Choosing a Place to Travel based on Cost

Outline

1. Overvalued and undervalued currencies
2. Ten common countries in the cheapest countries listings
3. Least expensive destination in the Eastern Hemisphere
4. Least expensive destination in the Western Hemisphere
5. Safety Factor
6. What do you think of the Leffel quote

Overvalued and undervalued currencies

Using the formula in the Big Mac Index interactive site, how much is the Big Mac overvalued in the most expensive country, and how much is it undervalued in the least expensive? Which countries would be the cheapest for travel, and which would be the most expensive based on this index?

Luckily living in the U.S. our dollar goes a lot farther in some countries than other currencies ever could. The most expensive country being Switzerland, overvalued at 18.4% making it the most expensive country for travel on the U.S. dollar. The cheapest country being South Africa, undervalued at 62% making it the cheapest country for travel.

Ten common countries in the cheapest countries listings

Read the Leffel chapter and the other links provided to derive a list of the 10 cheapest countries for travel. Compare this with a more modern assessment at Indie Traveller.

The ten countries I found in common among these two lists were: Vietnam, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, Turkey, Indonesia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Thailand, and Morocco.

Least expensive destination in the Eastern Hemisphere

From the above, the Big Mac Index and the most inexpensive airfares you found, find the least expensive destination in the eastern hemisphere for a three-week trip. What criteria did you use to select the country? Insert airfare graphic that shows how you would get to the country. Insert a graphic of an inexpensive lodging. What would be the total cost of the 3-week trip? (The idea here is that cheap lodging over three weeks will counter a more expensive airfare. So, look for the cheapest lodging and find a moderate airfare to that location.) Estimate daily food costs.

For my location in the Eastern Hemisphere I decided to go with Bengaluru (Bangalore), India. After researching quite a bit I'm realizing this may not have been the cheapest location to choose. I decided this location at first based on cost of flight because it did seem to be one of the most reasonable options with short enough layovers there wasn't a need for having to find a place to stay for the night. I used skyscanner to find my flights. Once choosing this location I looked into public transportation (which was not recommended on any reviews) as well as cost for stay which was a little more expensive than other destinations could have been. In total the cost of my flight ended up being $768 for the three week period. I saw recommendations of renting a scooter to get around the area which in total for the three weeks came out to be $54, that way I could avoid the hassle of public transportation. I found my lodging on Airbnb.com in total cost for the three weeks of $310. The Airbnb had great reviews and was in a popular and safe area, I decided it couldn't get much better than an entire apartment to myself for $13 a night, if traveling with another person cutting that cost in half as well making it cheaper. For food I researched and found out the cheapest meals cost about $2.50 and so I planned on spending around $160 on food for the duration of my stay. In all, I think I could have found a cheaper destination, Bangalore seems to be a pricier spot in India than others may have been but it also seemed like a exciting place to visit. My trip in total came out to be $1,289.50.

Least expensive destination in the Western Hemisphere

From the above, the Big Mac Index and the most inexpensive airfares you found, find the least expensive destination in the western hemisphere for a three-week trip. What criteria did you use to select the country? Insert airfare graphic that shows how you would get to the country. Insert a graphic of an inexpensive lodging. What would be the total cost of the 3-week trip? (The idea here is that cheap lodging over three weeks will counter a more expensive airfare. So, look for the cheapest lodging and find a moderate airfare to that location.) Estimate daily food costs.

For my location in the Western Hemisphere I chose Mexico City, Mexico. With seeing Mexico on multiple lists of cheap travel destinations I figured I'd look into flight costs which ended up being only $397 with great travel time overall. Public transportation in Mexico is very inexpensive, bus rides costing just about $0.25 I budgeted about $1 a day for transportation, which equals out to $21. For my stay I also used Airbnb to find a decently safe location with good reviews and accommodations. I found a private Airbnb for just $8 a night, including fees the total for the duration of my stay came out to be $224. Now for food, after doing research most answers I got were to plan and spend $10 USD a day on food. The total for the 21 days coming out to be $210. In all this trip came out to be $852 for the three week stay.

Safety Factor

Consider the safety factor in the destination you have chosen. Take a look the Global Peace Index rankings (A ranking of countries based on the Peace Index begins on p. 8.) Which country would be the safest? Where is the United States ranked? Where do your chosen countries rank?

On the ranking it shows Iceland as the safest country. The United States being more towards the bottom of the list at 121 out of 163. My chosen countries aren't very high on the list either, India ranked 136 and Mexico ranked 140 out of 163. This may have something to do with cheaper travel as well.

What do you think of the Leffel quote:

"You'll learn far more than you ever did at a university.
Remember the old days when people got a liberal arts education? They went to Oxford or Princeton to learn about history, politics, social studies, geography, religion, foreign languages, and economics. Well you'll learn far more about all those things by traveling than you ever can in college. Ask anyone in their 30's how much they remember about these subjects from their university classes. "Not much" will usually sum it up."

This one was tough for me to answer, as much as I would love to not graduate with thousands of dollars in debt from my college education and be able to travel endlessly to learn as much as I possibly can, I don't fully agree with this quote. I do believe if you actually put in the effort to immerse yourself in the country's history, language, culture, etc that you could learn more than being in a classroom. But most people travel to new place for the "experience" or to say they've visited that location. Not always are people traveling to really learn of the area. Without doing your research before and knowing the basics of a destination you may show up completely clueless and not enjoy your time in that country because you threw yourself in the situation without being prepared. In my opinion I do believe a college education is important to have background knowledge and also to further yourself to the point of financially being able to travel whenever you please.

Submitted by Hannah Lambert on 2/28/2020.