The Real Cost of Being a Digital Nomad Beyond Flights, Food, and Hostels

Traveling full time and working as a freelance writer, photographer, content creator, and doing some other side quests comes with a lot of expenses.

Traveling on a budget is extremely possible. Budgeting on accommodation through hostels, cooking to save on food, taking local transport, and so many other steps allow travel to be a very budget friendly activity.

But behind the scenes of that, especially as a digital nomad, there are monthly and yearly expenses that for me are essentials, and they add to the unexpected budget you need to put together.

As someone who has been doing this full time for nearly two years, I have a lot of experience with what to have, what to prepare, and what costs are truly non negotiable.

I’ve broken down all of my pre travel expenses and my yearly and monthly expenses that you might not think about before going on a backpacking trip.

So if you’re a backpacker, aspiring digital nomad, or just curious about the real costs of this lifestyle outside of accommodation, transport, and food, here it is.

Starting with Pre Trip Costs

Vaccinations

First off is vaccinations.

As an American, these costs are typically higher than they are in Europe or other countries. We pay a lot more and get a lot less covered by insurance since these are not considered essentials for the average person.

Before traveling, I covered my bases and received these vaccinations:

– Updated tetanus which was the only one covered by insurance

– Updated polio

– Typhoid

– Japanese encephalitis which required two rounds

– Rabies which required two rounds

– Yellow fever

The total cost of all of these vaccinations was over 3000 USD.

Some of these require boosters after a couple of years to stay truly effective, which is something to think about long term.

These were essential costs for me because I travel to off the beaten path places, places with a lot of stray animals, and places with heavy mosquito presence. Another medication I had prescribed and paid for was malaria pills when I traveled to high risk malaria zones.

Although for some this might seem excessive, using proper vaccinations is sometimes mandatory to enter a country and can be life saving.

International Driver’s License

Another pre trip cost was getting my international driver’s license.

This was easy to obtain but cost around 75 USD. This was essential because when renting a car or motorbike in certain countries, it is required by the agency or required by insurance.

If you got into a motorbike accident and tried to file a claim, your insurance would most likely not help you if you do not have an international license.

For me, I would rather spend the 75 on the license than risk having to spend thousands later on medical care or bike repairs that insurance will not cover.

Unlocked Phone

Another pre trip expense as an American with an iPhone was buying a phone outright or paying off my phone to have it unlocked by my carrier so that I could use eSIMs in other countries.

My phone is not compatible with physical SIM cards, so this was necessary.

Again, this depends on your phone plan and your home country, but for me this was another 1000 USD out of pocket to buy a phone that was unlocked instead of using my phone plan upgrade, which would not allow for eSIM usage.

For me, those were the biggest and most important pre trip expenses. All very essential now that I understand the ins and outs of long term travel.