During my 6-month trip through SE Asia and parts of Europe in 2019, I kept track of my expenses each day using an app called Travel Spend. So, for the majority of the trip, I used their default categories. Contained below is a breakdown of all of my expenses. You’ll find tables for each country showing the various costs by groups, and I’ll break down some of the specifics as well. So if you’ve ever wondered what the cost of travel in SE Asia is, keep reading.
Along with the totals, you’ll find an amount per day listed. This includes all categories, even flights. Including flights within the per day calculation does inflate it quite a bit. Still, I felt I should keep that in the computation, considering it was money that was technically spent within the country. If I took a flight from one country to another, I considered it an expense to the country I departed from.
Category Breakdown
Restaurants: Meals at restaurants, street food, or food bought from a market. In some instances, these prices also include alcohol. Mainly because I was often too lazy to separate it out from the meal when entering the expense. In almost all of Asia, I ate local food. It is cheap, and buying groceries isn’t worth the hassle while traveling in Asia due to how cheap buying already prepared local food is.
Groceries: Typically, snacks or water purchased at a supermarket or convenience store. In the case of Thailand, it also includes me buying way too much Red Bull.
Transportation: Taxi, train, subway, bus, tuk-tuk, van, or motorbike transportation. Most of the time, I walked around cities unless I was too far away from a destination. In which case, I’d usually use the Grab app to get a motorbike ride. I did not rent any vehicles while traveling. In a lot of cases, I utilized trains, vans, or buses to get from city to city.
Drinks: Anything containing alcohol
Laundry: As a general rule of thumb, I did my laundry weekly. Usually, it was done at either my hostel or a mom and pop shop on the street.
Sightseeing and Activities: For the most part, sightseeing was for entrance fees and activities were for tours. However, at times I didn’t care which category I tossed it in, so sometimes it’s blended.
General: Usually contains purchases for toiletries. Other random purchases, such as stamps or postcards, also fall under this category. On occasion, I’d have a more considerable expense that was a one-off that was placed here as well.
In general, my travel style is pretty simplistic. I stayed in hostels each night, aside from one town in Laos, two nights during a trek in Vietnam, and the times I stayed at my friend’s places while in Europe. I almost always prefer to walk everywhere while I’m in a city.
Thailand – June 15th to July 13th
Places visited: Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Pai
| Accommodation | $163.30 |
| Laundry | $13.71 |
| Groceries | $39.45 |
| Restaurants | $105.75 |
| Drinks | $52.34 |
| Sightseeing | $37.98 |
| Transportation | $68.17 |
| Coffee | $14.38 |
| Flights | $181.07 |
| Activities | $81.06 |
| General | $24.07 |
| Total | $781.28 |
| Amount Per Day | $27.90 |
Accommodation
Min per night: $3.09 in Pai
Max per night: $7.85 in Chiang Mai (This was a co-living space with lunch included each day)
Flights
Bangkok to Phuket $49.31
Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang, Laos $107.76
Best Onward Travel Ticket – $12
Phuket to Chiang Mai – Free due to credit card rewards miles
Overall, flights weren’t too costly. However, I could have saved a lot more had I done the slightest bit of planning in advance. I booked my flights only a day or two before departure. The Best Onward Travel ticket is something I purchased as proof of onward travel, which is sometimes looked at. In this instance, they didn’t care, and getting my passport stamped was quick and easy.
Activities
There is only one item listed under this category while in Thailand. This was to go to an elephant sanctuary called Elephant Nature Park located in the Chiang Mai area. This included a bus to and from, a meal, and a tour of the entire park.
General
Toiletries, bug spray, postage for mailing a jacket to a friend in Thailand because we accidentally mixed ours up before parting ways. Roughly 1/3 of this total was for supplies to treat blisters on my feet that I got from playing pickup basketball with some Thai people and not wearing basketball shoes.
Laos – July 13th to August 9th
Places visited: Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Nong Khiaw, Vientiane
| Accommodation | $147.94 |
| Laundry | $10.56 |
| Groceries | $58.14 |
| Restaurants | $154.76 |
| Drinks | $15.48 |
| Sightseeing | $11.24 |
| Transportation | $58.59 |
| Coffee | $33.67 |
| Activities | $14.44 |
| General | $19.85 |
| Total | $524.67 |
| Amount Per Day | $19.43 |
Accommodation
Min per night: $3.42
Max per night: $12
I spent roughly two weeks in Luang Prabang. Mostly because it is a chill town and provided me with ample cafes to work from. The cost of my hostel while there was $3.42 per night on average. I spent $12 per night in Nong Khiaw. Aside from a couple of nights in Vietnam, this was the only time during my trip I paid for a private room. Nong Khiaw is a tiny town with one main road and didn’t have many options listed online. Later on, I discovered there is one hostel there within a café, which could have cut down on my costs. I wasn’t disappointed with having my own room and changing things up, though.
Transportation
I only took two rides to get within cities during my time in Laos. One was from the airport in Luang Prabang to the city center, and the other was in Vientiane from my hostel to the airport. Aside from that, I walked everywhere. The additional transportation costs consisted of taking vans to each city I went to within Laos.
Flights
You’ll notice that there are no flight costs while in Laos. I did take one flight from Vientiane to Siem Reap, Cambodia. However, I covered this with credit card miles, so it didn’t end up being an expense.
Cambodia – August 9th – August 31st
Places visited: Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Kampot, Battambang
| Accommodation | $129.47 |
| Laundry | $6.60 |
| Groceries | $42.49 |
| Restaurants | $239.48 |
| Drinks | $100.35 |
| Sightseeing | $140.50 |
| Transportation | $73.65 |
| Coffee | $2.80 |
| Activities | $15.00 |
| Fees & Charges | $38.00 |
| General | $48.45 |
| Total | $836.79 |
| Amount Per Day | $38.04 |
Accommodation
Min per night: $3.75
Max per night: $7.50
The least expensive hostel I stayed at happened to be my favorite hostel in Cambodia. It was in Siem Reap at Cozy Cloud, where I made several friends and had the best social experience while in the country.
Restaurants
This portion is significantly more than my previous two destinations. In large part, it is due to staying in Siem Reap for a week and heading to more expensive restaurants after the bars. On days where I stuck to more local restaurants serving local food, it was cheap.
Drinks
Again, this can be attributed to staying in Siem Reap for a week and partying with friends I met at the hostel. The city has a place called Pub Street with bars and clubs everywhere. As my boi Scottie P. would say in We’re the Millers, no ragrets.
Sightseeing
While this may seem like a lot compared to my previous destinations, $62 was for a 3-day temple pass while in Siem Reap. The rest went towards a few museums, a floating village tour, and a brewery tour.
Transportation and Flights
I only took buses while in Cambodia, even when I left the country for Vietnam. This cut down a lot on costs, and the bus rides weren’t too bad.
Fees and Charges
All of this was for my visa for Cambodia.
Vietnam – August 31st to September 28th
Places visited: Saigon, Da Nang, Hanoi, Hoi An, Hue, Quy Nhon, Dalat, Sapa
| Accommodation | $162.71 |
| Laundry | $10.11 |
| Groceries | $42.03 |
| Restaurants | $161.54 |
| Drinks | $55.61 |
| Sightseeing | $65.29 |
| Transportation | $90.44 |
| Coffee | $21.17 |
| Flights | $236.63 |
| Activities | $44.52 |
| Fees & Charges | $25.93 |
| General | $183.94 |
| Total | $1,099.92 |
| Amount Per Day | $39.28 |
Accommodation
Min per night: $3.60
Max per night: $7
Transportation
Vietnam was an outlier in the sense that I visited eight cities as opposed to three or four in every other country during my time in SE Asia. As a result, I took quite a few more buses as my means to get from city to city.
Flights
I took a total of three flights.
Saigon to Dalat $54.70
Hue to Hanoi $54.93
Hanoi to Manila $127
General
This is substantially higher than other months due to some of my electronics going out. My phone started randomly restarting and vibrating, and after trying everything possible to fix it myself, it still became unusable. I bought a phone and a sim card for $159.03. The phone I purchased wasn’t anything high end. Still, I spent more just because I wanted a phone with a good enough camera to capture decent photos for the remainder of my trip. My headphones also quit working, so I spent $16.81 for new ones.
Philippines – September 28th to October 18th
Places Visited: Manila, Puerto Princesa, Cebu City
| Accommodation | $192.99 |
| Laundry | $2.32 |
| Groceries | $31.75 |
| Restaurants | $165.77 |
| Drinks | $60.87 |
| Sightseeing | $0.57 |
| Transportation | $34.95 |
| Coffee | $15.79 |
| Flights | $341.74 |
| General | $69.51 |
| Chiropractic | $67.50 |
| Total | $983.76 |
| Amount Per Day | $49.19 |
Accommodation
Min per night: $9
Max per night: $12.47
Flights
I took three flights.
Manila to Cebu City $60.12
Cebu City to Puerto Princesa $29.49
Puerto Princesa to Bali $252.13
Indonesia – October 18th to November 7th
Places Visited: Denpasar, Canggu, Ubud
| Accommodation | $159.69 |
| Laundry | $8.87 |
| Groceries | $16.40 |
| Restaurants | $240.02 |
| Drinks | $74.44 |
| Sightseeing | $25.01 |
| Transportation | $27.24 |
| Chiropractic | $276.27 |
| Coffee | $25.76 |
| General | $20.78 |
| Flights | $16.99 |
| Total | $891.47 |
| Amount Per Day | $44.57 |
Accommodation
Min per night: $6.29
Max per night: $13.24
Flights
There were no flights for Indonesia since I stayed on the island of Bali the entire time, and my trip from Bali to Berlin was covered with credit card miles. The amount above is for a Best Onward Travel ticket.
Chiropractic
This ended up being a significant expense while in Indonesia. I had four visits while in Bali, but it is the best chiropractic care I’ve ever received. If you’re ever in Bali, I highly recommend going to Bali Neck and Back if you need an adjustment. I can’t say enough good things about the staff and treatment.
Germany – November 8th to November 15th
Places visited: Berlin, Münster
| Accommodation | $101.00 |
| Groceries | $2.89 |
| Restaurants | $66.42 |
| Drinks | $10.13 |
| Sightseeing | $15.42 |
| Transportation | $97.12 |
| Coffee | $11.56 |
| Flights | $16.99 |
| General | $88.49 |
| Total | $410.02 |
| Amount Per Day | $58.57 |
Accommodation
Min per night: $0
Max per night: $25.25
I only paid for accommodation while in Berlin. I spent four nights there in a hostel. While in Munster, I stayed at a friend’s, whom I met while in Vietnam.
General
I spent $27.56 on a sim card that would work in both Germany and the Netherlands. Another $38.64 was for a hoodie and beanie. I had only packed summer clothes since I hadn’t originally planned on visiting Europe.
Transportation
This consisted of one bus and train ticket to get from Berlin to Munster and another train ticket to get from Munster to Amsterdam.
Flights
I did not have any flights while in Germany. The amount above is for a Best Onward Travel ticket to show proof of onward travel.
Netherlands – November 15th to November 20th
Places visited: Amsterdam
| Groceries | $9.40 |
| Restaurants | $62.16 |
| Drinks | $74.43 |
| Sightseeing | $11.63 |
| Transportation | $53.89 |
| Coffee | $13.24 |
| General | $30.14 |
| Flights | $288.95 |
| Total | $543.74 |
| Amount Per Day | $108.75 |
Accommodation
I stayed with a friend whom I met while in Cambodia. My entire accommodation cost was $0 for this portion of my trip.
Transportation
While in Amsterdam, I did what the locals do and rode a bike. I rented a bike for four days at $10.18 per day. The other portion of my transportation costs was a couple of tram tickets and one train ticket to get to the airport upon leaving.
Flights
This was for my return flight, which went from Amsterdam to Chicago.
General
I didn’t really buy any miscellaneous items. Almost all of this was for postcards and stamps that I sent out to friends and family.
United States – June 12th to June 13th and November 20th to November 21st
I used Chicago as my hub to fly in and out of since flights are much cheaper than back home in South Dakota. So, I only stayed one night before leaving and coming back from my trip.
| Accommodation | $56.95 |
| Coffee | $3.60 |
| Drinks | $18.00 |
| Flights | $569.33 |
| General | $10.00 |
| Groceries | $14.69 |
| Restaurants | $67.31 |
| Transportation | $225.50 |
| Total | $965.38 |
| Amount Per Day | $241.35 |
Accommodation
Min per night: $21
Max per night: $35.95
I stayed for two nights and used a different hostel each visit.
Flights
This only includes my outbound flight from Chicago to Bangkok. The flight from Amsterdam to Chicago is part of the Netherlands’ expenses.
Transportation
This includes my bus from South Dakota to Chicago and Chicago back to South Dakota. Each ticket was $109. The remainder of this expense was for subway tickets while in Chicago.
Final Totals
Cost of Travel in SE Asia
| Accommodation | $956.10 |
| Activities | $155.02 |
| Chiropractic | $343.77 |
| Coffee | $113.57 |
| Drinks | $359.09 |
| Fees & Charges | $63.93 |
| Flights | $776.43 |
| General | $366.60 |
| Groceries | $230.26 |
| Laundry | $52.17 |
| Restaurants | $1,067.32 |
| Sightseeing | $280.59 |
| Transportation | $353.04 |
| Total | $5,117.89 |
| Amount Per Day | $35.30 |
Cost of Travel in Europe
| Accommodation | $101.00 |
| Coffee | $24.80 |
| Drinks | $84.56 |
| Flights | $305.94 |
| General | $118.63 |
| Groceries | $12.29 |
| Restaurants | $128.58 |
| Sightseeing | $27.05 |
| Transportation | $151.01 |
| Total | $953.86 |
| Amount Per Day | $79.49 |
Grand Total – Includes Asia, Europe, and US
| Accommodation | $1,114.05 |
| Activities | $155.02 |
| Chiropractic | $343.77 |
| Coffee | $141.97 |
| Drinks | $461.65 |
| Fees & Charges | $63.93 |
| Flights | $1,651.70 |
| General | $495.23 |
| Groceries | $257.24 |
| Laundry | $52.17 |
| Restaurants | $1,263.21 |
| Sightseeing | $307.64 |
| Transportation | $729.55 |
| Total | $7037.13 |
| Amount Per Day | $43.17 |
A couple of final costs that aren’t directly tied to the locations I visited themselves are health insurance and my Google Fi phone bill totals.
As mentioned above, my phone died in Vietnam, but I was still paying about $25 per month as a base amount for the phone line and taxes. Before my phone dying, I was charged $10 per GB of data. But, I was able to keep my US number and didn’t have to worry about getting a sim card at each location, which was nice. However, there were a couple of months where my data usage was outrageous, and I wasn’t able to pinpoint why. Most of the time, I downloaded maps, music, and podcasts, which is the bulk of what I use my phone for, aside from messaging.
In regards to health insurance, I went with Geo Blue, which covers me both abroad and at home. This is the insurance I got after quitting my job. I didn’t end up needing to use it, but I did like the security of knowing I had it given I’m relatively risk-averse. However, if I were to do it over again, I may have gone exclusively with travel insurance. It would have saved me a lot of money. I then could have gotten standard health insurance when I got back to the states.
Here are the totals for each over the 6 months of my trip.
Geo Blue Health Insurance: $2,262
Google Fi: $238.81
When taking these expenses into account, the grand total for the entire six months of my trip was $9,537.94.
Final Thoughts
For the most part, I think I did well when it came to traveling cheaply. However, here are a few things that could have saved me more.
- Use a local sim card while in Asia when I still had my original phone. The first four months that my phone was working, I could have saved quite a bit since $10 gets quite a bit of data in Asia.
- Taken a few more buses. Specifically, in Vietnam, I could have saved a decent amount had I opted to replace a flight or two with a bus.
- Instead of Geo Blue, go with regular travel insurance. It would have been significantly cheaper. Geo Blue was easy to work with when getting my coverage. The customer service was good, I just think for my purposes going with basic travel insurance may have been the better route.
- Eating more local food while in the Philippines. I ended up resorting to a lot of western food while there due to it being everywhere and more convenient for me to get.
- Planning flights further than a day or two in advance. This would have saved me more money, but I did enjoy the added flexibility. I’m not sure I’d necessarily change how I did it.
If you’re looking to take a long-term trip, hopefully, this breakdown helps with your planning. If you aren’t, perhaps this at least provides insight into the costs and how cheaply it can be done.
-Dustin