The Cost of Traveling the World - 2017 Summary

In 2017, we spent a total of $20,158. This may seem like a lot at first glance, but for about $125 per day we went to 9 countries on four continents and completed an entire circumnavigation of the globe. Because it's been a while since I've posted about our finances, this post encompasses every Dollar, Euro, Dirham, Pound, NTD, Yen, and Peso that we spent in 2017. When we complete our trip, later this year, I'll publish the rest.

I made a decision when we left the U.S. on July 24th, 2017 to meticulously track everything we spent on a daily basis. So far this has helped us stay on track to our budget, sure, but it has also helped answer common questions that we often get such as, "how much does it cost to do a trip like that?" or more specifically "how can you afford to do this?". The simple answer is that we saved every extra dollar that we could while we were working. The even simpler answer is that it doesn't cost that much to travel the world.

We are by no means on a shoestring budget here, but at the same time this has been anything but an all inclusive vacation. We cook many of our meals, stay in budget friendly accommodations, and take public transportation when possible. We fly mostly on airline miles (sometimes even business class!) and stay in expensive cities using hotel points. Overall, we have lived a life of moderate luxury compared to our lives back home, and probably extreme luxury when you compare to the way most of the world lives. We could have easily spent 20% less than we did and not changed much. We probably could have spent half and still done it, but hey, sometimes we enjoy the finer things in life.

Percent of total expenses by category:



Total Expense by category and month:



Heat map of per day expense by country and category:



* Expenses for France are included with Spain. We were there for one night to start the Camino de Santiago and costs were too similar to break out...oh and I'm lazy.

Because everyone makes different personal decisions, and because we use points and miles so often, I would caution against using this data to set a concrete budget for a trip of your own. For example, we spent exactly $0 per day on lodging in England and yet stayed in an obscenely expensive five star hotel just across the street from Buckingham Palace (+1 for travel hacking!). On the other hand, if we had flown to Taiwan on miles instead of cash (points are like currency too and sometimes cash gets a better exchange rate), per day costs for the whole country would have fallen more in line with Spain, Portugal, or even Mexico.

Well there you have it, $20,158 to circle the globe for 23 weeks, learn a new language, and encounter some incredible people and cultures from all over the world. We've met a handful of folks along the way who told us they were on 1-2 week vacations and spending $10,000+ on it, not including the costs they still have at home. I can't say we're living quite as large as they are, but maybe they're not living quite as large as us either. :)