There are times when we think that the concept of affordable travel is an oxymoron. We define affordable travel as being able to go where we want, take accommodation that meets our specifications and eat what we want within a budget that we have set for ourselves. Having said that one begins to realize that this issue is very likely to be different for everyone who reads this page. We each have our own requirements and specifications associated with what is acceptable for food because we all have differing diets. The same can be applied to accommodation. It you need to stay in five star hotels your lodging expense will be high. If you camp every night your expenses will be about as low as they can go, unless you chose to sleep by the side of the road.

All we are saying (hummm, sounds like a song opportunity) is that you will need to determine what range of accommodation and food requirements you have. Once you have established this it should not be too hard to determine what your daily costs will be.

Another obvious expense is the bike itself as well as the cost to maintain it and put in fuel to get you to your next destination. Maintenance costs can vary and we tend to be very conservative. We will NOT try to get that extra 1000 miles out of a tire when starting a leg of a trip that will be longer than that and we know that obtaining tires will be difficult. It’s just not worth the time, cost and energy required to deal with something this trivial. Believe us when we say that the savings you make will be more than offset when the time comes to replace the tire and you find you forgot a tire iron or something breaks. And if you cannot do the work yourself then you definitely do not want to put yourself at the mercy of someone who may actually be less qualified than you are but is doing the work. Jim does do as much of our maintenance as he can but we also know that there are some things that are best left for the shop.

The cost of the bike is a one time event and if you have a bike you may have already made the investment. There will be additional costs above and beyond the initial purchase that will be required to make the bike capable for the journey. Of course your itinerary will dictate what this will take. For us it means having hard luggage and no soft luggage (like a tank bag) on the bike. We have been in too many places where fingers are on everything and anything that is exposed is subject to disappearing. So we have aluminum luggage and top boxes. Anything mounted to the handle bars is mounted in aluminum boxes or securely attached by screws or nuts and bolts. If not in boxes it comes off whenever the bike is left unattended. See the the section titled The Bikes for more information as to what was done to our bikes in preparation for our travels.

The cost of servicing the bike will be relatively fixed but will fluctuate between countries as currency values and labor costs change. For us the most expensive part of bike operation is fuel when in North America and especially in Europe. Fuel in Europe is roughly two to three times more expensive than North America at a minimum.

Insurance is another fixed cost consideration for the bike that will vary greatly in price depending on your location. Local regulations may require that you show proof of insurance before you will be let into the country. Other times, no one will ask but it is a legal requirement that you have insurance and it is your responsibility to know this and have insurance. We have paid anywhere from US $250 a year to US $1600 a year for insurance for each of our bikes. And we have purchased insurance for coverage for only two weeks that cost less than $10. If your vehicle is not registered locally you will only be able to purchase 3rd party insurance meaning that you will be responsible for any damage to your vehicle that you are found at fault for causing.

You may need to obtain a translation of your vehicle operators license for some countries as well. Most automobile associations in your home country can provide this for a fee.

Then there is the carnet. A carnet is a bond that you post when entering a country. If you do not take the bike with you when you leave the country you forfeit the bond. The automobile association in your country is the place to obtain a carnet. Each country specifies the amount required for the carnet and it can be as much as 400 times the value of the bike. This may well influence what countries you chose to visit. We have heard a story about one chap who undervalued his vehicle for the carnet because he did not want to put up the funds required and the local authorities decided to give him the amount on the carnet and keep his bike. This is a story and we have no first hand knowledge as to its authenticity - caveat emptor.

Another issue is visas. In many countries there is no charge and you need not apply for admission in advance. In many countries you need a visa prior to arrival at the border and there is a fee for the visa. It may take months to get a visa. There are services that will do this for you and frankly we think they are worth every penny they charge. If you have nothing but time and speak the necessary language and are familiar with the bureaucratic requirements for the country you may want to get it on your own.

Any rate, you get the idea. You will need to do some planning (something that we cannot over emphasize) in order to go off on your adventure. We have only touched on a few of the costs of travel here. There are a lot of resources out there in the form of web sites and books. Use them to your advantage.

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