After four years of traveling on the road, it’s worth taking some time to candidly discuss the topic of money. Is affordable world travel really possible for a family? How much does it really cost to take your kids on a trip around the world. And is such a thing achievable for the average family?

A few years ago, I took part in a Facebook thread discussing whether it is possible to do family travel on a budget. The original poster of the thread asked whether they could travel around Europe on $1,000-$2,000 a month for a family of four. And it sparked a long discussion about the costs of world travel.

A few traveling families responded, “oh yes, you can totally travel on that budget!” But I was one of several responders who said, “not, so fast! It's not quite that simple.” 

This blog post was last updated on May 7, 2022.

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Budgeting for affordable world travel

Before we set off on our trip around the world, I put together a loose budget for our trip. I knew that we wanted to keep things affordable. However, I also knew that because of the number of places we wanted to visit, it would be hard to keep our travel costs low.

To prep, I scoured the internet for examples of how other families made affordable world travel possible. And I tried to think of all the possible costs that could come up as we traveled. So I hoped that we would be able to make enough to cover those costs.

The average cost of a family traveling around the world

Bloggers like Nomadic Matt say that you can travel the world on a small budget (get Nomadic Matt's book, Travel the World on $50 a Day on Amazon to help you budget for your trip). So for a family of four, that translates to around $6,000 a month. As I was planning for the trip, I had hoped to have a monthly spend of around $5,000 per month.

But looking back on my meticulous records of just our first year of travel expenses over the past four years, it turned out we were actually spending an average of $7,000 per month for travel. This doesn’t include any at home costs like mortgage payments or student loan debt. Yikes!

Not exactly family travel on a budget, right? So what were we doing wrong? Why were we spending so much?

Learn more about planning an around the world trip with your family here.

Money shaming: a real problem among traveling families

I received a lot of criticism on that Facebook thread for admitting how much we were spending each month on travel.

“Oh, you’re just TOURISTING,” one person said, “you're not traveling.”

Another person commented on how we must be staying at luxury accommodations, doing tourist activities, and eating out all the time.

“We NEVER spend more than $3000 a month on travel, where ever we are in the world,” another commenter said.

I had to admit, part of me felt a bit disheartened and ridiculed for being so careless with my money. Why were we spending so much on our trip around the world? And how can I really encourage others to travel if I can’t do affordable world travel myself?

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how all this criticism is just another form of money shaming. This kind of behavior is actually quite harmful. And it can lead families to make even bigger mistakes with their money.

The danger in not addressing the true cost to travel the world

One thing I noticed from the thread, though, was that while many families were saying they did budget travel, few were actually providing concrete examples. What were their actual costs each month for lodging? How much did they spend each month for groceries? And are they including insurance, medical expenses, or the cost of owning an RV (if they are an RV family) into their cost to travel the world?

There’s a true danger in glossing over the details of a travel budget, especially if others are looking to you as an example. Is doing a work exchange (where you stay at a place for free in exchange for work) really plausible if you have to maintain a job to fund your travels? Also, can camping and RV-ing be possible for a digital nomad family who needs reliable internet connection for work?

Differences in budget needs among families

Families expecting to travel the world on $1,500 per month may be in for a big shock if they find out their travel circumstances require twice as much as that. The truth is, every family's circumstances are different.

And when planning for your around the world, you really need to do your research to determine what is realistically feasible for your family.

Personally, I like to err on the side of caution, and aim to budget for more than what we actually need.

Other things to consider when traveling full time with a family

Besides food and lodging, there are plenty of other things that families spend their money on when they travel. Take a look at the posts below to see some of the nitty-gritty details of working and traveling full-time with kids that may require money:

Mindset: 11 Helpful Tips for Becoming A Worldschooling Family

Internet connection: International WiFi Options for Working Nomads and Travelers

Travel gear: 10 Must Have Travel Items: A Nomad Family Buying and Packing Guide

Additionally, take a look at this 12 week worldschooling course from Trailblazing Families, led by fellow veteran worldschooling mom, Lizz Quain:

How To Travel Extensively and Worldschool Course

Incorporating all the costs of travel into your affordable world travel budget

When you’re examining the cost to travel the world, you need to look at ALL the costs of travel. You can't just look at the basics, like transportation, lodging, and food. Additionally, you need to consider internet costs, insurance, and supplies you may need on the road.

Furthermore, you need to consider your at-home costs. If you didn’t sell everything, how much will it cost to store your stuff? Are you like my husband and me, who still have student loan debt to pay off? And do you have a home with a mortgage that you kept?

I didn’t include any of these expenses in the $7,000 per month amount that I quoted above. So, you’ll need to make sure you can cover these costs in some way when you travel.

There's a lot that goes into travel planning. Click here to learn more.

How to make affordable world travel work for your family

With all this said, I absolutely think it is possible to do affordable world travel with a family. The key is being realistic about what will work for your individual family.

Not everyone is going to be able to housesit. Plus, not every family will be able to camp where ever they go. And not everyone wants to skimp out on eating at restaurants or trying local tours and activities.

When you’re budgeting for a trip around the world, make sure you’re doing something that feels comfortable for your family.

1. Make affordable world travel happen by slowing down!

On average, we spent about $1,500 per month on transportation. This included $740 per month on air travel (flying into the country and flying around the country if necessary). And these costs also include an additional $760 per month on buses, trains, or car rental (I'll talk more about this later).

In most cases, we tried to pick the most affordable option, but sometimes we went with what was most convenient or comfortable.

In country transportation costs

Having a car to drive is probably the most convenient for a family, but you’ll need to consider the cost of gas, tolls, extra insurance, and maintenance you’ll need to do on the car. Additionally, trains and buses can be affordable, but you’ll need to incorporate travel time as part of your non-monetary cost to travel the world.  

One of the reasons why our transportation costs were so high was because we were traveling relatively fast. We visited over 50 cities over the course of our first year of travel.

Slowing down to save money

If you’re planning on making affordable world travel work for your family, you’ll need to really slow down your travel. Plan to spend at least two or three months in one country. And once in that country, only plan to stay in one city, to really minimize your in-country transportation costs.

If you slow down your travels and aim to stay in one country for several months at a time, you can plan for your airfare costs (to be around $800 per month. 

Click here to read why slow tourism is a more sustainable option for travel.

2. Consider your accommodations carefully

When you’re trying to make affordable world travel happen, your lodging can make or break your budget. Over the course of our four years of travel, we spent on average $1,500 per month on accommodations. This breaks down to $50 per day.

In countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, our lodging costs averaged between $800-$1,100 per month. And in Mexico, lodging averaged around $1,500 for one month in Mexico. But in countries like the U.S. and Italy, hotel costs made our lodging skyrocket to upwards of $2,000 to $3,000! Cities like San Diego, California, for example, are known for their expensive real estate.  

Creative housing options for families

Families can certainly find ways to make accommodation more affordable if they’re trying to do family travel on a budget. But keep in mind that these cheaper lodging options may have non-monetary costs.

For camping or RV travel, WiFi may not be available to you where you camp. Our family needs reliable and strong internet connection to be able to work. So this option was not a good fit for us.

For house-sitting, travel schedules are limited by the house-sitting gigs that you can get. And you also have responsibilities for the house you’re taking care of, which may take a lot of time commitment. So for families who have to work, you will need to take this into consideration.

Longer stays at Airbnbs

One way we’ve lowered our accommodation costs is to do month-long stays at Airbnb when we can. This allows us to take advantage of the discounts that come with longer rentals.

But even then, remember that you lose the ability for a refund if you book a month-long stay.

For a realistic travel budget for a family of four, aim to spend $1,300 per month for accommodations.

3. Shop more at the local markets

Our guilty pleasure is food. We love eating local food when we travel. And we also know that a locally-owned restaurant is going to make much better local food than we ever could.

In Mexico, our favorite places to eat were taco stands and birrerias, which were relatively cheap. But in Italy, eating at the osterias were a bit of a strain on our wallets. So on average, we spent $1,530 per month on food during our past four years of travel.

Taking your family's eating preferences into consideration

If you’re trying to calculate the food cost to travel the world, think about your family’s eating preferences in general. Do you enjoy eating at restaurants? Or do you like cooking your own meals? Even if you’re not a phenomenal cook, you can still sample local food by buying local ingredients at a market.

In countries like Mexico, the farmer’s market can be affordable places to buy produce. But in the U.S. and parts of Europe, sometimes you can get better prices for food at the supermarket.

Essentially, sometimes it helps to shop around! For a family of four aim for a food budget of $1,100 per month.

Travel supplies to help with groceries

If you're planning on doing local food shopping while you're traveling, don't forget to pack some foldable travel grocery bags! Here are a few of my favorite ones:

Chicobag Reusable Grocery Bag

Samsonite Foldable Shopper’s Tote

BeeGreen Reusable Grocery Bags

4. Get around like a local

Getting around a city can pose a challenge, depending on where you are staying. It’s one of the conundrums of affordable world travel: do you save money on accommodations by staying outside the city (which would require having a car), or do you find a convenient location inside the city (at the risk of paying more for accommodations)?

During our first year of travel, we did a combination of car rental, public transportation, taxis, and ride sharing. But as time went on (and especially as we tried to avoid crowds during the pandemic) we tended to rent cars.

So on average, in the earlier transportation section, we spent about $760 per month on local transportation.

Consider cheap or free options for getting around

The cheapest way to get around a city, of course, is by walking. But when you have little kids, sometimes walking can get tiresome.

We enjoy taking public transportation when ever we can. However, sometimes the bus systems can be difficult to navigate. And other times, as in the case in Puerto Escondido, the cost of four tickets on public transportation was roughly the cost of one taxi ride.

Additional considerations for car rental

Even if you’re planning to drive your own car when you travel, you’ll still need to think about gas costs. Additionally, you need to think about insurance costs and tolls as well. We rented cars while we were in Mexico, Costa Rica, Italy, and the United States. While it made getting around quite convenient, it also made our in-city transportation costs pretty expensive.

If you want to keep your transportation costs low, plan to use public transportation and opt to walk to places rather than take a taxi. You can aim for a budget of $200 per month on local transportation.

5. Don’t disregard insurance

One of the things that many travelers overlook is insurance. When I was a solo traveler, I never thought about purchasing insurance, whether it’s travel insurance, health insurance, or even life insurance. But now that I’m a parent, it’s a must. Unfortunately, it’s a cost to travel the world that many world traveling families tend to gloss over or overlook.

During our first year of our trip around the world, we spent a whopping $10,200 on insurance (life, health, and travel), which averages to $850 per month. Now, our monthly insurance cost is around $400, but it’s one of those costs that we don’t want to skimp on. We want to make sure our kids are taken care of, in case something does happen to us while on the road.

Purchasing health insurance versus travel insurance

Health insurance and travel insurance are similar in that sense. As a family, you don’t want to travel without either. But there is certainly a difference between the two.

When it comes to health insurance, this generally covers doctor's visits and routine check-ups. Even though you are traveling, you still need to make sure your kids get regular well-child and dental check-ups. And in case you need to go into the doctor for non-emergency reasons, health insurance will generally cover those visits.

Travel insurance, on the other hand, insures costs related to travel, such as flights, luggage, and medical evacuation if needed. These two insurances are not the same. Keep in mind that travel insurance doesn't cover routine doctor's visits. It only covers for emergencies.

Options for health insurance for travelers

Since we were traveling in the United States for the first part of our trip, we were required by law to have health insurance (the U.S. government will actually penalize U.S. citizens on their taxes for not having health insurance). So we purchased private health insurance, which set us back over $1,000 per month.

When we started traveling internationally full-time, our options for health insurance became a lot more affordable. Families who plan to travel internationally long term can purchase insurance through a company called WeExpats, which specializes in providing insurance to expats living abroad. For your family, plan for your insurance costs to be between $300-400 per month.

6. Build room in your budget for miscellaneous expenses

One thing we didn’t expect to spend so much money on was supplies and other miscellaneous expenses. During the past four years, this accounted for around $800 of our monthly travel budget!

Basic miscellaneous expenses for travel

Aside from the big supplies we purchased at the beginning of our trip, we also purchase things as we travel. For example, we purchased small items like Amazon movies for entertainment, or a new Kindle book to read. And we purchased big items, like a new iPad for our son, when his old one decided it was time to stop working. Additionally, medical costs, like vaccines or doctor visits, fall into this category of costs.

Here's where you can buy the essentials items we purchased for our travels:

Osprey Sojourn Wheeled Luggage (80 L)

Keen Unisex Kids Newport Sandal

Columbia Kids Rainy Trails Fleece Lined Jacket

Unexpected supplies during your travels

Also, we've sometimes had to buy household supplies from time, when our Airbnb is missing things that would be helpful for our family. Some examples of things we have purchased in multiple locations are brooms, plungers, various pots and pans, stools or step ladders, and even a fan.

Other times, we've had to buy medicine to treat stomach bugs, or malaria prophylaxis for when we traveled to malaria-prevalent locations. When we entered the UK, for example, we had to pay for COVID-19 tests for each member of the family at over $80 a person!

If you want to have at least some level of comfort while you’re traveling, build in some room in your budget for supplies. Essentially, affordable world travel can still be possible. But just be prepared for unexpected supply needs that come up during your travels. If you want to be prepared, budget for $300 per month on supplies and miscellaneous expenses.

7. Consider what your family might enjoy

Your activities budget is the one part of your budget that can be as big or as little as you want. Some families enjoy splurging on activities while they travel, while others will only seek out free activities on the road.

Our family is more in the middle, as we do enjoy doing tourist activities when we travel. So we often find that museums and tours can be a great way to worldschool our kids.

Examples of types of activities to do during your travels

During our first year of our trip, we spent around $730 a month on activities. For example, some of the activities that we did included visiting national parks like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, going to museums like the Denver Science Museum, visiting castles in Europe, or taking a tour of Teotihuacan pyramids in Mexico.

Additionally, we did outings like horseback riding, fishing, and boat tours. And we also splurged on fun stuff like Great Wolf Lodge or Kidzania, or going out to movies. Another fun outing we did was do the Harry Potter studio tour while we were in London. All these activities cost money, and add expenses to your budget.

Keeping your activity costs to a minimum

If you’re trying to make affordable world travel possible, there are ways to lower your activity costs when you travel. We joined a science museum before we left Seattle, and took advantage of the museum reciprocal programs while we traveled throughout the United States.

Additionally, we purchased a National Parks pass. Internationally, you can do a little research ahead of time to see if the museums in your destinations offer free days.

If you like to do activities with your family during your travels, budget for $700 per month on activities. If possible, try and find free things for families to do while you travel. But if you can't, know that it's okay to splurge on an experience, especially if you may not have the opportunity to do it again.

Read my other tips on money and budgeting for family travel here.

Examples of expensive countries for families

As I mentioned earlier, our average monthly costs during our travels was $7,000. But the actual costs varied from month to month, depending on where we traveled.

Costs for traveling in expensive countries

Italy was our most expensive country. During our month in Italy, we spent around $10,150. This amount included airfare, which was around $2,400 for our family of four (the cost of travel from San Diego, U.S.A. to Rome, Italy). Lodging cost us over $2,000, as did our food. We also spent almost $1,500 on local transportation, with train tickets, bus fare, car rental, gas, parking fees, and tolls.

The United Kingdom was also very expensive, averaging around $11,420 for the month of our England itinerary. Lodging and food combined was more than $5,000!

Other fairly expensive countries were France and Spain (although we did have an amazing time experiencing the region of Andalucia in Spain!).

Average budgets for expensive countries

Monthly Costs	Italy	France
Air Travel	$2,400	$2,800
Lodging	$2,160	$1,990
Transportation	$1,480	$860
Food	$2,100	$1,650
Activities	$970	$1,390
Insurance	$340	$340
Misc.	$700	$720
Total	$10,150	$9,750

Monthly Costs	UK	Spain
Air Travel	$2,740	$1,100
Lodging	$3,020	$2,630
Transportation	$420	$960
Food	$2,620	$2,060
Activities	$980	$900
Insurance	$340	$340
Misc.	$1,300	$810
Total	$11,420	$8,800

Examples of cheap countries that are ideal for affordable world travel

The cheapest country for us to live in was Vietnam, which averaged around $2,820 per month to live (not including airfare). Our lodging came to around $790 per month, while food averaged around $820 per month.

Costs for traveling in inexpensive countries

Other affordable countries to live in were Mexico, Philippines, and Indonesia. For example, we spent $4,870 per month in Indonesia, not including airfare. And in the Philippines, we spent $4,350 for a month, also not including airfare. Additionally, for Mexico, our monthly average was $4,950.

During our four years of travel, we tried to balance out our stints in expensive countries by staying longer in the inexpensive countries. Over the course of our four years, we spent thirteen months in Mexico, and six months Indonesia.

Average budgets for inexpensive countries

Monthly Costs	Mexico	Indonesia
Air Travel	$1,470	$2,200
Lodging	$1,580	$1,080
Transportation	$560	$270
Food	$1,100	$860
Activities	$610	$1,620
Insurance	$350	$450
Misc.	$590	$590
Total	$6,260	$7,070

Monthly Costs	Philippines	Vietnam
Air Travel	$1,900	$2,000
Lodging	$930	$790
Transportation	$310	$260
Food	$1,130	$820
Activities	$500	$300
Insurance	$470	$430
Misc.	$1,010	$220
Total	$6,250	$4,820

Putting together an affordable world travel budget range for a family of 4

When you're planning for affordable world travel, it's much better to think of your budget in terms of ranges. Since every family is different, it's not helpful to give static numbers.

What's more helpful is to have a low-high range, so you can understand where there's more wiggle room in your budget.

Sample affordable world travel budget range

Based on the examples I've provided above, here's a sample budget range that you can use for planning your around the world travels with your kids.

To stay within the low affordable world budget range, look for destinations that are close to home. Or utilize mileage points to get discounts on airfare. Keep lodging costs low by camping, house-sitting, home swapping, or utilizing mileage points. Cook your meals at home, walk around the cities, and avoid doing activities that cost money.

For the medium and high budget ranges, costs are higher for airfare if you're traveling a bit farther or don't have mileage points to take advantage of. If you need more amenities in your lodging, or are staying in popular cities, your lodging costs will also be higher. And if you're using public transportation or renting a car for your activities, those transportation costs will also increase.

Affordable world travel budget range by the numbers

Monthly costs	Frugal	Splurge
Air Travel (4 tickets)	$600	$2,400
Lodging	$800	$2,200
Transportation	$100	$1,500
Food (4 people)	$500	$2,000
Activities	$100	$1,000
Insurance	$400	$600
Misc.	$300	$1000
Total	$2,800	$10,700

Monthly costs	Mid-Range
Air Travel (4 tickets)	$1,200
Lodging	$1,300
Transportation	$200
Food (4 people)	$1,100
Activities	$700
Insurance	$400
Misc.	$300
Total	$5,200

Examining affordable world travel budget goals

If we were to do our travels all over again, we would make a bigger commitment to make affordable world travel happen and stick to our budget. Ideally, a budget of around $5,000 per month on travel would be our target. For each member of our family, this breaks down to around $41 per day.

Looking at our spending these past four years really opened our eyes to how easy it can be to burn through your money when you travel. While we weren’t exactly living like kings, I think there’s definitely opportunities for us to cut back on some of our spending habits.

Making a commitment to affordable world travel

Similar to what families have to go through back home, affordable world travel is about making choices on how you want to spend your money. I certainly think that affordable world travel is possible. But at the same time, each family is different.

Like every family in this world, we’re just trying to find ways to make things work.

So have you done affordable world travel with your family? Share some ways that you’ve saved money on a trip around the world in the comments. And, if you're comfortable with it, feel free to share your costs with me!

Need help thinking through how to budget for a family trip? My Travel Budget Worksheet is just the tool you need! Click here to receive your free copy by signing up for my newsletter.

Want to connect with me on social media? Find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. And for those of you who are dedicated to traveling more responsibly, sustainably, and ethically, join over 200 like-minded families on my Facebook group, Responsible Family Travel.

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