We have received many requests about a post of this kind. I do not like to talk about money, but I can understand the request. Some may be getting inspired by some of our travel guides but they wonder, how much money do I really need to invest on an adventure like this? Is it really so expensive? Or can I make it?
RULE #1: The worst offender when it comes to cost are the plane tickets.
This is the cost where you will have a really hard time trying to bargain for. You can eat 7/11, but you cannot bargain with an airline. As you can see in the practical case below, they account for nearly 50% of the total cost of a 2 week vacation. Then it comes the hotel, so traveling as a couple or with a friend who can share the room with you, will essentially cut down the lodging costs quite dramatically.
While considering a new destination, try to address these 5 key questions:
1) Is the place safe? Can you go sightseeing on your own? We generally get by on our own, simply because we like to explore things freely and prefer to invest in other activities, rather than guided-anything. Again, some places (e.g. Ha Long bay) require a boat trip or are only accessible with a guide (e.g. townships in Johannesburg) so that is extra money. Is it possible to walk around, take public transportation, etc? Safe places are generally cheaper to explore (e.g. you can spend easily one week in Tokyo and spend very little money, if you go for the cheapest dining & transport options) while dangerous / non-pedestrian places (e.g. Johannesburg, Curaçao) imply the added cost of a rental car / driver upfront.
2) What is rock bottom for you? What is the minimum hotel facility you can stay at and still have a good experience? Enrique and myself are very different. Personally, I am absolutely not into shared dormitory, preferably not shared bathroom either. So I can do a backpacker's place provided we have our own room and hot water (do NEVER take the latter for granted). I am saying this because typically, we aim to a certain lodging cost per night (e.g. 80€) but the same money will buy you VERY DIFFERENT THINGS depending where you are in the world and when you are planning to go - the deviation can be huge.
3) How open minded or flexible are you, when it comes to food? Can you try the local cuisine? Or do you have a sensitive tummy that does not accept huge changes? In general, local food is the cheapest but if that does not work for you... Then you need to think about paying for international cuisine (usually more expensive than local) or about buying fresh things at local markets, 7/11 and the likes (this means eating while walking or sitting on a bench or similar). After some trips to Asia, what works best for me is to have a large breakfast of things I am used to (eggs, vegetables, fruit, müsli, etc), light lunch and some dinner I can stomach (sometimes at a nice restaurant, room service o simply from 7/11).
4) Planning to do some special activity? Many people go to South Africa for skydiving, to Thailand for a diving license or come to Spain for rock climbing. The cost of the same activity with a trustworthy partner may vary heavily from one place to the next (e.g. cost of one dive in Polynesia is not the same as in Thailand) so if this is one important part of your trip, keep it in mind when planning for the budget.
5) How flexible is your agenda? In Japan, everyone takes vacation at exactly the same time, which is why prices skyrocket and why you don't see many Japanese doing overseas trips that often. In Sweden, people take vacation more or less whenever they want. Ever wondered why are there Swedes anytime and anywhere you go? Shitty weather, flexible vacation and a strong currency are behind this. So if you can, learn from the Swedes. Try to avoid the high season and explore alternative moments when the country may also offer a perfect experience (e.g. visit Japan in November, instead of trying to catch the sakura)
As a practical example, I prepared a cost summary of our New Year detour to Singapore and Boracay. Of course it can be done cheaper or differently, we are just sharing here a ballpark figure for those of you considering this type of trip. This post just intends to be useful for those of you planning.
Flight ticket:
[1] Madrid - Doha - Singapore (return for 2 people, with QATAR) : 1800 EURO
[2] Singapore - Boracay (return for 2 people, with TIGERAIR) : 460 EURO
We typically check options in skyscanner and then buy the most suitable one directly.
Hotel:
[1] Singapore (6 nights, double room at M Hotel with breakfast) : 720 EURO
[2] Boracay (7 nights, double room at Isla Kiterusfing, Bulabog Beach - not resort but kitesurfing spot) : 500 EURO
We typically book through booking.com
Transportation:
[1] Singapore (taxi from/to airport, mandatory with the kitesurfing equipment) : 45 EURO, so 90 EURO in total
[2] Boracay (taxi+boat from/to airport, they are quite far away from each other) : 20 EURO, so 40 EURO in total
Food:
[1] Singapore (dinner for 2 - we did not have proper lunch due to the large & nice breakfast at hotel) : 60 EURO / day, so 360 EURO total
[2] Boracay (light lunch, like 2 smoothies) : 10 EURO, so 70 EURO in total
[3] Boracay (dinner for 2) : 30 EURO / day, so 200 EURO in total
[4] Boracay (kitesurfing lesson) : 43 EURO / day, maybe 120 EURO in total
If we add everything up, we come down to 1800 + 460 + 720 + 500 + 90 + 40 + 360 + 70 + 200 + 120 = 4360 EURO in total. As result of this rough analysis, we come to the conclusion that... The cost of 2 weeks in paradise during the week of new year is about 2000 EURO per person (half of it being the long haul flight from Spain).
