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I spent 9 months traveling from Mexico to Buenos Aires with a backpack eighteen years ago. Spent most nights in hostels in shared rooms for a few dollars a nig

I spent 9 months traveling from Mexico to Buenos Aires with a backpack eighteen years ago. Spent most nights in hostels in shared rooms for a few dollars a night. It was a great experience. Carried a MacBook Pro and a digital Nikon D70. Actually had the first iPhone but hardly used it. Do have a selfie of myself on a bus somewhere in Central America. These days I’m taking more expensive vacations in cheaper countries. You can go to the Caribbean and stay for $2000 a night or go to places like Morocco or Panama on a luxury vacation for 1/3 the price.

BrandoElFollito 2y ago
1/3 of 2000 USD is still 650 USD a night. This is quite a price. I am sure that plenty of people can afford it (I could if I wanted to) but this is rather expensive when you compare to, say a stay in Chamonix (French Alps, a "posh" station) where you can have a 65 m2 appartment next to the slopes in high season for about 250-300€/night.
- ghaff 2y ago
  I don't keep track of this sort of thing in detail but I usually figure a month-long trip ends up running about $10K. Sometimes probably a bit more, sometimes a bit less. Where that money goes will vary depending on the type of trip. In cities, I usually stay somewhere nice but not top-end which I find doesn't buy me a lot incrementally. Don't usually fly business unless I use miles for part of it. No illusions this is penniless student budgeting but it suits me.
- navane 2y ago
  OPs numbers are weird. Marocco should get you great accommodation for a tenth, not a third.
- melling 2y ago
  Instead of $650 there’s always the AirBnB and living on less than $100 a day. When I backpacked I was spending probably $1000 a month. I recommend trying both.
- notahacker 2y ago
  Yeah, $650 per night in Morocco is staying in La Mamounia, famous mingling place of world leaders and celebrities with a Paul McCartney song named after it... You can stay in quite a nice palace for a lot less than that
- jajko 2y ago
  Are you talking about my flat in Chamonix? :) Those are top season prices, one can go much lower and mountains are still roughly the same, meaning absolutely awesome and most accessible brutal high alpine terrain in Europe, possibly globally. Skiing Vallee Blanche is top experience (just take helmet at least). Anyway backpacking is the most intense form of travelling by huge margin, the cheaper the better. I did two 3-month trips in India & Nepal around 2010, all costs combined apart from return flight tickets were around 500$ per month. Best time of my life, literally life and personality changing experiences that will stay with me till my last breath. No plans, just 1 thick Lonely planet book Adventures don't need to be always positive experiences, intensity is what matters much more, the further away from comfort zone one gets more impactful the experience is. Also it feels significantly longer, each time those 3 months felt like decades, hard to describe with mere words
- jghn 2y ago
  I had a similar reaction. I think of Panama as being one of the higher COL areas in that region. In a lot of areas in the US $650/night is a posh hotel/airbnb.
xandrius 2y ago
As a lifelong traveller, $2000 will generally last me 1-6 months, depending on the country. Paying that per night means you are not the kind of traveller the author or many of us are, the name is probably vacationeer or something like that.

BrandoElFollito 2y ago

1/3 of 2000 USD is still 650 USD a night. This is quite a price. I am sure that plenty of people can afford it (I could if I wanted to) but this is rather expensive when you compare to, say a stay in Chamonix (French Alps, a "posh" station) where you can have a 65 m2 appartment next to the slopes in high season for about 250-300€/night.

ghaff 2y ago
I don't keep track of this sort of thing in detail but I usually figure a month-long trip ends up running about $10K. Sometimes probably a bit more, sometimes a bit less. Where that money goes will vary depending on the type of trip. In cities, I usually stay somewhere nice but not top-end which I find doesn't buy me a lot incrementally. Don't usually fly business unless I use miles for part of it. No illusions this is penniless student budgeting but it suits me.
navane 2y ago
OPs numbers are weird. Marocco should get you great accommodation for a tenth, not a third.
melling 2y ago
Instead of $650 there’s always the AirBnB and living on less than $100 a day. When I backpacked I was spending probably $1000 a month. I recommend trying both.
notahacker 2y ago
Yeah, $650 per night in Morocco is staying in La Mamounia, famous mingling place of world leaders and celebrities with a Paul McCartney song named after it... You can stay in quite a nice palace for a lot less than that
jajko 2y ago
Are you talking about my flat in Chamonix? :) Those are top season prices, one can go much lower and mountains are still roughly the same, meaning absolutely awesome and most accessible brutal high alpine terrain in Europe, possibly globally. Skiing Vallee Blanche is top experience (just take helmet at least). Anyway backpacking is the most intense form of travelling by huge margin, the cheaper the better. I did two 3-month trips in India & Nepal around 2010, all costs combined apart from return flight tickets were around 500$ per month. Best time of my life, literally life and personality changing experiences that will stay with me till my last breath. No plans, just 1 thick Lonely planet book Adventures don't need to be always positive experiences, intensity is what matters much more, the further away from comfort zone one gets more impactful the experience is. Also it feels significantly longer, each time those 3 months felt like decades, hard to describe with mere words
jghn 2y ago
I had a similar reaction. I think of Panama as being one of the higher COL areas in that region. In a lot of areas in the US $650/night is a posh hotel/airbnb.

xandrius 2y ago

As a lifelong traveller, $2000 will generally last me 1-6 months, depending on the country. Paying that per night means you are not the kind of traveller the author or many of us are, the name is probably vacationeer or something like that.