And in the end..... (Looking back on our Adventures).

[ExploringRTW]

If somebody dreamed of doing a long trip, say a year, how much would you have recommended they budget?

Where do you even start budgeting..... its such a conundrem.

Hi Zerocool,

As you say the budget is a huge issue as it depends on how far you ship your bike, if at all, and how many borders, and how long you spend in 1st/3rd world countries, and how comfortably you want/need to live.

Most travellers work on a daily spending amount in $'s, between $50-$100 (depending on Country/lifestyle) and then work their budget up from there depending on how long they wish to stay on the road. I would say though if you budgeted about £20,000 per year once set up you wouldn't be far off. Some will do it cheaper using their tent and own cooking more of the time, and some will spend more, but it is like I say, it depends on how comfortably you want/need to travel.

I hope that helps give you a starting point anyway.

Regards,

Mike

[MikeP]

I have thought about writing a book but I'm not sure there will be enough interest and it is likely to take about a year to write/edit etc.

Mike,

Seriously, the interest does exist.

The LWR/LWD may be thought by some not to be "the real deal" but whatever the views, the pair have raised the profile of motorcycle adventure travel to a point unlikely to be seen again.

The films and books have been read by many non-motorcyclists who want the excitement vicariously and without the uncertainties of actually doing it themselves.

Whatever the reality, most who have read the books believe that such was only possible because of the celebrity status of Ewan and Charlie. Your story would be from a different perspective. Different enough to generate interest to see how non-celebs managed it.

Most of us lead neatly ordered and packaged lives, because of that there's an urge to escape but few manage it or have the nerve to attempt it.

Motorcycle travel of the sort that you have accomplished is the most realistic form of adventure that most people can actually relate to. Dragging a sled over the Poles is not.

It's that ability to relate to the means of travel that has made LWR/LWD a success, even if someone has never ridden a motorbike in their life, they like to think that they could if they chose to.

Go on. I'm looking forward to your interview on 'Excess Baggage' already.

[zerocool]

Hi Zerocool,

As you say the budget is a huge issue as it depends on how far you ship your bike, if at all, and how many borders, and how long you spend in 1st/3rd world countries, and how comfortably you want/need to live.

Most travellers work on a daily spending amount in $'s, between $50-$100 (depending on Country/lifestyle) and then work their budget up from there depending on how long they wish to stay on the road. I would say though if you budgeted about £20,000 per year once set up you wouldn't be far off. Some will do it cheaper using their tent and own cooking more of the time, and some will spend more, but it is like I say, it depends on how comfortably you want/need to travel.

I hope that helps give you a starting point anyway.

Regards,

Mike

Me and Mrs ZC must have done something very wrong, 3 and a half weeks round Europe camping all but 2 of the evenings and cooking for ourselves wherever possible cost us around £2,500 (equivalent to £37,143 a year ) .

Maybe a good thing you could write about is doing it all on a budget, sounds like you had a great time and money doesnt have to be a limitation of a good trip. I thought I was fairly friverlous on my trips but I guess with more attention to detail I could do better.

[Fanum]

I would say though if you budgeted about £20,000 per year once set up you wouldn't be far off.

FFS what sort of hotels is that based on!!! (it's £385 a week!)

That's genuinely way more than I survive on in a year living in the UK

I must be missing something

[ExploringRTW]

FFS what sort of hotels is that based on!!! (it's £385 a week!)

That's genuinely way more than I survive on in a year living in the UK

I must be missing something

I think you've jumped the gun a bit there Fanum. That price is not just for the Hotels. It includes petrol, food, servicing, repairs, entrance fees, border crossing costs, Country/continent crossing costs by plane/ship etc and maps etc etc.

I was hesitant about putting any cost in this thread as these costs vary considerably on the individual. It did cost me more than I would live on in a year too and that is normal on any sort of trip isn't it ? As Zerocool has said he spent significantly more on a 3 week trip than would extrapolate out for a year than mine did.

However, now I have opened the subject I would like to outline the general costs more specifically so that any readers who are interested will have some 'on-the-road' experience ideas for planning their own long-term trips. John and I got our budget woefully wrong and ended up spending nearly twice what we'd hoped for at the outset. (We hadn't obviously hadnt budgeted for aftermath of Johns accident in Honduras and we also travelled for longer too.) The below costs are for an average week. (Petrol was calculated based on USA price which will be too low for much of the world.)

Accomodation @ $25/night 175
Petrol 15
food x2 $10 Lunch/$20 Dinner 210
Visits 35
Coffees 30
Bike maint(Inc Tyres/oil etc) 37
Misc 70
Borders/flights 70
Insurances 13


The Total comes out at around $31,500/pa which translated into £18,500 at the time. These costs though are very approximate and are too low but they give some idea of where the money goes/went. I may well look at it again and do a proper analysis but in the mean time, as I say, I hope it helps a bit.

Regards for now & Merry Christmas.

Mike

[aspad]

Congratulations. You've done what a lot of us on this site just fantasize about.
Well done and good luck with resuming a 'normal' life.