Hello! I’ve written a few posts breaking down the costs of full-time travel and the costs of my time in different countries.
My girlfriend and I are from the USA and have been traveling full-time for 17 months.
Our budget is $75 per day combined or $37.50 per person. Some days we go way over this, and some days way under, we average everything and try to keep it as close to that number as possible.
*For consistency, we are keeping this number but I am currently averaging $44.38 per day for the past 17 months.*
This is just one person's spend and we split accommodation costs. I'd love to answer any questions about the budget or destinations. If you have any questions you may feel free to ask or DM me.
All numbers are in USD$.
THIS INCLUDES ACCOMMODATION, FLIGHTS, FOOD, BUSES, TRAINS, AND ACTIVITIES, THIS IS EVERY SINGLE PENNY SPENT.
In Total I spent $946.83 over 17 Days or $55.70 per day.
Things that went right: I went to university with a guy from Mongolia. Having the connection to a local completely changed our trip and I don’t think it would have been possible to do what we did for the price without the help of him and his family.
We came in early July specifically for the Naadam festival, the biggest cultural festival in Mongolia. My friend got us tickets directly and we paid ¼ the price compared to the other travelers in our hostel. My friends family hosted us and invited us to celebrate the Naadam with them at their summer home. There was a massive language barrier but they all made us feel welcome and seemed very happy to have us.
To visit the countryside there are many tour operators. We were quoted prices of over $80 per day, per person. This was way out of our budget so we hired my friend's cousin to drive us. He spoke almost zero English so we communicated through what little Russian I know. He suggested we pay him ~$45 a day + all fuel costs and we accepted. This ended up being an amazing experience and we spent 7 days with him visiting Lake Khövsgöl, staying in a yurt with a real nomadic family (not a yurt camp for tourists), and camping out on the steppe. None of this would be possible without my friend Dorjjav and his family and we are so grateful to them they really went above and beyond to make sure we had a great time in Mongolia.
If you are interested in visiting Mongolia and want a real local experience and not one made for tourists, please reach out to my friend Dorjjav. You can message him with any questions and he will be happy to help you if he can!
Whatsapp: +976 95113739
Instagram: dorj_jav
Reddit: u/dorjjav
What went Wrong: My girlfriend didn't love Mongolian cuisine. Lots of lamb/mutton and dairy which does not always sit well with us. I tried eating so many parts of the sheep, lungs, stomach, butthole, head, you name it I probably ate it. We also drank lots of Airag or fermented mares milk, not our favorite drink…
Some detail about the categories:
Accommodation $98.45 - Stayed at the Golden Gobi Hostel, camping on the steppe, one night with a nomadic family, and a few nights at my friend's parents apartment (the apartment was empty and they let us stay there for the same price as the hostel).
Activities $47.44 - Riding a horse, taking a boat tour around the lake, the giant Chinggis Khan statue, and going to the cinema.
Alcohol $33.59 - I am not much of a drinker but we had a few beers. Bought bottles of vodka and beer as gifts for the people who hosted us in the countryside.
Food & Restaurants $197.13 - This includes the supplies we took to go camping in the countryside, groceries when were in Ulaanbaatar and a few nicer meals in Ulaanbaatar.
Health $18.64 - Haircut in UB, shampoo, soap, etc
Laundry $1.28 -
Mobile Phone $4.64 - 15gb of data for 15 days.
Souvenir $5.22 - I buy a magnet in each country, this is the most expensive one I have bought in over 40 countries. I did buy it at the gift shop in the Chinggis Khan statue so that is why….
Transportation(local) $213.32 - What we paid our driver Togoo and all the fuel for the trip through the countryside plus the occasional taxi ride in UB.
Travel $296.89 - This is what we paid for our flight from Beijing China to Ulaanbaatar. It was much cheaper to fly through China vs flying direct. Flights from Seoul also seemed cheaper than other cities. We chose China because we could get the 144 hour transit visa and visit Beijing.
Submitted August 01, 2023 at 01:43AM by HaleyandZach https://ift.tt/IlWFrV8
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