You’ve finally decided to go to one of the most beautiful places in the world. Right on. Southeast Asia is a popular spot for backpackers and budget travelers. It allows you to travel long term without breaking your bank. And, obviously, it’s stunning (huge plus!). I’m going to tell you what I spent in the first four months I was in Southeast Asia, and give you some tips on how to keep your backpacking budget cheap. This will be short and to the point, so let’s get started!
Food
Food can be extremely cheap if you stay away from fancy restaurants and tourist traps. Street food and local restaurants will give you the cheapest prices, although you’ll always be paying more than the locals. They have a “local” price and a “tourist” price, which I found to be typically 400% more expensive. If they charge a local .50 cents, you’ll be charged $2.00.
It’s possible to eat for $1.00 per meal by going to street food vendors, and by shopping for fruit and veggies at local markets. If you really try, you could keep your food costs down to $3-$4 per day – unless you are in more expensive cities, like Singapore and Bangkok. The chart below shows how much of my backpacking budget was spent on food:
| Cheapest Meal | Most Expensive Meal | Average Meal Cost | Daily Cost of Food (Average) | Monthly Food Cost | Food Cost for 4 Months |
| $1.00 | $15.00 | $3.50 | $10 – $11 | $300 – $330 | About $1260 |
Accommodation
Countries like Cambodia and Laos are famous for $2 dorm rooms. When you get to places like Thailand or Malaysia, accommodation becomes more expensive. You can use websites like Hostelworld, Airbnb and Agoda to book your hostels. If there is an awesome deal on a website, book it. Side note: be a leary; if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Read reviews and comments – if a hostel doesn’t have any reviews, probably give it a miss (unless you can investigate it in person). If nothing grabs your attention, be brave and head somewhere without a hostel booking. Spend an hour going door to door asking for prices and negotiating. If you’re already in their door, they will usually try to keep you there with a good price.
Dorm rooms will be cheaper than private rooms. If you are traveling with other people, splitting a private room between your group can give you more privacy for the same price (or even cheaper) as a dorm.
Traveling with a hammock allows you to camp for free if you want to be in nature or get into a pinch where you can’t find a hostel. The chart below shows how much of my backpacking budget I spent on accommodation:
| Cheapest Hostel/Hotel | Most Expensive Hotel/Hostel | Average Nightly Cost for Accommodation | Monthly Accommodation Cost | Accommodation Cost for 4 Months |
| $0/night (camping) | $25/night | $6/night | $180 | About $720 |
Transportation
It’s likely that transportation will be your largest cost, depending where you are when you leave for Southeast Asia. I had to fly from Chicago, which is a fair distance to go. Once you are in Southeast Asia, you can take buses, ferries, trains, taxis and tuk-tuks to get around. Flights within SE Asia are usually pretty cheap, as well. To find flights, use websites like Skyscanner, Momondo or the app Hopper. Use the monthly calendar or chart feature to see what day it’s the cheapest to fly, and look at multiple cities. I once saved nearly $500 on a flight just by changing my destination to a different city in the same country.
Once you start using transportation within SE Asia, ask your hostel/hotel what the cheapest options are. They will usually give you a fair price and can book it for you. You can also go to a travel agent’s shop, which are common in SE Asia, and compare prices. With tuk-tuks, you can almost always haggle the price. With taxis, ask them to run the meter instead of the driver giving a flat rate. If they give you a flat rate, you can assume they are making more money off of you than they should be. The chart below shows a very close estimate as to how much of my backpacking budget went to transportation:
| Flight from Chicago to Hanoi, Vietnam | Domestic Flights in SE Asia | Trains | Ferries/Boats | Buses/Minibuses | Taxis/Tuk-tuks | Total Transportation for 4 Months |
| $550 (one way) | $140 | $76 | $98 | $200 | $150 | About $1,214 |
Miscellaneous
While traveling, you will be spending money on activities, souvenirs and drinks. Everyone I traveled with in these four months enjoyed checking out the local pubs, so I definitely had a bar tab by the end of this trip. If you skip the bars, you’ll be saving yourself some money. Things like diving, hot air balloon rides, skydiving, etc. are going to be a large chunk of money. I personally only did diving, jungle trekking and canyoneering for my large activities while I was in Southeast Asia during these four months. In this next chart, I will add up the miscellaneous activities and goods my backpacking budget went to:
| PADI Open Water Certificate | Canyoneering/Jungle Treks/Other activities | Drinks | Clothes/ Souvenirs | Toiletries/Necessary Goods | Mailed Package Back Home | Park Entry Fees | Total Miscellaneous |
| $450 | $100 | $400 | $150 | $30 | $44 | $80 | About $1,254 |
My backpacking budget (4 months) TOTAL: $4500
My first trip to Southeast Asia cost me just under $4500 for 4 months of travel. I definitely splurged with things like my PADI Open Water Certificate and visiting the bars, but I also saved money in food and accommodation (hammocks are seriously the best).
Now, pack your bag (find my Ultimate Packing List here ) and share with post with your travel buddy!
