I’m making a budget and was wondering what was considered frugal travel and what is not.
Like, is $3100 considered expensive in Asia or South America for two people?
How about the US and Canada?
I’m not planning a lot of activities btw or anything fancy, just normal stuff with a good combination of comfort and fun.
Asia and South America are big places, you may need to narrow down where you are thinking of going. In general, I wouldn’t call $100/day “high end” (in the sense of luxury travel) but it would be sufficient to be pretty comfortable in traditional backpacker destinations (e.g., much of SE Asia). In more expensive cities (Singapore, Tokyo, etc.), it is feasible to stay for $100/day but is likely to be more towards lower end.
Including flights or not? Is $3100 your total budget or just for daily expenses? These are important details.
Hollis said:
Including flights or not? Is $3100 your total budget or just for daily expenses? These are important details.
Sorry- not including flights. $3100 total expenses for a month.
@Zyler
Not even close to high end. High end hotels will cost you well over $100/night. Your budget is comfortable but my partner and I have travelled these areas and a nice meal out with drinks will run you $100.
@Tsu
Also depends on the country.
Harper said:
@Tsu
Also depends on the country.
Not sure the cheapest S. America country but Ecuador is consistently listed near the top. I spent some time in Quito pre-covid and work took us out for a nice meal (not red carpet by any means) and it was around $50/head. Our hotel rooms not even mid fancy were $50. No doubt that $100/day can cover a vacay in S America and most of Asia, but we need to give some reality checks.
@Tsu
Oh, I agree. I don’t think they could do what they want to do in S. America or MOST of SEA. They could probably pull it off in Laos or Cambodia. Maybe…maybe Vietnam, depending on the exact part they stay at. No way in Thailand.
@Harper
I wish these travel subs would make a sticky about costs. I feel I see comments about ‘living like a king’ on X amount of money on a weekly basis. And I have to assume it’s made by people that have never travelled there. I was sold the same line in 2005 when I went to Thailand and India and my reality ended up being basic rooms or hostels and lots of street food.
@Tsu
I mean, Thailand was cheap for us, just not live like a king while on vacation cheap. We had a fairly nice hotel pretty well located between two night markets in Chiang Mai and spent a night in Pai. Probably spent $1k American during the weekend a couple days.
@Harper
That sounds about right. So more like $400-$500/day. OP wondering if $100 can buy that quality of vacay will be let down. Even a nice hotel in Ho Chi Minh or Saigon gonna be a couple hundred. 
Not saying this to rain on OP’s parade. Just to set expectations.
@Tsu
Hi Chi Minh and Saigon are the same city. Hanoi would be an apt comparison. They could probably pull it off in Hoi An.
Harper said:
@Tsu
Hi Chi Minh and Saigon are the same city. Hanoi would be an apt comparison. They could probably pull it off in Hoi An.
This comment is empty, admin should fix.
That will be a frugal trip to the US or Canada. To SE Asia you can have a very comfortable and enjoyable trip, but high end? lol no. Why don’t you just browse some hotels in those areas and you’ll immediately understand how far your budget will go?
For which part? The hotel? The flights? The entire trip?
Luca said:
For which part? The hotel? The flights? The entire trip?
Not including flights. $3100 total expenses for a month for the entire trip.
Luca said:
For which part? The hotel? The flights? The entire trip?
Not including flights. $3100 total expenses for a month for the entire trip.
Depends on how you like to stay. I prefer mid level at worst western hotels and in Jakarta I can do $30 a night but Bali will be $100 and Tokyo $200. If you like local hotels or hostels they can be much less.
Have you bothered to look at hotel prices and star ratings in your budget before posting here? It’s OBVIOUSLY not high end at $100/day for 2 people. High end hotels are not exactly cheap even in low cost countries.
@Bay
I wish it was a sticky on these travel subs. Weekly you see comments about being able to ‘live like a king’ in XYZ country on some small amount of money and it’s never ever close to reality. A. It’s ignorant, and B. Low key insulting for natives of that area.
That’s ~$100/day for food, lodging, activities. For the US, I find hotels to be between $80-$150 for a pretty basic motel. So no, it’s not enough for the US.
I spent more than that in Thailand, but was mostly middle-high end. I think I spent more than that in Argentina/Chile, etc. but again, I’m not a super low budget traveler. I don’t think it would be considered high end as well.