budget: £30 GBP / $50 USD per day
total budget: £930 / $1500
total spent: £654 / $1093
avg. daily spend : £22 / $37
all costs are for two people.
days on budget: 7%
days under budget: 83%
days over budget: 10%
The beginning of our fourth month was spent in the perpetually cheap Guatemala, and it is fair to say we had grown accustomed to how far our budget could go.
Five days into our return to Mexico, we were shocked at how much simple things such as transport ate into our funds. The sheer scale of the country, and its developed transport system, makes moving around expensive.
Thankfully, two and a half sun-kissed weeks in Zipolite, with accommodation costs less than we had experienced thus far into our trip (£4.5 or $7.5/night for a private cabana), meant that we finished this month a whopping 30% under-budget.
So we spent a month climbing volcanoes in Guatemala, eating freshly caught swordfish and amazing street-food, living at the beach and travelling the Mexican Pacific coast.
And it cost less for both of us than Emily used to pay for one month's rent in London.
And people wonder why we left.
total: £207 / $346
avg. cost per double room: £6.9 / $11.5
most expensive: £13.6 / $22.7
cheapest: £4.5 / $7.5
accommodation: 31.5%
total: £65.5 / $110
most expensive: £13.9 / $23
Puerto Arista to Tehuantepec (three buses and a taxi)
cheapest: £1 / $1.7
Zipolite to Mazunte (camioneta)
transport: 10%
total: £93 / $156
most expensive: £9.3 / $15.5
cheapest: £1.8 / $3
eating out: 14%
total: £97 / $162
Yeah, we know mum and dad - slow down on the booze!
alcohol: 14.5%
total: £65 / $109
We actually did cook for ourselves a lot - but fresh food is really not expensive in Mexico!
groceries: 10%
total: £89 / $149
Too many ice-creams, bags of sweets and all manner of sugar-laden goodies.
sweets & treats: 13.5%
total: £14 / $23.5
After a couple of months in Guatemala's highlands we needed A LOT of sunscreen!
toiletries: 2%
total: £22.5 / $37.5
Thankfully, a lot of the activities we did only required a bus ride thus keeping costs way down.
activities: 3.5%
total: £0 / $0
As to be expected, the Guatemalan border security attempted to con us out of an exit fee but be aware - there isn't one!
