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Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Colombia

Cheap To Travel, But Not Everywhere!

View of the Café del Mar, on the City Walls, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

View of the Café del Mar, on the City Walls, Cartagena de Indias

Type Of Travel

My two visits to Colombia were quite different: in summer 2009, shortly after my first Round The World Trip, I was traveling on a (tight) budget. In 2016, I was back for 7 weeks to Colombia, and was actually “Flashpacking”: sleeping in nicer hostels or even some more upscale guesthouses, indulging quite a few activities and local tours, partly flying instead of long bus drives and also going to areas Off The Beaten Track like La Guajira (actually no longer a well kept secret), El Chocó (Pacific Coast) and especially Caño Cristales, which turned out to be very expensive… Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Ethiopia

Depending On Where You Go!

Simien Mountains Lodge, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia

Simien Mountains Lodge, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia

Type Of Travel

The types of travel were completely different on those 3 trips, mainly because you cannot travel the different areas of Ethiopia the same way:

  • To visit the Danakil Depression, you must be on a tour, both because you absolutely need one (you have to have two Jeeps, an armed Afar policeman, an Afar scout, a military escort for Dallol, …) and because it is the law…
  • True, you can discover the Lower Omo Valley on your own, but as there are almost no public transports, you have to have your own wheels if you don’t want to spend weeks there. Moreover, communication will be quite tricky if you do not speak Amharic. So a tour seems to be the only viable way…
  • On the other hand, the Northern Historical Route can be easily done independently.

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Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Sri Lanka

A Budget Destination

Fisher Boat, Mirissa, Sri Lanka

Fisher Boat, Mirissa, Sri Lanka

Type Of Travel

This trip was to some extend both “Flashpacking” & “Mid-Range”. Flashpacking because we chose mostly small and cheap but pleasant guesthouses, went to small local restaurant and actually did nothing special but for… The car! Since we only had 10 days in Sri Lanka and wanted to make the most of this very limited amount of time, we rented a car with driver, which was a great comfort but a pricy proposition… So all in all we ended up with a budget at the lower end of the mid-range type of travel. Continue Reading →

Asia & South America: The Cheapest Continents to Travel

Malawean Kwachas - Approx. 280 €

Malawean Kwachas – Approx. 280 €

Of course, the type of travel and hence the level of comfort I chose clearly impacted my Travel Budget. And since I do not always Backpack or “Flashpack” but sometimes travel “Mid-Range” or even go on local Tours when there is no other efficient option, average expenditures should always be seen in a context. This is why further bellow, you find a detailed Budget Breakdown for each of my trips and a link to the Budget Guide I made for each of those trips and for each country. Continue Reading →

Key Elements That Impact Your Travel Budget

Not Matter If You Are On A Long Term Travel Or On A Short Trip…

Zimbabwe-151

Zimbabwean Dollars… The biggest note was 100 Trillion Dollars!

The most frequently asked question about my travels, no matter if it is a single short trip or one of my Years Off (Round The World in 2007 – 2008 or Sabbatical in 2014 – 2015), is “How much does / did it cost?” and eventually “How can you afford it?”, but basically, both questioned are linked in my opinion… Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Myanmar

Expensive For Asia

Bagan-103

Hot Air Balloon Flight with Balloons Over Bagan, Bagan, Myanmar

Type Of Travel

I am basically a Flashpacker and this is how I traveled in Myanmar in February 2015. I prefer to stay in hostels or local guesthouses, but (almost) always stay in private rooms with ensuite bathrooms. Longer distance I covered by plane, like Bagan to Inle Lake and Inle Lake to Yangon. Good food is important to me, this can be a food stall, small local restaurants and maybe a cocktail sipped on the roof terrace of an international hotel. And I do not hesitate to “do something special” when justified: in Myanmar it was a tour in a Hot Air Balloon in Bagan, an experience of a lifetime! Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Rajasthan

One Of The Cheapest Places To Splurge A Little Or Upgrade Your Travel Style…

In the streets of Bundi, Rajasthan, India

In the streets of Bundi, Rajasthan

Type Of Travel

The 3 trips to Rajasthan were quite different, and this shows in the budget spent:

  • During the first 2 trips, with limited time at hand (each time 12 days) and India being a rather cheap country, I opted against traveling low budget. Instead I frequented “mid-range” hotels or Havelis and pleasant local restaurants (classic Flashpacking trip). This trip could definitely be done a lot cheaper than spending 44 and 48 Euros per person per day (this amount does not include the international flight or the visa fees).
  • The third trip, I was traveling with my 77 year old father and went for the “upper mid-range” type of travel to ensure a nice level of comfort and enhance the mobility: nice Havelis or small Boutique hotels, nice restaurants, at times a car with driver… The budget almost doubled.

Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Brazil

Expensive If You Are On A Budget, And Very Expensive If You Are Flashpacking

Sunset over the Pantanal, Porto Jofre, Brazil

Sunset over the Pantanal, Porto Jofre, Brazil

Type Of Travel

My two visits to Brazil couldn’t be more different: in 2007, I was on a Round The World Trip and hence traveling on a budget. In 2015, I was on a 6 week trip to Brazil, and was actually Flashpacking: mostly pleasant Pousadas instead of Hostels, indulging quite a few activities and local tours, usually flying instead of long bus drives and also going to less traveled areas like Brasilia, Bonito & the Northern Pantanal, which turned out to be very expensive. Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Vietnam

Easy To Travel On A Budget

Van Long Nature Reserve, Tam Coc, Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Van Long Nature Reserve, Tam Coc, Ninh Binh

Type Of Travel

We are basically Flashpackers and this is how we traveled both times we visited Vietnam, in 2003 & 2015. We prefer to stay in hostels or local guesthouses, but always stay in private rooms with ensuite bathrooms. Longer distance we covered by plane, like Ho Chi Minh City to Danang. Good food is important to us, this can be a food stall, small local restaurants and maybe a cocktail sipped on the roof terrace of an international hotel. Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Cambodia

Transport Costs Will Be The Key

Type Of Travel

Floating Village of Kompong Luong, on the Tonle Sap, Cambodia

Floating Village of Kompong Luong, on the Tonle Sap

Our two trips to Cambodia could not have been more different from each other. In July 2008, we were on a Round The World Trip (one year), and therefore on a somewhat tight budget (between Backpacking and Flashpacking). However, since Cambodia was the last country we visited, we treated ourselves to better hotels and hardly ever ate at the markets as we used to do in other countries.

In December 2014, Gilles accompanied his father on his “Bucket List Trip”, which meant a pleasant mid-range type of travel. We rented a car with driver in and around Siem Reap, which significantly increased costs. Naturally, the costs for the trip in 2014 were considerably higher… Continue Reading →