The Price of Adventure
Posted by Dan in BlogSherpa, Road-tripping, tags: Cost, cost to drive Pan American Highway, PriceWhen I set out in June of ’09, I honestly thought the adventure would take about a year, and savings of just over $10,000 would see me through.
Haha! It’s hilarious to look back…
A combination of working along the way and a nice tax return helped the bottom line, though the remainder is still sitting on my credit card.
For the vast majority of the adventure I drew a few hundred dollars out in cash, spent it on anything and everything, then got more cash when I ran out. Unfortunately, this means I only have bank records for some of the big purchases mentioned below. I can see than I took out $400 in Guatemala, then another $400 in El Salvador, but I can’t say exactly what that money went into. At only $1/beer, I’m pretty sure it didn’t all go there 
| Major Item | $USD Amount |
|---|---|
| Gasoline (calculated) | $7,000 |
| Return flight Buenos Aires->Canada | $1,440 |
| Shipping the Jeep across the Darien Gap | $770 |
| 2 SCUBA courses | $440 |
| Paddling with icebergs | $400(ish) |
| Ferry from Baja California to mainland Mexico | $250(ish) |
| Flight Panama->Columbia | $150 |
| Everything else** | $16,850 |
| TOTAL | $27,300 |
**NOTE: When I say everything else, I literally mean, everything else.
Food and accommodation would certainly be the next two big categories, then maybe activities (like park entry fees, etc.). Everything you can possibly imagine is in there somewhere; oil changes, small ferries, toll roads, tire repairs, flip-flops…. If I spent money, it’s in the everything else figure.
Notable Exceptions:
I did not include the following expenses for various reasons.
If you’re planning your own adventure, you may want to think about these things:
The Jeep:
The cost of the Jeep has been excluded, mostly because in my view it cost net zero. I bought the Jeep in August 2008 for $6,250 and drove it around as my sole vehicle until June 2009 when I set off on the adventure. Almost two years, and 65,000kms later, I sold the Jeep for $5000.
Allocating the $1,250 difference to deprecation before the adventure even began, means it cost me net zero for the adventure. I’m extraordinarily happy with this.
Vaccinations:
These were in fact very specific for this adventure, though with all the health-insurance refunds I’m pretty sure it cost me something less than $300. They are also good for 10 years, so I’m still getting value from them.
Camping Gear:
I had almost everything I needed before setting out (tent, camp stove, hiking boots, etc.) although I did buy a couple of pricy things like my sleeping bag. I didn’t include them because I already had most of them, and the things I bought, I still have and use regularly.
Laptop & Camera:
I owned my camera long before the adventure began, but I did buy my little laptop specifically for the adventure. I didn’t include it as an expense, because it’s a completely optional piece of equipment and I still use it all the time.
$27k is an average of about $1200 a month for the 22 months I was on the road. I hope these numbers help people planning their own adventure. Feel free to ask for any clarifications.
-Dan
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That seems like the hole trip was a good deal. Seems like it cost you a lot less then one would think.
Was it hard to sell the jeep after such a long trip in it?
It was a little difficult to part with my best friend, but it was time to move on to new things.
I see identical Jeeps every day and smile, remembering the great times we had together
How successful was the contribution campaign? I know that I made a donation through PayPal. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
With donations and revenue from advertising here on theroadchoseme.com, I estimate I made something like $75/mo.
At one point I had hoped to make enough to travel this way indefinitely, but it obviously didn’t work out that way.
Thanks very much for your contribution, every bit helped me live my dreams
-Dan
Hi Dan!
Today, I just finished reading your blog (very slowly) since I discovered it via your reddit Q&A about two months ago. I just wanted to say how amazing it was to read about your whole journey, and I’m aspiring to do something similar in a few years. Right now, I’m a 22 year old in my last year of undergrad getting a degree in electrical engineering. I’ve just finished up all the courses for my Spanish minor too. I just wanted to say thanks for writing your blog and for the inspiration. I’ve got a big list of great places to see and things to do, thanks to you.
Hey Nathan, great to hear from you.
Thanks so much for the kind words. It makes me immensely happy to hear I am still inspiring people with my story
Good luck finishing up your undergrad studies, it’s well worth it.
If you have any questions in the future, or there is anything I can help with, don’t hesitate to ask.
All the best,
-Dan
Hi Dan,
To me there is no price on adventure.You make your own,wherever you may live or maybe in life,as it is all,and should be one big adventure.
It is what you choose to do with your time and money,that makes the adventure.
As usual Ron, our thoughts have crossed paths
Hey Dan!
Amazing Trip, I Would Love To Embark On The Same Trip, I Have An 06 Wrangler. How Much Previous Planning Did You Do?
Hey Miguel,
I planned the trip for about 7 months, preparing camping gear, checking entry requirements for countries, getting immunizations, and mostly trying to save money.
Some people set out with no planning what-so-ever, so you can totally wing it
If there is anything I can help you with to make the jump, just ask.
-Dan
Hi Dan,
Nice story mate! I’m setting out this fall from NYC up to and across Canada before going all the way down the Pan American.
I’m in conflict on what car to get ? Looking at Toyota 4runner, Jeep Wrangler and Suzuki Grand Vitara. The japanese because I’m sure there will be parts, the Suzuki because of the fuel economy, but I like the Jeep the best, but have some concern about getting parts should it be needed. Did you repair your Jeep on this journey, if yes, did you find parts?
Many thanks for taking the time to write your story and provide advise.
JJ
Hey Jakob,
Awesome to hear you’re hitting the road. You will have an amazing time.
Checkout WikiOverland, the Encyclopedia of Overland Travel for all the info you’re going to need. It’s got everything like border crossings, paperwork, gas prices, birbery tips, camping, maps, etc. etc. for every country you’ll pass through.
As to the best vehicle to take, it’s mostly personal choice. Jeep have a dealership in every country in Central and South America (Jeep International Site Locator) so you would be able to get parts if you absolutely need them.
I didn’t have a single breakdown or mechanical issue for the entire trip, so it was never an issue for me.
Have fun !
-Dan
Hey,
I’m wondering what ‘working along the way’ entails. I’ve considered heading down there with the intent of finding work, but am not sure where or what I would be able to do. I’ve got a (super usefule) degree in History/Philosophy, and am fairly handy, but my spanish is mostly from working in landscape agriculture for a couple years, so mostly I can curse….
You’ll find a job teaching English if you want it… ask around.
It’s common for backpackers to work in Hostels in South America, usually just for room and food, not money.
If you pickup any kind of “local” work, you’ll only make local wages, which won’t be enough to get you on the road.
Again, ask around.
Hi Dan,
Thanks so much for posting about your adventure!
I currently live in Guayaquil, Ecuador (if you made it off course to this city you most likely soon realized it was a bad idea) and want to drive my awesome Lada Niva back to the states. My boyfriend and I are looking forward to the adventure, but have heard about taxes through each country. The Darien Gap seems to be the biggest of the fees, would you estimate fees of just entering and exiting each country to be considerable? Any other random taxes along the way? Also, was it ever hard just to get your car across? My car is a registered Ecuador vehicle…
Again, thank you! Your posts make the rest of our journeys a bit easier:)
Hey Samantha – first of all, sorry for the very late reply. I’ve been waiting to finish my new project you’ll be interested in
All your questions are answered at the new Overland resource, WikiOverland.
First, you’ll want to checkout the page on the Pan American Highway, which has a great overview of what you’re going to encounter along the way.
Once you’ve read through that, you can click into each individual country and find the specifics – crossing the borders, prices to enter, paperwork requirements, gas prices, the cost of crossing the Darien Gap and how to do it, etc. etc.
It’s all there.
If you find the information useful, it would be fantastic if you could take 5 minutes each time you pass through a country and update the information – you can just click edit in the top right hand corner and change any information that is out-of-date, like gas prices or the process at the border.
Let me know if you have any more questions, or require any help along the way.
Have a great trip!
[...] The Road Chose Me [...]
Hi Guys.. just a few lines to congratulate you on this amazing adventure.. i have been planning too much ( for 4-5 years ) and still need a year or so before my 18 year old kid leaves home and starts his University. Can you tell me what route did you drive in Mexico??
Thanks and keep enjoying
PS Where are you traveling at this time?
Hi Robert,
Keep planning, you’ll get there. You will want to checkout WikiOverland, the encyclopedia of Overland Travel to help with all the planning you need.
In Mexico, I drove down Baja California to the end, the took a ferry to Mazatlan. From there, I drove down the West Coast until just south of Tehauntepec, then crossed over to Cancun, and continued South into Belize. Mexico is an amazing country, you will have a fantastic time.
All the best,
-Dan
[...] The Road Chose Me [...]
Hey Dan,
Awesome trip! Very jealous. Thanks for blogging it too, lots of great info. Looking to do the trip soon myself. I had a couple questions.
1. How easy was it finding camping areas along the way?
2. Any recommendations on vehicles? Was kind of thinking of buying a Hilux in Mexico and taking that down. There’d likely be 2-3 of us on the trip so we’d probably need a bigger vehicle.
3. You recommend standard or automatic on the vehicle? I figure the former would be easier to get worked on in South America. The latter might fetch a better price in Argentina though??
Anyway, would love to hear more. Thanks!
Hey Aaron,
I’m happy you found it useful. Checkout WikiOverland, the encyclopedia of Overland Travel For tons more information that is kept up to date by people on the road right now. When you hit the road, please take a few minutes to update sections that have changed so it’s more useful for everyone coming behind you. Thanks!
1. Not hard. Many countries have camping sites, or I often camped off the side of smaller roads. I was never bothered.
2. 4×4 is not an absolute must, but high clearance and good suspension is. A hilux would be ideal, though I think vehicles in Mexico are expensive… Also getting it into your name could take some time.
3. I’d go standard all the way to keep it simple, and give you more control up and down the big mountain passes you’ll find in the Andes. Better mileage too. As for selling in Argentina, you won’t be able to get full price for it anyway, because you can’t import it legally. You can read more about that here Overland Argentina Travel
Have fun, let me know when you hit the road!
-Dan