Calculating the cost of a trip around the world by car

Many people ask what a world trip in a van, camper or motorhome costs and how to finance it. Many travel blogs report on this, but I always find the comparison a little difficult. Many are looking for a "cost per travel day" figure so they can calculate and budget for themselves.

World travel costs broken down by travel country as a self-driver in a 4x4Not only the speed of travel determines the costs, but also the costs when you treat yourself, eat out, hotel, tours, entrance fees and much more.

Some have high repair bills, others do gorilla tracking, scuba diving, rafting, Antarctica expeditions, helicopter tours - there are variables. And definitely there are more expensive countries to travel to (cost of petrol/diesel/food) - and the length of stay does become crucial.

So you have countless options to generate completely different costs for the same travel distance.

Take the example of a trans-Africa trip via the western route with the van/camper (Zurich Capetown) and shipping back. The biggest fixed cost blocks here in 2012 were: $3000 diesel, $3500 shipping (back to Europe), $1300 visa costs. The cost of living is not particularly high for those who cook for themselves, about 100$/person per month.

So the travel costs per day will be much lower the longer you are on the road. Listing the costs per day is therefore not particularly helpful.

These discussions about the costs per day in the big international travel forums usually lead to about 80$ per day among experienced world travellers of several years. But how meaningful is such a value when one "world trip" is not like another and the same countries are not necessarily visited?

You have to study the travel blogs in detail to see whether the travellers have treated themselves to "tours" or national park entries - or have often avoided them because of the costs.

Nevertheless, here you will find the figures of a three-year trip summarised and prepared - but also the links to see the expenses per day and destination.

http://www.drivenachodrive.com/2015/01/the-cost-of-driving-around-the-world/

This is a good database, but it is only of limited use for calculating your own costs. And a very nice travel diary with beautiful pictures!  Also lets-get-otter-here and Untouracinq did a writup of their costs.

You can reduce costs by camping in the wild and cooking yourself, and you can also buy cheaper food. And you can try to stay longer in the cheaper countries, while crossing expensive countries more quickly.

So I can't answer your questions about the costs either, the needs and demands of us travellers are too individual. The costs are also very volatile - a shipment can cost a lot more as at 2012 as example. 

Look at current travel blogs for the desired travel area, look at their costs and travel style, see if this roughly coincides with your needs - then you have an approximate idea. Unfortunately, not everyone takes the trouble to record the costs in as much detail as above.

This article is also available in german language.

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