- How much does a round-the-world tour cost?
- Budget planning for a round-the-world trip
- Expenses to be planned before the round-the-world tour departure
- Expenses to be expected during your world tour (on site)
- Our advice to save money during your World Tour
- Don't budget too small
- Favour continents and countries where life is cheaper
- Travel out of the tourist seasons
- - Favour cheap or even free accommodation
- Eat local food on the street.
- Be your own guide
- Travel with local transport
- Don't drink too much alcohol
- Fly low-cost
- One last piece of advice: don't neglect your health and pleasure.
What budget should I set aside for a world tour? Estimating your round-the-world budget is an essential step to be taken into account well before your departure.
A trip around the world is something you prepare in advance. Even a long time in advance. You should know that few, if any, people have planned or carried out the same round-the-world trip as you have. Each round-the-world tour depends on many criteria (itinerary, lifestyle, initial budget, duration, etc...) which makes it its originality and singularity. For Travel Lovers, as a travel budget specialist, will help you to estimate and build the budget for your World Tour.
Read also: The 10 solutions for financing a world tour
How much does a round-the-world tour cost?
Beware of prejudices, a round-the-world trip is expensive, but everything is relative. You can choose many criteria that will allow you to make big savings and limit your expenses on the road. Once on the road, everything will depend on your choices for accommodation, food and lifestyle. But there are some expenses you can't escape. We'll tell you all about them right afterwards.
On average, a round-the-world trip costs 15,000€ for a duration of 9 to 12 months. On the internet, you will find testimonials from travellers who have done it with 10 000€, and others with 17 000€. Remember: it all depends on you. The testimonials or the post you are reading now are only there to help and guide you in your organization. Following the expenses in detail, we will show you how to save money during a world tour.
Budget planning for a round-the-world trip
A travel budget for a round-the-world trip is divided into 2 main parts:
- 1 : expenses before departure
- 2: expenses on site - en route
Expenses to be planned before the round-the-world tour departure
Think about everything you need, what you might need, what you could do without, but also what you already have.
- Visas = 200 - 250€. Use VisaMapper to find out where you will need one.
- Equipment - Material = about 500€. The budget depends on what you already have or not (backpack, camera, etc...).
- Travel insurance around the world = 450 - 600€. See the offers of our partner
- Vaccines = 250 - 300€.
- Round the World ticket = 3 000€ approximately. To buy your tickets separately, use a flight comparator
- Travel guide = 100 - 150€ ( not necessary)
Your pre-departure expenses can therefore vary from 4,000 to 5,000€. You will notice that the round-the-world ticket represents a large part of your budget.
Expenses to be planned during your round-the-world trip (on site)
On the spot, we repeat, it's up to you. But on average, it will cost you between 9,000 and 11,000€. Of course, your travel budget will be much lower if you go through Asia and South America. Keep in mind that in Europe, North America and Australia, life is much more expensive.
For Travel Lovers has created for you a travel budgeting tool that allows you to calculate your expenses on the spot in more than 200 destinations. The tool is very malleable and you can adapt your budget according to the expenses of transport, accommodation, leisure and food, as well as your type of traveller (backpack, tourist, etc...). The advantage of our calculator is that it estimates a budget per day and per person for you and only you! We don't need to give a single figure per day/person/country, it doesn't make much sense, nobody lives the same way.
The tool works in a few simple steps :
1. Select the country where you are staying
2. Select the number of travellers and the number of days for each country
3. Select the expenses you want to include for the country in question
4. 4. "Play" with the gauge to adapt your budget to your personality or type of traveller.
5. Discover the budget for the chosen destination with your personal criteria
You can use our tool for all the destinations of your world tour.
Our tips to save money during your World Tour
During your world tour, you don't know what can happen, so it's always better to be careful about expenses without depriving yourself. Here are some tips and tricks to save money during your world tour:
Don't plan a budget that is too small
In the end, this advice will not save you money, on the contrary. However, it is essential to always plan a little more than the budget you set before you leave. Add a margin of about 10% to the overall budget. This will give you a safety cushion in case of a glitch, and will help you to overcome some difficulties, or to treat yourself from time to time. Don't forget that your world tour is an exceptional experience. Consider yourself lucky and make the most of every moment: don't spoil a visit or a place just because you are short of a few euros.
Favour continents and countries where life is cheaper.
It's obvious. If you are looking to spend as little as possible, go to countries in Asia, Africa and South America rather than the northern hemisphere. Nature is even more beautiful, and the cost of living is lower (2 to 3 times cheaper)!
Travel out of the tourist seasons
Plan your trip around the world to avoid the tourist seasons and thus the price increase.
Favour cheap or even free accommodation.
Accommodation is the key to your travel budget. On the spot, choose small, cheap hotels, youth hostels, guesthouses, and negotiate prices. Even try to sleep in a local house. Also think about Couchsurfing.
Eat local food in the street
Food will be one of the biggest budgets of your world tour. So on the spot, eat in the street (street food), in small local restaurants (bouis-bouis) and in the markets. This is often much better and above all much cheaper!
Be your own guide
Find out what to see on the internet or in a travel guide, but avoid paying local agencies. Unless you have no choice or it is really necessary.
Travel with local transport
Take public buses or local transport (trains, buses). Avoid expensive domestic flights. If you take a taxi/tuk-tuk or other forms of transportation, negotiate and set a price before getting on.
Do not drink too much alcohol
No, this is not advice for your health, but for your budget. Alcohol and parties can quickly become a very important part of your budget. Drink only very occasionally and drink locally. A local beer in Vietnam costs only 0,60€ for example.
Fly low-cost
If you haven't taken a "round-the-world ticket", only fly with low-cost airlines. They exist today all over the world. Always use a flight comparator before booking, and play with the flexibility of your dates.
One last piece of advice: don't neglect your health and your pleasure.
Take out insurance for your world tour, and during this one, take care of yourself as soon as necessary. Treat yourself whenever you feel like it. Otherwise, you'll regret it. Make sure that you have unforgettable memories at every stage of your trip.
Are you going on a round-the-world tour or are you planning to do so in the coming years? You have been around the world and want to share your experience with our readers? Comment on this article!
