By: MJ + PJ
INTRODUCTION
This post is the third of three post-trip analysis posts which covers what we got up to, how much it cost, how we got around, and how these aspects panned out over different regions and countries. The three posts are:
- Costs by Country
- Accommodation and Activities
- Transportation – this post – containing:
- Transport Mode, by Frequency of Use
- Transport Mode Use, by Country
- Km Travelled and Average Daily Cost, by Country
- Average Kilometres Traveled per Day, by Month
As we progressed through our months travelling, we kept track of our daily activities and costs on a spreadsheet. That record can be found on our 365 Data page – it now serves as an overview of basic metrics. To provide information on how to search the spreadsheet, we also published a post titled 365 Data: Searching the Data.
TRANSPORTATION CHARTS
This page looks at aspects of the transport we utilized over the course of the year. While you are not likely to travel to the same countries at the same time or for the same durations, you can get an idea of regions in what we report here.
If you have questions, please ask in the comments section at the base of this post. Doing so will enable other readers to read additional discussion.
CHART SUMMARY:
For this chart we coded each day for primary transport mode used. On multi-type days, we listed the mode of transport used for the longest distance that day. If we really did not go anywhere significant from our overnight location, we logged it as a rest day.
DISCUSSION POINTS:
Private vehicle use stands out as it was how we moved around North America. We spent three months there and were on the road almost continuously. We had a Eurail Pass while in Europe for three months and used trains heavily while there.
In South America and Asia we walked on many days as there was much to see close to our accommodation in Cusco (Peru), Sucre (Bolivia), Patagonia, and Siem Reap Cambodia. Our five day Mt Ausangate trek and five day Patagonia trek were included in the walking count.
CHART SUMMARY:
This chart shows what modes of transport we used in each country. You may notice that most countries have two to three dominant modes. As for the previous chart, mode of transport on a day was coded here for the mode with the longest distance per day.
DISCUSSION POINTS:
Canada (private vehicle), The Netherlands (local train), and Scotland (local bus) were the only countries where we only used one mode of transport the entire time. While this can make daily travel predictable and easier (thanks to one schedule and system to understand) for the most part it’s not a practical goal when travelling. It’s better to find the cheapest way or least hassle way to get around – particularly if there are children involved.
For most European countries we relied heavily on trains (local and/or long distance) as we had purchased a Eurail Pass. See our post about that decision and how we used it HERE.
The only country we used six different modes in was England. In Peru, Chile, Portugal, Belgium, and Cambodia we primarily walked on 50% of days. We used Uber heavily in Brazil as it was widespread, mostly reliable, and a reasonably safe option – but you need an internet or mobile network connection to use it!
CHART SUMMARY:
These charts are in km because only a few countries use miles – divide these totals by 1.61 to obtain mileage if you are from one of those countries. We sorted this chart by total distance travelled within each country, then overlaid the average country daily costs. The chart does not include overnight transit days between countries (long haul flights or sleeper train).
DISCUSSION POINTS:
There is a clear outlier on this chart! We covered a lot of distance in our vehicle in the US, in a disfigured-of-8 path, almost reaching 21,000km. This is because we had a private vehicle, were in a large country, took numerous side trips here and there, and rarely used other modes of transport. The US transport infrastructure is set up for this kind of travel.
At the other end of the chart lies Scotland – it is a small country, and even though we were there 7 days, we stayed entirely in Edinburgh. We wished to travel further afield but MJ was sick, we were trying to establish a plan for delaying our entry to the Schengen Zone, and there was plenty to do in the city.
The thin line of cost shows that there was no correlation between how far we travelled in a country and what the average cost per day was. Type of activity and the country you are in, are more significant factors for estimating cost. Looking at cost per km travelled within a country (not the mode of transport cost, but the total country expenditure divided by km travelled) there was a general trend from $2.50-$3.40/km for the least roamed countries, to $0.40-$0.80/km for the most roamed countries.
CHART SUMMARY:
This chart excludes overnight transit distances, so reflects the distances within each country. Leaving the overnight transits in disproportionately blew out the months that had a long haul transit occur during the month.
DISCUSSION POINTS:
In June through November 2018, we were in the Americas (203km/day average). The first three months match the US driving travel, and November matches the southern South America travel. October we were in Peru – a large country but we were mostly based in and around Cusco and had many rest days. Being in Europe with shorter distances between cities brought the average monthly distances down (168km/day average) – it wasn’t because we were getting tired! June and July was in Australia – we had a private vehicle, but were roaming around one region not exploring the whole country like in the US or southern South America.
CONCLUSION
This brings this series of three posts to a close! It has been some time since we last posted, and this is a reflection of the complexity of writing these posts and recent changes in our lifestyle and location!
As mentioned in the contextual information in the first post on Country Costs: When we were planning our family year of travel, we were unable to find answers for many of the questions we were asking. We believe what we have published in these three posts is the type of information that would have answered many of those questions.
We hope this information helps your family get a better feel and deeper insight into the nuances of moving through the regions and continents and countries listed. Every travel experience is different, and it is not always easy – when reading these posts we also hope you develop a greater sense of how to manage your long term travel based on these four key aspects: cost, accommodation, activities, and transport.
As we were editing these particular posts, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. We feel lucky to have had the opportunity to travel in what was a very open and free moving world not long before everything changed. While we had completed our adventure and settled again just before the pandemic hit, we know of families who were on the brink of starting theirs, or deep in the planning stages of a trip. To those families we say:
“It is still and always will be worth it. It is frustrating to delay or detour or reset your plans, but treat this like a missed flight or train – do the best you can to get your adventure back in action. You’ll never regret it once you start, and you’ll never forget it once you’ve finished.”
There are plenty more posts to come from us on a variety of topics. As we put those together to round out the recount, stories and advice from our family adventure, we will try to answer your questions related to these data heavy and technical posts.
Our other two pages in this set of three can be found via the buttons below:
