How many kilometres and countries in total?

Around 47,000 km and 30 countries over five years. The detailed numbers on this page are only a snapshot of the first stage (up to China, early 2015): 16,900 km and 19 countries, because I never finished updating the spreadsheet.

How much did it cost to travel per day?

In that first stage, an average of €3.16 per person per day, about €95 a month. The cheapest country was Montenegro (€1.65/day). Turkmenistan looks like the most expensive (almost €16), but that's misleading: we were only there a few days in transit and spent the little cash we'd exchanged all at once, stocking up on groceries before crossing the border — which sends the daily average through the roof.

Where did you sleep to spend so little?

Most nights wild camping (37%), and many others thanks to Couchsurfing (20%), Warmshowers and invitations from strangers. Only 1% were paid accommodation.

How many kilometres did you ride per day?

On the days we cycled, an average of 53 km at about 15 km/h. But almost half the days (48%) were rest days or for sightseeing.

Wild camping under the stars near Mount Bromo, Indonesia

Our numbers traveling by bicycle

All those numbers and stats that you have always wondered about. How much do we spend cycling around the world? What are those expenses? How cheap can we travel? Which countries are the cheapest, and the most expensive ones? Where do we sleep? How many kilometers a day do we cycle?

Traveling since January 2011, our world round trip by bicycle started 3 years afterwards from London, on 8th January 2014. And we keep going!

Trying to proof that travel is not expensive, not by itself, I try to keep updated these stats from all the numbers I have been crunching down during our cycling around the world. It can be hard at times, since we spend most of our time wild camping without electricity or internet, but I will do my best to keep the updates coming.

2011–2015These numbers are a snapshot from the first part of the trip — up to when we reached China (Central Asia, early 2015). I never finished updating them, so they don't reflect the final 47,000 km and 30 countries.

3.16 €per person, per day

The journey so far

609

Days

20.3

Months

16,901km

Kilometres

Countries

On the bike

53.3km

Km per cycling day

833km

Average km per month

14.9km/h

Average speed

The budget

94.74 €

Monthly spend

1,136.92 €

Yearly spend

1,923.28 €

Total spend

0.11 €

€ / km

Where the money goes (per month)

Groceries & hygiene

72.88 €

Visas & border fees

12.91 €

Phone & internet

3.42 €

Repairs

1.11 €

Cooking fuel

0.70 €

Accommodation

0.48 €

Urban transport & entry fees

0.43 €

A day's spend, country by country

Montenegro

1.65 €

Georgia

1.89 €

Italy

2.02 €

Greece

2.18 €

Slovenia

2.18 €

Macedonia

2.25 €

Turkey

2.26 €

Kyrgyzstan

2.35 €

Bosnia

2.68 €

Portugal

2.78 €

Iran

2.89 €

Spain

2.93 €

Albania

3.22 €

Armenia

3.89 €

France

4.11 €

Croatia

4.48 €

England

5.11 €

Uzbekistan

7.42 €

Turkmenistan

15.99 €

Where we sleep

Wild camping

37.3 %

Couchsurfing

20.0 %

Unexpected invitations

10.5 %

Warmshowers

9.9 %

Family & friends

9.0 %

Volunteering for a bed

6.4 %

Urban camping & squats

3.3 %

Internet invitations

1.5 %

Paid accommodation

1.2 %

Pedalling vs resting

52%

48%

Days cycling · 317Days resting · 292

Frequently asked questions

What you ask me most

How many kilometres and countries in total?: Around 47,000 km and 30 countries over five years. The detailed numbers on this page are only a snapshot of the first stage (up to China, early 2015): 16,900 km and 19 countries, because I never finished updating the spreadsheet.
How much did it cost to travel per day?: In that first stage, an average of €3.16 per person per day, about €95 a month. The cheapest country was Montenegro (€1.65/day). Turkmenistan looks like the most expensive (almost €16), but that's misleading: we were only there a few days in transit and spent the little cash we'd exchanged all at once, stocking up on groceries before crossing the border — which sends the daily average through the roof.
Where did you sleep to spend so little?: Most nights wild camping (37%), and many others thanks to Couchsurfing (20%), Warmshowers and invitations from strangers. Only 1% were paid accommodation.
How many kilometres did you ride per day?: On the days we cycled, an average of 53 km at about 15 km/h. But almost half the days (48%) were rest days or for sightseeing.

12 comments

Stephan KistlerOct 7, 2014
How can you only spend 3 Euros a day???? What do you eat? Grass, wood, rain water??? I wonder. I am looking forward for your respond. Thanks
- PabloOct 13, 2014
  Pasta, bread, rice, eggs, milk, seasonal fruits and vegetables... Often we get invited for a meal, or for some free veggies or fruits. We pick up wild fruits occasionally as well, and dumpster diving was an option in Western countries where half of the food production end up in the bin. I hope that clarifies it a bit, I will try to write a post going deeper on our expenses. ;-)
  - TomassJan 29, 2015
    That sounds almost too good to be true. Do you plan your nutrition way ahead or just sort of "go with it" as you go along? Have to look more into dumpster diving (where/when/how), that seems as good of a chance to save some money as anything. And just in general, this is inspiring as balls, keep pedalling and good luck!
    - PabloMay 4, 2015
      Thanks Tomass, happy to help and inspire. ;) I check the route, I have some experience guessing where I will be able to find cheap food again (cheap supermarkets or stalls), and plan the shopping for 1-2 days depending on that. Nutrition like, it is not as complete as I would love to, but good enough. I always try to get some proteins here and there, mostly through eggs and dairy, and staple food according to the countries gastronomy (bread, pasta, rice, couscous...). Seasonal veggies and that's pretty much it.
RussellJan 26, 2015
How or when do you manage to have a shower?
- PabloJan 26, 2015
  Often. It depends. Sometimes we take a shower daily, other times weekly. Things are easier in warmer weather, but showers are not so necessary in winter. Several days without a shower are not such a problem in colder (or freezing) weather. We take showers in rivers, lakes, showers in the beach. We fill up water bladders in gas stations (sometimes there is even hot water!) or restaurants and take a shower somewhere else in the middle of nowhere, outdoors. We take showers at our hosts houses, we ask in campings for a free shower or we just go without for another day.
Kaveh/IranMay 25, 2015
Traveling in low budget needs a deep philosophy which learns how to enjoy life itself with no money. If you tried it, you will earn experiences, change your values and forms your lifestyle.
Romain BaffertSep 7, 2015
Come to lyon when you're over :) but if I were you I would go on for a few years :p
Rita MirandaSep 7, 2015
Wait until you get to Africa... Your numbers, at least for visa purposes, will surely jump out! Still, great job! I hope we can manage to reach similar numbers.
Paul KrisaiSep 7, 2015
incredible! thanks for showing us whats possible!

Show more comments (2)

AnaBrazilFeb 23, 2017
Thanks for the tips. How do you pack? (Clothes, hygiene: shampoo, soap, body lotions,dental care,etc), cooking utensils, sleeping comfort, cold, rain, summer heat...how do you finance your travels? Etc
- PabloFeb 24, 2017
  This is the gear we carry with us: http://en.thecrazytravel.com/gear/ We carry everything, pretty much. We travel very cheap, as you can see, so financing ourselves is not a big problem. We stop once in a while and do some work.