Our trip to Taiwan was a ton of fun. We visited Kaohsiung and Taipei, with a quick stop in between in Taichung for some tasty boba tea. But how much did it cost us?
If you remember my post on how I create an initial trip budget, you’ll recall I break it down into five categories:
For this report, I’ll start by presenting a total for each category, then add it all up at the end to get a grand total. I’ll also divide by the number of days we spent in Taiwan to get a daily average.
All totals are per person. For the sake of simplicity, monetary exchange valuations are calculated using today’s (May 18, 2014) rates, as provided by Google.
Transportation
- US$473.83 for plane tickets and Taiwan High Speed Rail reservations.
- ¥11,260(US$110.90) for night buses and train tickets in Tokyo.
- NT$1136.5(US$37.73) for various local transportation costs in Taiwan. (Jeff actually spent NT$3[US$0.10] more than I did.)
Total: US$622.46 for me and US$622.56 for Jeff
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Accommodation
- US$5.11 for online downpayment for hostel reservation
- NT$2655(US$88.15) for hostel in Kaohsiung
Total: US$93.26 each
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Food
- Jeff spent NT$4758.5 (US$157.99)
- I spent NT$3581.5 (US$122.23)
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Adventure and Sightseeing
We only spent money on three “attractions”: seeing Captain America 2, going up to the Taipei 101 observatory, and buying a floating lantern in Shihfen. Together, these cost us NT$835(US$27.72).
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Miscellany
Laundry, an umbrella when we got stuck in the rain, souvenirs, etc.
- Jeff spent NT$624(US$20.74)
- I spent NT$1050(US$34.86)
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Grand Total
- Jeff spent a total of US$922.27.
- I spent a total of US$900.53
This trip took us ten days, which means Jeff spent an average of US$92 a day, and I spent an average of US$90 a day. Most of that went toward transportation and food. (top)
All in all not too bad for a week-and-a-half-long trip. We could have made it a bit cheaper by finding a Couchsurfing host in Kaohsiung instead of staying in a hostel; the daily average would have decreased as well if we had stayed for longer than ten days.
Are you surprised by how much we spent? Let us know in the comments!