At least once monthly, I receive an email or blog comment from a reader seeking assistance in estimating travel costs for various countries. Queries such as “What should I budget for three months in Thailand and Vietnam?” are frequent. To me, this resembles asking a therapist you’ve never met how to salvage your crumbling relationship. Without extensive follow-up questions, she can only make an educated guess.
In “The World’s Cheapest Destinations” book, I analyze typical expenses in various countries for recurring items like accommodation, food, beverages, and ground transport. I then present some fairly broad ranges of what it will likely cost on a daily basis for budget and mid-range travelers. The goal is to indicate which destinations are relatively affordable compared to others you might consider.
The issue is, I’m unaware of your financial habits, how you prefer to travel, or even your specific destinations within that country, so the most significant factor will always be lacking: you. I don’t know how much you need to purchase in advance, how many compromises you’re prepared to make to cut costs on lodging or transportation, or how much you enjoy shopping.
Additionally, I don’t have any insight into how much you intend to party, whether friends will be joining you along the way, or if you’re willing to splurge on worthwhile adventure activities or side trips. Clearly, your choice of destinations greatly impacts expenses—three months in Southeast Asia will cost significantly less than three months in Scandinavia, regardless of your travel style—but budgets differ widely among individuals.
**Determine What’s “Normal” for Your Travels**
When my now-wife and I embarked on our first round-the-world journey of what would become three, we were complete novices. We had little idea of actual costs beyond what we gleaned from guidebooks. Those were the days before the internet. Therefore, our budget was determined solely by how much we had left after accounting for airfare, vaccinations, backpacks, and other up-front long-term travel expenses.
Our budget settled at $20 a day, which equals around $32 in today’s dollars, or $640 monthly now. For everything. We certainly spent many nights in no-star hotels and guesthouses, occasionally inhabited by more than a few critters buzzing or scurrying about.
Rather than trying to predict costs and align our budget accordingly, we established a monthly spending limit and figured out how to accommodate it. This confined us to the most affordable countries, and even then, in certain locations, sticking to that budget was relatively manageable, resulting in extra funds. In other locations, it was more challenging, requiring us to tighten our spending.
During our final month spent in Holland and England, it became unmanageable. Fortunately, by that point, we had been working somewhat and had friends to stay with, but we still ended up charging some costs to credit cards just prior to returning home.
If you prefer to plan ahead instead of facing surprises, that’s more straightforward now. I have some resources for you in the following section. Generally, these will constitute your primary expenses over a month:
**Accommodation**
This is typically the largest expense if you aren’t on the move continuously. It’s also the simplest to budget for in advance through a bit of online research. You can visit Booking.com for sample hotel rates, and there are numerous apartment rentals available as well. If you’ll be in one location for a month, checking Airbnb is more feasible, as many owners offer discounts for longer stays.
Be truthful with yourself about how much comfort you require. You might claim you’re fine with hostels and rundown hotels featuring shared bathrooms and cold showers, but if you’ve never experienced that before and are accustomed to business chain hotels, you may find it more challenging than expected. If you need mid-range accommodations instead, you’ll need to adjust to a mid-range travel budget.
**Travel Costs**
This can be the largest expense, especially if you’re racing around to check off boxes by visiting new places every day or two rather than spending significantly less as a slow traveler. It will also be a larger cost if you’re in a country with quality trains and buses compared to those where traversing an entire island on a chicken bus may only cost you two bucks.
Transatlantic flights can be pricey, but short flights within Europe or Asia may be cheaper than a taxi upon arrival. I recently purchased a series of train tickets for upcoming travel in Europe, which ranged from 20 euros to 55, the latter being for a nine-hour journey. Covering that distance in Thailand or Vietnam might cost you half as much.
**Food and Drink While Traveling**
This could be the most significant expense if it is your top priority.