Budgeting, something that needs to be done when planning a larger project like the Stelvio 2019 Adventure for me. Why? Because I don't want to be halfway through and not being able to afford food. Basically I want to know how much money I need to save up until hitting the road.
Oh yeah, the transcontinental word in the heading just affects me, I think that the budgeting steps are similar independent of the scale of your trip.
But where to start?
First note
After reading A LOT of sites about budgeting and cost calculations for bike adventures, I found myself not being the average 'lets do this the cheapest way possible' type. So don't expect the numbers to be the lowest you can find. And also, I will write an update after the trip on how the actual numbers differ from the budget. But anyhow, this should only be read as inspiration. Do your own research and find numbers that fit your trip! : )Before the trip
The before trip expenses will be the biggest part of my budget basically for one reason... The bike Much of the 'before' costs will be high because this will be my first bike adventure and I need to buy pretty much everything. I have a tent, sleeping bag/mat and stove. But everything else like bags I will need to buy. But hey, I can reuse all that gear on other adventures so a one time cost (+ maintenance and replacements)
Turns out a need a new sleeping bag as well.
Turns out a need a new sleeping bag as well.
Bike
This is the largest single item in my budget, other stuff will not even come close. If you already have a bike that you are happy with for your trip. Then this can be skipped.My friend that will join me already has a cyclocross so he will use that. I only have a racer today so going to need something a little more sturdy and capable of handling a better variety of roads and packing.
Additional gear
Here goes all extra stuff that you need to buy or upgrade for your trip. Be it pannier bags, power-banks or pretty much whatever you need.For me this post included: Power-bank, Action Camera, Pannier Bags and a new sleeping bag.
Plane or train tickets to start and/or end of the bike trip
If you don't plan on both start and stop to pedal at your own door you will probably need some kind of tickets. Be sure to check that the carriers that you chose are OK with you bringing a bike with you. And also look out for potential extra charges for bikes.For my trip I will need plane tickets home from Italy as we will be leaving on bike from our home town. I think that it could be easier to do it the other way around, travel to a location and then cycle home.. but this is the way that I chose to do this.
Language classes
You might want to try learn at least some basic phrases in the native tongue of the countries that you will pass through. Either as evening classes and thus included in your budget or like me, using a free app on my phone.I use Duolingo to learn basic Italian and I also prepared a list of phrases that I anticipate could come in handy in both German and Italian.
During the trip
A lot of the 'during the trip' budget will be dependent on how many days or weeks you plan on being on the road. If you don't know that yet, then you could look at my post on Using Strava to plot a bike route through Europe.
Food
Tricky one here. Our plan will be to buy food as we go and probably enjoy a restaurant or two. So this will be the biggest item in the budget during the trip. 350 SEK per day.Campsites
Our plan is to wild-camp through Sweden where it is allowed and then try to hit campsites through Germany, Austria and Italy. In case we don't make it to a campsite for a night or if we arrive early then our backup will be B&B, motels etc. Worst case is to try our luck in the wild.Average campsite fee per night in seems to be $13-16 according to Rick Steve. So we will budget for 160 SEK per night, that is roughly the higher amount given an exchange rate of ~10SEK per dollar.
Hotels
Bonus nights, to give us some recovery. I've budgeted for 3 hotel nights. The only definitive one is the one in Bormio to explore the area and maybe visit Livigno after completing the Stelvio climb and before taking on the Gavia pass. And 1 extra emergency night at a hotel if needed. Total of 3 nights.Ferries
Check your planned route and see if there are any ferries that you might want to take. Check their website and put down a note on person+bicycle fare. For us this will be Sweden to Germany, and perhaps the water-bus in Venice.Calculations
So. At this point lets look at some example tables. Damn.
So. First off, I decided to split my budget into 2 separate columns.
- Before the trip
- During the trip
Before the trip column consists of all the stuff that I need to buy before we take off in end of May. This is pretty deterministic. One row per item that needs to be bought and its cost. As I said previously, the biggest item is the bike. I already have a tent.
During the trip column is a bit more dynamic, it depends heavily on the number of days and nights that the trip will take. I.e. food budget for X days, campsite fees for the amount of nights in continental Europe.
| Item | Pre-cost | During-cost | Temp | Paid |
| Kona Sutra 2018 | 15679 | |||
| Shimano - A530 SPD | 439 | |||
| Shimano RT4 SPD Touring Cykelskor | 727 | |||
| Surly Front Rack 2.0 | 903 | |||
| VAUDE Aqua Front (or Ortlieb front roller plus) | 1168 | |||
| Framebag | 395 | |||
| Sleeping bag | 1000 | |||
| ORTLIEB Back Roller Plus set of two pannier bags 2x35L | 1400 | |||
| Action Camera | 56 | |||
| VINSIC Dual USB 30000mAh Powerbank Mobil Plattor Laptop | 900 | |||
| Lezyne CNC Micro Floor Drive | 749 | |||
| Trelleborg-Rostock (ferry) | 600 | |||
| Food (21 * 350 SEK) | 7350 | |||
| Camp sites (8 + 7 ) * 160 SEK | 2400 | |||
| Bonus-hotels (3) | 2400 | |||
| Venice-Göteborg (flight) | 3000 |
As you can see, some items have names put in, others have just placeholders and an estimated price. The Temporary column is for stuff that I had on the buy list but for various reasons decided to omit from my first trip. I.e. I will not need pannier bags for the back rack of the bike, the front rack bags and a framebag should be enough.
The paid column is stuff that I've already paid for and don't need to think about anymore.
Not the cheapest budget, but hey this will be our vacation and some luxury is needed.
| Total left | 36080 |
| Pre-total | 20330 |
| During-total | 15750 |
| Already paid | 959 |
| Saving Per Month | Total | Bike deducted | Total pre deducted | pre and during deducted | |
| August | 3133 | 3133 | -12546 | -17197 | -32947 |
| September | 3259 | 6392 | -9287 | -13938 | -29688 |
| October | 1456,3 | 7848,3 | -7830,7 | -12481,7 | -28231,7 |
| November | 2000 | 9848,3 | -5830,7 | -10481,7 | -26231,7 |
| December | 2000 | 11848,3 | -3830,7 | -8481,7 | -24231,7 |
| January | 2000 | 13848,3 | -1830,7 | -6481,7 | -22231,7 |
| February | 2000 | 15848,3 | 169,3 | -4481,7 | -20231,7 |
| Mars | 2000 | 17848,3 | 2169,3 | -2481,7 | -18231,7 |
| April | 2000 | 19848,3 | 4169,3 | -481,7 | -16231,7 |
| May | 2000 | 21848,3 | 6169,3 | 1518,3 | -14231,7 |
| June |
Hit the road
|
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So, estimate is to save 2000 SEK per month specifically for the trip. As you can see, I've updated with actuals for the months that have passed and left in the estimated numbers for coming months.
Bike will be paid off in February and all other gear just in time for the trip. The during costs will be taken from savings (and .. big and here. It costs money to live normally as well, so it is probably not 14000 SEK that needs to be raided from savings, but maybe a part of it)
Conclusions
This is my trip budget, yours may differ and I am sure that you could do the same trip with a lot less expenses.Things to note is that 20 KSEK of the budget is stuff that I need to be able to do it. For the next trip, that part is already covered give or take some maintenance or upgrades.
I could have opted for a cheaper bike, but hey I really want a Kona Sutra and hope to use it for commuting and gravel grinding as well as travelling.
Also, the 350 SEK per day on food is hopefully calculated as a worst case. In reality we might just burn a part of that and save. But as I wrote above, I rather over-budget and not use the money as the other option is not as nice. Being stuck in Germany and not having food.
Ok, enough trying to rationalize my budget. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.. Right?
Other resources:
- Travelling Two: How Much Does Bike Touring Cost? We do the math
- Bicycle Hobo: How Much Does It Cost to Bicycle Tour
- Me, My Bike And A Camera: How Much Does a Cross-Country Bike Tour Cost?
As always if you like this, be sure to leave a comment and share on social media! Not needed but appreciated!
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