How Much I Spent on My One Year Around the World Trip

When planning my one year trip around the world, I predicted that I would spend the most money in the Middle East as well as Europe. After tabulating my spending breakdown for the entire year, I found out I was completely wrong!

In this one I share my total expenses after travel hacking, volunteering, visiting friends, and spending money to explore this beautiful planet we call home.

Pre-trip expenses

• Gear – $425.58 CAD
• Electronics – $2,753.60 CAD
• Security – $127.99 CAD
• Washing, bathing, hygiene – $98.32 CAD
• Vaccinations, medications and one year supply of contact lenses – $542.31 CAD
• Clothes – $181.42 CAD
• International driving permit – $39
• Phone plan – $25
• Travel Insurance – $816.90 CAD
• Eurail Pass – $1,608 CAD
• Credit card annual fees – $1264 CAD

Total pre-trip cost: $7,065.22 CAD

Middle East

Countries visited: Israel, Jordan, Palestine

Total days spent in the Middle East: 9 days
Total money spent in the Middle East: $978.53 CAD
Average money spent on a daily basis in the Middle East: $108.73 CAD

Key expenses:

• Food – $62.33 CAD
• Accommodations – $190 CAD
• Flights – $73.53 CAD
• Intercity trains, buses, and ferries – $13 CAD
• Touristy related expenses (tours, tips, tickets, etc) – $174 CAD
• Taxis and Uber – $325.66 CAD
• VISAS and Tourist Permits/Fees – $140 CAD
• Points and miles spent – 40,000 Aeroplan Miles

Africa

Countries visited: Egypt, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia

Total days spent in Africa: 33 days
Total money spent in Africa: $3,793.01 CAD
Average money spent on a daily basis in Africa: $114.94 CAD

Key expenses:

• Food – $271.26 CAD
• Accommodations – $432 CAD
• Flights – $493.41 CAD
• Intercity trains, buses, and ferries – $171.17 CAD
• Taxis and Uber – $43.94 CAD
• Touristy related expenses (tours, tips, tickets, car rental) – $1,909.58 CAD
• VISAS and Tourist Permits/Fees – $131.40 CAD
• Points and miles spent – 9,000 Starpoints, 80,000 Aeroplan Miles, 6,000 Marriott Hotel Points

Oceania (Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia)

Total days spent in Oceania: 19 days
Total money spent in Oceania: $1,251.13 CAD
Average money spent on a daily basis in Oceania: $65.85 CAD

Key expenses:

• Food – $245.95 CAD
• Accommodations – $262.07 CAD
• Flights – $433.66 CAD
• Intercity trains, buses, and ferries – $35 CAD
• Taxis and Uber – $53.15 CAD
• Touristy related expenses (tours, tips, tickets, etc) – $173 CAD
• VISAS and Tourist Permits/Fees – $20 CAD
• Points and miles spent – 55,000 Aeroplan Miles, 24,500 Avios Miles

Asia

Countries visited: Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Vietnam, South Korea, China, Taiwan

Total days spent in Asia: 128 days
Total money spent in Asia: $5,521.73 CAD
Average money spent on a daily basis in Asia: $43.14 CAD

Key expenses:

• Food – $662.85 CAD
• Accommodations – $1,529.31 CAD
• Flights – $1,384.60 CAD
• Intercity trains, buses, and ferries – $196.39 CAD
• Taxis and Uber – $386.41 CAD
• Touristy related expenses (tours, tips, tickets, etc) – $723.92 CAD
• VISAS and Tourist Permits/Fees – $298.53 CAD
• Points and miles spent – 16,000 Best Western Points, 24,000 Starpoints, 240,000 Aeroplan Miles, 31,500 Avios Miles

North America

Countries visited: Canada, USA

Total days spent in North America: 4
Total money spent in North America: $432.76 CAD
Average money spent on a daily basis in North America: $108.19 CAD

Key expenses:

• Food – $45.74 CAD
• Accommodations – $0 CAD
• Flights – $371.74 CAD
• Intercity trains, buses, and ferries – $0 CAD
• Taxis and Uber – $0 CAD
• Touristy related expenses (tours, tips, tickets, etc) – $0 CAD
• VISAS and Tourist Permits/Fees – $0 CAD
• Points and miles spent – 70,000 Alaska Miles, 30,000 Starpoints

South America

Countries visited: Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana

Total days spent in South America: 85
Total money spent in South America: $6,448.48 CAD
Average money spent on a daily basis in South America: $75.86 CAD

Key expenses:

• Food – $734.71 CAD
• Accommodations – $662.18 CAD
• Flights – $1,382.18 CAD
• Intercity trains, buses, and ferries – $768.46 CAD
• Taxis and Uber – $378.82 CAD
• Touristy related expenses (tours, tips, tickets, etc) – $1,608.65 CAD
• VISAS and Tourist Permits/Fees – $376.98 CAD
• Points and miles spent – 45,000 Aeroplan Miles, 72,500 Avios Miles, 23,000 Starpoints, 15,000 Marriott Points

Europe

Countries visited: Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, England, Scotland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia

Total days spent in Europe: 103 days
Total money spent in Europe: $4,247.85 CAD
Average money spent on a daily basis in Europe: $41.24 CAD

Key expenses:

• Food – $781.66 CAD
• Accommodations – $876.59 CAD
• Flights – $924.37 CAD
• Intercity trains, buses, and ferries – $879.96 CAD
• Taxis and Uber – $47.74 CAD
• Touristy related expenses (tours, tips, tickets, etc) – $90.11 CAD
• VISAS and Tourist Permits/Fees – $1.06 CAD
• Points and miles spent – 120,000 Aeroplan Miles, 27,000 Starpoints, 15,000 Marriott Points, 4,500 Avios Miles, 44,000 Best Western Points, 30,000 Alaska Miles

Overall Breakdown for a Year of Travel

Total 1 year and 15 days (380 days) around the world spending: $22,673.49 CAD
Average spending per day: $59.67 CAD
Total 1 year and 15 days around the world spending with pre-trip expenses: $29,738.71 CAD

I was shocked to see that I spent the most money on average in Africa. I honestly thought Africa wasn’t too expensive as a travel destination, but I believe some of the events that happened, such as a car crash, drove up the cost of travels.

I was also shocked to see that my spending per day in Europe was not only low, but actually the lowest compared to the other continents! I attribute this to spending a good chunk of my time volunteering and visiting friends (which lowered my accommodation and some food costs) as well as use of a Eurail pass (which lowered my transportation costs).

Tabulating your travel spending is an eye opening experience and gave me real data to which region was the most expensive and which are not.

I think one of the most interesting data that came out of this was the average per day cost of travelling for one year. According to my one year travel spending, the average cost per day for travelling around the world for one year is $59.67. But this was also offset substantially by using more than 1,000,000 points picked up travel hacking before my trip (in addition to the volunteering and other cost savings noted above).

No matter what, as far as a year as travel is concerned I'll take $60 per day!