How I Travelled Around Asia for 95 Days Without a Concrete Plan or Breaking My Budget
An Honest Cost Review of How Much Backpacking Really Costs
Have you ever wondered how much an extended trip for a couple of months costs? What places are worth the hype and how much do you have to plan?
When it comes to traveling, I get asked two questions more than any other. “What country or experience did you enjoy the most?” and “How can you afford all your travels?”.
In this article, I will reveal my exact traveling costs. I have also compiled a list of my absolute highlights and activity recommendations.
Travel Costs
Travel Preparation
The prices are all calculated for two people as I have been on this trip with my partner. We stayed at medium to low-budget accommodations often booking last minute. The food is priced for a vegetarian and an omnivore. We love hiking and exploring, which is mostly free and kept our “activities” budget down.
Before we even started on this trip we spent 4,878.71€. Now this sounds like a lot, but travel preparation was almost a third of our budget already.
Our biggest win was traveling with only a cabin bag, which reduced costs on shorter flights. This was only possible because we packed for a warm climate.
It is often required to book leaving flights to enter visa-free countries. This is to prove to the authorities that you intend to leave during the visa-free period. So it is worth outlining your trip.
A mistake we made was not applying for some visas in time and having to book last-minute flights to adjust for that. This could have been easily avoided and was a costly mistake.
Travel Cost Per Country
The total cost of traveling for 95 days came to the total of 10,535.50€. I have calculated the cost per day for each country to be able to compare them.
Japan was the most expensive country whereas Thailand and Laos were the cheapest. This was no surprise.
The largest reduction of cost when traveling is to…
- Travel with other people
- Stay in places for a longer time
- Plan somewhat ahead, last-minute bookings on the weekend can get expensive
Going to the supermarket was almost as expensive as eating out. Therefore this was not a cost reduction, but this very much depends on the countries you visit.
Total Cost
This trip came to a total of 15,364.31€ by combining the preparation and the traveling costs. My partner and I contributed to these costs in equal parts. But how did I even get 7,682.16€? This is not something you usually have lying around in your bank account. At least I do not.
As unsexy as this sounds I saved up, by working a salary job. It took me about a year to save up the money, by keeping my fixed costs low and being more intentional with my money. A big help was spreading out the cost of the trip and paying it in chunks in advance.
The number sounds big to me now. It helps to take it one step at a time and leave some wiggle room in your budget. Build a financial safety net you feel comfortable with. If you are planning a big trip negotiate some time off work or take a small career break and just go for it.
Travel Recommendations
This is a list of my trip highlights. These are genuine recommendations — no advertisement deals.
- Temple Stay in Seoul (KOR) — https://eng.templestay.com/reserv_search.aspx#
- DMZ Tour (KOR) — visiting the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea
- Bukhansan National Park, hiking (KOR) — free
- Nami Island (KOR)
- Hakone Onsens and Lake Ashi, hiking (JPN) — free
- Liuqiu, snorkeling with green turtles (TWN) — free
- Taroko National Park, hiking (TWN) — free
- Wulai, hotsprings (TWN) — free
- Dragon’s Back, hiking (HKG) — free
- Ha Long Bay, tour (VNM)
- Ninh Binh, Nature (VNM) — free
- Wildlife Rescue Center (KHM) — https://www.wildlifealliance.org/wildlife-phnom-tamao/
- Angkor Wat, biking around the temple area (KHM)
- Vang Vieng, favourite for hiking (LAO)
- Hot Air Balloon (LAO) — http://abovelaos.com/en/
- Pai Canyon (THA)— free
I found South Korea, Taiwan, and Laos the most underrated travel destinations. Locals seemed genuinely excited about tourism there. Japan was a bit more difficult to navigate as a vegetarian. So keep that in mind if you have dietary restrictions.
Final Thoughts
Exploring does not have to cost a lot of money. It is the human connections, wild animal encounters, and living in the moment that made it worth it.
Yes, it is even worth 7,682.16€ and taking 95 days off to explore. The important part is to get out there explore, grow and have fun.
