Hey guys, I'm riding to CR from around San Antonio, TX, this June. I'm trying to budget for it, but it's my first long trip on a bike, and I've got no idea. I'd hate to be somewhere in Nicaragua and find that I'm out of gas money, so I thought I might ask some of the folks who have made the trip: how much did you spend to get through Mexico and Central America (gas, food, etc)? I plan on going straight there, not many deviations. Thanks guys!

The general rule that I was told is take twice as much money as you think you will need and half as much stuff.

There are many variables in costs but you should be able to plan on $50 a day. Much depends on how much time you allowed yourself for the trip. The more time you have the lower the per day cost, due to less fuel and now time to hunt up the bargain hotels. If you speak Spanish well you will be better able to find and hagel the good rates.

I moved fairly fast through CA and Mexico and it probable cost me m/l $75 day when everything was factored in.

Have a great trip

Bob

It can be done from $30/day to $100/day depending on distance covered each day, meals (you can eat at gas stations for $2) and most important hotel category. You can get a nice clean room with a/c , safe parking and free pornvideos at a Motel for $10-$15 !!! its your call

Thanks guys! I really appreciate it. I know it's blasphemy to say, but I'm actually on a time budget to get there for school, so I'll be doing my best to make the trip in about ten days, barring any unforeseeable obstacles. What about gas prices? I've heard they're about the same for a litre down south as it is for a gallon up here.

You'll be in a hurry, and that makes everything more expensive because searching out the cheaper stuff takes time which you can't really spare. Factor that in if you can. You'll also be covering more miles than most people do, which means more money for gas. And even with the best intentions, there'll probably be times when you hit the cuotas for the ease of it. So when people say 50 bucks per day, you ought to allow for 75.

On a short trip like yours, it's not really a problem to push hard for a week or two. On a longer trip it can be dangerous, not to mention debilitating and depressing. Don't forget that part of the plan is to have fun getting there!

Mark

(from Cayenne, the most expensive city I've seen since approximately San Antonio)

I agree with Mark (again).

__________________
Simon

London-Cape Town 2004-06
Buenos Aires-Vancouver 2008-10:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/fitzpatrick

Damn, I'm on a roll. Guess I'll head out and buy some lottery tickets.

Say hello to my homebase Bellingham on your way by, Simon.

I'll have a cup of tea there tomorrow in your honour. In fact I may end up living there if the Canucks don't let me in on Friday.

__________________
Simon

London-Cape Town 2004-06
Buenos Aires-Vancouver 2008-10:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/fitzpatrick

I can recommend some nice places in the bushes down by the river if you need to settle in for a bit. You just need to watch out for old syringes in the dirt and newer meth labs almost anywhere.

I'm traveling through Mexico and central america right now and spending about $40 - $70 a day all included. I'm rooming with two fellows i ran into at Garry's hostel so it's saving some money on room and board for the night.

I'm at about $60/day including fuel, border fees and some mandatory insurance (Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama), as well as optional Mexican insurance. There's also the fact that I had to cross the very expensive USA before getting to the cheaper part. But I could have done it on a lot less if I weren't so impatient when trying to find hotels, and eating more from street vendors instead of restaurants.

The daily cost does not include having the bike routinely serviced twice, two rear tires and a few other minor repairs.


www.scrabblebiker.com

For an average per day cost think in the area of $65 US , and that includes all expenses, insurance , food , fuel and economical hotels, border fees , bike maintenance. Of course you can drive that figure up to any value if you don't mind the pennies by staying at the overpriced international chain hotels and super deluxe hotels and snooty restaurants favoured by the millionaires.
For $65 you will be eating well enough to gain weigt if you are not careful.
Just make sure you have adequate funds in your bank account so you can extract cash from bank machines as needed in each country. If ther e is any possibility that you are going to run out of money by the time you hit Nicaragua you are either living really beyond your means or you had no business setting out on such a trip in the first place. But you definitely do not need to be super rich to do a good trip like this.
Ten days from the time you cross into Mexico is possible , but you will have to clip along at a steady rate, no hanging about in any special spots you might discover.
Expanding on Marior97 's comment about eating at "gas stations" I think this may be referring to the newer PEMEX stations which often incorporate an OXXO convenience store , or a 7-11 store , or a SIX store or any of a number of different names. They all offer good sterile packed prepared sandwiches, burritos, hot dogs and fresh coffe- good for cheap and fast breakfast. Beyond Mexico you will get simmilar fare at the ESSO, TEXACO ,SHELL gas stations with their c-stores too.

__________________
http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93