Trip Costs

These prices are only designed to give you a gen­eral impres­sion of the cost of liv­ing in a coun­try. They are the items that I bought while I was travelling.

Pre-departure Costs

Coun­try	Total Spent	Days	Spent Daily ($)	Spent Daily (£)		Bike ($)	Equip­ment ($)	Insur­ance ($)	Trans­port ($)	Tour ($)	Other ($)
Pre-departure	$1543.84	n/a	n/a	n/a		$171	$399.15	$451	$700.20	n/a	$522.69

Alaska / Canada / USA

Cur­rency = Amer­i­can Dol­lars (Alaska / USA) / Cana­dian Dol­lars (Canada)

Alaska & USA Exchange Rate

• £1 = $1.60US
• €1 = $1.35US

Canada Exchange Rate

• £1 = $1.59C
• €1 = $1.34C

General

Costs in North Amer­ica are quite sim­i­lar. Where they vary in rela­tion to the loca­tion of big cities, so sparsely pop­u­lated North­ern Canada is gen­er­ally quite a bit more expen­sive than the highly pop­u­lated bor­der area of British Columbia.

The Cana­dian dol­lar was very strong in the sum­mer of 2010 so Canada was more expen­sive than the USA, with an exchange rate of around 97c to $1US, instead of the usual 60-70c to $1US. This made the Rocky Moun­tains even more expen­sive than nor­mal – they are beau­ti­ful but also a tourist trap, for exam­ple, a nor­mal gro­cery shop in the only store in Lake Louise came out at more than twice my nor­mal bill.

Alaska

From Prud­hoe Bay to Fair­banks I car­ried 12 days worth of freeze-dried food bought in 3 boxes from Costco with a Warmshow­ers host’s card for $72US. It con­tained 12 meals (for 2 peo­ple but eas­ily devoured), 6 break­fasts & 3 desserts.

I also car­ried 12 packet soups, 1kg of cereal, 6 pack­ets of noo­dles & 500g of pasta, 1 tub of peanut but­ter, 1 large loaf of bread ($50US).

From the Prud­hoe Bay Hotel’s all-you-can-eat-meals, I left with about 3 days’ worth of sand­wiches, cakes & fruit.

Alaska / Canada / USA

Food

I never ate in a restau­rant; I cooked each evening.

When I thought I was run­ning low on food intake, I’d stop at a take-away & grab a large ham­burger or steak ($8-12US).

I’d some­times get chicken & potato wedges or Asian meals from the Safe­way Deli ($5-8US).

Drink

I fil­tered my water all the way through Alaska & North­ern Canada.After that, I drank tap water.

Cof­fee is $1.20-$2US for a medium fil­ter cof­fee (avail­able in many, many places). It seems that the days of the free refill are over.

Accommodation

In motels, the cost is $50-110US for a single/double (there is usu­ally lit­tle or no dif­fer­ence) but is usu­ally $60-70US in smaller towns.

Camp­site prices vary widely: $5-10US for hiker/biker sites in Ore­gon & California; $12-20US for state parks; $25+US for a tent space in an RV park, some­times negotiable.

Laundry

I usu­ally did mine with Warmshow­ers’ hosts. When I didn’t, a wash & dry usu­ally cost $US4-6.

Banks

Using an ATM will usu­ally cost you between $2-3US per trans­ac­tion, not includ­ing the fee your own bank takes out.

Bike Parts

A bike ser­vice will cost $40-60US.

A com­plete over­haul will cost $150-200US.

Internet

I never used an Inter­net cafe; if you have your own com­puter, there is lit­tle need to. Even if you don’t, all libraries offer free Inter­net access & many vis­i­tor cen­tres do, too.

It seems that almost every­body has a wifi con­nec­tion & many are open. I would usu­ally open my com­puter & see what con­nec­tions were avail­able in the area. Very rarely were none available.

Buses

Prices can be found at Grey­hound USA & Grey­hound Canada.

There are also many smaller com­pa­nies run­ning routes.

Over­all

Coun­try

Total Spent

Days

Spent Daily ($)

Spent Daily (£)

Bike ($)

Equip­ment ($)

Insur­ance ($)

Trans­port ($)

Tour ($)

Other ($)

Alaska	$567.88	25	$22.72	£14.20		$2436.25	$706.97	n/a	$707.52	n/a	$305
Canada	$1936.60	41	$47.23	£29.52		$85.80	$41.70	n/a	$296.70	n/a	n/a
USA	$1947.82	48	$40.58	£25.36		$623.81	$12.74	n/a	n/a	$26	n/a

The total spent does not include bike, equip­ment, insur­ance, trans­port, tour or other. These last 6 columns are money spent in addi­tion to daily expen­di­ture, as I wanted to give an idea of how much I was spend­ing on day-to-day items. The columns from ‘bike’ to ‘other’ will be added to the daily fig­ures to give an over­all expen­di­ture & an over­all aver­age for the whole trip, as these are often one-off needs.

Mexico

Exchange Rate

• $1US = 12.25
• £1 = 19.5
• €1 = 16.5

Food

• Cere­als
  M$15–45 from a box of corn­flakes at one end to raisin bran at the other
• Yoghurt
  M$2.50–4.00
• Yoghurt Drink
  M$6–8 (Activia is a bit more expen­sive than Lala & Yoplait)
• Tor­tillas
  M$7–12 a kilo (fresh); M$10–12 (packet of 10 or 12)
• Refried beans
  M$9–14 a packet or tin (a tin is usu­ally a bit more expensive)
• Cheese
  M$15–25 a kilo of either ‘Queso Fresco’, ‘Queso Oax­aca’ or ‘Manchego’
• Pasta
  M$5–15 a packet
• Tin of tuna
  M$8–12 a small tin
• Tin of veg­eta­bles
  M$6–8 a small tin
• Bananas
  M$4–10 a kilo
• Man­darins
  M$4–6 a kilo (although in touristy Palenque, they wanted M$10 a kilo)
• Toma­toes
  M$2–3 each
• Avo­ca­dos
  M$5–7 each (big ones)
• Bak­ery
  M$3–6 for things like fresh items like crois­sants & donuts. These are cheaper than pack­eted ones, which are often between M$8–10

Meals In Restaurants

M$30–60 for var­i­ous types of eggs, some­times com­ing as a pack­age with­cof­fee, juice, tor­tillas etc.

Main meals of meat (chicken etc.) are usu­ally between M$40–60 in local restau­rants, accom­pa­nied by refried beans &/or rice, chips, salad.

Fish is more expen­sive, often dou­ble the price of meat.

Fish cock­tails are one of my favourites, com­ing in small, medium or large sizes with shrimp cock­tails usu­ally between M$30–90 depend­ing on size.

Drink

• Water
  M$12–20 for a 4-litre bot­tle (M$8–10 for 1.5L)

Some hotels have 20L bot­tles you can fill up from for free

In Baja Cal­i­for­nia some towns have ‘water shops’ which can be as cheap as M$0.50 per 1.5L or ‘gro­cery stores’ with reverse osmo­sis machines where water is M$1–2 per 1L

• Fizzy Drinks
  M$7–15 for bot­tles or cans of coke, Fanta etc.
• Fresh Juice
  M$10–20 (varies widely on size too)
• Smooth­ies
  M$15–25 (mainly banana)
• Cof­fee
  M$10–13 in ‘Oxxo’ con­ve­nience stores for fil­ter coffee

What you’ll find in restau­rants is often ‘agua / leche para Nescafe’, where you get a cup of hot water or milk & a jar of Nescafe to make to your taste

Accommodation

• Hotels
  M$100–250
  Depend­ing on what they offer. Quality can vary widely from place to place, so shop around
• Camp­ing
  $12-20US
  Usu­ally priced in dol­lars as they cater for Amer­i­can RVs but the same price for a tent, usu­ally – a hotel is just as cheap. There are many sites on the Baja Cal­i­for­nia coast. I also saw a cou­ple on the coast south of Veracruz
• Auto­ho­tels
  By the hour
  Although per­tain­ing to be like North Amer­i­can motels, they are more like hide­outs for those in need of a cou­ple of hours privacy. You recog­nise them by the garages or cur­tains used to give clients that privacy. You can also pay for the whole night (M$150–250)
• Hos­tels / Guest­houses
  M$80–150
  For a dorm bed – found in touristy areas

Laundry

There are very few self-service laun­dries. Where they are found, they’re M$30–40 for a wash & dry. For next-day ser­vice laun­dries on a 3 kilo bag of clothes, expect to pay about M$60.

Banks

Using an ATM – which are wide­spread – will usu­ally cost you between M$25–35 per trans­ac­tion, not includ­ing the fee your own bank takes out.

Bike Parts

Shi­mano parts are price com­pa­ra­ble with the USA. I paid about $US80 for a new Shi­mano Deore derailleur to replace a bent one.

A bike ser­vice will cost M$200–250.

Internet

Most hotels & hos­tels have Wifi con­nec­tions. Cross­ing Tabasco & Campeche, this is less so.

Inter­net cafes are M$7–12 per hour. I’ve only had to use two. Print­ing is about M$10 per sheet.

Send­ing a fax to the UK is about M$15 per page.

Buses

I’ve only been on one, between Vil­la­her­mosa & Palenque. The 150km, 2-hour jour­ney cost M$100 with ADO for a 10-seater lux­ury minibus. The return with Car­de­nas in a 52-seater cost M$60 & took 30 min­utes longer.

Overall

Coun­try

Total Spent

Days

Spent Daily ($)

Spent Daily (£)

Bike ($)

Equip­ment ($)

Insur­ance ($)

Trans­port ($)

Tour ($)

Other ($)

Mex­ico

$2283.44

99

$23.07

£14.42

$347.86

$19.10

n/a

$85.39

n/a

$25.47

Belize

Exchange Rate

• $1US = $2BZ (pegged)
• £1 = $3BZ
• €1 = $2.6BZ

Food

• Cere­als
  $6BZ for a box of raisin bran
• Yoghurt
  $1.50BZ
• Yoghurt Drink
  $2–2.5BZ
• Tor­tillas
  $3.25–3.50BZ (packet of 4)
• Cheese
  $2–2.50BZ for a small piece
• Bananas
  $1BZ for between 5 & 7 bananas
• Man­darins
  $1BZ for between 5 & 7 mandarins
• Apples
  $1BZ each
• Pineap­ple
  $4.50BZ for a tin (500g)
• Bak­ery
  $0.50–1.50BZ per item
• Bur­rito
  $2.25–2.50BZ each

Meals In Restaurants

$8-15BZ in Chi­nese restau­rants; Take­aways cost between $6-10BZ

Main meals of the sta­ple of rice & beans with chicken or pork are between $6-7BZ in local restaurants

Drink

• Water
  $3–3.30BZ for a 4-litre bottle
• Fizzy Drinks
  $1.00–2.50BZ for bot­tles of coke, Fanta etc.
• Beer
  $2.50BZ in a super­mar­ket to $3-5BZ in a bar
• Cof­fee
  $1.50BZ for instant coffee

Accommodation

• Hotels
  $30-40BZ (a bud­get hotel)
  Qual­ity can vary widely from place to place, so shop around. The gov­ern­ment adds 9% tax onto hotel rooms
• Camp­ing
  $10-18BZ
  Quite a few sites around; those owned by Amer­i­cans usu­ally dou­ble what locals do

Laundry

I washed my own clothes to off­set the cost of accommodation

Banks

Using an ATM – which are wide­spread – will usu­ally cost you $5BZ per trans­ac­tion, not includ­ing the fee your own bank takes out

Belize Bank changes Mex­i­can Pesos to Belize Dol­lars in Corozal; nei­ther Atlantic Bank nor Sco­tia bank

Internet

Some hotels have Wifi con­nec­tions, par­tic­u­larly those owned by foreigners.

Public Transport

I never used any.

NB. Sunday is a tra­di­tional day in Belize so you not find more than large super­mar­kets or Chinese-run busi­nesses open.

Overall

Coun­try

Total Spent

Days

Spent Daily ($)

Spent Daily (£)

Bike ($)

Equip­ment ($)

Insur­ance ($)

Trans­port ($)

Tour ($)

Other ($)

Belize

$514.86

18

$28.60

£17.88

n/a

n/a

n/a

$51.25

$45

n/a

Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador & Nicaragua

Cur­rency = Guatemalan Quetzales

Exchange Rate

• $1US = Q7.75
• £1 = Q12.50
• €1 = Q10.50

Exchange Rate

• $1US = L18.5
• £1 = L30
• €1 = L25.5

Exchange Rate

• £1 = $1.6oUS
• €1 = $1.35US

Exchange Rate

• $1US = C22
• £1 = C35
• €1 = C30

Food, Drink & Meals In Restaurants

Prices in all of these coun­tries are sim­i­lar to those in Belize, prob­a­bly a bit cheaper. Hon­duras is a lit­tle more expen­sive than the other 3, but only a little.

Accommodation

Hon­duras turned out to have the most expen­sive accom­mo­da­tion, more than likely due to the fact that there was only a back­packer scene in one place on my route, Copan Ruinas. In all 4 coun­tries, prices are much lower than in Belize.

Laundry

Usu­ally $US3-4 per load. I washed my own clothes in Leon, Nicaragua, when faced with a $US7 bill at the expat-run laundry.

Banks

Using an ATM – which are wide­spread – will usu­ally cost you $US3 per trans­ac­tion, not includ­ing the fee your own bank takes out.

Internet

Most hotels I stayed in had Wifi con­nec­tions. All hos­tels did. Wifi is on the rise in the region & this no doubt improve in the next few years.

Public Transport

I never used any.

NB. Sunday is a tra­di­tional day in so you may not find more than large super­mar­kets open in cer­tain areas. In tourist-frequented places, much more is open.

Overall

Coun­try	Total Spent	Days	Spent Daily ($)	Spent Daily (£)		Bike ($)	Equip­ment ($)	Insur­ance ($)	Trans­port ($)	Tour ($)	Other ($)
Guatemala	$165.59	7	$23.66	£14.78		n/a	$4.41	n/a	$22.49	n/a	n/a
Hon­duras	$309.95	11	$28.18	£17.61		n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	$3
El Sal­vador	$295.59	12	$24.63	£15.40		n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Nicaragua	$344.20	16	$21.51	£13.44		$4.50	n/a	n/a	$32.95	n/a	$12

Costa Rica

Exchange Rate

• $1US = C500
• £1 = C800
• €1 = C675

Food, Drink & Meals In Restaurants

Costa Rica is a bit of a shock on the pocket at first. It isn’t really expen­sive, but after time in Guatemala, Hon­duras, El Sal­vador & Nicaragua, it can’t fail to have an impres­sion. Expect a 10–15% increase in prices. That said, super­mar­kets are excel­lent qual­ity & have a huge range of prod­ucts available.

Prices are even higher in touristy areas, with meals in cer­tain places going for as much as $C5000, whereas out­side of these areas you can eat great meals for between $C2000-2500.

Water is sold in 6L bot­tles, not 4L like else­where & costs C$1500–2000.

Accommodation

Just as with food, accom­mo­da­tion is more costly, but it is almost always a step up in qual­ity, at around $C7000-15,000. Camp­ing is avail­able in touristy areas for around $C2500-4000. For the first time in a long time, there was plenty of free camp­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties along the Caribbean coast.

Laundry

I washed my own clothes to off­set the cost of the increase in cost of living.

Banks

Using an ATM – which are wide­spread – will usu­ally cost you $US3 per trans­ac­tion, not includ­ing the fee your own bank takes out.

Internet

Wifi is wide­spread in Costa Rica.

Public Transport

I never used any.

NB. Sunday is a tra­di­tional day in so you may not find more than large super­mar­kets open in cer­tain areas. In tourist-frequented places, much more is open.

Health Care

I got ill in Costa Rica & found the sys­tem from chemists through doc­tors through hos­pi­tals to be excel­lent. I can’t give a price on the cost as they refused to accept any pay­ment from me.

Overall

Coun­try

Total Spent

Days

Spent Daily ($)

Spent Daily (£)

Bike ($)

Equip­ment ($)

Insur­ance ($)

Trans­port ($)

Tour ($)

Other ($)

Costa Rica

$381.61

13

$29.35

£18.35

$25

$54.58

Panama

Exchange Rate

• $1US = $1B (pegged)
• £1 = $1.60B
• €1 = $1.35B

The Amer­i­can dol­lar is the stan­dard cur­rency in use in Panama. Tech­ni­cally the offi­cial cur­rency is the Bal­boa, but it hasn’t been printed since 1941 favour of the USD. Panama still mints coins in the denom­i­na­tions of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 & 100 which are the same metal, size & shape of the equiv­a­lent Amer­i­can coins. Since the Bal­boa has a fixed exchange rate of 1:1 with the US dol­lar these Bal­boa coins are used inter­change­ably with the US coins.

Food, Drink & Meals In Restaurants

Life in Panama is a bit cheaper than in Costa Rica & a bit higher than in other Cen­tral Amer­i­can coun­tries. Chinese-owned super­mar­kets abound & they are usu­ally very-well stocked. Prices are

Water is again sold in 4L bot­tles for between $1.25–1.75, but I drank the drank the water every­where except in Bocas del Toro with­out any prob­lem. All but some touristy restau­rants, which will try & get you to drink bot­tled water, pro­vide water for free.

Accommodation

Accom­mo­da­tion is often as expen­sive as in Costa Rica, $12–25, but it is often not quite the same qual­ity. Lack of a back­packer cul­ture means that hos­tels are not too wide­spread. I didn’t see any offi­cial camp­ing but much of the Panam High­way goes through unfenced, rural land.

Laundry

I washed my own clothes to off­set the cost of the increase in cost of liv­ing, except in Panama City where it cost me $3 for a load.

Banks

Using an ATM – which are wide­spread – will usu­ally cost you $US3 per trans­ac­tion, not includ­ing the fee your own bank takes out.

Internet

Wifi is wide­spread in Panama.

Public Transport

I never used any until I sent the  bike home from Panama City. Buses are reg­u­lar, of all classes, & run to most destinations.

NB. Sunday is a tra­di­tional day in so you may not find more than large super­mar­kets open in cer­tain areas. In tourist-frequented places, much more is open.

Overall

Coun­try	Total Spent	Days	Spent Daily ($)	Spent Daily (£)		Bike ($)	Equip­ment ($)	Insur­ance ($)	Trans­port ($)	Tour ($)	Other ($)
Panama	$622.75	20	$31.14	£19.46		n/a	n/a	n/a	$363.90	n/a	$3.20

Colombia

Exchange Rate

• $1US = C1750
• £1 = C2950
• €1 = C2460

Food, Drink & Meals In Restaurants

Life in Colom­bia I found to be sim­i­larly priced to Panama.

Water is sold in 5L bot­tles for between $1.25–1.75.

Accommodation

There is a well-established hos­tel net­work with dorm beds going for around $10.

Laundry

I washed my own clothes.

Banks

Using an ATM – which are wide­spread – will usu­ally cost you $US3 per trans­ac­tion, not includ­ing the fee your own bank takes out.

Internet

Wifi is wide­spread in Colombia.

Public Transport

As I stopped cycling in Panama, I used pub­lic trans­port exten­sively for the first time on the trip. Colom­bia has an excel­lent bus net­work, which charges on aver­age $4 per hour of travel on 1st-class buses.

NB. Sunday is a tra­di­tional day in so you may not find more than large super­mar­kets open in cer­tain areas. In tourist-frequented places, much more is open.

Overall

Coun­try	Total Spent	Days	Spent Daily ($)	Spent Daily (£)		Bike ($)	Equip­ment ($)	Insur­ance ($)	Trans­port ($)	Tour ($)	Other ($)
Colom­bia	$429.79	17	$25.28	£15.80		n/a	n/a	n/a	$853.23	n/a	$43.43

Overall Spending By Country With Comments

Coun­try	Total Spent	Days	Spent Daily ($)	Spent Daily (£)		Bike ($)	Equip­ment ($)	Insur­ance ($)	Trans­port ($)	Tour ($)	Other ($)
Pre-departure	$427.11		$427.11	£266.94		$171	$399.15	$451	$700.20		$522.69
Alaska	$567.88	25	$22.72	£14.20		$2436.25	$706.97		$707.52		$305
Canada	$1936.60	41	$47.23	£29.52		$85.80	$41.70		$296.70
USA	$1947.82	48	$40.58	£25.36		$623.81	$12.74			$26
Mex­ico	$2283.44	99	$23.07	£14.42		$347.86	$19.10		$85.39		$25.47
Belize	$514.86	18	$28.60	£17.88					$51.25	$45
Guatemala	$165.59	7	$23.66	£14.78			$4.41		$22.49
Hon­duras	$309.95	11	$28.18	£17.61							$3
El Sal­vador	$295.59	12	$24.63	£15.40
Nicaragua	$344.20	16	$21.51	£13.44		$4.50			$32.95		$12
Costa Rica	$381.61	13	$29.35	£18.35					$25		$54.58
Panama	$622.75	20	$31.14	£19.46					$363.90		$338.75
Colom­bia	$429.79	17	$25.28	£15.80					$853.23		$43.43
TOTAL ($)	$9,811.43	327	$30.00	Spent So Far		$3,664.72	$1,179.66	$451.00	$3,086.54	$71.00	$1,299.92
In £	£6,132.14		£18.75	Spent So Far		£2,290.45	£737.29	£281.88	£1,929.09	£44.38	£812.45
Left to Spend ($)	$1,732.68			To Spend
In £	£1,082.93	0 left		To Spend

Spend­ing in each coun­try was not only depen­dent upon the cost of liv­ing, but on fac­tors, such as, whether & how much I free-camped, Warmshow­ered or Couch­surfed. I didn’t do any of these three south of Mexico.

Canada was the most expen­sive coun­try because the Cana­dian dol­lar was very strong while I was there. Add to this the fact that I stayed in a few motels. Alaska & the USA, although with com­par­a­tive stan­dards of liv­ing, were cheaper because I free-camped a lot in Alaska & stayed at hiker/biker sites in the USA.

In Latin Amer­ica, costs were kept down in Mex­ico due to free-camping, Couch­surf­ing & Warmshow­ers. Costs in Belize are higher due to gov­ern­ment taxes on accom­mo­da­tion, but can be off­set by camp­ing. The cheap­est coun­tries to travel in are Guatemala, Hon­duras, El Sal­vador & Hon­duras. The lat­ter was more expen­sive due to the lack of a traveller-scene, with its accom­pa­ny­ing hos­tels, in most parts of the country.

The cost of liv­ing in the 2 south­ern­most coun­tries in Cen­tral Amer­ica, Costa Rica & Panama, are higher than else­where, & prob­a­bly on a par with Mex­ico. Costa Rica is more expen­sive across the board; whereas, in Panama, it’s only really accom­mo­da­tion that is markedly more expen­sive than between Guatemala & Nicaragua.