The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Monday, December 14, 2020

The credit card is getting a workout!

Pouring rain here all day yesterday. Not nice being cooped up due to the weekend quarantine here in Turkey, but it does make it a little more bearable knowing that we likely wouldn't have been outside anyhow. Man, did it pour buckets!

So, I spent a lot of time on the computer yesterday. 

We knew when we made the decision that a trip to Tanzania was going to be expensive. It's one of those countries where tourists pay far more than locals to do just about anything.

Even though Tanzania has its own currency, the Tanzanian Shilling, almost anything tourist related is priced in $USD. And I noticed while looking at foreign exchange rates that even though there is not an official relationship between the two currencies as some countries have, the two currencies seem to track each other fairly closely.

I was talking to our contact at the safari and trekking company that we are using, and he said that the average rental car goes for $50 USD ($64 CAD) per day, but locals might pay $35 USD ($45 CAD). He said he could find us one for $35 USD, but even at that rate we're going to hold off until we get there. It could be that taking taxis as necessary might be a better idea.

Accommodation can be had at a decent price though, if you stay away from the tourist stuff. It looks like we should be able to find suitable accommodation for between $10 - $20 USD ($13 - $26 CAD) per night.

So we have paid for our flights from Turkey to Tanzania, and returning to Germany. Total for that was $977 CAD ($766 USD) each. We have also paid for our visas at $50 USD ($64 CAD) each.

So we're already up to $2,100 CAD ($1,646 USD) just to go there. Then add in the hiking and safari trips at maybe $6,000 USD ($7,600 CAD).

This will be a $13,000 CAD ($10,000 USD) trip over the 69 days that we plan to be there.

But again, we knew this going into it.

However... if you figure that we typically spend about $2,000 a month doing what we normally do, then really it's "only" an extra $3,000 a month for the time we will be in Tanzania.

And we know that once we start traveling in our new motorhome, our expenses for the second half of this year will be below average.

So you see? You can justify anything you want!

Speaking of budgeting, I am trying out a really cool budgeting app. It's called Travel Spend. You can check it out here...

https://travel-spend.com/

They have a basic free version, and a flexible ad-free "Premium" version that costs about a buck and a half a month. I'm going to use it for a month before I write a full report for you, but so far I am impressed with how easy it is to keep track of everything.

It's raining again today, but we have rain coats and will get out for a walk at some point. We move on to Antalya tomorrow, and then it is supposed to be sunny again for a few days!

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13 comments:

  1. Making the big bucks now! Lol

    I’m happy for the both of you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Umm.. spending, not making.

      Our frugal lifestyle allows for a little bit of splurging every now and again.

      Thank you!

      Delete
  2. You talked about having eye procedures while in Turkey. Please check with your doctor about going to high altitudes after recent surgery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that will be part of the conversation, thank you.

      Delete
  3. The trip $10,000, the experience priceless

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Garth you are a positive cool guy. I read you Blog

      Delete
    2. You are totally right Garth! We work really hard at being frugal so that we can save money for something just like this trip. It is just hard for us to wrap our heads around spending money like this, it is such a foreign feeling for us.

      Big Deuce, he is one of the most positive people that we have ever met, he never has a bad word, even when his unit gave him troubles, well ok maybe just a teeny bit, lol!

      Delete
  4. Just an fyi, I'm still following you guys but straight through the blog, but missed out on the next trip vote, but you are going to Tanzania which would have been my vote

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for continuing to follow us on the blog we really appreciate it.

      It wasn't really a vote, it was a post asking for people to contribute their thoughts on the different locations so that we could try to make a good choice but we are glad that you wanted us to head to Tanzania.

      Delete
  5. I think that price is pretty good for those costs for 69 days. Hey we only go around this planet once lets enjoy and see as much of it as possible. Happy travels. Stay safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, we will see how we do by the end of the 69 days, for us it is a lot of money but as you say we only get once chance on this planet! What is the sense in scrimping and saving the money if you don't end up spending it?! I have know doubt that the money will be well spent and that we will have had an amazing experience by the end of the trip. :-)

      Delete
  6. Considering what people spend on "stuff", I think you have the right idea about how to spend your money :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is very true, we would rather spend our money on memories. :-)

      Delete

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