I just came home from my backpacking trip to South East Asia on Sunday. I visited Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines with two friends. We recorded EVERY. SINGLE. expense that we had and I have decided to compile my expenses for all of you to see :)
Please feel free to ask any questions, (unrelated ones as well), if you're wondering about what a specific thing cost I'm more than happy to check :)
Observe:
We travelled quite fast, which you might have been able to deduce from the number of countries we visited in just 3 months.
Our daily budget was approximately 30 USD a day (333 sek) where we were looking to spend a maximum of 10$ on hostels, 10$ on food and the remaining 10$ was saved for travel expenses.
We also had an activity budget of 500$.
Yes. We were strict with our budget. Was it hard to stick to it? No. Well. Except for the Philippines.
COSTS BEFORE THE START OF THE TRIP: 2269$
- Direct flight round trip ticket: 1154$ - (1 Checked in bag and 1 carry on)
- Insurance: 112$
- Vaccinations: 565$ (Hep A+B (2 doses), Tyfoid, Meningitis ACWY, Kolera)
- Equipment: 438$
Explanation of all categories:
- Food: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and non alcoholic drinks.
- Accomodation: Hostel cost.
- Transportation: Long and short form transport not related to any activity, Visas.
- Activities: Entrance fees, hired drivers, tours.
- Souvenirs: Post cards, paintings, clothes etc.
- Alcohol: Alcohol
- Misc: Anything not included in the categories above, laundry, toilet fees, bank fees.
Northern Thailand: 11 Days = 226.77$
- Food: 53$ (4.18$/day)
- Accomodation: 50$ (4.54$/night)
- Transportation: 40$ (Bus to Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai + buses and trains in BKK)
- Activities: 43.42$ (Temple Hopping and Cooking Class)
- Souvenirs: 16$
- Alcohol: 20.4$
- Misc: 3.95$
Laos: 10 Days = 332.93$
- Food: 54.14$ (5.4$/day)
- Accomodation: 52.65$ (5.2$/day)
- Transportation: 140$ (EVISA, 2 day boat to LP, bus to Vang Vieng, van to Vinetiane)
- Activities: 37.48$ (Lagoons, kayaking, tuktuk for a day, entrance fees)
- Souvenirs: 36.37$
- Alcohol: 10.70$
- Misc: 1.59$
Cambodia: 11 Days = 450.27$
- Food: 104.8$ (9.45$/day)
- Accomodation: 51.83$ (5.1$/night)
- Transportation: 196.36$ (VISA (big cost) 30h to Siem Reap, bus to Koh Rong, Phnom Penh)
- Activities: 64.76$ (Angkor Wat, killing fields, Tuol)
- Souvenirs: 22.61$
- Alcohol: 7.75$
- Misc: 2.16$
Vietnam: 21 Days = 643.1$
- Food: 134.21$ (6.1$/day)
- Accomodation: 76.81$ (3.5$/night)
- Transportation: 96.08$ (Van to HCMC, bus to Hoi An, Hanoi, Cat Ba, Hanoi)
- Activities: 281.53$ (Cooking class, food tour, Ha Giang, Ha Long Bay)
- Souvenirs: 28.3$
- Alcohol: 12.51$
- Misc: 13.96$
Philippines: 15 Days = 1002$
- Food: 98.67$ (6.57$/day)
- Accomodation: 123.73$ (8.2$/night)
- Transportation: 577.62$ (flights ;-; and the boats were expensive too)
- Activities: 164.62$ (3 scuba dives, snorkeling tours and island hopping)
- Souvenirs: 29.3$
- Alcohol: 0$ (did not feel safe enough to drink)
- Misc: 8.71$
Southern Thailand: 18 Days = 612.37
- Food: 146.7$ (8.15$/day)
- Accomodation: 142.68$ (7.92$/night)
- Transportation: 131.96$ (4 boats, 1 bus, vans, tuktuks n bolt)
- Activities: 49.69$ (ziplining, snorkeling tour, yoga)
- Souvenirs: 135$
- Alcohol: 4.07$ (150 b bucket)
- Misc: 2.27$
I also freaked the fuck out after a close encounter with a dog on Koh Rong and decided to get the rabies vaccine = +148$ (3 doses+doctors visit).
In total I spent approximately 3365$ in the 3 months we were travelling and 5634$ including all costs before the trip. This number would've been a LOT lower if we had skipped the Philippines, but you live and you learn. We were still mostly within our budget.
Again, please feel free to ask any questions :)
Wow - this is super helpful. I'm heading there in late May. I've travelled a fair amount but never documents costs down like this.