How Much Does It Cost to Travel For Nearly Two Months? Not As Much As You Think


People love to ask me how I can afford to travel so much. I think they're confused as to how someone who possesses such minimal intelligence could ever make enough money to travel the world. I like to tell people that I made gobs of money as a male model. Which induces far more laughter than it should. After several minutes of hyperventilating, hysterical laughing, they'll say, "No. Really. How?"

And then I'll say, "mind your own god*mn business, you cockface!"

Hahaha, no. *Sigh.* Actually, I'll say, "listen, sister..." (I watched Sister Act a bit too many times as a child...) "It's really not that hard. I spend far more money each day living in San Francisco than I do traveling overseas."

For the last few years I've been employing something called, "traveling by the path of least resistance." It's the last true adventure you can have in this world and it's far cheaper than planning everything out. I buy my ticket into a continent, book a place for a few days, and wing it from then on out. When I buy a plane ticket to the next destination, I go where it's the cheapest, and I haven't been before. I never buy a ticket more than two or three days out, so don't be misled by the tired notion that tickets go up in price the closer you get to departure.

Recently, I took a 47 day trip, which sounds a lot more ridiculous after having written it out, that took me through 10 countries: France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, Egypt, Slovakia, and Malta. It even took me from San Francisco, USA and back, with a return trip to Spain in-between. So, really, I took 13 flights in 47 days for... drum roll, please. $1,075.69!!!!

Is that not ridiculous? That's not it. Airfare, accommodations, and major transportation cost me a grand total of only $3,615.21. For 47 days!!! While tedious to write and compile this post, I shocked myself with how little I actually spent. In fact, I think I could've really trimmed some more off the accommodation costs. Anyhow, I broke it all down for you below – color-coded, indented, and italicized, so your simple minds could process it. (Or was that my mind?!?!) The gems on this list were the $10 flight from Rome to Vienna and the $20 flight from Vienna to Tel Aviv.

Blue for Airfare. Red for Accommodations. Green for Transportation.

Airfare: $1,075.69
Accommodations: $2,092.72
Transportation: $446.80
= $3615.21


Day 1, depart SAN FRANCISCO. January 10 –

   San Francisco Airport (SFO) to Paris, France (ORY) on French Bee Airline: $188.70 (USD)

Day 2, arrive PARIS. January 11 –

   Libertel Canal Saint Martin Hotel: $61.58

Day 3, depart PARIS and arrive in PALMA DE MALLORCA. January 12 –

   Paris (CDG) to Palma De Mallorca (PMI) on Air France: $57.67

   Fergus Style Palmanova Hotel: $96.96

   Rental car x 3 days – Goldcar: $93.44

Day 4 –

   Hotel Can Moragues: $69.10

Day 5 –

   Llucmajor Suites: $93.71

   Shell Gas: $42.36

Day 6, depart MALLORCA and arrive in MALAGA, SPAIN –

   Mallorca (PMI) to Malaga (AGP) on Vueling Air: $41.02

   Airbnb x 3 nights: $120.43

Day 9, depart MALAGA and arrive in SEVILLA, SPAIN –

   GoEuro Train: $30.30

   Airbnb x 3 nights: $180.22

Day 12, depart SEVILLA and arrive in ROME, ITALY. January 21 –

   Sevilla (SVQ) to Rome (CIA) Ryanair: $42.61

   Generator Hostel Rome: $14.68

Day 13, depart ROME and arrive in VIENNA, AUSTRIA. January 22 –

   Rome (FCO) to Vienna (VIE) on Wizz Air: $10.94

   Airbnb x 2 nights: $101.37

Day 15, depart VIENNA and arrive in TEL AVIV, ISRAEL. January 24 –

   Vienna (VIE) to Tel Aviv (TLV) on Wizz Air: $20.07

   Roger's House Tel Aviv: $31.40

Day 16, explore JERUSALEM and DEAD SEA.

   Roger's House Tel Aviv: $43.74

   Sixt Car Rental x 2 days: $89.47

Day 17, DEAD SEA.

   Ein Gedi Camp Lodge: $38.11

Day 18, TEL AVIV.

   Airbnb: $61.28

   Paz Yellow Gas: $81.69

Day 19, depart TEL AVIV and arrive in LARNACA, CYPRUS. January 28 –

   Tel Aviv (TLV) to Larnaca (LCA) on Cyprus Airways: $59.34

   Art & Wine Studio & Apts x 2 nights: $111.78

Day 21, depart LARNACA and arrive in BEIRUT, LEBANON. January 30 –

   Hamra Urban Gardens x 3 nights: $180

Day 24, depart BEIRUT and arrive in CAIRO, EGYPT. February 2 –

   Beirut (BEY) to Cairo (CAI) on Middle East Airlines: $132.40

    The Australian Hotel: $61.65

Day 27, depart CAIRO and arrive in LUXOR, EGYPT –

   Cairo (CAI) to Luxor (LXR) on EgyptAir: $102.20

   Pyramisa Isis Hotel & Suites x 4 nights: $146.80

Day 31, depart LUXOR and arrive in HURGHADA, EGYPT –

   Luxor to Hurghada on Go Bus: $6.27

   Zak Inn: $16.14

Day 32 –

   Samra Bay Hotel & Resort x 2 nights: $100.00

Day 34, depart HURGHADA and arrive in BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA (via Vienna). February 12 –

   Hurghada (HRG) to Vienna (VIE) on Pegasus Airlines: $97.20

   Slovak Lines to Bratislava: $1.13

   Airbnb x 9 nights: $354.51

Day 43, depart BRATISLAVA and arrive in MALTA. February 21 –

   Bratislava (BTS) to Malta (MLA) on Ryanair: $46.95

   Hertz Rent A Car x 2 days: $51.52

   Two Pillows Boutique Hostel: $17.25

Day 44 –

   Mr. Todd Hotel: $36.84

   Gas: $22.42

Day 45, depart MALTA and arrive in VALENCIA, SPAIN. February 23 –

   Malta (MLA) to Valencia (VLC) on Ryanair: $28.51

   Airbnb x 2 nights: $155.17

Day 47, depart VALENCIA and arrive in BARCELONA, SPAIN. February 25 –

   BlaBlaCar: $28.20

Day 47, depart BARCELONA and arrive in SAN FRANCISCO, USA (via Oakland).

   Barcelona (BCN) to Oakland (OAK) on Norwegian Air: $248.08


Whew. That was like a homework assignment. Which, of course, I never did in high school (or college), so this was a weird feeling. But it was so rewarding to use a calculator for the first time! I felt like a regular Alfred Einstein! Beep beep, boop boop, beep beep. (Those are calculator sounds that naturally came from my mouth as I wrote "calculator".)

While I have a lot of miles/points, I never once considered using them, since these flights were all so cheap. It's best to save those points for flights that are actually expensive.

For anyone who watches my Instagram stories, you have undoubtedly seen my "Hotel Tours" series, where I give a tour of my hotel or Airbnb room. They were nice, no? If you look at the accommodation prices above, you can see the most I ever spent on a night was $96. Hotels.com and Airbnb both have filters that allow you to maximize stars/ratings, while continually decreasing the price, so you can always find a bargain if you squeeze the filters both ways. I also occasionally got a private room in a hostel to meet new friends or if I was checking in late and departing early. Expensive hotels are the worst thing you can do if you're trying to sustain travel.

Is there anyone out there who thinks this isn't doable?!? All you have to do is let go of pretension. Don't be dead set on getting to a particular destination. Pack only a carry-on and prepare for an adventure with no preconceived notions. Please promise me you'll travel the path of least resistance once in your life... It will forever change travel and adventure as you know it.

Sincerely,
Kevin Leu

P.S. Alcohol expenses? $9,458.65. ☺️ I wrote a post a few years ago on how to find the best deals for flights, as well as saving for these trips. Remarkably, my wise tips still stand the test of time! Read it here.

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