johan |
Yes
Hi,
yes, 30000 USD is enough for the trip You plan. I just doing a world tour. You should calculate between 50-70 USD including all costs! If You have more questions contact me directly joachimvonloeben@web.de maybe check out Motorrad Weltreise - Joachim von Loeben - www.triparoundtheworld.de cheers joe |
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