How Much Money We Spent in India

What We Spent in India

When we started our world trip we made one crucial change in our life. We decided to record all of our spendings down to the penny. This has helped us in knowing exactly where our money is going. In addition, it helps us to know if we are under or over our budget. The following numbers are for 2 people. For reference we spent a total of 43 days in India.

 

Lodging

Our spendings were a total of $696.92 on lodging in India. Part of the time we spent volunteering at a children’s home. During our time we stayed in hotels, hostels, a night on a bus, two nights on a train, and a night sleeping under the stars in the desert.

 

Food

Food cost us a total of $598.69 in India. The food was a lot different in India than what we have ever had before. In the Rajasthan area we found the food to be a little heavier, since they use ghee for a lot of their cooking, while in Kerala we almost always ate Tibetan food. Overall food was pretty cheap in India which definitely helps keep the spendings down.

 

Activities

Our total spending on activities was $352.52. This was things like visiting forts, palaces, going on boat tours, and failing to spot tigers at a wildlife refuge.

 

 

Transportation

Transportation such as taxi’s, buses, and etc. cost a total of $563.43. We had a few overnight trains, an overnight bus, and used Uber extensively.

 

 

 

Flights

We spent $819.75 on flights in India. Part of this came from a mistake we made before coming to India. We had failed to have proof of onward travel in advance and in the Dubai airport they wouldn’t let us on the plane without it. We quickly booked a ticket on the spot, guesstimating when and where from we would leave to Bangkok. Turns out it was the wrong choice and we switched it out for a different ticket later. It wasn’t a  complete loss but we spent more money than we would have otherwise. We ended up taking two flights inside of India from one city to another.

 

Shopping

We spent $65.30 on shopping in India. This was mostly random items such as postcards, a new hat, toothpaste and etc.

 

 

 

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous items are such things as laundry, bathroom costs, and other things that do not fit into a certain categorry. We spent $10.48 on miscellaneous items.

 

 

 

Average

In India we spent a total of 43 days. During that time we had a daily average of $74.75. This is about $8 below our budget. To be honest we were a little surprised because we had expected the expensive flights to wipe out our budget. Some things that mitigated our spendings; during our first week in India we volunteered at a children’s home, India is very cheap, we had a total of 3 nights sponsored as well as activities covered, and finally our last week in India was one of relaxation instead of moving from one place to another.

Takeaway

While in India we actually focused very little on being over or under budget. The fact that we ended up under budget was more a product of the lifestyle that we prefer than actually counting pennies as we went. We focus on staying in comfortable, but not lavish places. Our standard for food is quality, but we avoid places that are definitely overpriced. One big thing for us is that we don’t make any purchases that we can take back home since we are not going home anytime soon and have limited space in our bags.

I think that we could have easily spent more time in India because it has so much to offer. We really only explored two areas, the Rajasthan area, and Kerala. In the future we hope to see the Himalayan mountains as well visit the Kashmir region. Bangalore, Hyderabad, and other areas were also highly recommended and we hope to see them in the future.

We had a lot less sponsored stays in India than previously. Our goal was to refocus our attention on finding unique places, and activities rather than getting getting a night sponsored here or there. When we stay somewhere we first make sure that it is a good match for us. The two places we worked with in India were an overnight camel safari, and the highest tea plantation in the world. Both of these were unique locations, provided amazing pictures, and were fun experiences. Check out our write ups about them!

Camel Safari in Jaisalmer India

Visiting the Highest Organic Tea Plantation in the World

If you would like to read other stories from India you can find them in the following category: India

If you would like to read more about our world trip, how we saved, or some things we’ve done check it out: World Trip

You can also read about the places we’ve gone in South America which is a stunning continent with many amazing places, beautiful cultures, and a lot of fun: South America