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Budget Guide To Rajasthan (Updated)

Elephant and Rickshaws at Sardar Market, Jodhpur

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

Type Of Travel

The 4 trips to Rajasthan were really different from one another, and this actually also shows in the budget spent:

  • During the first 2 trips (2012 & 2013), 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. This trip could definitely have 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).
  • For the last 2 trips (2015 & 2023), I 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, not surprisingly.

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Budget Guide To Oman – An Upscale & (Very) Expensive Destination…

A day on a camel through the Wahiba Sands

Type Of Travel

Oman is an upscale and expensive destination, with a significant “but”: although the government is looking for “high value visitors”, i.e. tourists ready to dish out significant amounts of money, they also allow almost unlimitedly wild camping…

So choose your pick! Either you want something rather “classical” – expect a mid-range to high-end type of budget. Or you just go wild camping, and you can surely travel in Oman for a very reasonable budget. Note that this second option can be challenging both for Musandam and for the Wahiba Sands.

 

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Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Morocco

Catering For All Budgets

Djebel Kissane near Adgz, Draa Valley

Type Of Travel

Morocco was our fourth trip with an infant (at the time of travel, Jules was 16 months old), and given the overall price level & our need to rest and relax, we decided to splurge a little and actually upgraded our standards of travel, going to a mid-range (upper mid-range ?) type of travel: Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Northern Scotland

Amar River Viewpoint, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Neither Expensive Nor Cheap

Type Of Travel

Traveling to Northern Scotland means being on a Road Trip. Do not be mistaken nonetheless, this is not an Odyssey that you plan as you drive, following your inspiration, at least not in the summer (July & August): you should book accommodation at least 1 month in advance, and ideally between 3 and 6 months, especially if you have clear expectations on accommodation. The far north of Scotland (North Coast 500) comparatively sees few visitors (far fewer than lower Scotland), but also offers less options while on the road. Keep that in mind when planning your trip! Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Uganda

Simply Overpriced!

Public Transport at Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

Type Of Travel

The type of travel you choose in Uganda will have a direct and significant impact on your travel budget:

  • Either you decide to go on a Safari type of experience, and Uganda will be one of the most expensive countries you can experience, actually much more expensive than other Safari destinations like South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe or parts of Tanzania
  • Or you decide to ignore the National Parks and focus on the actual country, and you can discover Uganda on a tight budget.

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Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Thailand

A Perfect Place To Splurge A Little

Sunset at the Tew Lay Bar, Railey Beach, Krabi, Thailand

Type Of Travel

This trip to Thailand was definitely different: instead of a backpacking or “flashpacking” type of travel, it was more a mid-range to upper mid-range holiday, with comfortable hotels, convenient transports and lots of nice activities like almost one massage a day or scuba diving.

The budget displayed bellow has hence little to do with the one of a backpacker, but shows that you can splurge for a very reasonable price. Continue Reading →

Grand Escapades’ Budget Guide To Rwanda

Depending On Your Priorities!

Visiting an Ex-Poachers Village near the Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda

Type Of Travel

When traveling through Rwanda, you first have to decide if you want to focus on the country itself and hence backpack through Rwanda or if you want a “Safari” kind of experience, going through several National Parks (including the Parc National des Volcans). This decision will have a clear and direct impact both on the type of experience you will have and especially on the level of your budget. Continue Reading →

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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