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Ah. This is the vital question for any traveler and often the first thought which passes by the mind of everyone... How much does traveling cost? Do I have enough money to make this trip? And especially how to make sure that you will not face financial problems while traveling?
Here, we propose to estimate your travel costs and give you the broad outlines. It is impossible to estimate exactly the cost of a travel before leaving. Moreover, the expenses vary according to the person, her wishes, the seasons, the destinations, the incidents, the needs, the level of desired comfort, the manner of traveling. But, in all the cases it is essential to envisage a minimum. Here are some proposals to estimate how much money to take before leaving in order to feel secure.
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 Plane ticket |
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The first great expense is your plane ticket. To optimize this cost is very important. Research thus should begin sufficiently in advance. Do not hesitate to privilege the Arab airline companies which offer rather low costs and a good quality of service (see flights section).
We take as example for our calculation this flight :
One way: Paris-Delhi, return Mumbai-Paris with Qatar Airlines500 Euro |
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| Visas |
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According to the number of countries which you intend to visit, it is necessary to call the consulates before the departure and preferably to have all the visas in your passport before leaving. The costs vary from one country to the other and also depend on the season.
Here are some examples for a Tunisian traveler who leaves France towards Asia:
India - normal delay 50 Euro
Thailand - normal delay free
Combodge - normal delay 30 Euro
Total: 80 Euro |
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| Vaccines & drugs |
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It is important to get well informed about the medical precautions to take in the visited countries. The drugs case is 'a must'. It is necessary to consult a doctor and ask what to put inside exactly. Certain countries require one or more vaccines (see section preparation for travel). If malaria is present in the countries where you travel then it is necessary to envisage a budget for the repulsive of mosquitoes, shelves, the mosquito net, etc.
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| Backpack & other |
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In this case, it depends on your Budget. Having a good Backpack is useful if you wish to re-use it for other travels. Therefore, it is just necessary to pay attention to the quality of the Backpack independently of the price (see section preparation for travel). Similarly, we have already described in the section preparation for travel what it is necessary to have in ones Backpack. Generally, these objects do not require a great Budget.
Here are some examples of expenses of a person who leaves on a journey for the first time (he/she has to buy everything):
Backpack 60 liters:60 euro
Guides book: 25 euro
Torch: 10 euro
Lock: 10 euro
Trek shoe: 40 euro
Multi-function pocket knifes: 20 Euro
Batteries & Cassettes for Camera: 50 euro
Alarm clock: 5 euro
Bag for the day: 15 euro
Various Products (hygiene, compass, memo pad, etc.) :30 euro
Total (average according to each person): 150 Euro |
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| Accomodation |
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To calculate the total cost, it is necessary to start by estimating the number of nights when you will need a hotel (you can always travel by night to optimize the costs). Then according to the visited area you make the average (between maximum price and minimum price). To have an idea on the cost of lodging per area, consult our accommodation section.
Here is an example of a traveler who leaves Europe towards Asia and remains 2 months:
A total number of nights of this travel: 60 nights
- On average, he will spend one night per week in night trip (Bus, train): 4 nights/month * 2 = 8 nights
- He thinks of spending one month in Europe and a month in Asia
* 26 nights in Europe = 20 euro * 26 = 520 euro
* 26 nights in Asia = 2 euro * 26 = 52 euro
N.b : This is in case when the traveler does not use the networks of free lodging (hospitalityclub.org or couchsurfing.com)
Total (of scenario above): 574 Euro |
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| Moving |
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When preparing the trip, it is better to have an idea on the road which will be taken. This will avoid you some bad surprises on the delays and connections, and also gives you a first estimation about costs. In general, all the guides' books include a heading which gives the price of the trains, Bus or planes inside a country or with the close countries with your destination. A manner of calculation is to consider the total number of kilometers you expect to do and multiply this number by an average cost of one kilometer.
Here is an example of calculation for a voyage in Central America:
The traveler intends to visit 5 cities in Mexico and 2 cities in Guatemala
Thus he will make 6 ways (5 national and 1 international), total distance: 2000 km
He chooses to travel by Bus
1 kilometer in the Bus costs in average 20 cents of euro:
So, it is necessary to envisage: 2000km * 0,10 euro = 200
Total (of scenario above):200 Euro |
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| Museums, shows, exhibitions, excursions, etc. |
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A travel without visits to museums, historical places, exhibitions, festivals or excursions is not a complete travel. It is thus necessary, and according to ones budget, to envisage a minimum of money to pay the entries to the various monuments. Having good information helps optimizing costs (to use an international student card, to buy tickets with reductions, promotions, purchase on Internet, etc).
The cost thus varies according to the continent and the place, here are some examples:
The entry to the Louvre in France costs 14 euro (free every first Sunday of each month)
The entry to the British Museum in London is free
The entry in Taj Mahel in Agra in India east 750 roupi = 15 euro
The entry to pyramids in Cairo 20 Egyptian Pounds =3 euro (but U may visit up to 20 more temples)
With the international Student Card, the students often do not pay or they have a reduction of 50%
Total (of some one which makes 10 temples or museums in Egypt):
30 Euro |
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| others |
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Local dinner, exceptional evening, an object bought, etc. are all things that may happen while traveling. It is thus necessary to leave a small margin for exceptional expenses.
Example: Budget Museums:100 euro
Example: Budget Travel souvenirs:50 euro
Total : 150 Euro |
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| A simpler way to calculate... |
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Another way to do is to calculate the number of days of your travel and to decide in advance a maximum Budget per day. This can include everything: museums tickets, meal, hotel, memories, varied expenses, etc.
Example: A traveller who leaves two months to China
Budget 60 days * 10 euro per day = 600
Total : 600 Euro |
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| The Computer of the traveller |
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Now, we have reached the hardest moment :) Il is necessary to reconsider the preceding points, to stop well on each point, to make a "pessimistic" estimation and to end up making the sum:
Example of a traveler who leaves for the first time to travel around South Asia , 2 months of trip:
Plane ticket towards Asia: 500 euro
Train & Buses 100 euro : 100 euro
Visa : 50 euro
Vaccines & drugs : 100 euro
backpack :60 euro
Hostels :120 euro
Museums :50 euro
Forecasts other: :100 euro
Total to spend two months traveling around Asia:1100 euro
This means :500 euro (except bill of plane)/60 days = a Budget of 10 euro per day
N.B 1-This is a simple estimation.
N.B 2-for safety, it is always necessary to envisage with oneself a cash amount (example: 100 euro) that you NEVER use. It will be useful only in events of extreme Urgency.
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