Want to go travelling for 6 months, how much money will I need?

So bored at home with everything, I want to just quite my job and go travelling for a long time in Asia.

I am prepared to budget in cheap hotels, but not hostels.

How much money would I need for say 6 months, including air tickets from place to place etc?

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Reply 1

tpxvs

id say probably about £5k. why not hostels?

Reply 2

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Original post by tpxvs

id say probably about £5k. why not hostels?

I'm too old, I'm a mature student.

I am thinking of maybe £50 per day, which would only get me 100 days by your estimate of 5K.

Ideally, I would like a bit more than 5k.

I plan to spend a lot of time in Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia. With Brunei and Burma also options.

Reply 3

Olibert

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

I'm too old, I'm a mature student.

Worst excuse ever.

I won't bore you with stories of 40/50 year olds staying in hostels and absolutely kinging it with the rest of the guests like they were 21 again.

Reply 4

Teabo

5k?! WHAT??

When I traveled a couple years back now, spent about 3 months in Thailand, 1 month in Cambodia, a week in Vietnam and then 3 weeks in Laos. Excluding flights, a total of about 5 months, I worked my way through 1,200 pounds. And even then I was generous with my spending, mainly in Thailand where boozing it everyday raised the cost quite a lot. You can do it on the cheap, very easily..

Reply 5

tpxvs

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

what do you mean by "mature" student, late twenties? 50s? as a general rule id say hostels are fine as long as you havent hit the forty mark.

£50 a day?! are you crazy?! what do you plan on doing/eating each day :redface:

£50/day budget would be too much even here in UK.. you do realise asia is comparatively incredibly cheap? I've been to malaysia and brunei before, stayed about 3 months in total. Though i didnt stay in a hostel/hotel, i know malaysia has really cheap accom.

I'd say set aside a grand (at most) for flights. Infact it costs about a grand to go to new zealand from here which is much further away, so were being very very generous here. £10 a day should be enough as a bare minimum. so now thats £2800 in total. depending on what type of excursions you'll be doing you'll need to budget accordingly 6 months is a long time and you can do so much if you arent also working therefore i thought another 2 grand sounds about right. and the remaining £200 for travel/transport costs.

p.s sorry about the punctuation, i cba to fix it. :smile:

Reply 6

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

I don't really want to stay in accom less than £50 per night. You get what you pay for! Then there is the safety issue...

Flights in Asia are cheap anyway with AirAsia and Scoot, so that's not much at all. Flying from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur for example will only cost me about £10 one way.

Reply 7

Olibert

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

I don't really want to stay in accom less than £50 per night. You get what you pay for! Then there is the safety issue...

Ah yes. Lest we forget that hostels are actually places where rich businessmen can go to torture young backpackers.

Reply 8

abbyheat

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

There really is no safety issue. I've been doing it for years. Never been attached, never had anything stolen and met people who have ended up being some of my closest friends. I'm a 'mature student' too so I don't really get that argument but some people aren't really hostel people and that's cool.

In countries such as Vietnam, you can get a single room in a guesthouse for a fiver a night. It's not going to be 5 star but it'll be comfortable and homely plus you'll still meet people too.

Reply 9

Malkmus

Original post by abbyheat

Never been attached,

Yeah, being chained to the walls can be a real worry for some people... :wink:

Reply 10

Laozi

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

What, why would you want to spend a hell of alot more when there's cheap accomodation abound in Asia? I've been living in China for the past year and hostels are the best place to stay in when travelling; very friendly staff, very clean rooms, great areas to meet everyone and very cosy and western.

You'll be wasting money if you don't use hostels.

Reply 11

abbyheat

Original post by Malkmus

Yeah, being chained to the walls can be a real worry for some people... :wink:

Ahahahaha. I am a fool

*attacked

Reply 12

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Original post by Laozi

I don't particularly want to meet anyone on this trip. Just some exotic 'me time'.

Plus I need the perks,like air con, free wifi, minibar, room service. Hostels do not offer any of these in one's room.

Reply 13

StarsAreFixed

You would probably have a much more enriching travel experience if you did it on the cheap and stayed in basic accommodation- leaving you more time to explore your surroundings, rather than local wifi speeds and the hotel's drink selection. It's not a week or a weekend break- it would take the vast bulk of your money to keep you in luxury for that long, obviously cheaper than luxury accom elsewhere, but even so. Think long and hard about that one, personally I think it quite likely you'd regret spending so much money unnceccessarily and missing out on the experience as a result. You don't HAVE to stay in huge dorms with 16 people snoring etc. There are compromises, such as decent guesthouses which would be like B&B's.

Reply 14

Laozi

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

That makes no sense. You don't have to become best buddies with them. It's great to go hiking up a mountain on you're own and then come back to the hostel and have a few beers with some fellow travellers. To travel 6 months without bothering to speak to anyone or make any friends is going to make you extremely isolated and lonely as you won't know the local language to make any friends among the people who live there.

Hostels have free wifi and most have air con. Don't understand why you'd want to have a minibar and room service if you're travelling - do it on the cheap, that's what it's all about.

Don't stay in your 5 star hotels, refuse to speak their language and say you've seen the culture and people. Go to the hostels, go to the remote towns, have dinner with people..... it's what travelling and seeing and disovering a culture is all about.

Reply 15

Jamil1987

If u know you want to spend £50 per day, why are you asking how much your going to spend. Its simple maths £50 * No of days.

Also I dont see the point of your travelling to these places if all you want are home comforts.

Reply 16

ATCAdam

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Safety... best not go, stay wrapped up in that cotton wool! :wink:

WiFi, room service and minibar, you may as well stay at home and sit on FB and TSR.

If you want my sincere advice, use that money towards experiences that will push you out of your comfort zone, scuba diving say for example, you will get a lot more out of that than your WiFi and minibar.

Reply 17

twoforjoy

you'll be lonely in a hotel :frown:

the best part about my travels have been the people you meet in hostels! As for the 'mature student' argument, one of my dorm mates was a 60 year old man who had just divorced his wife and set out exploring Australia, and he was lovely!
The best thing about hostels and backpackers is that you are rarely judged and everyone is allowed to have a great time.

Reply 18

M4LLY

Your going to have to rough it unless you are ridiculously rich

Reply 19

PatchesO'Hooliha

Original post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

'Then there is the safety issue' - perhaps you should stay in the comfort of the UK.

You've asked for advice but it seems you're unwilling to take it in. £50 a night for accom? Do some research. Are you planning on travelling or having an extended holiday...