For many, travelling the world is such a lofty dream that only the rich can have, but did you know that with just ₦30,000 you can travel to Benin republic? We spoke to some travellers who have been to many countries across many continents about travelling with a Nigerian passport, and they answered the million-dollar question, “How much money do you need to travel the world?” Hint: it’s not a million dollars 😉
Meet Sam and Amarachi
Sam had been working as a travel writer for AfroTourism for many years. After he left, he realized he didn’t just want to write about travelling; he wanted to do it himself. Amarachi travelled with her parents in Nigeria until 2015, when she decided to take her first solo trip to Europe, and on that trip, she caught the travel bug.
Before Sam and Amarachi gave us the exact number of what is needed to travel the world, they gave us a list of things you’d be spending money on if you’re travelling with a Nigerian passport.
Visas: For most countries of the world, if you’re a Nigerian passport holder, you’ll need a visa to be allowed entry. Entry into ECOWAS countries and some other African countries is visa-free for Nigerians. If you want to save money but still get an international experience, you can start with visa-free options. It would cost between $2 to around $300 to get a single entry visa, depending on the country you’re going to.
Flights/bus/train tickets: With transportation, the earlier you book your ticket, the better. It’s also cheaper to travel in off-peak periods than in peak periods like Christmas/New Year’s. You can travel fairly cheaply by bus. Amarachi spent less than ₦10k travelling to 2 countries outside Nigeria by bus.
You also need to consider accommodation and feeding. If you are courageous enough, you can find options that fit your budget. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on the 5-star experience if you don’t have the money for that. You can save all the money for fun activities on your trip. Speaking of activities, the next expense Sam told us about was…
Tours and activities: The joy of travelling is in the experience you get from what you do in the new place you go to. Sam spares no expense when it comes to activities while travelling. In fact, he admits that this is one of the key reasons he tends to go over budget often. After all, Bungee jumping and lion walking in a new country is too exciting an activity to turn down.
COVID tests: In the era of COVID, one key expense you need to consider is COVID test. The average travel compliant covid test around the world costs around ₦50,000.
Finally but certainly not least, miscellaneous costs: Amarachi and Sam encourage all travellers to always budget for miscellaneous expenses. That is, have some money on hand for any expected expense because with travelling, you can almost be sure that they’ll come.
Now that we know the expenses we need to consider when travelling, what are some tried and tested tips for staying within our budget?
The first tip Amarachi gave us was to set a realistic budget for the trip. Don’t budget to spend ₦20k when COVID tests alone cost ₦50k. Consider all the things we highlighted above and set aside a budget for miscellaneous expenses to accommodate unplanned or unforeseen expenses.
Also, do adequate research on the cost of the trip you want to make. Travel blogs and forums share posts on trip cost breakdown. That’s always a good place to start.
And if you find yourself going over budget, it’s important to start tracking your costs. This way, you’d be able to identify where your money is going and reevaluate your costs. Sam also recommends limiting the amount of cash you have on you. You know the legal saying, Nemo dat quod non-habet, you cannot give what you do not have. In this case, you cannot spend what you do not have.
So how much do you need to travel the world?
Amarachi (Travel with a pen) estimates that travelling the world with a Nigerian passport could cost about $30,000 to $40,000. If that figure sounds like a lot, don’t sweat it. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You can start small with a ₦70k-₦80k budget that can take you to 1 or 2 West African countries. As you build up your financial muscle to the point where you can spend ₦600k-₦900k travelling, you can expand your sojourn to places like the UK, Kenya, Morocco, Dubai, China.
You can start a goals-based saving plan with Rise as you plan for your next trip. From what you’ve learned from this article and your research, you can set a target for your next trip to say, the Maldives and create a Rise investment plan for that trip. Set up monthly deposits to that plan, and before you know it, you’ll be swimming with the dolphins!
Bon voyage! And don’t forget to send us a postcard 😄