8 Month Trip Summary & Cost Breakdown- 2021/22

ME - 25M From USA

I worked two years at a desk job out of university and began to feel like I was wasting my life. I have always dreamed of taking a big world trip and decided I need to make it happen. I was saving as much as possible to do some sort of trip. When covid seemed like it could be ending soon, I booked my flight.

I began the trip in September in Spain/France and starting in November Omicron started hitting the world. Covid restrictions started to ramp up limiting the countries I could go to. In Morocco my flights were cancelled because the government banned all air travel for months meaning I had to get a repatriation flight back to France. Near the end of the trip the restrictions finally started lifting again as the world returns to a post covid normal.

The trip total was 8 months - 6 months in Europe and 2 months in South America. I travelled like a backpacker, stayed in hostels and ate a lot of street food. I tried to be frugal but I definitely went over budget often. I noticed when I travel in less expensive countries I sometimes spend more because it feels like I can let my budget go a bit. When traveling with friends I also tended to spend more on food, alcohol and airbnbs. Here’s a summary of my pack, travel costs and a brief summary of my trip in each country.

PACK

inspired by the /r/onebag community

• 22L Osprey Talon

• 5 shirts

• 3 underwear (merino wool or exofficio)

• 4 pairs of socks (merino wool)

• MacBook Air

• Cheap android tablet for reading

• 1 pair of pants

• 1 pair of shorts and 1 swimming shorts

• Toiletries bag

• Travel towel

• AirPods

• Wool sweater

• Jacket (bought in Hungary, left it behind when it got warm)

• Life-straw 1L bottle - bought on the road before trek in Peru

Travel Time

September 2021 - April 2022

8 months - 227 Days

Total Countries:

23

Costs

Flights

32 total flights

7 missed flights due to:

• 2 x booked wrong date
• Food poisoning (2 flights missed)
• Didn’t know I needed covid test
• Wanted to stay in Morocco
• Morocco closed borders cancelling all flights

$ 1,897.15

$/flight: $60

Total Costs:

$12,800

$/month - $1,600

$/day (including flights) - $56 $/day (w/o flights) - $47

Barcelona & South of France:

The trip began in Barcelona, the closest cheap flight to my destination in the South of France. My mom and I spent a few days as tourists in the city. Then we made the 2hr journey to Narbonne, France, where my sister picked us up and drove us into the hills not too far away. She and her husband were attempting their first ever wine harvest and it began as soon as we arrived. All family and friends in the village were called and given a pair of scissors and we systematically worked our way through the vines cutting by hand and tossing the bushels in small plastic crates.

The countryside is full of vines and all around you can see others harvesting their grapes, usually with massive machines. But they use more old school practices, for one because they can’t afford big machines but also for the purity of the natural wine techniques and the “health of the vines”. We stomped the grapes and used a wooden press to extract all of the juices. Once the harvest was done we all gathered for a celebratory French dinner. Which involves a lot of time, wine and people speaking French. Which for me was a bit of a problem because I do not speak French. I accidentally picked up a lot of the language by engaging in these 5 hour dinners and not understanding a thing.

Roadtrip - Frankfurt to Albania:

After France I was ready for more time on the road, adventure and uncertainty. I booked a flight to Malta to see my best friend from high school. We partied and swam a lot then flew back to Frankfurt where he currently lives. He had some time off of work so we took his car and thought it would be fun to buy a gold chain in Albania. And then we were off. The route took us through Innsbruck, The Dolomites, Plitvice National Park, Bosnia and Montenegro. Once in Albania we realized that gold chains are expensive so we settled on 1 euro pinkie rings bought from a woman on the street corner. We then rounded the corner to go up through Serbia. I decided to stay in Budapest and he headed back home to get to work again. This was the most expensive because of gas, tolls and immense amounts of fun.

Budapest, Ukraine and Poland:

From Budapest I found a 15 euro flight to Lviv, Ukraine and decided to go for it. One of my favorite cities in the world. Beautiful and full of history, amazing cafes, great vibe in that city. I stayed there for a week before heading to Poland. I was turned around at the border and sent back to Lviv due to covid restrictions land travel was prohibited. So I flew to Wroclaw and travelled to Krakow, Zakopane, Warsaw and Gdansk. The weather was getting a bit too cold so I went back to France for a couple days and attempted to fly to Morocco.

Morocco:

I was denied boarding on my flight to Morocco at the gate because I forgot to get a covid test so I took the cheapest flight out of Toulouse to Lisbon. I got my covid test and met two other guys also going to Morocco so we flew to Marrakesh, rented a car and travelled South to the Sahara. We rode camels, slept in the desert, sat in many drum circles singing songs, ate lots of questionable street food, tried to haggle and avoided scams daily. First time in my life people took pictures with me randomly in the street and in restaurants. People were generally very friendly and interested in what we were doing.

We ended the trip in a small surf town called Taghazout on the coast just north of Agadir. A little with cheap food, amazing waves and a panoramic view skatepark above the city. I decided to stay for a while. I asked around a bit and started volunteering at a surf hostel in exchange for a bed and a surfboard to use at any time. It’s a small hostel with views of the ocean and multiple surf spots you can check from the terrace. The closest ATM and store to buy alcohol was 40mins away so this helped out with the budget for me. I really slowed down in this town. I focused on surfing everyday with people in the hostel and improving my skills on some strong Moroccan swells. This is one of those places you will encounter that just draws people in. Over half of the people staying here ended up extending their stay multiple times. A very special place I’ll remember forever.

While I was there we started hearing about Omicron more frequently. The Moroccan government had banned high risk countries In Africa before enacting a complete flight ban with 24hrs notice. Then everyones flights got cancelled and we were in the hostel trying to decipher their cryptic travel rules. I ended up having 2 cancelled flights and bought an overpriced special permission flight ticket out of the country and briefly back to France for the New Year.

Turkey, Georgia & Armenia:

I then flew into Istanbul and meant to stay for a few days but ended up staying 10 days. Amazing city full of great cafes and great food. I loved exploring all the different neighborhoods. I met a friend here and we travelled to Georgia for a long weekend, I rented an airbnb while we explored the beautiful city of Tbilisi. Georgia is a great place to be a little less frugal. I got an airbnb in Tbilisi for $16/night. Also the food here is great, khachapuri and khinkali will change your life. After she left I stayed for another week before heading up to Gudauri to ski for a few days.

I travelled around with the train and Marshutkas which are absolutely insane drivers but very efficient and very cheap. I went to some remote towns with only one hostel and met a Russian guy, we spent the night watching Sacha Baren Cohen in ‘This is America’ and drinking fruit vodka made by the neighbor (chacha). These are my favorite kind of random memories from traveling.

I took a night train to Armenia to check out Yerevan for a week or so waiting on my flight to Madrid. Here I ran into a friend from the hostel in Portugal while walking around downtown Yerevan. We went to drink Armenian brandy at the famous old factory on the edge of town. Small world.

Madrid:

I found a flight from Madrid to Lima, Peru for €130 so naturally I bought it. I had no plans to go to South America but sometimes the god of cheap flights decides your fate for you.

I only spent a few days here but what an amazing city. It feels like everyone is out in the city going to cafes and hanging out with friends. To eat in cafes is still pretty affordable and there are so many things to do here. I met a lot of friendly people in the 2 days I was here. Would definitely come back, preferably to live here.

Peru:

I flew in to Lima and while recovering from my jet lag I explored the touristy areas of Miraflores and Barranco. It is a pleasant city with access to surfing but I felt like there was a lack of charm here. It feels like just a city to me so I didn’t love it. I then flew to Cusco, this is where it really started feeling like Peru. Amazing Inca architecture, huge markets selling all sorts of crafts, fruits, full of cheap food vendors. Extremely touristy place so in the main square you are bombarded with vendors attempting to sell tours, massages and prints of paintings.

I met a girl here and we immediately had a strong connection. So after knowing each other for 3 days, we decided to travel to Bolivia together. We took the Collectivo to the border, crossed the bridge and picked up another bus to La Paz. I never saw the border control station which means I never got an entry stamp. This made exiting a bit difficult. They eventually gave up on me and let me pass with no trouble. Would not recommend being an illegal alien in Bolivia.

Bolivia:

Our first stop was La Paz, a beautiful city of no building regulations tucked into the hills at 11,900ft - 3,600m. The best part of the city for us was riding the cable cars all day throughout the city. Overall there are not many sights to see here but there were huge markets full of witchcraft supplies (dried sacrificial llamas, placentas, coca leaves etc.). People were out in the streets drinking beer and wearing amazingly colorful clothing, dancing in the street for the Carnaval celebration.

We then took an overnight bus to the Uyuni Salt Flats. The three day tour was a huge highlight of the trip. The salt flats are unreal along with hot springs relaxing while looking up at the stars, steam vents coming out of the earth at 16,000 feet, lots of llamas and vicuñas. It was fantastic. Another night bus to Potoisi and then to Sucre. Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America which makes it quite affordable but still I never felt unsafe here.

Peru, again:

I ended up coming back to Peru to visit Arequipa, hike the Colca Canyon and do the 5 day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. On the bus out to the Salkantay Trek I met another solo traveller doing it without a guide so we ended up teaming up for it. At the first stop bus station we asked a guide to take us up the rest of the way and he then got confronted by the whole taxi cartel threatening him to make us ride with them instead. We ended up negotiating a deal with them to take us up the rest of the way to the trailhead. They only agreed after we had started to walk away (classic negotiation tactics). On the trek we got to set our own pace and negotiate our stays at the hostels in town and it ended up being way cheaper without the guide. We trekked for 5 days ending at Machu Picchu. It was the highlight of the trip for sure and I made a great friend in the process. We continued to travel together throughout Colombia.

Colombia:

Colombia is one of my favorite countries I went to on this trip. The locals I met here were extremely nice. Tourism restarted in 2016 so I think they aren’t burnt out from tourists yet as I saw in other places. I started in Bogotá. Many people I talked to didn’t like it here but I had a pretty good time. I did a bike tour around the city, hiked up the hill to Monteserrate and explored barrio Candelaria. I then made my way out to the coffee axis, a region dense with coffee plantations, to a town named Salento. This area is really lush, tucked into the mountains, dense with trees and cows. Great place to connect with other backpackers and relax, drink some great coffee and play tejo at the local bar. I can only explain tejo as exploding corn hole and it is super fun.

I linked back up with my Peru trekking buddy and we headed towards Medellin. Trying to make the futbol game that night we thought we had plenty of time but in Colombia sometimes a 6 hour bus ride is actually 10. I didn’t intend to stay here for the rest of my time in Colombia but I met an incredible Colombian girl and signed up for a spanish school.

If I was working remotely this place would be at the top of my list to live in. It has everything you need, good restaurants, good dating scene, tons of cafes, good internet, its quite cheap (Uber for 10-15 mins is ~$3). It’s a great place to learn spanish as well. I think the danger was a bit exaggerated from what I heard. I personally met no one that was robbed here. Just make sure to be smart and a bit lucky and you’ll be perfectly safe here.

Ending Thoughts:

8 months is a long time to travel. I think I got quite used to being uncomfortable and embracing chaos. I also think people that travel like this don’t acknowledge the downsides there are to solo traveling long term. I often felt lonely not having a friend with me long term that I could share the experiences with. Relating to friends back home became difficult as well. They are living the same life in the same house and you are experiencing so many new things per week it feels like you sometimes can’t relate. I also started to feel like with no structure or responsibility I have no real purpose. This is why I recommend volunteering for people on long trips. To save money, feel like part of the community and have a purpose.

With that being said I had some of the most amazing experiences of my life on this trip. I love the flexibility of being solo because I can go out for the day with no plans at all and see where it takes me. On this trip I fell in love, I travelled with many different groups, I made lifelong friendships and I left my plans open to see where my trip would take me. I surely wouldn’t trade it for a bit more money in the bank. Live while you can. I wrote this mostly for me but hopefully it helps some of you as well. I would love to answer any questions you have.