My travel budget: Europe, Asia and wintering in India

I noticed one funny thing a long time ago: while you are just planning a trip, it seems that everything will cost quite reasonable money. Flight – well, let's say 50-60 thousand rubles, housing – a little more, food is generally nonsense, and entertainment can be chosen according to your mood. And then you start putting everything together and realize that for some reason this "little bit" has turned into a pretty decent amount, so now before each trip I try to at least roughly calculate the budget in advance.

To make it clearer, I decided to take a regular trip for 7 days and one person, without luxury, but also without the "I live on bread and spend the night at the train station" regime. We are talking about normal housing, ordinary cafes and shops, public transport, several paid attractions and a small reserve for all sorts of unplanned joys.

Europe from Moscow – about 120-160 thousand rubles

Sheremetyevo International Airport

If we talk about popular European destinations, I would now put about 120-160 thousand rubles per person on a week-long trip from Moscow. Flights and accommodation here usually become the main items of expenditure, especially if you go to an expensive European city.

Approximately my budget would look like this: 60-70 thousand rubles for flights, about 30-45 thousand for housing, another 15-20 thousand for food, about 5-7 thousand for transport and about 5-10 thousand for museums, attractions and entertainment. Plus, I would leave a small reserve, because it seems that no one has ever managed to travel without an unplanned cup of coffee and some absolutely necessary souvenir.

Paris

That's why I'm focusing on about 120-160 thousand rubles per week for myself. Moreover, Paris, Amsterdam or other expensive cities can easily raise this bar higher, and in a more budget-friendly direction it can be much cheaper.

Asia from Moscow – about 95-130 thousand rubles

The situation with Asia is more interesting. The flight from Moscow itself can take up most of the budget, but after arrival, many daily expenses turn out to be more pleasant for the wallet.

Thailand

For example, if we take Thailand, then I would put about 50-65 thousand rubles for a flight, about 20-30 thousand for housing, 10-15 thousand for food, about 5-7 thousand for transport, and 5-10 thousand more for excursions and entertainment.

It turns out about 95-130 thousand rubles per week.

And here, for the first time, I understood why some people, after their first trip to Southeast Asia, start thinking about staying there longer. When you compare the cost of a week of vacation with a European city, and then imagine a month of living in a warm climate, the idea doesn't look so crazy anymore.

But India is already an option for wintering.

India stands a little apart from me, because I would consider it not only as a destination for a week, but as an option for a long winter stay. If you fly there for 7-10 days, the budget can be calculated in about the same way as for other Asian countries, but the real interest begins when it comes to at least a few weeks or a month.

India

For a week-long trip, I would focus on about 90-120 thousand rubles per person, if you do not choose expensive hotels and do not arrange a celebration of life for yourself every evening. A flight can take about 45-60 thousand rubles, accommodation for a week – about 15-25 thousand, food and transport – about 15-20 thousand more, and the rest can be left for excursions and entertainment.

Aeroflot

But if we talk about the month of wintering, I would lay approximately 100-150 thousand rubles per month plus a flight, depending on the chosen state, city and housing level. In a simpler version, you can spend less, and if you want a nice apartment, restaurants, trips around the country and comfort without constantly counting every rupee, the budget will be higher.

In this regard, India is interesting precisely for its duration. It's one thing to come for a week, rush somewhere every day, try to see everything at once and fall into bed in the evening, but it's quite another to rent a house for a month, settle in, find your favorite cafe, go to the market and gradually get used to the local rhythm.

We must not forget about the visa

There is only one point that I would definitely consider before buying a ticket: Russian citizens need a visa to travel to India. At the same time, a tourist e-Visa can be issued online through the official Indian visa portal, that is, you do not need to go to the consulate solely for the purpose of applying for an electronic tourist visa.

VFS Global Visa Service Center

Various e-Tourist Visa options are available for tourists, including short-term for 30 days, as well as long-term options for one and five years. At the same time, a long-term visa does not mean that you can stay in India indefinitely without restrictions: the official portal separately sets the maximum period of stay during a calendar year.

Therefore, if the idea of wintering in India really interested me, I would first decide on the duration of the trip and a specific visa option, and only then buy tickets. And it would definitely be submitted through the official website, because the Indian Embassy in Moscow itself warns to use the official e-Visa portal and not to use questionable intermediary sites.

How much do you need for the winter?

If I were to imagine my ideal scenario, I wouldn't be traveling to India for three days with a hectic schedule. I would take a ticket, rent a place for a month and try to live a normal life there instead of constantly being a tourist with a phone in one hand and a card in the other.

Goa

My benchmark for a month in India would look something like this: flight – 45-60 thousand rubles, accommodation – 30-50 thousand, food – 20-30 thousand, transport – 5-10 thousand, entertainment and trips – 10-20 thousand. The result is about 110-170 thousand rubles along with the flight, if we talk about a fairly comfortable, but not luxurious option.

And here it becomes interesting to compare not the cost of a week's trip, but the cost of a whole month. It turns out to be a paradoxical situation: sometimes one month of wintering in a relatively inexpensive country is comparable to one week in an expensive European city.

My little expense chart

If you put it all together, then my guideline for one person is now something like this:

Europe, 7 days: 120-160 thousand ₽
Thailand, 7 days: 95-130 thousand ₽
India, 7 days: 90-120 thousand ₽
India, 1 month: 110-170 thousand. , along with the flight
Japan, 7 days: 140-190 thousand ₽

Of course, this is not a price tag at the entrance to the airport and not a promise that everyone will be able to repeat the trip to the ruble. The final amount is greatly influenced by the season, flight dates, city, exchange rate, housing level and how much a person likes to turn an ordinary dinner into a gastronomic event.

But for pre-planning, I like such numbers much more than the phrase "it all depends on you." Now at least you can open your calendar, look at your bank account, and honestly tell yourself: "So, I'm still planning Europe, I'm considering Asia, and it looks like I've already mentally rented an apartment in India."

And do you know what the most dangerous thing is? After such calculations, the journey ceases to seem unattainable. You don't think anymore: "Someday I'll go to India for the winter," and you start counting how many months are left until winter and how much you need to save each month. And this is a completely different level of planning – and much more dangerous for the quiet life of my bank account.