RTW Trip Costs?

Does anyone know how much to budget for a RTW tour?

Not touching Europe and not staying long in the US. Mostly Asia and S-America and Australia. 215 Days in total. Air fare is already sorted.

Just need a guess for accommodation, food and trips etc etc

Here's my plan..

Delhi - 45 night(s) Hong Kong - 7 night(s) Sydney - 45 night(s) Auckland - 30 night(s) Papeete - 14 night(s) Easter Island - 7 night(s) Lima - 45 night(s) Los Angeles - 7 night(s) Las Vegas - 5 night(s) Boston - 5 night(s) New York - 5 night(s)

How much shouldi budget for accom, food and excursions, will not be staying in ritz, just camps, cheap hotels, the usual.

Hostels in AUS - about 20 AUD per night in a shared room. A few places can be as cheap as 11-12 AUD and some places costs 25 AUD but most places costs approx. 20 AUD

Whitsunday cruise - 3 days, approx 300 AUD Blue Mountains (Sydney - 1 day trip), approx 30-40 AUD Entrance wild life parks, zoo etc, 10-20 AUD

We spent about 2500 AUD each per month in Australia for accommodation, food, trips etc.

3 nights in SYD itself are MORE than enough (some disagree, but I really don't much like the place, as opposed to the bush which I adore - not Bush, bush; there's a big difference). Australian costs are a little like 'how long is a piece of string.' The 'Tyranny of Distance,' to use a tired term, is alive and well and transport will be a major factor in the cost of your trip. Don't scrimp in this regard. Bob Hawke may have been right in calling Australia 'very centrally located - it takes you two days to get there from anywhere,' but it is one magnificent continent with people to match. You will get a decent introduction to the place if you don't try to see too much in a month and a half - but get out of the cities and explore.

A 5 day tour around the centre (far too little time, but an introduction to the highlights) will run you around AUD$500. Check out the backpacker grapevine - competition is intense and quality varies.

I asume that he means 45 days in AUS - not in Sydney alone

Yes i planned on traveling around.

Correct, if it were Syd alone it would have been 5 days tops as per all the USA cities.

Mark

In 1978-79, I spent one year in Africa. I hitch-hiked from San Diego to New York, flew to London, then hitched to Morocco and the Camerouns, then flew to Kenya and went North to Egypt, then back to Europe and home. The entire year cost me exactly $10/day, including transportation and everything. In 1983-85, I spent two years traveling across the Pacific to India and back, through Tahiti, Fiji, NZ, Aus, and SE Asia. That trip cost ~$20/day, excluding the original ticket to Aus.

If you can do it for less than $40/day today, I'd be surprised.

One way to figure costs is to look in the Lonely Planet guides for each area. Check out cheap hotel prices, local restaurants, buses, etc. I think you could come up with a good estimate of your costs. For example: my 1996 guide to Peru says you can do Peru on $10 to $15/day, but most budget travelers spend ~$20/day.

Turby the Turbosurfer

Thanks,

Well thats sounds promising. I had accounted for about $80 a day but i am going to a few more expensive areas like US and Aust so might balance out.

Mark

I agree with Turby's comments, with one caveat: DO NOT OBSESS about always taking the cheapest option, pinching every penny/yen/euro/bolivar/etc. You are taking the trip of a lifetime and if you concentrate only on budget, you will see nothing, do nothing, experience nothing except day old scraps. Sure, you can and should be conscious of your expenses and nobody's saying you have to ignore the ticket prices (I tend to be 'tight as the bark on a tree,' in one colleague's eloquent turn of phrase) - but live a little even if it means cutting out a month or a destination or three. Better to do a few places right than a lot of places not at all - unless you are just going for bragging rights.