Choosing a Place to Travel based on Cost


Outline

  1. Overvalued and undervalued currencies
  2. Ten common countries in the cheapest countries listings
  3. Least expensive destination in the Eastern Hemisphere
  4. Least expensive destination in the Western Hemisphere
  5. Safety Factor
  6. 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 the Big Mac Index, in Switzerland, the Big Mac is priced at 6.54. While in Egypt, a Big Mac is priced at 1.75. So in Switzerland it is overvalued by 1.03, while in Egypt, it is undervalued by 3.75. Based on this index, it looks like Malaysia, Russia, Ukraine and Egypt would be the cheapest to travel to. While Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Canada would be the most expensive to travel to.

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.

1.      India

2.      Thailand

3.      Nepal

4.      Egypt

5.      Peru

6.      Indonesia

7.      Costa Rica

8.      Vietnam

9.      Argentina

10.  Cambodia

While reading Leffel�s chapter, a positive I noticed about traveling to India and Nepal other than affordability, was that the locals know English, so there isn�t much of a language barrier to worry about. At 22,000 dong per U.S. dollar, Vietnam is a very affordable destination as well. With how convenient it is to convert money in Cambodia, it looks like a good travel destination too. According to the nomadic matt website, everything in Cambodia is priced in dollars, which makes purchasing things very easy.

Least expensive destination in the Eastern Hemisphere

From this list, the Big Mac Index and the most inexpensive airfares, 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.

I chose Cambodia. I like how you can really stretch the U.S. dollar here, and the way everything is priced is another added convenience. According to the Nomadic Matt website, you can get a meal in Cambodia for 1-3 dollars. At most, food would cost around 189 U.S. dollars for 3 meals a day with the Nomadic Matt numbers. Adding the meal cost to the flights and lodging, total this trip will cost $1,403.

 

Least expensive destination in the Western Hemisphere

From this list, the Big Mac Index and the most inexpensive airfares, 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.

Originally, I chose Cuba as my destination because of how surprisingly cheap flights were. For legal reasons though, I figured Costa Rica would be more convenient. Costa Rica ended up being extremely affordable as well. After doing some research, I was surprised to see how much food cost in Costa Rica. According to costa-rica-guide.com, just for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with nothing else, I�ll spend about 20 dollars a day on food. With food, lodging, and flight, total cost will be $1,358.

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 the Global Peace Index, Iceland would be the safest at #1. While the U.S. is ranked #121, in between Armenia and Myanmar. Cambodia is ranked at #96, while Costa Rica is #40.

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 definitely see the point Leffel is tying to make. I think one can get different experiences that are valuable in their own right through both travel and college. I�ve spent a lot of time abroad as a civilian and in the military. My time in Japan, Germany, Kuwait, and Oman were all very valuable life experiences. The skills I learned and used in these places abroad would be valuable in the U.S. workforce as well. This doesn�t mean that college doesn�t have its place though. College is more of a meeting of the minds, one can see how other people think, be challenged by conflicting views, and learn new ways of thinking as well. With that, the way I see it, traveling helps a person gain experience and develop their own point of view. While college is more like a wet stone to help refine one�s way of thinking.


Submitted by Davis Clouse on February 20 2019.