The cost of travelling around the world

By Jonathan Blake, Day -132 | February 15, 2009 |

A few minutes ago I finished up a fairly extensive analysis and breakdown of the total cost of TransGlobal and it’s various demands. If you are considering backpacking around the world on a shoestring (although looking at this, I sometimes feel like it’s more of a cheesewire than a shoestring), this should give you a fairly good overview of the sort of costs involved. As always, if you have any questions leave us a comment and one of us will try to answer as thoroughly as possible!

Expense	Cost
Flight - Vancouver - London	$500
Flight - London to Crete	$200
Flight - Egypt to Mumbai	$500
Flight - Kolkata to Bangkok	$150
Other Transport (jordan car rental, ferries, etc)	$400
Accomodation, Food ($15 x 365) or ($20 x 290)	$5,850
Travel Insurance	$600
Entry Visas	$430
— Turkey	$20
– Syria	$140
– Lebanon	$15
– Jordan	$15
– Egypt	$20
– India	$100
– Nepal	$40
– Thailand	$30
– Cambodia	$20
– Laos	$30
Prescription Medication	$370
– Doxycycline (anti-malarial)	$300
– Acetazolamide (altitude sickness)	$10
– Azithromycin (traveller’s diarrhea)	$60
Travel Vaccinations	Paid ($270)
– Consultation Fee	$35
– Vivaxim (Hep A, Typhoid)	$100
– Hepatitis B 1/3	$35
– Hepatitis B 2/3	$35
– Hepatitis B 3/3	$35

Total Cost	$9,000

The above costs are per person.

So, with that all calculated, all that’s left to do is save up the money required, and start making some tentative logistical plans.

Our currently anticipated date for leaving Vancouver is roughly June 20th, and we’ll be hitting the tarmac in Crete sometime in the first week of July.

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Comments

4 Responses to “The cost of travelling around the world”

john
February 15th, 2009 @ 3:44 pm

There’s also the price of all the gear you bought or will buy.

On a sidenote, I was born in Crete and it’s an excellent place to begin your journey. I’d be glad to answer any questions you have.
The cost of travelling around the world (about $9k) | The Swift Fox
February 15th, 2009 @ 5:29 pm

[...] Full Story: TransGlobal [...]
Jonathan Blake
February 15th, 2009 @ 8:56 pm

Hi John!
Yeah, our gear cost ended up being a little more than originally planned. You can see a breakdown on our backpacking gear list page.

Definitely have a few questions about Crete! I would be very greatful if you could answer some…

- Where’s the best place for a couple of fresh-off-the-plane travellers to sleep on the first night (in heraklion/iraklion)?
- What’s getting around like? Can we walk, or is public transport cheap and cheerful?
- What are some definite must-see parts of crete that the tourists usually miss / what do the locals keep quiet?
- What’s the best way to get really good, really cheap food in crete?
- Is there anything I should be asking you that I’ve forgotten to? :)

many thanks!
john
February 17th, 2009 @ 12:26 pm

- Where’s the best place for a couple of fresh-off-the-plane travellers to sleep on the first night (in heraklion/iraklion)?

There’s a handful of youth hostels, I’ve never heard anything about them, however judging a book by its cover, I probably wouldn’t step foot inside.

There’s also a bunch of young couchsurfing hosts, though a lot of them might not be in the city in July. It’s a good bet anyway.

Then there’s usually a couple squats (in Heraklion) where travelers would probably be welcome.

Other than that you can easily sleep outside from June to September, a beach or a forest would be just fine.

- What’s getting around like? Can we walk, or is public transport cheap and cheerful?

You can walk most of the distances within the city. Buses stop before midnight, should be under 1euro for short hops in the city and a bit over 1eu for longer rides. Taxis have a 3eu minimum, which will get you around the city.

This is the bus company: http://www.ktel-heraklio-lassithi.gr/
No prices on the website but lots of information. As an example, heraklion-rethymno should be around 10eu, heraklion-chania ~20eu, heraklion-hersonissos ~5eu.

- What are some definite must-see parts of crete that the tourists usually miss / what do the locals keep quiet?

The northern side of the island is more commercialised, so if you want the really good beaches you need to go south.

Gavdos, Chrissi (Gaidouronisi, Donkey-Island), Elafonisi are all excellent. If I had to pick one, it’d be Gavdos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavdos
http://www.amazingcrete.com/crete/elafonisi_island.htm
http://www.ierapetra.net/chrissi.html

Samaria gorge is a nice 6 hour hike, though a popular tourist spot. It leads to a beach so after 6 hours of walking in the sun you can dive in some cool water.

Then there’s all the archaeological stuff if you are into that, Minoan Palace, Phaistos, Zakros and more.

Your best bet is to not plan much and go off the beaten path. Just be careful, because if you see a weed farm, there’s a good chance a man with a gun is nearby. Crete is full of small villages, dirtroads, beaches, towns, gorges, caves, rivers, mountains and forests. Frankly, I haven’t seen enough of it myself and I really should before we ruin it all.

- What’s the best way to get really good, really cheap food in crete?

Ask and ye shall receive. A bit before christmas, I met two americans that managed to eat for free most of the time just by asking for food that’s gonna be thrown out, etc etc.

If you wanna cook, you can get the good stuff at the street markets that happen a couple times a week. Or you can visit the big supermarket of the neighbourhood. Or you can go fishing.

- Is there anything I should be asking you that I’ve forgotten to? :)

You should ask if $20 per day is gonna be enough for Crete. Maybe if you have free accomodation. Cyclades will also be quite expensive in July.

The email I used for the comment doesn’t work yet, give it a week or so if you want to email me.