My first month on the road was spread between 10 days at home in Massachusetts, 8 days in Washington, and 13 days in China.

I’m not going to talk about those last few days at home because I really didn’t spend much at all - maybe $40 for gas - so I’m not going to bother writing about it.

What you guys probably really care about is how much I’ve spent while traveling!

I’m going to state the prices in both the local currency and US dollars so you can get an idea of prices at home and abroad.

First let’s break it down by location.

WASHINGTON (Seattle/Bainbridge Island)

I stayed with family on Bainbridge Island for the duration of my stay here so that cut down on my spending costs big time. Thanks Quitslund clan!

Total time: 8 days

Food: $53.43 (avg. $6.54/day) - lots of amazing ice cream was had. This also includes meals/snacks at the airports in both Boston and Seattle.

Transport: $15 - My relatives let me use their van one day to visit a friend for the evening and, noticing the gas gauge was a bit low I topped it up a bit. Other than that I was graciously transported from one place to another by my family.

Sightseeing: $95 - This was the cost of the whale watching trip and the only sightseeing activity that I paid for.

Total spent: $166.08

Average spent per day: $20.76

Again this number would have been significantly higher if not for my amazing family putting me up for the wonderful week I spent in the Pacific Northwest.

CHINA (Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou)

I spent 13 days in China during the month of September but will continue to remain in the country until the middle of October. However since this is a monthly travel budget roundup I’ll just stick to what I spent here in September. Later I’ll post a budget for China alone and you can see what I spent during my entire stay in the country.

Total time: 13 days

Accomodation: 660 CNY or $107.54 (avg. 50.77 CNY/day or $8.27/day). All of my accommodation was spent in hostel dorms so lodging was relatively cheap.

Food: 421.74 CNY or $68.72 (avg. 32.44 CNY/day or $5.29/day). I stuck to mostly street food. Very inexpensive.

Transport: 982.50 CNY or $160.09 (avg. 75.58 CNY/day or $12.32/day). Moving is always the most expensive part of travel. I try to keep it to a minimum and use public transport whenever possible.

Sightseeing: 735 CNY or $119.76 (avg. 56.54 CNY/day or $9.21/day). Mostly from visiting temples or gorgeous parks.

Other: 15 CNY or $2.44. I bought a panda pin for my backpack at the Chengdu Giant Panda Center.

Total spent: 2814.24 CNY ($458.45)

Average spent per day: 216.48 CNY ($35.27)

Total for entire month (30 days): $624.43

Average for entire month (30 days): $20.81

The total I spent for the entire month of September is about what I paid for rent plus utilities in San Diego…and less expensive than rent alone in when I lived in Connecticut.

I know that I spent some of the time at home and more being put up by family but looking at the first 13 days in China I still only spent an average of $35.27/day and that included a bullet train from Beijing to Xi’an, a 16 hour train ride form Xi’an to Chengdu, and a 10 hour bus ride to and from Jiuzhaigou National Park.

It does have a lot to do with the way I’m currently traveling which involves hostel dorms and street food - not everyone’s cup of tea I understand.

But right now $4-5/night hostels and dumplings from the woman on the side of the road works for me.

And hostels really aren’t all that bad! Check out this lovely little gem I found in Lijiang, China. Very cozy.

So far so good I think!

Think I’ve spent too much already in China? Surprised by the cost of travel so far?