Want to know the trip to Asia cost? Read on to get your answer!
A trip to Asia is on the bucket list of many people. If you’re interested in visiting this vast and interesting continent, you’ll need to have an idea of what your budget should be so you’ll have enough money to last.
Backpacking in Asia costs roughly a thousand dollars a month or a shoestring budget of thirty dollars a day for a single person. (Source: IndieTraveller) The cost of a trip to Asia depends on several factors such as accommodations and length of stay. It is cheaper to travel over land in Asia than to fly.
A trip to Asia is one of the cheapest places to travel if you’re backpacking on a budget. There are a few things you can do to help keep your costs down though. Read on to learn more about the costs of a trip to Asia and how you can make your dream trip a financial reality.
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How to Travel to Asia on a Budget
Whether you go to Asia for a week or for three months, the first thing you’ll have to do before you ever start to pack is figure out a budget for your trip. Without a budget, you’ll have no idea how much you need to save up to go on your trip. You also won’t have an idea of how much money you need to spend from day to day to keep from running short near the end of your trip.
How Much Does a Trip to Asia Cost?
The cost of a trip to Asia depends on a few different factors you should go over when you’re still planning your trip. Many of the accommodations in Asia are cheap enough that you can splurge for some luxuries here or there. Here are some of the things to think about when you’re planning how much to budget for your trip to Asia:
- Where are you traveling? Some countries in Asia, such as Japan and Korea, are notoriously more expensive to travel in than others. If you’re looking for a budget trip to Asia, consider a trip instead to Southeast Asia or less-traveled Central Asia for some good deals. (If you do decide to visit Japan, make sure you find the cheapest way to travel to Japan.)
- What kind of accommodations do you want? For backpackers on a budget, traveling Asia by staying in hostels can help save you a lot of money in comparison to staying in regular hotels. You can also plan some overnight travel on sleeper buses to help save money and save time during the day for sightseeing instead.
- What kind of deals can you get? Planning your trip ahead rather than trying to travel off the cuff can let you take advantage of trip packages and other discounts you wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Planning your trip well in advance can also give you better rates on airfare and hotel accommodations.
- What are your “big ticket” purchases? For most travelers, the biggest purchases they make on a trip to Asia will be plane tickets. However, there may be special attractions or expensive splurges you want to catch on your trip that you’ll need to figure out the price of ahead of time.
- How much do you need for travel fees? These include miscellaneous charges like baggage fees, vaccinations, and getting your visa secured. You also need to look into paying for traveler’s insurance for your own safety.
- How long are you planning to stay? Naturally, a three-month trip to Asia is going to cost you a lot more than a three-week trip to Asia. The good news is that once you’re there, the daily cost of living in most Asian countries is quite low.
If you’re planning a trip to Asia, it’s a good idea to sit down with a notebook and jot down some notes about where you’re planning to go in Asia, how long you’re planning to stay, and what you want to do while you’re there. This will help give you a jumping-off point to figure out how much you’ll need to spend daily on your trip.
Is It Easy to Travel Around Asia?
A great thing about an Asian vacation is that it’s quite easy to travel cheaply in many areas. There are several forms of safe and accessible transportation that can get you to most of the places you need to go.
Buses are one of the most popular forms of transportation when traveling in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia. While it does take some time to get from place to place by bus, it’s a lot easier than trying to keep up with rental vehicles and you can take sleeper buses to travel at night to save you some time.
It’s easiest to travel in Asia if you either travel within one Asian country or if you stay within a single region. Keep in mind that Asia is a vast place, and it may sound convenient to hop a flight from Vietnam to Indonesia, but it’s actually a seven-hour flight that will eat up the better part of a day during your travels. We have a guide for travel Asia cheaply might help you plan better and cheap.
A way to make travel around Asia easier is to plan to go to Asia for an extended period of time, such as several weeks or months. This allows you to travel casually without having to worry about jamming everything into a week-long itinerary.
Is It Cheap to Fly Around Asia?
An airplane ticket to Asia is not cheap. In most cases, it will easily be the most expensive thing you end up buying for your trip. It’s also expensive to fly around Asia from country to country. The good news is that once you make it to a destination country in Asia, it’s easy to arrange overland transportation that is much cheaper than getting a plane ticket.
If you need to make a connecting flight within Asia from one country to another, here are a few ways you can keep your plane tickets as affordable as possible:
- Fly to Asia in the spring. April is the cheapest month of the year to fly to Asia, while winter is considered the most expensive time of year to travel there. (Source: Kayak.com)
- Fly around Asia in the middle of the week. Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon is the best time to fly either to Asia or from country to country within the continent. Try to avoid flying on Mondays since fares are higher on this day to take advantage of business travelers. (Source: CIEE)
- Book your plane tickets months in advance. The earlier you can book your tickets ahead of time, the cheaper the tickets will generally be. Even if you only save forty or fifty dollars on a ticket, forty or fifty dollars will go far once you’re on the ground in Asia.
- Plan for overland travel. The best way to reduce airfare on a trip to Asia is to reduce plane rides as much as you can. If you’re going on a tour of Asia, try to travel to adjacent countries rather than flying several countries over to avoid long travel days and expensive fares.
Flying around Asia can add a lot of expense to your trip to Asia, so it should be avoided where possible. Luckily, there are tons of other options for getting around other than flying on a plane. Choosing ferry and bus rides instead can save you hundreds of dollars to spend on other parts of your journey.
How Much Money Do You Need for 3 Months in Asia?
There are some travel guides which tell you that you can travel around Asia for thirty dollars a day, but this shoestring budget isn’t really realistic for most people. Instead, plan on budgeting for $35-$40 a day to give yourself a little wiggle room in case you run into some additional expenses you want to take on.
It’s always better to budget slightly more money than you think you’ll need. This leaves you enough cash to deviate from your itinerary to hang out with new backpacking friends or see an unscheduled tour without having a panic attack over the prospect.
At this budget, you’ll need to plan on bringing somewhere between $1,050 and $1,200 a month. That’s $3,600 for a three-month trip without including your initial airfare into Asia. If you plan on making additional plane trips during your travel in Asia, you can expect to spend over a thousand dollars more. (Source: Goats on the Road)
Keep in mind that these travel estimations are based on backpacking budgets in Southeast Asia. Traveling to more developed parts of Europe such as Tokyo or Seoul can be significantly more expensive. That’s why it’s important to reserve your accommodations ahead of time in these regions of Asia to know exactly how much money you’ll need.
How Do I Plan a Trip to Asia?
The planning stage of an international trip is easily one of the most fun and exciting parts of the process since you can let your imagination run wild before financial reality brings you crashing back down. After all, you’ll need to keep your trip planning within a reasonable budget to keep from spending too much.
To plan a trip to Asia, take the following steps:
- Figure out how much you have to spend. You’ll need well over five thousand dollars to travel comfortably in Asia for three months when you include things like airfare. The amount of money you have budgeted above and beyond what you need just to get around in Asia is what determines your leisure activities in each place. Since Asia is one of the most historic places in the world, there will be plenty to see.
- Figure out how you’re going to pay. You may want to save up the money for your trip to Asia ahead of time, but putting at least your airfare on a credit card can help earn you travel miles towards other trips abroad in the future.
- Figure out where you want to go and what you want to do. This is the fun part of planning a trip to Asia. Make a list of your must-see countries, the landmarks you’re most interested in visiting, and the activities you want to participate in while you’re there.
- Look into flights and accommodations. Reserving your flights and accommodations early can save you a lot of money, so plan on making your trip reservations as early as possible once you have the money for your trip together.
- Figure out your additional travel costs. On top of the cost of the trip itself, you also need to take into consideration costs like rent and utilities back at home or animal boarding if you’re planning on being out of the country for several weeks or months. These charges can rack up quickly, so don’t forget to include them in your final budget.
Planning a trip to Asia isn’t complicated if you take the time to think it through carefully from all angles. It just takes a little foresight and some comparison shopping with plane flights and hotels to figure out how you can get there in an affordable way.
Arranging your transportation and accommodations ahead of time can keep you from getting frustrated, lost, or anxious once you’re in a foreign country. These things are usually a lot harder to arrange on the fly than they are from the comfort of your own home.
Asia Is Perfect for Tight Travel Budgets
An expensive plane ticket to Asia might seem like a daunting cost if you’re trying to travel on a budget, especially if you’re flying over from North America. However, the other costs associated with a trip to Asia are relatively affordable once you’re there.
If you make a point to plan ahead and budget carefully, you should have plenty of money to relax and have fun once you get going. There’s never been a better time to book your trip!
(Looking for a vacation for the whole family? Check out some family vacation packages to help plan the trip of a lifetime!)