” How Much Does it Cost to Travel?” – Thailand in a Spreadsheet

^{(*Numbers in the spreadsheet are in Thai Baht. 35 Baht = 1 USD*)} 

The question everyone seems to want to know : “ How much does it cost to travel?”. It’s a widely written about subject, both on The Shoestring Trekkers and the thousands of other travel blogs out there. I decided to keep track of my expenses over the course of this trip in hopes to show people what your daily costs will look like. The expenses in the spreadsheet are for just myself, not Breada and I. Our costs were pretty much the same though so we figured there was no point to track both of us. Bear in mind, we split accommodation costs so these are cheaper than normal. At the same time, we were booking mostly private rooms, which are about the same costs as a dorm bed so if you plan on only staying in dorms the numbers will be accurate for you as well. 

I kept trying to post the spreadsheet as one large picture, but it wouldn’t size right so I made a link to my Google Sheet you can view. It’s much better than zooming in and/or squinting into the computer screen.

Thailand Expenses Spreadsheet

In total we spent $781 each, with an average daily spend of just under $29 a day. Honestly I’m happy with how much (or little) we spent in our first month, but we could have done it a bit cheaper if we wanted. At the same time, you don’t want to pinch pennies that bad because at the end of the day you want to enjoy your time traveling. Being frugal is great, but don’t miss opportunities because you’re worried about spending a few dollars.

Our accident on Koh Lanta cost us a little bit of money we wouldn’t have normally spent, plus the week or 2 after we had to buy gauze and bandages every couple days. We also went out to eat on Lanta a lot, like twice a day everyday. Granted, street food was scarce on the island, but we could have spent less if we wanted. Anyway, without further adu, here is our expenses all rolled into a handy spreadsheet! I took the original design for the spreadsheet from A Little Adrift, but adjusted it to fit our trip a little better.

Hopefully this gives some insight on how much you can expect to spend while traveling through Thailand. We plan on releasing our spreadsheets after each country we visit to help people figure out their own budgets. If you have any questions about different expenses, just ask!

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