Hi,

Recently a discussion on budget was had somewhere on the forum, someone mentioned cost based on distance. This was apparently supported also by discussion from the RGS.

Now for shorter trips, this probably would not work or would be a lot higher than that of a longer trip.

If you have done a longer trip, say greater than 3 weeks what did your trip cost you per km or mile, how many miles did you do, what was your mode of transport, how many people where in that figure (eg 2 adults, 1 child) and what was your approximate route? e.g UK to Oz and back Alaska to timbuktu etc.

It would also be interesting to see what you are planning for cost if you have not been on a trip yet, but please say it is a planned budget.

I am interested in collating some stats and seeing how this works out on average. If you would be willing to contribute I'll compile the stats and it may make some interesting reading and be of benefit to all.

I'll see if I can put together some from peoples blogs and spreadsheets I have found. Then post back once I have a few contributions. I'll update continuously.

Also be interested in your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

Dan

__________________
Cheers Dan
gettinglostagain.com

I'll bite

In NE US and Canada a couple years ago it was about $0.50 USD a mile

Europe last year Norway to Romania the long way and back to UK
Girlfriend and I, two bikes, camping and hotelling about 50/50

3.5 months
8000 miles
7000 GBP (3.5k each)

could have been cheaper but we had issues with one of the bikes

__________________
He who makes a beast out of himself
Gets rid of the pain of being a man

Hi,

Thanks for the responce. Was that by bike by yourself? Roughly what was your total trip length?

__________________
Cheers Dan
gettinglostagain.com

Thanks, Sorry to hear about the bike. Which ferries did you use?

__________________
Cheers Dan
gettinglostagain.com

Uk to Norway on DFDS Torlines cargo service
came back on the eurotunnel

__________________
He who makes a beast out of himself
Gets rid of the pain of being a man

Bump anyone else have any more data?

__________________
Cheers Dan
gettinglostagain.com

I kept pretty good track of two trips... a 2009 trip in the US and Canada and a 2010 trip in Europe and central Turkey. I included everything except bike prep and any gear purchased before the trip, but the numbers do include vaccinations and visas obtained pre-trip. I tried very hard to keep track of anything that was trip-specific or expenses encountered enroute.

My 2009 trip total cost was almost exactly the amount budgeted for the trip ($7,000).

The 2010 trip was under the initial budget of $20,000 but that was only because I changed plans while in Turkey and turned back through Europe instead of continuing east to Vladivostok and taking on the expensive flight from Korea. The high daily cost of the 2010 trip also reflects using more hotels (83%) than anticipated due to the absolutely crap weather for the first 6 weeks of my trip... where I did no camping at all.

Food was easy to keep on budget. If I was below budget, I splurged at a great restaurant. If I was getting above budget, I didn't eat. I just kept everything on a spreadsheet and brought it up to date every few days while enroute. That way I could see how things were going... or where they were getting seriously out of whack.

Anyway... I'm sure there are significant savings to be had. I certainly wasn't scrimping anywhere. Clearly, however, the way to keep the per kilometer cost down is to go on longer trips and ride a lot!

--------------------------
2009

British Columbia - Prudhoe Bay, Alaska - Colorado - Newfoundland - Florida - California - British Columbia
95 days
33,900 km
$7,218.25 USD = $0.21 /km = $75.98 /day
Daily costs:

Fuel = $16.10
Lodging/Camping = $23.38 (33% camping)
Food = $19.39
Souvenirs/Gifts/Entrance fees = $2.81
Maintenance = $5.43
Misc (tools, gear, clothing, other fees) = $8.87

---------------------------
2010

British Columbia - ship air to London - Scotland - Ireland - Romania - Turkey - Greece - Italy - London - ship air to British Columbia
132 days
20,300 km
$19,650.83 = $0.97 /km = $148.89 /day
Daily costs:

Air shipment of bike and self, ferries = $46.26
Fuel = $13.72
Lodging/Camping = $39.10 (17% camping)
Food = $14.62
Souvenirs/Gifts/Entrance Fees = $2.88
Maintenance =$3.06
Misc (tools, gear, insurance, phone calls, etc) = $21.48
Visas = $7.74 (didn't use Russia, Azerbaijan or Uzbekistan)

__________________
Samuel Longiaru
Kamloops, BC Canada
1975 BMW R60/6
http://thetwilightproject.net

Interesting information. I am planning an RTW starting approx next June leaving Canada and working through Central south America then off to Africa and so on. With no planned return date but was budgeting $25K a year? Does this seem reasonable? Obviously the longer I can last the better.