ALL MY EXPENSES AND OTHER INTERESTING FACTS, AFTER 14 MONTHS IN AFRICA…
Many of you, are asking me how do I finance my trip and where do I find the money to pay for my accommodation, the petrol and the food that I need. People think that in order to do such a big trip you need to be a millionaire. Big mistake! Not only I’m not a millionaire but at the time I took the decision to start this adventure I was actually unemployed, with literally no money in my pockets.
So how is it possible?
First of all, I sold all the small and unnecessary things I had (a bicycle, my old mobile phone, some motorcycle cloths and accessories and another motorcycle I had – an Aprilia rs250). Then I was very lucky and I finally took a scholarship from my technical school after a five years delay (!) and some money as severance pay, all thanks to my...beloved government. But the most important of all is that I try to keep all of my expenses in a very low level! Usually, I prefer to sleep in my tent, I always travel in low speeds so my scooter consumes less petrol, I try to have only the absolutely necessary things with me and be as lightweight as possible (I’m not the best in this part but I’m working on it!) and most of the time, I cook my own food on a petrol stove avoiding all the fancy restaurants. So here are all the money that I spent and all of my expenses for the 438 days I had been traveling through Africa.
Days on the road: 438
Days spent in one place: 273 (62.34%)
Days on the road: 165 (37.66%)
Countries visited: 19 (Italy, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho)
Number of days in each country
South Africa: 84 (19.19%)
Democratic Republic of Congo: 79 (18.05%)
Zambia: 30 (6.84%)
Namibia: 30 (6.84%)
Morocco: 26 (5.93%)
Mali: 23 (5.25%)
Burkina Faso: 22 (5.02%)
Cameroon: 20 (4.56%)
Republic of Congo: 18 (4.11%)
Ghana: 18 (4.11%)
Senegal: 17 (3.88%)
Botswana: 15 (3.42%)
Mauritania: 12 (2.73%)
Togo: 11 (2.51%)
Nigeria: 10 (2.28%)
Italy: 8 (1.82%)
Western Sahara: 8 (1.82%)
Lesoto: 5 (1.14%)
Benin: 2 (0.45%)
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JOIN THE WORLDVESPA CREW!Total distance traveled: 34,310km
Average distance covered per day: 73km
Average fuel consumption: 4.315 liters / 100km
Petrol I used: 1,480 liters
790km (2.3%) on ships
1,520km (4.4%) on trucks
32,000km (93.4%) on the Vespa from which:
- 25,450km on paved roads (79,53%)
- 6,550km on dirt roads (20,47%)
Accommodation
Campsites (in my own tent): 145 nights (33,11%)
Wild camping: 102 nights (23,31%)
Guest in friends’ houses: 73 nights (16,66%)
Couchsurfing.com: 65 nights (14,85%)
Hotels: 37 nights (8,45%)
Trucks: 13 nights (2,96%)
Ships: 3 nights (0,69%)
Average accommodation cost
Campsites: 4,48€ / night
Hotels: 6,38€ / night
Visa cost
* inside the parenthesis I write the name of the city where I bought the visa
Democratic Republic of Congo: 124€ (in Lome)
Nigeria: 112€ (in Ouagadougou)
Republic of Congo: 105€ (in Lome)
Cameroon: 90€ (in Abuja)
Senegal: 52.5€ (online)
Togo: 52€ (in Accra)
Ghana: 45€ (in Bamako)
Namibia: 40€ (in Lusaka)
Zambia: 40€ (in Lubumbashi)
Burkina Faso: 35€ (in Bamako)
Mauritania: 30€ (in Kenitra)
Mali: 16€ (in Nouakchott)
Benin: 11€ (in Accra)
Total: 752.5€
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The total of my expenses
So here is the total. Every single day of this trip I keep detailed notes of all the money that I spend, the exact amount of petrol I buy and all the information that I think that may be useful.
In the «supermarket» category I put all the supplies I buy from the supermarkets and small markets, and which are not cooked and ready for consumption (when talking for food). For example if I stop in a supermarket and buy a burger with chips and a juice, this will automatically go to the «food» category where I place all the money I spend in restaurants or for street food.
Petrol: 1,268€ (23.09%)
Supermarket: 1,164€ (21.23%)
Accommodation: 886€ (16.15%)
Food (restaurants, street food): 786€ (14.32%)
VISA: 753€ (13.71%)
Various: 212€ (3.86%)
Insurances, tolls, etc: 190€ (3.46%)
Spare parts, oil, etc: 128€ (2.33%)
Sightseeing: 104€ (1.89%)
5,491€ in total or 12.53€ per day!
p.s. I cannot forget and I feel that I have to mention the help I got from all my sponsors scootershop.gr, Drift, ELPA, Reevu, Planetsim and SBIA before and during the trip. Of course the help that I also got from many of you individually. I want to thank all of you guys! Without your help this amazing adventure would be just another dream!
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24 Comments on “Africa: The cost of the trip”
Thanks for all the tips guys! I myself am planning a trans African trip on a moto and I am excited /nervous all at once. What paperwork/documents do you device to take on the road? Birth certificate, licenses, insurance….?
Any tips about the visas?
Hello Sergio,
You’re welcome!
Tip for the visas: We’d always process the visa for the upcoming country in the country we were at that moment. We couldn’t / didn’t want to predict with much detail our schedule, so we preferred to do it this way. We could always go to the embassies and have the visas ready (usually in every country’s capital). We don’t think that you will find any difficulty in processing the visas while in Africa already. On the contrary, we think it will be more complicated if you try to have them beforehand. It will put pressure on you to be always on time and in case you want to stay somewhere for more time or in case of a breakdown of your vehicle, time will be always chasing you…
Paperwork: In general, it’s a good idea to have as many as you can. It won’t be easy for the authorities to make your life difficult in border crossings. Show them papers and have enough time to make them tired of you!
Good luck with your African plans!
Best,
Stergios & Alexandra
hello my name is Nazar from Indonesia.
im 26 years now.
i have a plan in the future (saving money for 3 years) to go 5 continents with my vespa super 78.
first of all i just want to know is it possible tour around the world with the original machine by vespa it self? and how to maintain?
i have knowledge and understanding about vespa machine but not that details.
and do you bring all the tools for repair the machine?
cheers,
Nazar
Hello Nazar,
Thanks for following our trip!
After 2.5 years of travelling on our completely stock PX200 we can say that yes, it is possible to tour around the world with the original Vespa engine.
If it is in good working condition and you do some service in a regular basis while on the road, then it will be fine.
When we travel we do the same things we do when we’re at home. Change the gearbox oil, the spark-plug, clean the air filter, the carburettor, lubricate the cables etc.
We don’t have all the tools needed but the most common ones (screwdriver, wrench etc) and some of the most special ones (like the tool for disassembling the clutch ring nut).
We also have some -small- spare parts in case something goes wrong (clutch disks, ignition unit, pickup, stator assembly, gear selector, some cables etc).
We wish you good luck! And if you need any other info, don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Best,
Stergios&Alexandra
Είσαι Θεός, σε παρακολουθώ συνέχεια!
Γεια σου ρε Ριχάρδε! Να είσαι καλά!
Καλή χρονιά Χρήστο κι ευχαριστώ πολύ για το σχόλιο!
Έχουμε και όλα τα έξοδα της Νότιας Αμερικής (αναλυτικά) αλλά ψάχνουμε λίγο χρόνο για να τα ανεβάσουμε κι αυτά.
Καλά ταξίδια!
Στέργιο μπράβο ρε φίλε. Αναλυτικότατος και επεξηγηματικός οσο δεν πάει.Λύνεις όλες τις απορείες για όλους μας, απο επίδοξους μελοντικους ταξιδευτές, μέχρι και απλούς παρατηρητές της ιστορίας σου και όλα αυτά για πάνω απο ενα χρόνο!! και πάλι μπράβο σου.
keep riding…
ΧΑΧΑΧΑ, δεν είμαι έτσι ακριβώς όπως με φαντάζεσαι…
Κι εγώ μια απ’ τα ίδια με ‘σενα είμαι νομίζω, απλά επειδή ήθελα να μοιραστώ όλες τις πτυχές του ταξιδιού (και μια απ’ αυτές ήταν και το οικονομικό), αναγκάστηκα να βγάλω τεφτέρι και να τα γράφω όλα!
Όσο για τη μνήμη μου, όσοι με ξέρουν προσωπικά και διαβάσουν το σχόλιό σου, νομίζω πως θα γέλασαν αρκετά!
πάντως ρε Στέργιο πρέπει να είσαι από τους πιο τακτικούς ανθρώπους !
Αν είναι δυνατόν !
Προσωπικά κάνω μια διαδρομή από Αθήνα – Ιερή πόλη Μεσολογγίου τα τελευταία 15 χρόνια με μοτοσυκλέτα και ποτέ δεν κατάφερα να συγκρατήσω κόστος διοδίων – βενζίνης!!!
Υ.Γ.δεν μου περισσεύουν αλλά δεν έχω μυαλό – είμαι ακατάστατος – βαριέμαι;;;
Σε ζηλεύω για τη μνήμη σου!
“Αλφαδειά” είσαί!
Μας έχεις πάρει τα μυαλά κι ας κακολογείς τα GS!
Να’σαι καλά! Δεν τα κακολογώ μωρέ, απλά λέω τα πράγματα με τ’όνομά τους! ΧΑΧΑΧΑ!
Καρντάση καλή συνέχεια. Σε παρακολουθώ απ΄τη πρώτη μέρα βλέποντας και απολαμβάνοντας τα βιντεάκια σου. Να είσαι γερός και δυνατός να μας <<ταξιδεύεις>> καβάλα και εμάς στην ΡΧ σου(είμαι και εγώ ευτυχής κάτοχος μιάς ολοκαίνουριας PX 150 mod 2011)μαζί σου όπου πας.
Σ’ ευχαριστώ πολύ καρντάσι, καλά χιλιόμετρα!!!
Σου ευχομαι πολλες και ασφαλης διαδρομες, υγεια και να συνεχιζεις παντα να κανεις τα ονειρα σου πραγματικοτητα ….ειναι το μονο που μετραει στην ζωη αυτη ,να ζεις και να πραγματοποιεις τα ονειρα σου!Για μας λοιπον αυτο που μας φερνει πιο κοντα στη πραγματοποιησει του ονειρου … ειναι το ταξιδι με μοτο! ΠΑΝΤΑ ΤΕΤΟΙΑ ΑΔΕΡΦΕ …..
Ευχαριστώ φίλε μου!
ωραίος την άλλη φορά γράψε τη λεφτά ξόδεψες πριν φύγεις σε χαρτούρα
Έγινεεε!!!!
Πάρα πολύ ενημερωτικό!! Ευχαριστούμε πολύ! Και στα δικά μας ευχόμαι 😛 και καλά μελλοντικά δικά σου ταξίδια
στεργιο ολα αυτα που περιγραφεις ως εξοδα σιγουρα ειναι αληθεια.αλλα ποιο σημαντικο και απο τα χρηματα ειναι η μαγκια που χρειαζεται καποιος γεια την εκπληρωση τετοιου ταξιδιου.και εσυ την ειχες.να περνας παντα καλα οπου και αν βρισκεσαι…
Μάκη όλο το θέμα είναι η απόφαση.
Το 95% της δυσκολίας εκεί κρύβεται!!!
Συνέχισε καλά πάς,είμαι περίεργος να δώ που θα φτάσεις,μας έχεις εντυπωσιάσει !!!!!
αφου ο Εμμανουηλιδης σε παραδεχεται (ζηλευει!) εγω δεν μπορω να πω παρα ενα ΕΥΓΕ !
ΤΕΛΟΣ ! Είσαι Θεός