In 2018 I spent nine months backpacking around Asia. Although I have already shared my travel diaries from every country, I also really wanted to do one big post summarising this trip (before the new year starts and brings a completely new adventure 😀 ). So here we are, looking back at my backpacking trip one more time. Plus, I am finally sharing exactly how much money I spent in each country! After all, that’s probably the number one question I get asked – how much does it cost to backpack Asia like this?? Let’s find out.

MY TRIP IN NUMBERS

During 9 months in Asia I…

• visited 11 countries (or 12 if you want to count Hong Kong as a country)
• stopped in 52 towns and cities
• took 21 flights, 35 long-distance buses, 15 boats, 12 inter-city trains and 1 Shinkansen 
• travelled via 24 airports
• crossed 4 borders by land
• needed 5 visas
• slept in 60 different accommodations
• visited 6,347 temples (rough estimate)
• got 1 new tattoo

Read this before you skip to the part where I share my expenses…

Please keep in mind that finances are very individual. We all have different preferences and spend money on different things. Even if you copy my exact route, you might end up with a completely different number.

I simply wanted to share this to give you an idea of how much such a big trip can cost. It can cost less, but it can also cost a lot more.

Here are a few notes about my spending:

• I stayed almost always in hostels, that’s why my accommodation expenses were pretty low. I spent way more money on food than lodging!

• Speaking of food… I ate mostly cheap local (street) food but there were a lot of times when I splurged on something a bit nicer. Especially in Bali.

• I’m not a party traveller and didn’t spend almost anything on alcohol, with the exception of a few drinks.

• On the other hand, I drank A LOT of smoothies in Asia 😀 . And matcha lattes. I don’t do coffee.

• I travelled with a filter water bottle so I wasn’t buying any drinking water. Simple thing but it could add up over all those months!

• My food expenses may include some other items we all buy in our daily life (for example, if I bought some toilet paper or toothpaste when shopping for food, I still categorised this receipt as “food”).

• “Other expenses” include anything from laundry, postcards, medicine, souvenirs and clothes to withdrawal fees, etc. There is always extra stuff you need money for.

• As for transportation, I generally travelled by public transport in cities and used more buses than trains to get to the next place. I didn’t really use taxis unless it was the only option. (And I preferred Grab or Uber to normal taxis.)

• I’m sharing totals for each country without flights because prices will differ for you depending on where you are flying from – and sometimes I just crossed the border by land.

• If the numbers of days and nights spent in a country don’t add up, it’s probably because I took some night buses or trains.

• I converted all expenses to US dollars because that’s a currency everyone knows and can work with.

THAILAND (February 2018)

My journey began in Thailand. It was my first time in Asia and I probably couldn’t have picked a better place to start. You can read what it felt like to be getting to know this continent in this article here. I spent three weeks in Thailand and practised slow travel – I only explored Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

Read my detailed diary from Thailand here.

More blog posts from Thailand

• My 3 Recommendations for Bangkok
• Best viewpoints near Chiang Mai
• How To Have an Amazing Elephant Experience

How much money I spent in Thailand (23 days)

Accommodation (20 nights)	2,256 THB	$74
Transport	2,929 THB	$97
Food & Drinks	5,121 THB	$169
Sightseeing*	2,450 THB	$80
Other	1,231 THB	$40
TOTAL	13,987 THB	$461

Average cost per day: $20

*includes half a day at an elephant sanctuary (1,400 THB) and an organised trip to Doi Inthanon (850 THB)

VIETNAM (March 2018)

Thailand was followed by nearly a month in its neighbouring country, Vietnam. Oh man, Vietnam is huge and there was no way I could see all the interesting places it had to offer. But I tried. I went to Hanoi, Cat Ba (Halong Bay), Sa Pa, Ninh Binh, Lang Co, Hoi An, Da Lat and Ho Chi Minh City.

Read my detailed diary from Vietnam here.

More blog posts from Vietnam

• Observations from Vietnam
• How To Have A Great Halong Bay Experience When You Are On A Budget
• Hoi An in Pictures: Vietnam’s Cutest Town

How much money I spent in Vietnam (26 days)

Accommodation (23 nights)	2,611,889 VND	$113
Transport*	4,719,211 VND	$205
Food & Drinks	4,815,000 VND	$209
Sightseeing**	2,109,000 VND	$91
Other***	941,000 VND	$41
Visa		$44
Flight to Vietnam (Bangkok - Hanoi)		$72
TOTAL (excluding flight):	15,196,000 VND	$703

Average cost per day: $25

*includes taxi to and from Lang Co because there are almost no buses (1,450,800 VND)
**includes a Halong Bay cruise (650,000 VND) and a cable car to Fansipan (700,000 VND)
***includes a local SIM card (350,000 VND)

JAPAN (March/April 2018)

And suddenly it was time to catch the sakura season in Japan! The stupid trees were the only reason I left Southeast Asia for a while – no regrets, though. I only had two weeks in Japan but I loved it so much I could have stayed forever! I stopped in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Nara.

Read my detailed diary from Japan here.

More blog posts from Japan

• Things You Should Know Before Going To Japan
• 10 Tips For Visiting Universal Studios Japan
• Japan, I Love You

How much money I spent in Japan (15 days)

Accommodation (14 nights)	33,800 ¥	$309
Transport*	34,125 ¥	$312
Food & Drinks	30,353 ¥	$278
Sightseeing**	15,200 ¥	$139
Other	5,056 ¥	$46
Flight to Japan (Ho Chi Minh - Tokyo)		$250
TOTAL (excluding flight):	118,534 ¥	$1,084

Average cost per day: $67

*includes 7-day Japan Rail Pass which probably ended up costing me more than buying normal train tickets would have… ($261)
**includes a ticket to Universal Studios Japan (7900 ¥)

SOUTH KOREA (April 2018)

Naturally, I continued to South Korea where I took it really easy. In almost three weeks I only saw Busan, Gyeongju and Seoul. Busan was by far my favourite!

Read my detailed diary from South Korea here.

More blog posts from Korea

• Things To Do In Busan
• Visiting The Gamcheon Culture Village

How much money I spent in South Korea (19 days)

Accommodation (19 nights)	216,600 KW	$185
Transport	55,850 KW	$48
Food & Drinks	332,820 KW	$283
Matcha*	89,300 KW	$76
Sightseeing	20,000 KW	$17
Other	47,500 KW	$40
Flight to South Korea (Osaka - Busan):		$80
TOTAL (excluding flight)	762,070 KW	$649

Average cost per day: $34

*I just had to create a separate line for my matcha addiction which obviously got really bad in Korea – they sell matcha lattes in all cafés and I somehow had 1-2 every day… Don’t judge, I know y’all can spend a lot of money on your coffees! 😀

HONG KONG (May 2018)

I couldn’t leave East Asia without checking out the one country you just can’t overlook on any world map: China. But first, I needed to get myself a Chinese visa, so I headed to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is different and most nationalities can enter visa-free. I spent six days in Hong Kong while waiting for my visa – it’s a great city but expensive.

Read my (not so) detailed diary from Hong Kong here.

How much money I spent in Hong Kong (6 days)

Accommodation (6 nights)	1077,30 HKD	$138
Transport	259 HKD	$33
Food & Drinks	1144 HKD	$147
Sightseeing	0	0
Other	234 HKD	$30
Flight to Hong Kong (Seoul - HK)		$92
TOTAL (excluding flight)	2714,30 HKD	$348

Average cost per day: $58

CHINA (May + June 2018)

Finally, China. I could talk about China for hours – it’s so unique and different from all the countries I’ve ever visited. The people don’t speak English, there are almost no foreigners so everyone stares at you, they eat strange food and the Internet doesn’t work properly if you don’t have a VPN. Just read my blog posts from China linked below if you want to know what it’s really like to travel in China. Spoiler alert: not easy!

I stayed in China for one and a half months and because the country is massive, I obviously only managed to see a very small part of it. I travelled from the south and stopped in Guilin, Yangshuo, Changsha, the amazing Zhangjiajie National Park, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Jinhua and Beijing where I couldn’t miss the Great Wall of China.

I had also stupidly planned six weeks in China before finding out the tourist visa only allows you to stay for one month at a time… which is why I had to fly to Kuala Lumpur and back in the middle of these six weeks. Yeah, what a waste.

Read my detailed diary from China here.

More blog posts from China

• The Ultimate China Survival Guide
• How To Use The Trains In China
• All You Need To Know Before Visiting Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
• How I Sneaked Onto The Great Wall Of China For Free

How much money I spent in China (46 days)

Accommodation (41 nights)	2347 CNY	$337
Transport	3085 CNY	$442
Food & Drinks	5652 CNY	$810
Sightseeing*	732 CNY	$105
Other	628 CNY	$90
Visa		$177
Return flight Shanghai - Kuala Lumpur		$198
TOTAL (excluding flight)	12,444 CNY	$1961

Average cost per day: $39

*includes ticket to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (245 CNY)

LAOS (June/July 2018)

After I survived China, I headed back to Southeast Asia. What a relief to be back in a familiar place where English menus were commonplace. I should also mention that by the time I got back to Southeast Asia, the rainy season rolled around. That meant less tourists, lower prices and unpredictable weather. I spent three and a half weeks in Laos and explored Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Pakse and the 4000 islands.

Read my detailed diary from Laos here.

More blog posts from Laos

• Things You Should Know Before Visiting Laos
• Kuang Si: Asia’s Most Beautiful Waterfalls
• Laos: A Guide To The 4000 Islands (Si Phan Don)

How much money I spent in Laos (24 days)

Accommodation (22 nights)	1,159,000 LAK	$131
Transport*	1,049,000 LAK	$118
Food & Drinks	2,288,000 LAK	$258
Sightseeing**	325,000 LAK	$37
Other	344,000 LAK	$39
Visa		$30
Flight to Laos (Beijing - Vientiane)		$204
TOTAL (excluding flight)	5,165,000 LAK	$612

Average cost per day: $24

*includes bus to Cambodia (180,000 LAK)
**includes a buggy ride in Vang Vieng (225,000 LAK)

CAMBODIA (July/August 2018)

I crossed the border from Laos to Cambodia where I spent another three and a half weeks. I was mostly in Siem Reap before relaxing on the island of Koh Rong Sanloem and exploring the capital city, Phnom Penh.

Read my detailed diary from Cambodia here.

More blog posts from Cambodia

• My 3-Day Angkor Wat Itinerary (With Tips To Avoid Crowds)
• About Paradise And Hell In Cambodia

How much money I spent in Cambodia (24 days)

Accommodation (23 nights)	$76.60
Transport	$82.50
Food & Drinks	$381.80
Sightseeing*	$107
Other	$34
Visa	$38
TOTAL	$720

Average cost per day: $28

*includes 3-day Angkor Pass ($62)

SINGAPORE (August 2018)

Cambodia was followed by three weeks of travelling with my mum. She flew to Singapore to meet me! To me, coming to Singapore actually felt like leaving Asia 😀 It’s a different world. Kind of like Japan, but without the distinctive Japanese culture. We stayed in Singapore for four days and as I have said many times before, this city state was a little disappointing. It was definitely cool to see it but at the end of the day, it’s just a concrete jungle. No rice fields, mountains or sakura trees to see here. Plus it’s expensive, as you probably know.

Read my (not so) detailed diary from Singapore here.

How much money I spent in Singapore (4 days)

Accommodation (4 nights)	110 SGD	$81
Transport*	50 SGD	$37
Food & Drinks	99 SGD	$73
Sightseeing	66 SGD	$49
Other	2 SGD	$1.50
Flight to Singapore (Phnom Penh - SG)		$65
TOTAL (excluding flight)	327 SGD	$241

Average cost per day: $60

*includes bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (33 SGD)

MALAYSIA (August 2018)

We continued north through the Malay peninsula and explored Malaysia for about ten days. Not a lot of time, but we saw Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands, Ipoh and Penang.

Read my detailed diary from Malaysia here.

More blog posts from Malaysia

• A Quick Guide to Kuala Lumpur
• 3 Reasons to Visit Cameron Highlands
• Where to Find the Best Street Art in Ipoh, Malaysia

How much money I spent in Malaysia (11 days)

Accommodation (11 nights)	552 MYR	$134
Transport*	127 MYR	$31
Food & Drinks	485 MYR	$117
Sightseeing	37 MYR	$9
Other	69 MYR	$17
TOTAL	1270 MYR	$308

Average cost per day: $28

*includes bus to Thailand

THAILAND vol. II (August 2018)

And where do you find yourself if you keep travelling on the Malay peninsula? Yes, I was back in Thailand! This time only for a week and ready to see the famous Thai islands. Did I mention it was rainy season? We shortly stopped in Hat Yai before travelling to Koh Lanta and Phuket. In Phuket my mum jumped on a plane home, while I took a bus to Bangkok where I caught a flight to my next destination…

Read my detailed diary from southern Thailand here.

How much money I spent in southern Thailand (9 days)

Accommodation (8 nights)	1,585 THB	$53
Transport	2,695 THB	$89
Food & Drinks	3,103 THB	$103
Sightseeing	0	0
Other	235 THB	$8
TOTAL	7,618 THB	$253

Average cost per day: $28

MYANMAR/BURMA (September 2018)

Not everyone dares to travel to Myanmar (previously Burma) but I’m so glad I did. It’s incredibly beautiful with the most genuine people I’ve ever met. I had an amazing time in Myanmar as you can see from my blog posts below and I’m also really happy I got to experience this country before the rest of the world discovers its untouched beauty. I travelled to Mandalay, Pindaya, Kalaw, Inle Lake, Bagan, Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon.

Read my detailed diary from Myanmar here.

More blog posts from Myanmar

• Things You Should Know Before Visiting Myanmar
• Should you visit Myanmar?
• 3-Day Trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake
• Naypyidaw: One Day in the World’s Strangest Capital

How much money I spent in Myanmar (20 days)

Accommodation (18 nights)	150,500 MMK	$101
Transport	174,600 MMK	$118
Food & Drinks	238,200 MMK	$160
Sightseeing*	144,000 MMK	$97
Other	26,450 MMK	$18
Visa		$50
Flight to Myanmar (Bangkok - Mandalay)		$78
TOTAL (excluding flight):	733,750 MMK	$544

Average cost per day: $27

*includes a 3-day trek to Inle Lake where food and accommodation were covered for 3 days/2 nights (35,000 MMK)

BALI, INDONESIA (September – November 2018)

My last stop was the Indonesian island of Bali where I spent two months recovering from all the previous travelling. Haha, not really. But it’s partly true. I stayed in Ubud and Canggu but travelled all over the island, including Bedugul, Batur, Jatiluwih, Singaraja, Lovina, Kuta and other places. My time in Bali was really chilled – and quite expensive. I could have spent way, way less money but I didn’t want to eat Nasi goreng every day when there was so much food variety everywhere…

And because I could only stay for one month on my tourist stamp, I had to do a Kuala Lumpur visa run. Again.

Read my detailed diary from Bali here.

How much money I spent in Bali (58 days)

Accommodation (56 nights)	4,000,000 IDR	$287
Transport	1,100,000 IDR	$79
Food & Drinks	14,744,000 IDR	$1,056
Sightseeing	800,000 IDR	$57
Other*	4,325,000 IDR	$310
Flight to Bali (Yangon - Bali)		$143
Return flight to Kuala Lumpur		$109
TOTAL (excluding flights):	24,969,000 IDR	$1,789

Average cost per day: $28

*includes the tattoo I got in Bali (2,000,000 IDR)

OTHER EXPENSES

Vaccinations (Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Rabies): $167
Travel insurance: $1,085
Flight to Asia (Prague – Bangkok): $440
Flight from Asia (Bali – Berlin): $331

TOTAL: $12,987

(Including all flights and other expenses)

So that’s my number. It’s not 100% accurate because of conversion rates, etc. but I think it’s safe to say that my 9 months in Asia cost around $13,000.

And I can almost hear you asking: Where did she get all this money?! Well, I earned it. By working. Shocker. Before I went travelling, I had worked a full-time job in London for two years and made it my priority to save every penny I could.

Oh and in case you care more about the experiences than the numbers, I also have a blog post where I share the 42 best experiences of my backpacking trip through Asia!

PIN IT FOR LATER!