Is a $12K budget enough for a 1-year RTW trip?

One of the most common questions asked by people who are planning a RTW trip is, “Is this budget adequate?” Long-time visitors to RTW forums have no doubt seen this question in various forms countless times – but for the person who’s asking, it’s absolutely critical to their planning process, which is why I’m always so pleased the folks on the BootsnAll message boards continue to be helpful.

The latest question comes from BootsnAll member lust2wander, who’s planning a year-long RTW trip with her boyfriend. They’re hoping to cut their travel budget to around $25K total, or roughly $12K per person, but she’s having a little trouble.

Our traveling style is low-key and independent. We enjoy being where the locals are, eating street food, staying in guest houses, and simply soaking up the culture. A couple of years ago, we travelled Europe for 6 months at $10k per person. I was hoping to do South America, Middle East, India and Asia for 1 year for around $12k per person (i.e. $25k total for the both of us.) Am I kidding myself?

As things stand now, she’s figured out a budget that’s roughly $18K per person, and is hoping for some ideas from RTW travelers about where she can cut costs, or where she’s perhaps allocating too much (or not enough!). Several people have commented already and offered tips, so if you’ve got advice please hop over to the thread on the BootsnAll boards and let lust2wander know.

Posted by | Comments (2)  | April 18, 2009
Category: Notes from the collective travel mind


2 Responses to “Is a $12K budget enough for a 1-year RTW trip?”

  1. marina villatoro Says:

    8 years ago when i took off for my journey, i spent about 12k, and was robbed of 2k, for over 1.5 years. so it’s really how budget you wanna go. i mean, now looking back on the excessive budgeting i did, i would never do it again. but again, back then it was great. plus, since then the global economy has changed. and the countries that were like 2 bucks a hotel room are now at least 10 if not more. so i would say closer to the 18k mark, plus, they can work along the way to prolong the amazing experience!
    The Travel Expert(a) and an Expat with a Twist