What do you think would be an average daily budget that is comfortable enough to pay for food and certain sightseeing trips? Can you share some ideas? Thanks.
I guess that would depend on which city you are planning to go to. It will also depend on what kind of food you're looking for. Will you be able to eat street food every day, or do you prefer to go to better restaurants? Can you give some more details?
It depends on where you are traveling. For instance, Delhi and Mumbai can be expensive because these are major cities in India. Your daily budget also depends on where you stay and where you eat. High standard hotels and posh restaurants are expensive.
Like others have said, it's pretty dependent on where you plan on going and probably the kind of tastes you have. If you're fine with eating street food for most meals and won't be buying expensive souvenirs, and also incorporate free activities into your schedule then I think you could get by on not very much at all for your budget. On the other hand, if you want to buy fancy souvenirs, dine in luxury restaurants and so forth then of course that's going to escalate your budget significantly.
I agree with the others before me that it will really depend on your food preferences and willingness to try out local food. Anyway, in one of the websites I saw, they gave the following data on the cost of living in India: Price range can be as follows: Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant - 75 to 200 Rs (Rupees) Meal for 2 People, Mid-range, 3-course - 350 to 1,000 Rs McMeal at McDo (or Equivalent - 150 to 300 Rs Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) - 75 to 128 Rs Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) - 100 to 210 Rs Cappuccion (regular) - 50 to 115 Rs Coke/Pepsi (.33 liter bottle) - 15 to 35 Rs Water (.33 liter bottle) - 10 to 20 Rs Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro) - 100 to 220 Rs Transportation One-Way Ticket (Local Transport) - 10 to 25 Rs Monthly Pass (Regular Price) - 300 to 1000 Rs Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) - 21 to 80 Rs Taxi 1 KM (Normal Tariff) - 10 to 20 Rs Taxi 1 hr waiting (Normal Tariff) - 60 to 120 Rs
That's a great breakdown @tabby ! It definitely helps to have information like that, especially so you can convert it into your own currency and get an idea for what the equivalent will be in rupees. For instance, the price you gave for a meal at an inexpensive restaurant only works out to be around $3 US dollars at the upper end. That makes it budget friendly for me and seems significantly cheaper to what I would pay here in the US for that sort of thing!
It does depend on personal preferences. I usually budget $300 to $400 USD per day when I travel anywhere. It covers most things I want to do and if I have any left at the end of the vacation, it's money I put toward the next trip.
This is a hard question if you can't provide more information but from personal experience $5 a day in a developing country will be quite fine if you spend it on local food and a clean room. Tickets to certain sights are going to cost you more and if you eat out a lot in fancy restaurants then yeah you won't be able to stay in your budget. $10 a day is fine for me.
Lots of great tips and useful information here. All I can add is that whatever budget you decide on, add 50% for emergency or splurge spending.
$5 per day is not enough in India. You wont find a room for that much money any where in India. $5 will buy you three meals of local food but thats about it really. You need atleast $25 a day to get a room and food per day as a bare minimum. It is a mis conception that things are cheap in developing countries, some things are but you get what you pay for.
While $25 a day might get you a room and food for the day, you still nee transportation and then of course you will want money for entertainment. You may want a coffee, or a coke. You might want to buy presents for someone back home. You might have an emergency, I mean the list goes on. I usually budget a minimum of $50 a day. However, the more you spend the more you are going to experience, so just keep that in mind. Honestly, calculate what you spend on an average day at home. Then you can do all of the conversions to see what you need.
India is a cheap destination but at the same time it can be very expensive. What I mean is that if you stay at a five star hotel and hire cabs every day it may turn out to be expensive. If you live in one of the smaller hotels and use public transport it would be cheaper.
I think the answers here prove that a daily budget is different for everyone. Doing some research prior to traveling so you have an idea of what types of restaurants you might choose and the activities you want to do will give you the most solid idea of how much you'll need. Something else to remember is that not every day is the same. The last time my husband and I went on vacation, we had a day that cost us $500 (not including hotel) and the next day cost us $100 (not including hotel). Obviously, the more expensive day consisted of a very expensive activity and higher end dining. The cheaper day was a day we spent staying at the resort. Plan your itinerary and you'll know what to expect.
Yeah, this is a tough one because it depends on how you want to live in India. When I was in Chennai, I spent money to have a very comfortable experience, and went from there through the rest of India in luxury. My girlfriend's sister and her fiance were far more happy to live closer to the locals, and did charity work at an orphanage. It was very surreal talking about our experiences over dinner, with us going on about little trips, and them telling of their own activities. The point is that you really need to decide what you are after. Even if you want a luxury experience, you can do a lot to save by being smart with your money.
Thanks! I'm cheapskate, and when I travel the first thing that I actually research on are the prices of things. It helps me plan out and gives me a clearer budget idea. There are people who usually assume that visiting a foreign country is expensive. While that can be true, one also has to remember that that country has LOCALS who are not entirely at the 'elite class'. Thus, you can generally subsist on what locals enjoy. Anyhow, also there was a friend of mine who once said that $100 dollars a day is more than enough when spent in the Asian region. Unfortunately, I haven't been to India - but this budget had been my guiding budget on my own travels to Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, HK, Macau, and South Korea. So far, it has not failed me.
Yup! I'm only on a backpackers budget so it's either hostels or cheaper hotels for me right now! Maybe one day I will get to live in luxury when it comes to travel, but that's not for a while yet, I don't think! I have been to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and South Korea from your list and also found all of them very economically friendly. For a lot of those places I don't think I would have gone near $100 a day, but it's nice to budget around that just to be safe. And especially if you want to do any specific costly tours or activities.
If you are a proficient rider, you could also rent a motorcycle for transport. That might save you some cash if you intend a lot of travel on your trip, but I wouldn't recommend it. I think the cheapest you can go without lucking out is $20-30 a day. If you have a travel partner, you can split some expenses and save a little more per person. But less then that and you will miss out on opportunities or need to be very clever.
Like others have said, it largely depends on where you're exactly going. It's always good to budget out at least a couple hundred dollars per day, depending on what all you plan on doing while you're there.
I would be way too scared to ride a motorcycle in a lot of countries! I feel like for me personally a motorcycle would be dangerous - I just feel so exposed and vulnerable on them and especially so if I don't know the road rules or conditions. I'm sure it would cut down on transport costs in a lot of places but I usually prefer to just catch public transportation -- it usually still tends to be pretty reasonable and a lot of places have special deals for tourists which is always something I like to try and look into!
It is not for everyone. I will agree with that. And, navigating the cities would be quite the experience. But if you have skill, getting to the countryside would be beautiful. Touring just about anywhere on a motorcycle is wonderful, since you really feel part of the nature around you. Also, the ability to stop anywhere and look around helps to engage with the local environment. Many people actually like taking motorcycles to tour foreign countries, which I have done and would recommend. But of course, I recommend going with a group, too. I don't think solo travel is the right option for most people. There is safety in numbers, aas well as more enjoyment and interaction. Oh, I just read an interesting article at India Times which covers two friends traveling through India without using much, if any, money. Here is the link: Two Guys Hitchhiking Across India With Rs 100 In Their Pockets Proves That No Plan Is Best Plan I don't think I could do that myself. It takes some language skills and to be very forward and sociable. I don't see myself as ever hitchhiking, or asking for rides, other options, or the like. But many people find this to be quite natural, and would have no trouble fitting into the culture and local populace. What are your thoughts? Is this even possible for many travelers, or just a select few?
I highly doubt I can do it myself. I'm not very sociable and would be very too shy to approach people (saved to ask for directions) and ask to hitchhike is like a scary thing for me to do. (I did try hitchhiking with a couple of friends (they're the ones bold enough to ask, and I was only tagging along) in one of our provinces, and that experience made me decide NOT to do it ever again, haha!) Also, like you said, there's the language component to consider. I don't know the local language much. So conversing with the locals might prove difficult for me. With regards to my own travels, I've actually seen this works with other travelers especially with the back-packing community. Wherever I went, I had the chance to observe total strangers just strike casual conversations and readily agree to share rides, accommodations, meals, etc. and realize that's how a lot of them survive for quite a number of days in the country with limited budget.
You're quite right! $100 in an Asian country, especially those mentioned is already a highly conservative budget. Actual experience can tell you that you can truly subsist less than that especially if you are really going to do it the local way (eat what they eat, take local transportation, etc.).
