How Much Will Cost You To Travel In Long Period

This is clearly the most common question we receive from people. How can you afford to travel for so long? How much does it actually cost you? And where do you get the money for it? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, but in this article we will try to give you at least a little insight into the financial side of travelling and outline how to set your ideal budget.

Right from the start, there is one rule that guides the travel budget and that is everyone’s requirements and demands. Especially the demands of comfort, housing, transport, food, experiences, etc. We probably don’t need to mention that the more you reduce your requirements, the cheaper travel will be. Another important factor is of course your current financial capacity. You’ll hardly fly Business Class if you have 850 USD in your bank account. However even with this amount you can still enjoy travelling for several months.

It’s probably already clear that if we tell you that our monthly budget for one person travelling is 850 USD it won’t apply to everyone. If you go on that budget but want to stay in luxury hotels with pools and spas you’ll probably write to us after a week and tell us what nonsense we’ve written because you definitely can’t fit into that budget with that style of travel. So how is it? Is it realistic to travel on 200 USD a month? Absolutely yes! Does it cost hundreds of thousands to travel? Absolutely yes! Both are correct :-). Which group you fall into is up to you. So let’s break it down a bit and first determine which group you actually are.

Low-cost

You may be surprised, but we meet a lot of travellers who travel either for free or on a minimal budget, up to 200 USD a month. How do they do it? Quite simply, they’re not comfortable and they’re not lazy. They hitchhike or travel with locals. They like to take part in volunteer projects in the places they visit, help run hotels, restaurants, work as volunteers on farms. Their reward is free accommodation and meals. Sometimes they even get paid for doing certain jobs. This clearly allows sustainable and long-term travel at a minimum cost. However, it’s not for everyone, and you won’t get much comfort. However, the amazing experiences, the richness and the sheer freedom are definitely worth it. And where can you get such a job? Check out https://www.workaway.info/. There might be something for you :-).

The golden mean

Don’t need any luxury but still want a little comfort? In that case prepare a little more money. If you want to stay in a private room with a private bathroom, go to a restaurant for lunch every now and then, take a comfortable bus from place to place, or even fly on a plane and visit a tourist attraction here and there, it will cost you. If you are travelling for a long period of time, budget for 640-1700 USD per person per month. Of course, you need either a larger financial reserve or a regular income. For ourselves, we can say that we fall into this group. So how did we get to the point where we could afford it?

The basic thing was to get the money to start with. For a lot of people this is unimaginable, but in the end it was the absolute easiest solution. We looked around and we sold everything. The apartment, the car, all the stuff we had at home. You don’t have anything? That’s what you think. Take a look around. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of things you don’t need that someone else will appreciate, just list them on the internet and you might be surprised at the basis you’ll get.

The second but much slower option is to save as much money as possible by working in our country and then go on the trip with the saved money. But what to do on the road, you will spend this money gradually? That’s the best part, you can do absolutely anything you like. For example, we started an Instagram, which we used to collaborate with different companies, we started our own e-shop and guided tours of the countries we’ve been to ourselves. However, there are really a lot of possibilities.

The online world today offers an unlimited amount of opportunities, you just have to choose. In the same way, you can do manual work while travelling and travel further with the money you earn. Don’t you know anything? Then learn it, you’ll have time for it. We also didn’t have a clue about online marketing and building an e-store before our first trip. Then all it took was one crazy idea, a few tutorials on the internet, and within a few weeks we built a working e-shop on our own on an extra slow connection in Guatemala. Everything is possible, you just have to want it :-).

Luxury

This is a bit of a step up and frankly you have to be very rich to afford this style of travel. Private transfers, luxury hotels, expensive meals in restaurants, private trips to sights and tourist attractions with a local guide. All this will cost you a lot of money. You’ll be spending hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars a month. We’re not saying it’s unrealistic, but it won’t be easy either. If that’s what you’re after, you have no choice but to start that million dollar business or be born well. But we can’t tell you how to do that. Simply because we ourselves have not yet succeeded :-D.

Whatever group you fall into, you will always have to do something about it. You can’t just say the phrase “I want to travel” and expect it to work out. The first step is always up to you. If you really want it, do it. If you want to travel for almost free, you can. Everyone really has that option. Do you want to maintain some comfort? Well, you have to figure out a way to get that comfort when you travel.

You want to drink real champagne every day, have your own driver and fly Business Class? Then you’ll need to do something to ensure that high income. Whether you see the world and travel is up to you, and it depends on what you are willing to do and sacrifice for it. So what is the answer to the opening question? Travelling will only cost you as much as you yourself want it to. The obstacles and the classic “BUT” are put in your way by you, no one else. Do you really want to travel? Then take that first step and travel. You may be surprised how many more opportunities will open up in your life, how many more experiences you will gain and, most importantly, what unforgettable experiences you will have.