How much will an independent bike tour cost?
Here are some typical expenses and budgets from bike tourists who’ve undertaken an extended trip across multiple countries and continents.
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Chris and Margo went on an 11-month bike tour from Bangkok to Paris in 2009. The trip cost $30,400 in total.
Chris & Margo on their touring bicycles.
Non-daily costs were:
- Visas $2,775 (11 visas & various Letters of Invitation)
- Transport within trip: $1,851.96 (Boat, bus, taxi)
- Souvenirs bought & mailed home: $500
- Care packages from home $1,515 (Bike parts such as drive train replacements, new electronics)
In terms of daily costs, Chris and Margo spent $73 per day as a couple.
We travelled as cheaply as possible when we were younger but now we are a retired couple and we know our remaining touring days are finite. We’re no longer on a tight budget.
Costs varied wildly between destinations such as China and the final part of the trip in northern Europe in November. They cooked and camped when logistically necessary, or when there was a good wild camping opportunity. On average, they camped about one third of the time and up to two thirds of the time in some countries. The rest of the nights were spent in a range of hotels, from cheap to mid-range.
We threw the budget out the window for the last six weeks as we entered in Europe in late fall. The weather was poor, the nights were long, and we were tired. We also felt we deserved to spoil ourselves, since –when we set out from Bangkok– I had thought the chances of a pair in their late 50s actually making it across Central Asia were slim. In fact, we had to keep reminding ourselves that we’d actually done it.
Their daily costs per country were:
- Thailand $56
- Laos $35
- China $51
- Kazakhstan $118
- Kyrgyzstan $66
- Tajikistan $27
- Uzbekistan $70
- Turkmenistan $50
- Azerbaijan $85
- Georgia $96
- Turkey $73
- Greece $109
- Albania $40
- Montenegro $160
- Croatia $73
- Slovenia $181
- Austria $194
- Germany $288
- Switzerland $70 (stayed with friends)
- France $166
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Can You Help?
Keeping these sections up-to-date and adding new sections relies on the community. That’s you!
If you’ve recently been on tour and can tell us about your daily budget, please Get In Touch and share your answers to these 3 basic questions:
1. What did you spend per person, per day on average? This is for daily expenses like food, hotels, public transport within a country but not exceptional extras like bike repair, flights to/from the country.
2. Can you briefly describe your style of travel? Are you ultra low budget (e.g. a devoted wild camper, cook all your own food) or more medium budget (e.g. will occasionally splash out on a hotel, meal in restaurant)?
3. Any tips you want to share related to costs in this region? Was something particularly cheap or expensive? How would you recommend others save money?
We’ll add your answers to the relevant page, along with a photo of you on tour and a link to your bike touring blog (if you have one). Thanks!