Jed Purses accepts the challenge.
In 2010, RoughGuides.com published a chart that rated the most inexpensive countries by looking at how many days a budget traveler could last on US$1,000. (Matador subsequently referenced this post in How long can you travel on $1,000?)
India came in highest/least expensive, with a possible 71 days of travel on $1,000.
Soon after reading this, I happened to be traveling to India, and my competitive spirit drove me to test my thrift. So for the first 71 days of my trip, I recorded my expenses and compiled the results below.
A few things about my approach:
- Airfare is not included in the $1,000.
- My report of expenses takes into account everything I spent over 71 days. However, I did delay the purchase of small gifts and other things for friends and family until after the 71 days were complete. Also, not included in the budget are a few unplanned but necessary medical procedures that, although they can happen to anyone, are not typical occurrences and therefore not included in my report.
- I am a novice traveler at best, with minimal foreign travel experience prior to this trip. I tend to have medium-low standards of cleanliness and comfort.
- I spent the majority of my trip traveling solo — more costly than had I been able to share expenses.
- Assume Rs45 = $1.
The results
Total spent: Rs55,896 = $1,242.13
Spent/day: Rs787 = $17.49
Daily budget to keep pace with $1,000/71days: Rs633 = $14.08
Cities visited: Mumbai, Bhopal, Sanchi, Jhansi, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Bodhgaya, Darjeeling, Siliguri, Agra, Dharamshala, Srinagar
The most expensive cities visited (Mumbai and Agra at $45 and $33 per day, respectively) made sustaining an average of $14/day tough. The least I spent per day was $10.76 over four days in Darjeeling.
However, my expenses in Darjeeling can be a bit misleading. I was there during the off season, and I shared lodging with two other people. This significantly lowered the cost of what would have been a more expensive excursion.
Strategies that helped
Putting down the guidebook
Inevitably, I’d meet people who had been where I was going. If someone was describing their experiences, I was listening and taking notes. Based on others’ advice, I often found less expensive, less crowded places to stay, eat, and visit and was introduced to someone to hang out with.
I still carried a guidebook and found it useful, but it was typically not my primary source of information.
Defining a daily budget
This helped me stay disciplined and forced me to think about how best to allocate money. For example, if I knew I was getting on a bus that would cost me Rs200, I tried to cut Rs100 out my budget for two days prior to departure. My ideal daily budget broke down like this:
Rs250 or less – lodging
+ Rs100 or less – local transportation
+ Rs200 or less – food
———————————————-
= Rs550
Leftover = +/-Rs83 saved for transportation to next destination
I allowed myself to overrun my daily budget frequently, but not by much. Sometimes, the occasional toiletry or miscellaneous expense arose and threw me off. In most instances of overrun, I just was not that restricting of myself.
Nonetheless, even if I did bend my budget a bit, having a standard to measure actual spending against for each day kept my spending in check.
Eating street food
I found it to be the cheapest and also the tastiest. There’s a wide range of options, from chaat to plain old dal and rice — I could fill up for 50 cents or less.
Two samosas might cost Rs10-15, a vegetarian thali Rs30-40, and kachori, my personal favorite, around Rs20.
Strategies to save more
Couchsurf
I let several early rejections and obvious scams kill my motivation for couchsurfing. But I met other travelers who were using it frequently and successfully. So, a little more effort and due diligence might have yielded a few places to stay.
Of course, couchsurfing works best when the emphasis is on meeting, connecting, and sharing with people of different backgrounds. If you couchsurf, saving money should be a secondary consideration.
Maintain focus on budget
I lost focus over the last 10-15 days. I consumed more expensive food, I paid for transportation when I could have walked, I stayed in my own room when I could have shared with someone.
Funny thing is, I enjoyed my time just as much when I was more vigilant of my finances, maybe even more so, as I did not have feelings of financial transgressions when I was on or near budget.
City lights
Book ahead for larger cities
Unfortunately, the cheapest flights fly into and out of some India’s largest and most expensive cities (Mumbai, Delhi). If you’re a first-time visitor, I recommend booking a hotel room in advance, at least for one night.
You won’t get the best or worst deal, but at least you’ll have a place to throw your stuff while you pound the pavement haggling for a cheaper bed.
I landed in Mumbai and did not book ahead, thinking I could find something cheap. After landing at 2AM and spending the early morning on the streets of Mumbai, the next day I paid double my entire daily budget for a one-night hotel stay because all the cheapies I tried were booked.
Conclusion
In general, I stayed vigilant to my budget, but it was not necessary for me to really tighten my spending. When I was tired or feeling lazy I often opted for the fastest or easiest option. Sometimes this was the cheapest choice, sometimes not.
Given that I was budget-conscience, not budget-strict, the results support the assertion that someone could stay within the confines of $1,000 over 71 days while traveling in India.
This article first appeared HERE.
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