Cost of cycling the world?

Paco Rodriguez

Am thinking of saving up for a world cycle tour maybe for two years in length. Might sound a bit crazy but you only live once and there is nore chance of regretting not doing it than regret doing it.

Ireland-Central europe-central Asia-far east-australia- south america - alaska-across to ny and fly home.

Im a dreamer sure...but if i stealth camped and only spend money on food and visas and flights how much do you think i should save first. I hear of couples that spent $25 average a day for BOTH of them. any estimations?

Thanks

mikemac

http://www.travelblog.org/

Love that site, I read it for hours sometimes

If you do some searches you'll have journals of those who have done similar trips

I don't know the answers but have a read of the site

TinyExplosions

Excluding all the gear you need to start it (bike, tent etc), you're possibly looking at about 25g (that's roughly what Vin Cox spent setting his round the world record).

You could possibly do it a bit cheaper, but you'll want to have a fair bit in reserve in case of mishaps etc

Mucco

Maybe look/ask here:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

Tonyandthewhale

First time I went on a long(ish) tour was the summer after leaving cert when three of us spent a month cycling across Europe. I thought I was being thrifty but we camped in designated campsites most nights and even used hostels once or twice. We also neglected to bring a camping stove so missed out on beautifully cheap stuff like rice and pasta.
Despite being a total rookie day to day we only spent 15-20e on average (excluding flights, ferries, bikes etc) which isn't bad for one of the more expensive areas of the world.

Nowadays when I go on tour I don't spend money on accomodation unless I need to and food is bought in it's cheapest form and I can tour in countries as expensive as Ireland for as little as 8 euro a day without having to watch what I spend (however there's generally a few of us on the road together which obviously makes things cheaper).
I haven't any real experience touring outside Europe but I'm guessing stuff gets cheaper the deeper you get into the third world so I wouldn't be surprised if you could get by on an average of a lot less than 8 euro a day and still live comfortably on the road.

Having said that I don't know how expensive visas are for all the countries you might want to visit and obviously can't tell you how much your flights are going to be.
You'll also need a good bit in reserve at all times in case of emergencies.

Having said that I still don't see how you could spend 25 grand on a cycling tour. If I remember correctly Alastair Humphreys who spend 4 years cycling around the world (46000km) left home with 7000 sterling to his name and I don't know if he spent it all.

ROK ON

Disclaimer : 10 years out of date.

In 2001, my wife and I spent 10months backpacking SE Asia, Oz and NZ. We brought IR£12000 between us. We prepaid for round the world air tkts (circa IR£900 IIRC with BA & Quantas).
Despite having a great time and not watching the pennies, we brought home several thousand pounds. We did not skimp and went diving, sailing, skiing eating and drinking. Generall stayed in hostels, but occasionally stayed in hotels, guesthouses, motels etc.
We spent the bulk of out time in Oz. and while it wasnt expensive a decade ago, it certainly would not be as cheap as Eastern Europe or Central Asia.

Have a contingency of €1k/month of travel. But I would be seriously surprised if you actually spend that whilst camping and travelling overland.

Seriously other than food, drink and consumables, on a normal/uneventful day you should be able to more than get by for a tenner.

TinyExplosions

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Having said that I still don't see how you could spend 25 grand on a cycling tour. If I remember correctly Alastair Humphreys who spend 4 years cycling around the world (46000km) left home with 7000 sterling to his name and I don't know if he spent it all.

It depends what you're spending it on! (I got the figure from here -last paragraph), though it could well include the initial outlay on gear too (you could easily drop 10 grand on bike/tents etc if you wanted too/had the cash!

Canis Lupus

This is not an expedition

These guys have just travelled a good few countries and have given a breakdown at the end of each as to how much they spent on accom and food. All the numbers are for 2 people.

Manchegan

Is it possible to sticky this thread? for no other reason than to be able to come back to it every now and again, stare out the window and daydream...

nerraw1111

2007 went backpacking (not cycling) for 12 months. South America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Tibet, Nepal and India.

Budget was about E25 a day. Didn't even need that much and like Rok On, did a shed load of activities. Australia hoovers up your budget but then Asia balances it back out again. There was many days of just spending E5.

Bulk of cash was on accommodation. If cycling and wild camping, you could probably get by on as little as E10.

Paco Rodriguez

Thanks for all the links guys. Ill enjoy reading them more fully in time.
Even if nothing comes from it, it makes the working day go by quicker having something to aim for.
I've even decided to move accomodation to save money. Ill be paying 380 euro less rent from next week

I might even start a training log soon

Tonyandthewhale

Exciting, what's your exact route going to be? And when? And are you going solo?

blorg

€25,000 is a lot for a tour, maybe not for a world record attempt. I don't expect in setting a record you would waste a lot of time each night sourcing the cheapest guesthouse!

For equipment I spent £64.50 on a light tent and went with what I had, which a year in is holding up pretty nicely.

You could do it relatively comfortably on €6,000/year I reckon- that is around what I have spent without being particularly careful or penny pinching. Only really camping in deserts or expensive countries, otherwise staying in guesthouses and eating basicaly all meals in restaurants once out of Europe. You could do with less if you stealth camped and lived off street food.

India and Nepal (for example) is well doable on €10 a day, indeed in Nepal you could get by on much less if you wanted to. Penny pinching further in already ridiculously cheap countries you might miss out a bit though and it could get a bit tedious. I'd concentrate on making savings in the expensive West. Alaska-NY would be expensive I imagine, if cost is a problem you could certainly design a cheaper route.

Gavb

I tend to daydream about doing this quite a lot too.
Will it ever happen - who knows?
Anyway, this couple have just finished and have a great website, including a database with daily costs - for two people - broken down into days and conties etc.
Could be useful for planning your route as it's all recent up to date info.
They have a complete list of the gear they used as well.
http://www.goingslowly.com/planning/

Paco Rodriguez

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Exciting, what's your exact route going to be? And when? And are you going solo?

Havent got a specific route made up yet....thats the fun bit but want to include countries like Ukraine Kazakhistan Iran Russia Vietnam India Argentina Mexico USA.
I would go solo. About 3/4 years time depending on savings.
Learning a bit of Spanish until then.