How much does a solo trip around the world cost? 3 travelers testify

A few months ago, I came across a post on Reddit from a woman my age, 29 at the time, who said she had done an 11-month world tour for a budget of €26,500. To tell the truth, I found this figure light years away from what I imagined for such a trip.

The stranger further clarified: “ The five and a half months in Turkey and South East Asia cost me only 6,200 euros, the six months in Oman/United Arab Emirates/Japan/United States/Canada cost me more than 19,000 euros”dividing his daily budget across all posts.

All trips and budgets are obviously different, but this got me thinking. After all, it’s okay to drool over the Instagram posts of strangers who have done it “all ready for a trip around the world”but how much does it cost exactly?

Read also: “The engine turns off and you can already see a huge cargo arriving in the distance”: 6 weeks on board a sailing boat, time to take stock

Whether or not to plan your travel budget in advance, that is the question

When it comes to planning a long trip, anticipating the budget can be like a puzzle: testimonials on the internet vary from simple to quadruple depending on the destinations, type and year of travel.

Typhaine, suffocated by this contradictory information, finally abandoned the idea of ​​setting a budget for his five-year solo world tour, which began in 2021 in North America.

“I simply told myself that I would start with the maximum I could, 15,000 euros in my case, and that I would make sure to spend as little as possible and earn some money by working along the way… So I tried above all to find as many possible countries in my path where I could work if necessary! »

On the contrary, Agnès, who toured South-East Asia alone for five and a half months in 2023, explains that she calculated her budget precisely after browsing numerous travel blogs and devouring the very complete website world tour.com and used the Le Planisseur À Contresens tool site.

“I set out hoping to maintain a theoretical budget of around 1,000 euros/month or 33 euros/day, increasing the estimates I had made thanks to my research by 20%, excluding plane tickets to go to Asia. »

Read also: 11 tips for traveling on a budget (and last minute)

Travel expenses

Let’s go over the basics: During a long-term trip, we can classify expenses into different categories.

First there are the essentials, including mandatory vaccinations for traveling to certain territories and visa costs. Variables that include accommodation (hotel or free camping), food (local cuisine or daily restaurant), means of transport (purchase of a vehicle, hitchhiking, public transport, etc.), telephony, insurance, bank charges, but also the purchase of specific equipment, such as a good travel backpack or even a camera… Finally, recreational activities such as diving can explode the budget.

Let’s also not forget about the fixed costs that follow you: if you keep your accommodation or if you have season tickets that will continue to be paid during the trip.

Finally, to finalize a budget, it is always good to have a safety mat, because no one is safe from a large surprise expense during this type of trip. Typhaine, who has traveled by van in North America, explains:

“When we go on long trips, the vehicles can be used as accommodation and resold at the end, which is economically attractive… But they wear out and there is a high probability that they will need repairs, which can sometimes cost $1,000 . After crossing into Canada, I got into an accident and my car was declared beyond repair. I wasn’t responsible, but it took the insurance company six months to pay me the money. I had to buy another one so I could leave, not knowing if I would ever get the insurance money. »

And as a result it costs… often more expensive than expected

Agnès, who had increased her spending in anticipation of these famous unexpected events, continued to control her daily expenses using the TravelSpend application, which helps with budget management while traveling. In the end, she believes she did well, spending around €36 per day instead of the €33 expected, a difference of around €470 in total for her trip between the prediction and reality.

For his part, Céline, who did a solo bicycle tour of Europe in 4 months, had not planned a budget. She had some money left over and told herself that it should be enough… That didn’t stop her from being very surprised by the cost of her trip.

“It was supposed to be a ‘cheap’ trip anyway. The idea was to spend as little as possible but without worrying too much. As a result, I still spent a lot more money than I imagined: 5,000 euros, which equates to around 42 euros per day, not including the purchase of the bike! I haven’t kept track of my accounts so it’s hard to take stock, but I went out to restaurants a lot, slept in campsites that cost up to 28 euros a night and had bikes repaired for 600 euros…”

Finally, after almost two years of travel, Typhaine, who tries to save on all expenses, goes on a world tour for several years with 15,000 euros and survives by working.

“North America is the most expensive area of ​​my trip and I spent an average of 1,000 euros a month there, excluding the purchase of vehicles, with peaks of up to 2,000 euros when I had to make repairs to my car. Basically, if I hadn’t been working in Canada, I would have already run out of money. »

She concludes:

“I think finding ways to have as much money as possible before leaving is good, but finding ways to spend as little as possible, doing my best to borrow equipment from someone, learning to fix my own van or even sleeping inside for free is even better. Ultimately, long-term travel for me is a bit like experiencing “degrowth” by exploring unknown lands. »

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