budget: £30 GBP / $46 USD per day
total budget: £930 / $1426
total spent: £848 / $1384
avg. daily spend : £27 / $44.6
all costs are for two people
days on budget: 3%
days under budget: 68%
days over budget: 29%
This month took us from Medellin to within sniffing distance of Ecuador, and over a large section of the country. We travelled to small Colombian cowboy towns, the home of coffee and the cocora trees, the capital (with some disappointment), to the land of salsa and back into the hills in the south. We hiked a lot, ate an enormous amount of trout and far too many cakes. We rode horses controlled by whistles from a toothless man named Pompocho and explored a civilisation the history books have forgotten before celebrating Semana Santa with the most religious people in Colombia. It was great to be back on the road and discovering what else the country had in store for us.
And...? Fist bumps all round, we came in under budget. Again.
Want to know where our money went? Keep reading to find out!
total: £355 / $579
avg. cost per double room: £11.5 / $18.7
most expensive: £15.6 / $25.5. A double room in Popayan during Semana Santa
cheapest: £8.3 / $13.6. A pretty average room in San Agustin
accommodation: 42%
total: £136 / $222
Being back on the road, literally means being, well, back on the road and a return to the national bus system. Thankfully with low-season upon us, we were able to haggle a couple of prices down, and with the exception of a couple of night buses, we stuck to the cheap and cheerful companies.
transport: 16%
total: £80.5 / $131.5
We really didn't eat out that much during this month, which is definitely reflected in this figure - less than 10% on restaurant food is pretty good going.
eating out: 9.5%
total: £50 / $81
After a month of partying in Medellin, our livers deserved a well earned rest in March. Sure, we still had the odd bottle of wine or litre of beer, but with only one or two blow-outs we felt much better!
alcohol: 6%
total: £111 / $181
The standard of kitchen hostels this month was very hit and miss. Whilst we were lucky to find a couple of beauties, the worst meant a few too many dinners of instant noodles and big bowls of nutrient lacking pasta and red sauce.
groceries: 13%
total: £71 / $115
We did do a lot of stuff in March - promise! But as it turns out, a lot of it was free, or at least fairly cheap. The biggest cost was definitely the horse-riding in San Agustin. Our butts didn't forgive us for a few days, but we had a great time!
activities: 8%
total: £28 / $45
Cakes in Colombia are really, really good, OK?! And when you have a cake, you need coffee :)
sweets & treats: 3%
total: £10 / $17
A month without the need for sunscreen was friendly on the purse.
toiletries: 1%
total: £6.5 / $11
We were eyeing up the Colombian poncho for weeks, and whilst we definitely don't look nearly as cool as the guys riding the horses, it was a necessary investment!
clothes: 0.7%
total: £0 / $0
Yet another month in Colombia meant that at least we could save money crossing borders.