OK, we need money to travel
the planet, even on a bicycle. But how much? We
need it for accommodation, food, water, the occasional
boat trip, equipment, maintenance, we have to
fly every now and again, for relaxation, going
out, internet cafés, postal services and
more...
After extensive reading we came up with the following:
BUDGET
According to us, we'll be needing an average of
€ 25,00 per day (July 2005
€ 1,00 = approx. US$ 1,25). On average, because
we think we'll be spending more in Europe, Japan
and North America, and less in Asia, South America
and Africa. So we've split up the world in 1st,
2nd and 3rd world countries.
| |
duration
of stay in months |
cost per
day in € |
total in
€ (duration x cost per day x 30 days/month) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1st world |
14 |
35 |
14,700 |
| 2nd world |
17 |
25 |
12,750 |
| 3rd world |
35 |
20 |
21,000 |
| |
|
|
|
| total |
66 |
|
48,450 |
It doesn't look like a lot, but we're vegetarians,
we don't smoke, we've got our own transport and
sleeping facilities; we think we're able to do
this on the budget mentioned above.
FLIGHTS
Flights between continents / countries
will set us back the following amount of money
(approx. October 2008):
| |
|
|
|
|
price for 2 people |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Nepal |
- |
Malaysia |
one-way (FlyYeti) |
€ |
428 |
| Thailand |
- |
Japan |
one-way (China Airlines) |
€ |
617 |
| Korea |
- |
Canada |
one-way (Air Canada) |
€ |
1284 |
| Panama |
- |
Columbia |
boat trip ! |
€ |
400 |
| |
the boat
trip between Panama and Colombia cost US$
375 per person. That included accommodation,
food and water for 5 days. We deducted our
average spending per day in Panama from
the total price of the trip, to come to
a 'boating only' price tag of € 400
for the two of us (where € 1 = US$
1,40) |
| Brazil |
- |
Senegal |
one-way |
€ |
*1100 |
| Iran |
- |
Pakistan |
one-way |
€ |
*250 |
| Indonesia |
- |
Australia |
one-way |
€ |
*500 |
| |
|
|
|
|
*estimate |
| |
|
|
total flights approximately |
€ |
4579 |
VISA
We'll be needing all kinds of visa, especially
to get through Asia. This comes with a price tag...
This is what it cost us so far (travelling on
a Dutch passport):
NOTE: the cost of a visa depends
on the passport you're carrying; it can make a
lot of difference! US citizens for example pay
US$ 100 for a Pakistani visa, whereas we paid
US$ 36. German and French travelers don't pay
to get in to Turkey, we paid € 10, Canadians
pay € 45...
Check out our
'country information'
pages for more details.
| |
visa cost per person: |
obtained: |
| Asia |
|
|
| Turkey |
€ 10 |
at Greek/Turkish border |
| Iran |
€ 50 |
Istanbul (Turkey); two weeks
waiting time |
| Turkmenistan |
US$ 36 (7 day transit visa) |
Tehran (Iran); four days |
| Uzbekistan |
US$ 75 + LOI €26
+ admin cost € 2 |
Tehran (Iran), Letter of Invitation
(LOI) via Stantours, admin cost at embassy;
same day |
| Kyrgyzstan |
US$ 55 |
Tashkent (Uzbekistan); same
day (15 minutes!) |
| China |
US$ 80 |
Tashkent (Uzbekistan), US$ 80
= 1day processing; 3 days = US$ 60; 5 days
= US$ 40 |
| Pakistan |
US$ 36 |
Tashkent (Uzbekistan); four
days of returning to the embassy |
| Pakistan visa extension |
free of charge |
Islamabad (Pakistan); 4 days |
| India |
PKR 3300 = € 31 |
Islamabad (Pakistan); one week |
| Nepal |
US$ 30 |
at India/Nepal border (Banbasa
/ Mahendranagar) |
| |
|
|
| |
total Asia per person |
(where US$ = € 0,71 (October 2008)) |
| |
€ 397 |
|
| |
|
|
| North America |
|
|
| USA |
US$ 6 |
at Canadian/US border (Visa Waiver Program) |
| Mexico |
US$ 22 |
at US/Mexican border Tijuana |
| |
|
|
| |
total North America p/p |
(where US$ = € 0,74 (May 2009) |
| |
€ 20,50 |
|
| |
|
|
| Central America |
|
|
| Belize |
US$ 3,75 |
at immigration ofiice in Punte Gorda, Belize:
conservation tax when leaving the country
(by boat);
otherwise (by land/sea) an extra US$ 15 exit
tax |
| Honduras |
US$ 3 |
at El Salvador/Honduras border; entry tax |
| Nicaragua |
US$ 10 |
at Honduras/Nicaragua border:
US$ 5 tourist card, US$ 2 immigration fee
(entry)
at Nicaragua/Costa Rica border:
US$ 1 council tax, US$ 2 immigration fee
(departure) |
| |
|
|
| |
total Central America p/p |
(where US$ = € 0,70 (June 2009) |
| |
€ 12,00 |
|
| |
|
|
| South America |
BOB 21,00 |
exit tax Bolivia |
| |
|
|
| |
total South America |
|
| |
€ 2,00 |
|
| |
|
|
Need more specific passport
/ visa information? Or interested in countries
not mentioned here?
Check out the passport / visa sections on
all our
'country
information'
pages. |
| |
|
|
And how are we getting
the money?
We worked! Hard, for a solid
three years... and saved a hell of a lot of money
during those years.
The plan was that we wouldn't have to work while
on the road, but hey, that was the plan. We cheated
a little bit and have build quite a few websites
along the way so far (
www.sonali.tk
- justifiable web design). Hopefully this will
keep us going even longer !
We sold everything when we left
the Netherlands; we won't be needing it anymore.
We'll be traveling for five years and a bit and
after that, we'll set up camp somewhere else,
with other things. Time for a change, so to say.
We are carrying a
bank
card (debit card), American Express travelers
cheques, a credit card and we'll use
PayPal
when necessary and possible.
If you would like to see us staying
on the road even longer, than you can do so by
donating money to us! Here's how it goes: click
the button below and it will take you directly
to our Paypal account. Give us whatever you think
is necessary to let us live our dream. Thanks!
|
