Backpacking Budget For South East Asia – This Is How Much I Spent

This is going to be the first post to my South East Asia series which I was meant to write about 6 months ago…when I was actually IN South East Asia! However, blogging will never be something that I force myself to do.

If you are simply having too much fun and don’t feel like writing and sharing your experiences straight away…then don’t. This long break between traveling and writing has also given me time to really think about the places I went, the people I met, and the weird roller-coaster of emotions I went through on my journey.

To start the series, I would like to break down how much money I spent on my 2 month backpacking adventure which included Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. So without further delay, here’s my backpacking budget for two months in South East Asia.

Looking for cheap hostels in Thailand? Read my Koh Phangan guide.

If you are new to this blog there is only one thing you should know about me…I spend a ridiculous amount of time searching for, and succeeding in, finding cheap flights. Thanks to this, my flights were by far some of the cheapest expenses of my trip. I flew from: South Korea – Thailand – Vietnam – London – Ireland. There were also internal flights and many overland bus journeys. 108 hours, in fact, were spent on a bus over the 8 week period! (I also spend 200 euro on return flights to Australia from Bangkok, but ended up not going. I got about 80 euro refunded and lost the rest. C’est la vie!)

Seoul Incheon – Bangkok : €93 AirAsia Via SkyScanner

Bangkok – Hanoi: €82 Via VietJet SkyScanner

Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh: €35 VietJet Via SkyScanner

Bangkok – London: €300 Air India Via SkyScanner

London – Cork: €30 Ryanair Via SkyScanner

Total flight cost: €540

Other transport included over night buses, tuk tuks, boats, taxis, trains and possible every mode of transport under the sun. Trains were the most expensive with a one way trip from Hanoi down to Hoi An costing over 40 dollars! Overnight buses were all around 20 dollars (I think) and shorter 12 hour journeys were between 10 and 15 dollars.

8 overnight bus rides x €15 – €120

2 train rides x €30 – €60

2 ferry rides x €20 – €40

Miscellaneous taxis and shuttles – €100

Scooter/ Motorbike/ Quad bike rental – €30

Total other transport cost – €350

For the first month (mostly in Vietnam) I was travelling with some friends and as none of us were exactly on a shoestring budget we stayed in nice (but reasonably cheap) hotels or private rooms in hostels. The most we ever paid for a room was about 20 euro each, and that was a pretty amazing place! Most nights we averaged about 10 dollars a night. For that price you can share a double room, or a cabin on the beach or get a bed in a really nice dorm. You can also find dorm beds for as long as 4 dollars in some towns, just depends on your budget. In Thailand, I stayed in amazing hostels with bars and swimming pools and cool cafes for as cheap as 3 dollars a night in a dorm room. Absolute bargain.

As my accommodation costs varied in each country, depending on who I was traveling with, I am estimating the cost in the following way:

€5 x 10 nights = 50

€10 x 35 nights = 350

€15 x 10 nights = 150

Total accommodation cost: €550

When it comes to food, South East Asia is a foodie paradise. Not only does the food taste great in virtually every restaurant, ever street stand, every casual soup seller, it also costs close to nothing. Seriously. Food will not cost you very much and you can over indulge on the most delicious delicacies every day. That said, it’s also possible to spend a small fortune if you go to top tourist restaurants, eat western food, drink expensive western cocktails and refuse to explore secret side alleys where you eat your dinner sitting on a plastic stool surrounded by locals.

Again, depending on where I was and who I was travelling with, my food costs really varied throughout the 2 months. A nice meal in a restaurant could cost up to 10 dollars, at the very maximum. Street food costs as little as 1 or 2 dollars for delicious Vietnamese soup, or traditional Khmer curry or a generous helping of pad Thai. Considering I spent a lot in some places and near to nothing in others, I will again average it all out. Eating out 3 times a day can be quite costly, so pick your restaurants wisely and stay away from tourist traps!

€5 x 5 days – €25

€10 x 35 days – €350

€15 x 10 days – €150

Total food cost = €525

Next up is entertainment and activities. This, if you choose (or if you aren’t careful) could take up the biggest chunk of your budget. South East Asia is not called the banana pancake trail for no reason. In the summer, this popular backpacking route is swarming with young, carefree gap year students, college students, people on career breaks and God knows who else. To cater for all these travelers, there probably isn’t a single town or village in South East Asia which has not attempted to cash in on this never-ending trail of tourists. Offering a myriad of fun activities ranging from river rafting to booze cruises to elephant rides to playing with tigers, doing a homestay, hiking, biking, swimming in waterfalls, sleeping in tree tops, exploring temples in tuk tuks….you name it, they will most certainly have it! This is where your money will go.

Personally, I didn’t spend a lot on activities apart from a few big things in each country such as a Halong Bay 3 day cruise (200 dollars) or entry to Angkor Wat in Cambodia (40 dollars). Most days I spent no money, some days I spent lots. Thus, I’m just going to roughly estimate how much I spent over the 2 months. (If you go scuba diving or decide to do other very expensive activities this total will be A LOT more!)

Total activities cost – €600

Every hostel will have a bar, will run a pub crawl, will organize theme nights and will make it their mission to get you drunk every night of the week. Every city will have ‘happy hours’, every street seller will know the best bars, every beach boy will know the best parties. If you don’t have much self-discipline, both your liver and your wallet will suffer greatly!

So, how much does a beer cost? Honestly, not much. There are bars in Hoi An in Vietnam where a glass of local beer will cost you about 10 cent. You can literally drink there all night and the bill will only come to a dollar or two. Some of the more upmarket places could make you part with up to 3 dollars for a beer but we happily avoided places like that. Beach bars in Sihanoukville, on the coast of Cambodia, charged about 1 dollar (sometimes 75 cent) for a cold pint of draft Angkor beer, while bars on Koh San Road in Thailand usually charged about $1.50 minimum. At the Full and Half Moon parties in Thailand, it’s all about the buckets. The price of these depended on what type of alcohol you wanted – local or imported and thus ranged form 5 dollars to 15 dollars if I remember correctly.

Minimum 1 beer per night for 60 nights = €60

8 BIG party nights (1 per week) x 25 euro = €200

Random drinks with new friends x 1 million!! 😉 – €200

Total drink costs – €460

Last, but not least, and something you ABSOLUTELY need is travel insurance! I always go with World Nomads as they have a good backpacker policy that covers motorbike accidents and a good selection of adventure sports too.

Travel insurance cost – €150