money matters
 

Hi
How much money do I need to do a RTW trip?
I'm not going RTW, just Africa and Europe. I budget on R30 000 - R50 000. That is 3000 - 5000 pounds. Is that too litle? We plan to be on tour 6-7 months.

Hi Yakes,

This is a tough one to answer, everybody varies enormously in what they consider essentials.

FWIW, I think you may find it tight, but possible. The LOWEST, and rarely achieved, number in NON 1st world countries seems to be about US$30 day PER PERSON, but that's not counting shipping bikes from continent to continent, major repairs, and similar unusual expenses.

US$30/day works out to US$3600 for 6 months, or about 23,000ZAR. Europe however I would budget for double that! And in Africa if you want to do game parks, that will really blow a US$30/day budget. Africa is very difficult to do on 30 day. One Safari to the Serengeti for 7 days runs about US$600 per person. Ouch!

If you double US$30/day to US$60 day for 6 months that comes to US$7,200 or 46,000ZAR, so within your numbers for 6 months. I think that should be achievable with great care, mostly camping, and no splashing out!

Good luck!

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Grant Johnson

Share the Dream!
at: www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

This is sure a good question. I have the experience, the know-how, and the desire to chuck it all for 6 months or a year and go on a major ride down through South America, but the difficult part is getting the buck$ to go.

I'm lucky enough to have a secure job that will allow me to take up to a 6 month leave of absence without pay, and still return to my old position. I'm slowly saving my pennies and hope to be able to do just that in the next few years.

On my longer trips, I've found that if I camp out as much as possible and watch my food budget, I can live cheaper on the road than at home. Say $15 a night to camp, the same amount for food, maybe the occasional stay in a dry motel to get out of the rain and do laundry, etc. I think the biggest expense would be fuel. Say you average 50 mpg, and fuel in North America is $2-$3 a gallon. If you ride 200 miles or more a day that gets pretty expensive.



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Bruce Clarke
brclarke@islandnet.com
www.islandnet.com/~brclarke

Hi there,
In Africa I was spending around $20 a day (during 1 year, 30.000 km., not bottom low budget travelling). Back home, next month I am going to calculate how much my 4 years around the world cost me. Most countries where more expensive than $20, but now in Russia (3 months) it is one of the cheapest: $15 /day
Peter in St. Petersburg

for my plaaned year lap around CA/SA/Carib/US i'm planning on $50/day, with some camping, ratty hotels, roadside cart meals, or 18k for the year w/ an extra 2k for flites/house/dog babysit,etc.. 50x370=18.5k. i met RTW dude Cuanstravels.com in kathmandu and he'd been on road 2 years at $30/day ave. only extra's mite be peak climbing trips/guides in andes, and of course,latino girls.