How Much I Spent After Travelling For 3 Months

Have you ever wondered what it costs to take a long term trip abroad? Maybe somewhere budget friendly and adventurous?

I felt the exact same way until I finally decided to plan and embark on a 3 month trip to South East Asia! You must be wondering how much does it really cost to travel for 3 months.

First let me say that everyone’s budget and lifestyle is different so no trip will ever cost the exact same!

Most often travel is seen as an expensive luxury that is only accessible to the well off. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way, if you use the right strategies and put the right goals in place I promise that you can travel anywhere in the world!

I travelled for 3 months on a pretty solid budget and was only able to do this by saving and budgeting correctly, it also helped by having a lot of knowledge about the travel industry and previous experience with travelling on a budget.

In this post I’ll give you a detailed breakdown of my budget and how much I spent after travelling for 3 months. 

Before we get started, one thing to keep in mind is that I am a slow traveller, therefore I spent long periods of time in one city at a time. This allowed me to keep my costs even lower by not constantly being on the road and incurring more expenses. 

Days Spent Travelling = 91 

Continents = 2 North America, Asia 

Countries = 4 

Cities = 9 

Plane Rides = 8 

Busses & Trains = 16

Accommodation = 11 beds 

Airport = 1 night 

Airbnb = 9 

Hotels = 2

TORONTO TO LA 

I didn’t actually spend the entire 3 months in South East Asia, we spent 2 weeks in Los Angeles soaking up the Cali sun and enjoying the vibes of L.A. 

This really blew our budget because L.A is not a cheap city to visit. 

COST BREAKDOWN

Toronto to Los Angeles Flight = $200

Accommodation = $966

Food for 2 weeks in L.A = $420 

Transportation for 2 weeks = $150 

Activities = $230 

TOTAL = $1083 per person

LA TO BANGKOK 

Our South East Asia adventure officially started when we arrived in Bangkok, during this journey we spent a bit of money on food in the airports. 

Other than the cost of flights from L.A we managed to stay within a reasonable budget for a month in Thailand. 

COST BREAKDOWN

Los Angeles To Bangkok Flight = $750 one way 

Accommodation = $420

Food = $450

Transportation = $260

Alcohol = $100

Activities = $150

Toiletries = $30

Shopping = $80

TOTAL = $2,240 per person  

BANGKOK TO VIENTIANE LAOS 

After spending a month in the bustling city of Bangkok we were finally ready to head to a more calm and laid back country, Laos. 

We flew into the major city of Vientiane and managed to get a week of free accommodation by staying with my boyfriend’s family. 

After a week of free accommodation we stayed at hotels for a few nights in the main part of the city. 

We blew a lot of money on purchasing Western-style food but it was so worth it because of the taste of back home I was starting to really miss. 

I also did some shopping at the infamous night market, I could have spent days just shopping for super affordable clothes and souvenirs.  

You can read a little bit more here to find out how much it actually costs to travel the world full-time.

COST BREAKDOWN

Bangkok to Vientiane Flight = $125  

VISA = $120  

Accommodation = $250 

Food = $200  

Transportation = $60  

Activities = $70  

Shopping = $30   

Offering = $20 

Toiletries = $20 

TOTAL = $410 per person 

VIENTIANE TO VANG VIENG LAOS 

Laos is truly an extraordinary country, after days of contemplating we finally decided to travel to Vang Vieng by bus, we were super hesitant because it was rainy season and the region was known for having flooded roads during this time of year but we pushed through our doubts and went on the adventure. 

We only spent 80,000 kip for the bus ticket and there were about 8 or 9 other people on the bus. 

Our hotel which was infested by tiny spiders was $60 CAD for 4 days and we rented a motorbike and bicycles for transportation for a total of 70,000 kip.

I couldn’t help myself when it came to shopping so I bought a few things at the night market and we treated ourselves to some lovely meals over those few days coming up to $100 CAD for food and $20 on shopping during that time. 

The activities were absolutely amazing, we strolled by a blue lagoon and hiked up 100 steps to explore the caves on the side of the mountain. 

At the top we met a super nice couple who asked us where we’re from and offered to take photos of us. After all of that we spent a total of $50 on activities. 

COST BREAKDOWN

Bus = $20

Accommodation = $128

Food = $100

Transportation = $20

Shopping = $20

Activities = $50

TOTAL = $338 per person 

VANG VIENG TO LUANG PRABANG 

After spending a week in Vang Vieng we started our journey towards Luang Prabang. The bus ride was about $15 and it was the most stunning ride I’ve ever taken. 

We arrived after a few hours and spent the rest of our time at this super affordable, gorgeous villa just outside the main part of the city for $127 for two weeks. It had a pool, balcony and an amazing continental breakfast everyday. 

We spent a lot of money on food but didn’t pay for many activities to balance it out. We mostly relaxed in Luang Prabang and enjoyed hanging by the pool.  

COST BREAKDOWN 

Transportation = $20

Accommodation = $127 

Food = $250

Activities = $30

TOTAL = $213 per person  

LUANG PRABANG TO BANGKOK 

We departed from Luang Prabang airport with sadness and made our way to the last stop of our adventure. 

We arrived in Bangkok, found a cheap place to stay and explored more of the city by foot with the money we had left over. 

After spending our last two weeks in Bangkok we were finally ready to head home! 

COST BREAKDOWN

Flight = $250 

Transportation = $80

Accommodation = $205 

Food = $250

Shopping = $20 

Activites = $30 

Toiletries = $30 

TOTAL = $417 per person 

TOTAL SPENT = $5,301 per person

This is the final total including all of flights and our flight back to Toronto which was $600 per person. We also spent a night on a layover in Manila, Philippines which costed us an additional $50 per person.

This doesn’t include pre travel expenses which would be about an additional $500. 

We could have spent a lot less money by booking our accommodation further in advance and by spending less on food by staying at places with a kitchen. Given that the price includes all flights and 2 weeks in LA,  we managed to stay within a pretty decent budget. 

After 3 months we decided to fly back home to continue planning the next steps of our lives. 

It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so grateful to have gone on this journey. 

I can definitely say I learned a lot but, the biggest lesson was to not have any expectations when embarking on a new journey. I had been planning this trip for years in my head and it went nothing like I expected! It was even better.

Thanks for reading if you enjoyed please give it a share and comment below so I can continue creating awesome content on the blog for you all! 

If you want to learn more about travelling on a budget read, “5 Ways To Save Money On Travel”

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