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.

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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 . 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.

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$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.

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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

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!

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Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com