Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2. Finance
How much money will you need?
It all depends on what you're doing, where you're going and for how long. Long haul flights
are much more expensive than regional ones, for example, and insurance and visas vary
country-by-country. As we've already mentioned in
Chapter 1
, it's estimated that the aver-
age gap-year for young people is £5000, while that goes up to £6000 for more mature trav-
ellers and £9000 for career breakers, plus flights on top. The key word here is
average
, but
it at least gives you a 'ball park' figure.
What do you need to pay for?
A gap needn't break the bank, but it helps if you start by making yourself a list of all the
things you might need to pay for, and then research how much it all comes to. Look at your
chosen locations and do a bit of research as to how much the essentials cost - accommoda-
tion, food and travel, costs between towns/countries here. This will give you your absolute
base budget per day, on top of which you can add costs for activities - seeing sights, adren-
alin activities (if that's your thing) and, of course, going out!
Here's a checklist of some essential to help you get started:
Before you go:
•
Passport
•
Visas and work permits (check the FCO website for the relevant embassy -
•
Insurance
•
Flights
•
Fees for placements/organised treks
etc
•
Special equipment if needed
•
Vaccinations - they're not all free - and a travellers' medical pack
•
Don't forget regular payments, such as a pay-monthly mobile phone.
When you've gone:
