Travel stats from this trip - starting july 2013
Backpacking in Central America and South America is easy! There are busses everywhere and travel infrastructure is in place. If you want to see nature there are incredible National Parks, if you want to party it up there are party towns along the way, if you want to surf go to one of the many surfing beaches! The opportunities are literally endless!
We have been travelling in Central America and South America for the last half of 2013 and will be continuing well into 2014. Along the way we have done some volunteer work, doing several excursions, riding many many busses, and seeing many sights. We are keeping track of our spending both for our own interest, and also to hopefully inspire some of you to consider travelling.
We are backpacking, but we are spending extra money on things that we like, such as scuba diving, white water rafting, hiking, camping etc. Our cost breakdowns below include these excursions and they show a good breakdown of cost of living as well. We aren't exactly roughing it all the time, but we also aren't going all out all the time. We think that this is a realistic breakdown for the average traveller who is looking for adventure and requires some level of comfort along the way.
We have been travelling in Central America and South America for the last half of 2013 and will be continuing well into 2014. Along the way we have done some volunteer work, doing several excursions, riding many many busses, and seeing many sights. We are keeping track of our spending both for our own interest, and also to hopefully inspire some of you to consider travelling.
We are backpacking, but we are spending extra money on things that we like, such as scuba diving, white water rafting, hiking, camping etc. Our cost breakdowns below include these excursions and they show a good breakdown of cost of living as well. We aren't exactly roughing it all the time, but we also aren't going all out all the time. We think that this is a realistic breakdown for the average traveller who is looking for adventure and requires some level of comfort along the way.
Daily average Cost of living By Country
We are keeping track of our spending for a few reasons, including because it is interesting and of course because we want to be "responsible", or whatever :P
Our daily spending on average per country are listed here. Please note we have beer almost every day and are doing excursions that cost a little money sometimes but we are staying at very affordable hostels every night and trying not to eat expensive food.
The daily average costs below are total for the both of us and include everything we've been doing and all travel in between places
Our daily spending on average per country are listed here. Please note we have beer almost every day and are doing excursions that cost a little money sometimes but we are staying at very affordable hostels every night and trying not to eat expensive food.
The daily average costs below are total for the both of us and include everything we've been doing and all travel in between places
- TOTAL average to date (Sept 15, 2013 - Jan 27, 2014) - $75 over 129 days
- Costa Rica - $48 (we volunteered for 67% of the time which kept costs lower; includes 4 days at Corcovado Nt'l park and spanish lessons)
- Nicaragua - $54 (includes surfboard and kayak rentals and other excursions)
- Honduras - $287 (includes flights, scuba refresher, 6 day scuba dives and 1 night dive, yes we splurged a little :)
- Panama - $69 (included almost 2 weeks of volunteering for free, scuba diving at La Coiba Islands, coffee farm tour)
- Ecuador - $94 (includes 1 week of spanish lessons, surf board rentals, white water rafting)
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Places
- Total countries visited in life - 19 - Canada, USA, Iceland, Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Fiji, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala
- Countries visited on this trip - 6 - Canada, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Ecuador
- Volunteer gigs - 5 - Villas Mastatal, Siempre Verde, La Biosfera, Bolita, Sol y Mar
BUSES and ground transportation
- Fancy Busses - 6 - Greyhound x5, Ticabus x3, other long-haul busses x1
- Chicken Busses - 15
- Long Taxis / Colectivos - 8
- Short Taxis - 9
losing track of this, the data above is from Sept 15 through Dec 17, 2013
we take a lot of busses...
Flights
8
- Flight over Whitehorse, Yukon with Shawn (Chelsea's brother the pilot)
- Fly Air North Whitehorse, Yukon to Vancouver, BC, then Vancouver to Los Angeles, CA then LA to San Jose, Costa Rica on Sept 15-16, 2013
- Tegucigalpa to La Ceiba to Utila and return flight (Nov 4 & 9, 2013)
- Panama City to Guayaquil on Dec 31, 2013
Boats
7
- Ferry from Haines, Alaska to Juneau
- Ferry from Haines, Alaska to Skagway
- Canoe from Carmacks, Yukon to Dawson City
- Canoe from Yukon River bridge near Marsh Lake to Schwatka lake via Miles Canyon with Andrew, Chelsea, Shawn, Thea and Shawn's friend, Ally
- San Jorge, Nicaragua to Moyogalpa, Isa de Ometepe and return a week later
- Puerto Jimenes to Golfito
Excursions
14
- Hiked La Conception Volcano on Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua with Devon
- Surfed at Playa Gigante, Nicaragua
- Kayaked through mangrove rivers near Leon, Nicaragua
- Hiked Telica Volcano near Leon, Nicaragua
- Scuba diving in Utila, Honduras - 6 day dives, 1 night dive
- Scuba diving in Playas Del Coco, CR - Chelsea did 1 dive, Andrew did 2
- Surfing at Playa Grande, Tamarindo CR
- Horseback riding near Nuevo Arenal, CR
- Hiking in Corcovado National Park - 4 days, 3 nights
- Coffee farm tour near Boquete, Panama - Andrew
- Scuba diving in La Coiba Islands, Panama - 3 dives, 1 with WHALE SHARKS!
- Day trip to Isla la Plata, Ecuador, aka "the poor man's Galapagos"
- White Water Rafting on Rio Negro in Baños, Ecuador
- Hiked Rumiñahui Volcano in Cotopaxi National Park
Music Festivals
1
- Atlin Music Festival 2013