Choosing a Place to
Travel based on Cost
Outline
- Overvalued and undervalued currencies
- Ten common countries in the cheapest countries listings
- Least expensive destination in the Eastern Hemisphere
- Least expensive destination in the Western Hemisphere
- Safety Factor
- 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?
According to this Big Mac Index, Switzerland is the most expensive country, with the Big Mac overvalued by 18.8%. In addition, the Index shows South Africa as the least expensive country, with the Big Mac undervalued by 62.1%. Thus, according to this Index, South Africa would be the cheapest country to travel to and Switzerland would be the most expensive.�
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 following 10 destinations that I have listed are what I believe are the cheapest destinations to travel to mainly based on prices for lodging and meals (including drinks): 1. Vietnam, 2. Cambodia, 3. Thailand, 4. Laos, 5. India, 6. Peru, 7. Central America, 8. Ukraine, 9. Hungary, and 10. Greece.
In comparison to the modernized assessment at Indie Traveler, only a few of the places that I have mentioned above also are considered cheap travel destinations by the website. Countries that I view as cheap travel destinations along with Indie Travel include Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Ukraine, and Thailand. Other countries that I have read about but did not include in my list that Indie Travel did include in its list are the Baltic States (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia), Georgia (Caucasus), Mexico, Argentina, Nepal, Romania, Turkey, Indonesia, Armenia, Bolivia, Colombia, Philippines, Cuba, Guatemala and Morocco.
����������� In contrast to what I based my list of cheap travel destinations on according to lodging, food and drink prices, Indie Travel based their list of countries on mainly currency exchange against the U.S. dollar and the Euro/economic conditions and sightseeing activities. Only a few countries that Indie Travel discusses are considered cheap destinations based on lodging, food and drink prices.
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 trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in the Eastern Hemisphere, I selected my country based on the criteria of lodging, daily food and airfare costs.
My trip to Vietnam begins when I depart from Omaha Eppley Airfield on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 2:05PM. My first flight is a nonstop flight to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Washington that lasts 3 hours and 40 minutes. My plane arrives at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 3:45PM, local time.
Once I arrive at Seattle-Tacoma International, I wait there until my first flight bound for Vietnam departs at 1:30AM the following morning, Tuesday, March 31.
After 12 hours and 40 minutes on the plane, my flight lands at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5:10AM, local time. Once my flight has landed, I have a 2 hour and 10 minute layover at the airport. My plane then takes off again from Taiwan Taoyuan International at 7:20AM. My flight to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City is 3 hours and 25 minutes long. Finally, I land at the airport at 9:45AM, local time.
My hostel in Ho Chi Minh City:
Once my plane takes off from Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 3:55PM, I am back on the plane for 3 hours and 25 minutes on my way to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. I land at Taiwan Taoyuan International at 8:20PM, local time. At the airport, I have a 3 hour and 20 minute layover. After my layover, I depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International at 11:40PM. I am in the air for 10 hours and 50 minutes until my flight back to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport arrives at 7:30PM, local time.
My hotel in Seattle, Washington:
Finally, once I have arrived back at Seattle-Tacoma International, I wait until my flight back to Omaha Eppley Airfield departs at 5:55PM. My flight back to Omaha Eppley Airfield is a nonstop flight, lasting 3 hours and 20 minutes. I arrive home in Omaha at 11:15PM, local time, on Thursday, April 30, 2020.�
Total cost of Trip:
The total cost of my trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam comes to $1,225.40, including lodging, daily food and airfare costs.
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.
I chose to travel to Lima, Peru for my trip in the Western Hemisphere based on the criteria of lodging, food, and airfare costs.�
My trip to Lima, Peru begins on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 when my flight out of Omaha Eppley Airfield departs for Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California at 7:00AM. My flight is a nonstop, 3 hour and 36 minute flight that lands at Los Angeles International Airport at 8:36AM, local time.
Once my flight lands at Los Angeles International Airport, I wait all day until my first flight heading to Lima, Peru leaves at 11:30PM that night. I fly all night and land the next morning at Juarez International Airport in Mexico City, Mexico at 5:10AM, local time. After I land, I have a 3 hour and 15 minute layover at Juarez International. At the end of my layover, I board my next flight to Lima, which departs for the city at 8:25AM. My flight is exactly 6 hours long, landing at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima at 2:25PM, local time. At this point, I have from 3:00PM until midnight to check in to my hostel. I take care of this first thing after I leave the airport.
At the end of my stay in Lima, I begin my journey home on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 when my flight leaves Jorge Chavez International Airport at 7:05AM. I fly to Juarez International Airport in Mexico City and land at 1:25PM, local time. I have a layover at Juarez International Airport that lasts 6 hours and 10 minutes. At 7:35PM, my flight to Los Angeles International Airport leaves and lands at 9:40PM.� Once I get through the airport, I leave for the hostel that I�ve made reservations for so that I would not have to spend extra money on a late-night flight back to Omaha.�
Once I arrive at my hostel, I check in and then immediately go to bed. I wake up the next morning on July 9 and head back to Los Angeles International Airport. My flight to Omaha leaves at precisely 2:00PM and flies 2 hours and 55 minutes before landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a layover. My layover at Seattle-Tacoma International lasts an hour and 35 minutes. Finally, at 6:30PM, my flight from Seattle-Tacoma International leaves for Omaha Eppley Airfield and lands at the airport at 11:50PM, local time.�
My hostel in Lima, Peru:
The price shown here for my stay is higher than my own calculation, likely due to the inclusion of taxes. I did not include taxes in my own calculation.
My hostel in Los Angeles, California:
Total cost of trip:
The total cost of my trip to Lima, Peru comes to $1,008.40, including lodging, food, and airfare.
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?
According to these Global Peace Index rankings, Iceland is the safest country in the world. Unfortunately, the United States only ranks as the 121st safest country. When I saw this, I was shocked as well as a little bit frightened. I would think that with all of our rights, freedoms and laws that we would rank as one of the top-safest countries in the world. To be honest, this does make me concerned for not only my own safety, but for the safety of all American citizens. However, as mentioned before, with our laws and justice and legal systems, in comparison to other countries, I am convinced that we are overall a very safe country. As for the two countries I chose for my trips in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, Vietnam and Peru, both countries are considerably safe to travel to and live in. According to this Index, Vietnam is the 60th safest country in the world and Peru comes in as 74th.
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."
I both agree and disagree with this quote. I do believe that you can learn a great deal about the subjects listed above through experiencing them first-hand while abroad. You will not learn everything that there is to know about these subjects by going abroad, but real-life experience is always meaningful no matter what. Personally, one of the best ways I learn lessons (and then not ever forgetting what I learned) is through experience. I have been fortunate to travel abroad enough to say that the lessons pertaining to these subjects and other lessons I learned are ones that I cherish and will not ever forget. In addition, I also agree that with virtually everyone that has been out of college for a while, if you ask them how much they remember of what they learned in the classes they took, they will tell you that they don�t remember much. I have had this proven to me multiple times through the personal experience of asking people how much they remember from their college days and having them say to me, �Spence, I really don�t remember a whole lot.� On the other hand, I believe that what you learn in college about the subjects listed above as well as other useful information that could apply to travel after college could enrich your experiences abroad. For example, let�s say you take a class on the history of the Roman Empire. Someday, long after you�ve completed the class, you take a trip to Rome, Italy and go on a tour of an old colosseum that was built during the Roman Empire. Your experience of touring the colosseum will bring what you learned about it in the class to life! But this is just a small example. Even if you do not remember everything that you learned in class, you should at least have a foundation of the knowledge you obtained so that you can experience other countries and cultures abroad with a well-informed mind and eyes.�
Submitted by Spence Bridgman on 2/28/20.