Trip Statistics to Help With Planning - Our Mistakes !

[Polaris Overland]

Prior to our Big Trip 2017 which was our longest and most challenging trip to date we poured through previous Overlanders websites and social media to try and get a feel for how much it would cost us to live on the road.

There are lots of planning variables when it comes to trips, from countries you will be visiting and their cost of living to how you want to live and your budget.

For us as our trip was predominantly Europe so we knew it would be more expensive than perhaps an Africa or Asia trip for example. European costs of living are much higher especially in Scandinavia. One thing we did not realise is Bush Camping in a number of European countries is illegal or severely restricted. This resulted in us having the additional expense of camp sites which in Europe have an average cost of around €20 to €30 per night.

Another consideration was whether or not we would do "the tourist thing" and the financial implication of entrance fees, balloon rides etc would need to be budgeted. For us this was a resounding yes as we felt if we were to visit a country we wanted to visit everything it had to offer including the main visitor sites and to have missed them out would have made us feel we had not experienced the country fully.
Note though, we were there to visit the real country travelling to the less well known areas and meeting the real locals.

So with all this information we set ourselves a budget of £25k for a 12 month trip. We blew this budget in 8 months however as stated below there was a few reasons that this occurred such as the major vehicle repairs and a robbery in Spain and without these yes we would still have been looking at around £30k for 12 months.

What we did find however was the longer the trip progressed the more we got our budget under control and I would put this down to a number of things.

• Firstly in our case moving from a very comfortable existence in a big house with boats, multiple cars, eating out often to a Land Rover with a trailer and RTT took longer to adjust to than expected. Sleeping was fine but our old life made us extravagant. Once we started to control this extravagance our daily costs dropped substantially.

• Secondly the trailer. The decision to take the trailer was based on a number of reasons. Other Overlander forums we had contacted stated an extended trips in a 90 were very difficult due to a lack of space and storage. We were also used to having "things" and felt in the Landy alone we would not have enough storage. We were wrong and within a month we had already realised we didn't need so much and were shedding items where we could. Taking the trailer had its pros such as setting up a base camp for days and not needing to pack up to go exploring. But it was also fairly heavy and this affected our mpg and hence our costs. Additionally ferries and insurance was more expensive due to the trailer.

• Thirdly we ate out a lot more than we needed to and the longer the trip progressed the less we did this. By the end of the trip we would mostly cook our own meals and prefer to take a coffee or tea if out and about and wanting to mix with local people.

The Big Trip 2017 trip figures.

With regards the total expenditure a couple of things should be noted:-

• Major vehicle repairs:-

1. New Intercooler in Turkey.
2. Head Gasket replaced in Greece requiring a rental car on top of repairs.
3. A continual nuisance of a transfer gearbox leak that in total had the gearbox removed 3 times and required an additional return ferry crossing from Estonia to Finland.

• Robbed in Spain:- Near Barcelona Angela had her handbag robbed after we pulled over on the Toll Road. Although no money was taken we did lose both our passports, Angela's driving licence and a few other items. In order to continue our trip we had to pay for:-

1. Emergency passports,
2. Fly back to the UK,
3. Pay for new passports,
4. Car hire
5. 10 days stopping in the UK
6. Fly back to Spain.

Without these exceptional costs we would have been closer to our planned budget for a 12 month trip based on a predominantly European trip.

The Big Trip 2017 in Numbers

• Start Date:- 3rd April 2017
• End Date:- 3rd December 2017
• Miles travelled:- 23,096
• Days on the road:- 244
• Months on the road:- 8
• Countries visited:- 27 #(28)

Cyprus, Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia / Herzegovina, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, #Catalonia, Morocco, Portugal, England and Scotland.​

• Continents visited:- 3

Europe, Asia and Africa​

• Ferries taken:- 11

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to Turkey, Greece to Crete Return, ##Estonia to Finland Return x 2, Norway to Denmark, Spain to Morocco Return and Spain to England.​

• Average mpg:- 22.67
• Total Expenditure:- £23,948.09

# Catalonia added as a country on a technicality due to it declaring itself independent whilst we were there.
## Estonia to Finland Return x 2 due to leaking transfer gearbox which we needed to return to Estonia to get repaired.

In Summary.

By the end of the 8 month trip we had both realised we needed to get our costs under control. We also agreed we needed to change our set up and that we were carrying way too much equipment.

We are now in the process of planning and obtaining visas for our 2018 Trip to Mongolia and China. All that we have learned has now been used in the new plan.

• The trailer has been sold and the Hannibal RTT thats was very comfy has been replaced for a Hard Shell Gas Strut RTT.

• The rear of the Landy is being fitted out to utilise the available space but still allow easy access without the need to remove lots of boxes.

• It is also having a diesel heater fitted and the ability to sleep inside in an emergency or for stealth camping. It will not be the comfiest nights sleep but will be 100 times better than trying to sleep in a Land Rovers front seats.

• We are also get side storage lockers to increase the available storage space and keep dirty items outside as much as possible.

Hopefully all this information will help you in your planning and maybe not make the same mistakes that we did.
The pictures below show our route, a picture of myself and our old set up in the Moroccan desert and the third is our new Hard Shell RTT on the Landy before it went for getting the rear fitted out etc.

If you are interested in more information about our trips you can see our website www.polaris-overland.com or follow us on facebook and Instagram


Trip Map



Dave in Moroccan Desert - Merzouga


New Tent Mounted

 

[nickburt]

Good write up and thanks for sharing.
Been following you for a while now - looking forward to your next trip.

Agree whole heartedly about the theory of the longer you are on the road, the more refined your economy becomes as time passes - we're the same, just need to curb the "luxuries" from the start, but that's something that comes with more and more experience. We always start out with good intentions, but let slip during the early stages, then reign it in again later on.
As long as it's budgeted for, then it's no bad thing, nothing better than spoiling yourselves now and again, it doesn't have to be completely on a show string, and why should it be. It's a way of life, and a way that is specific to the person you are.

 

[Steve]

Welcome back, and wonderful information to pass on to other explorers! Thanks for detailing your trip.

 

[Polaris Overland]

Good write up and thanks for sharing.
Been following you for a while now - looking forward to your next trip.

Agree whole heartedly about the theory of the longer you are on the road, the more refined your economy becomes as time passes - we're the same, just need to curb the "luxuries" from the start, but that's something that comes with more and more experience. We always start out with good intentions, but let slip during the early stages, then reign it in again later on.
As long as it's budgeted for, then it's no bad thing, nothing better than spoiling yourselves now and again, it doesn't have to be completely on a show string, and why should it be. It's a way of life, and a way that is specific to the person you are.

Thank you and yes you are right. We have heard of people overlanding and never visiting any sites due to the expense. For us we feel this is missing out on something. A few things did catch us off guard and can get out of hand quickly unless you nip it in the bud.
Both of us are much better focused now for the next trip now we have an extended one under our belt.

I'm a firm believer that no one way is the perfect way and all of us have to experiment and find the way that works best for us.

 

[Polaris Overland]

Th

Welcome back, and wonderful information to pass on to other explorers! Thanks for detailing your trip.

Thanks Steve, hopefully it will help others to avoid some of the pitfalls we stepped into.

 

[nickburt]

Thank you and yes you are right. We have heard of people overlanding and never visiting any sites due to the expense. For us we feel this is missing out on something. A few things did catch us off guard and can get out of hand quickly unless you nip it in the bud.
Both of us are much better focused now for the next trip now we have an extended one under our belt.

I'm a firm believer that no one way is the perfect way and all of us have to experiment and find the way that works best for us.

To not visit or take in the local attractions/ambiance etc... is such a waste, why travel in the first place if you don't.
Our expenditure normally depends on the reason for being there, history, culture, cuisine etc... etc... but sometimes it can run away, and that's where the control is needed.
On the other hand, sometimes a place takes you by surprise and just warrants that extra expenditure to get 110% out of it. Regret is never recoverable.