Last week I shared 3 potential 1 month sabbaticals for 3 different budgets. I started last week’s article with a handful of things to consider when planning/budgeting for a sabbatical. If you forgot what those were or want to revisit, you can do so here.
This week, I wanted to flesh out three more sabbatical itineraries (and ideas) for those who want to take more time off. Without further ado, let’s hop right into our 3 month sabbatical options!
See also:
4 Simple Reasons to Take a Sabbatical in 2022
3-month “budget”: Luxury on a Budget in Southeast Asia
Last time, I took Southeast Asia off the table because I thought flight costs might be prohibitively expensive for a 1-month “budget” sabbatical. Now that we are going for three months, SEA is firmly in play.
After looking at a globe, thinking about things like international flights within SEA, and visa costs, I have arrived at a sabbatical including Bangkok, Da Nang, and Chiang Mai.
While there are many other countries and cities within SEA, I thought these three cities highlight three different aspects of the region: big city, beach life, and a slower pace.
Transportation
Like last week’s article, I will again use SFO (as most of my readers are there/closest to this airport). I quickly find round trip flights from SFO to BKK for ~$762 (there are no non-stop flights from SFO at this time).
In addition to the main flights between SF and SEA, I found flights to and from Vietnam for $133 total: Budget flights: DMK-DAD ($62); DAD-CX ($71). Then, we will need to get back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai. I’ve opted for a $20 bus.
Lastly, I will provide an additional $50 per month to provide for public trans within the cities, transport to and from airports, and Grabs (SEA Uber equivalent) with any remaining money.
Total transportation costs: $1,065
Accommodation
While getting to Southeast Asia may not seem very cheap (it is quite far), accommodation is where the region starts to shine.
Given the 1-month “budget” budget, I wanted to make sure we stayed under $1,000/mo. Spoiler alert: that wasn’t difficult.
While there is no shortage of luxury accommodation in Bangkok, there are plenty of inexpensive spots as well. While there were many units in the rang of $300-1,000+, I wanted to show how inexpensive (but nice) an Airbnb in Bangkok could be,
This unit comes in it $397/mo (including all fees). 1-bedroom, pool, gym, and right by the BTS stop. Bangkok has two main lines of public transport: the aboveground BTS and the underground MRT.
It may not be super well known, but Vietnam is (read: can be) one of the most inexpensive countries in the world. Within Vietnam, Da Nang might boast the cheapest accommodations.
I remember first seeing Da Nang on House Hunters International where a couple had a budget of $300. I quickly thought they either a) wouldn’t find anything; or b) the housing would be atrocious. I was wrong on both accounts.
On the next commercial break, I quickly scanned Airbnb and found many apartments in the $300 range. On today’s search, however, I was even more surprised.
The above studio comes in at $188/mo (including all fees). While the main range of Airbnbs was somewhere between $250-500, I wanted to show you can actually rent something (on a short term basis no less) for under $200.
This is a studio, and there isn’t a pool or gym, but it is a 2 minute walk to the beach.
Rounding things out is Chiang Mai. While I found options at $282/mo, I actually think I stayed at the above building when we went to Chiang Mai back in 2017?
The above comes in at $409/month. It is only a studio, but it does have pool and gym and is in the Nimman area known for digital nomads/expats.
Total accommodation costs: $994 (cheaper than 1 month in PV in last post’s 1-month budget)
Total so far: $2,059
Food and drinks
Going to keep this one simple and mirror the same budget used in last week’s post and multiply it by 3 (because our sabbatical is thrice as long). To be honest, food will be much cheaper in SEA than in Mexico, but I’m feeling generous.
Total food + drinks: $1,050
Activities & Misc.
None, reading on the beach, swimming, tanning, and eating. You’re on a budget remember!?
Total
Total for a 3-month sabbatical in SEA: $3,109 (less than 1-month’s rent in my previous Haight apartment in San Francisco).
Which is $1,037/month and is cheaper than the 1-month PV itinerary by $622 ($1,659).
3-month “mid-range”: European tour through Italy, Croatia, and Czechia
With the mid-range budget, I wanted to explore Europe (as that’s where I’d like to go next spring). I ended up choosing the cities I did not only because they’re ones I’m interested in, but also because they give you a good taste of Europe as a whole.
I wanted to choose a major, Western European capital that’s popular and rich with history: Rome. Next, I wanted to choose somewhere beach-y (that wouldn’t break the bank): Split, Croatia. Lastly, I wanted to choose somewhere that was outside of the typical Western European cities/countries but still popular: Prague.
Accommodation
Again, I wanted to stay more or less within the monthly budget I set in last week’s post: $1500-1800/mo. While this was a little trickier in Rome, it was a cinch in Split and Prague.
Rome was much more in the same price range as Barcelona. However, the bulk of Airbnbs I saw in Barcelona were much more modern and refurbished compared to those in Rome. With a little searching, I was able to find the above and am quite happy with it.
The above 1-“bedroom” has a super nice bathroom and will set us back $1,801/month.
Split was a much easier task than Rome. There were some splurgier options, but I wanted to stay under budget because Rome was a bit more than expected.
The above 2 bed 1 bathroom flat comes in at $949/mo.
Finding accommodation in Prague was much more similar to Split than it was to Rome. I found this 1-bedroom Airbnb with a great location for $1,128/month.
While I could have saved more and found something cheaper, I really like this unit and its location.
Total accommodation costs: $3,878
Transportation
Transportation costs for this European itinerary was oddly similar to the above SEA trip–I’m not sure if that should be surprising or not.
I initially find a connecting (1-stop) flight from SFO to Rome for $539. Then I do a little more legwork and find SFO to Rome and Prague to SFO for $631. For a little less than $100, I won’t have to backtrack to Rome at the end of the trip: this is super worth it IMO.
I then use Google flights to find some budget flights from Rome to Split ($35) and Split to Prague ($86). Because Europe will likely cost more for public trans and taxis, I’ll include an additional $100 per month.
Total transportation costs: $1,052
You can start to see costs of getting to SEA. Even with 2x the additional travel budget outside of flights ($100 vs $50), this itinerary’s transportation costs are still lower than the SEA one.
Total so far (accommodation + transport): $4,930
Food and drinks
Again, going to keep this one simple and re-use the budget I used for the mid-range, Barcelona itinerary. Prices in Rome should be very similar to Barcelona, while prices in Split and Prague should be ever cheaper.
Total food + drinks budget: $2,100
Total so far: $7,030
Activities & Misc.
While we allocated a $300/month activity budget in Barcelona to do things like surf, there are many more options as we will span three countries.
In Rome, you can spend your days at countless sites and museums. In Split, you can rent a sailboat for a day (or week!). You can find yourself jumping out of a plane and skydiving in Prague.
While the activities are quite different, a $300/month budget should be ample again as prices in Rome should more or less reflect Barcelona’s prices and Split and Prague will be even cheaper.
Total activity budget: $900
Total
Total sabbatical cost for 3 months in Europe: $7,930
Or $2,644/month, which is $545 cheaper per month than the mid-range 1-month itinerary ($3,189).
While ~$8,000 is certainly more than one month’s rent, it certainly doesn’t seem unfathomable for a once-in-a-lifetime three months in Europe. Depending on where in Europe you’d like to go and what you’re willing to compromise, we could easily shift the budget up or down accordingly.
3-month “splurge”: Extreme recharging in Australia & New Zealand
I initially thought about the most expensive cities in the world and considered places like Tokyo or London. However, it dawned on me that not only are Australia and New Zealand pricy, but three months there would likely be the perfect amount of time.
The below itinerary prevents you from having to choose between Sydney and Melbourne. While most folks might assume I’d choose Auckland, I opted for Queenstown, New Zealand’s adrenaline capital, so I could use that activity budget!
Accommodation
As was the case above, I wanted to stay within my 1-month splurge budget’s monthly accommodation spend: ~$3,500/mo.
I was actually amazed and surprised when I saw the Airbnb prices in Sydney. I totally assumed everything would be $3,500+, but I was actually able to find many Airbnbs in the $2,500 range. I’m not sure if this is due to a weak Aussie dollar, COVID travel restrictions, or both.
The above listing will set us back $4,198/mo for a beautiful 1-bedroom apartment right by the beach.
There were actually a lot of more affordable options surprisingly, but, hey, we’re splurging here.
I will admit I had zero clue what to expect price-wise for Queenstown. After a bit of searching, I settled on this 2-bedroom flat a 5-minute walk from downtown at $2,716/mo.
Like Sydney, I was shocked how many inexpensive options there were. I was able to find a 2-bed, 2-bath spot close to downtown/CBD for $2,172/mo.
Total accommodation costs: $9,086
Cheaper on a monthly basis than Scandinavia, but we’re also getting monthly discounts versus weekly.
Transportation
For flights, I do a quick search for SFO-SYD then SFO-SYD, MEL-SFO (similar to what I did for the Europe itinerary).
SFO to Sydney (connecting, 1-stop) return comes in at $1,136, while SFO-SYD, MEL-SFO (connecting, 1-stop) comes in at $1,142. At $6 this is a no-brainer as it saves us time and money having to get back to Sydney at the end of the trip.
Then I need to get us to Queenstown and back. Sydney to Queenstown costs $200, while getting back to Melbourne is $167.
I’ll double the mid-range additional budget from $100 to $200 per month to cover taxis and getting to and from airports.
All of the above is for economy flights, so I quickly re-check for business class flights. Whether we go SFO to Sydney or SFO to Sydney and Melbourne back to SFO, business class flights come in at about $5,000.
Total transportation costs (economy): $2,109
Total transportation costs (business): $5,967
Food and drinks
Like the previous two examples, I will be re-applying last week’s budget here. At $1,500 per month (or $50/day), I think the budget will be more than ample.
Scandinavian food/dining prices should be a bit (if not, a lot) higher than ANZ (Australia New Zealand).
Total food + drink: $4,500
Total so far: $15,695
Activities & Misc.
This is where things get a little murkier. While I think $1,000/month for activities should be ample in Australia and New Zealand, I’m sure some (or many?) of you could burn through that quite quickly.
If you were to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef for a few days or week, that would quickly eat a month’s budget. Likewise, if you were to skydive, bungee jump, and then hang glide in Queenstown, that might tear through $1,000 pretty quickly as well.
We will keep the budget here the same and hope you’re not someone who needs to do something epic everyday.
Total activity and miscellaneous budget: $3,000
Total
Depending on how fancy you’d like to fly, costs will come in between $18-23,000 for this epic ANZ 3-month sabbatical.
Total with economy flights: $18,695
Total with business flights: $22,553
With economy flights, that comes out to $6,232/month, which is $872 cheaper per month compared to our previous splurge ($7,104).
If you opted to pay for business class flights, it’d come out to $7,518, which is $2,645 cheaper per month comparatively. A big reason for this is there’s less time to amortize the expensive flight over.
Final Thoughts
Now that we’re through those three itineraries, I have a few other thoughts.
One city per month isn’t mandatory
For the past five and a half months, I have been spending a month (read: 4 weeks) at each city I visit. If you are taking a 3-month break from work, maybe you want to load a ton of cities and countries into the mix to maximize your time off. If that’s the case, no problem!
The one large benefit of one city per month is that you can get massive (sometimes 50%+) monthly discounts on Airbnb. Additionally, if you’re using your sabbatical to recharge, maybe less traveling could be beneficial, too.
Flight cost amortization
The 3-month itineraries are relatively cheaper per month because we can amortize (divide the fixed cost of) flights over a longer period of time, but the total cost is obviously higher.
If you were to travel every week or every few days, your per month cost would quickly be higher. Slow travel really does save money.
Final final thoughts
While none of the above are likely to be exactly what you’re looking to do, hopefully you can mix and match to arrive at an ideal sabbatical (and budget) for you.
Additionally, I hope this article either helps you create your dream sabbatical or helps you reverse engineer a sabbatical based on what you’ve saved for.
Of the above, which sabbatical would you choose to take? What are some expenses/costs I forgot to mention (I plan to do a more in-depth writeup on traveler’s/health insurance at another point)? Please let me know in the comments!