A scientist and a network engineer traveled the world. What did they bring back with them? Data, of course! Geeks to the core, tracking, trending, and generating spreadsheets are kind of fun tasks for the two of us. While we know we’re a little weird, we also know we’re not alone in our dorkiness. So for our fellow number nerds out there, below you will find some statistics from our trip (including our cost per day in each country we visited).
Travel totals:
Days traveled: 344
Miles traveled: 58,101
Countries visited: 32
Continents visited: 3
| Mode of Transportation | Miles Traveled |
| Plane | 24,282 |
| Automobile | 20,976 |
| Train | 11,354 |
| Boat | 1,489 |
Days traveled by country:
| Country | Days |
| Australia | 64 |
| Thailand | 30 |
| New Zealand | 28 |
| Vietnam | 25 |
| Italy | 18 |
| Poland | 17 |
| England | 16 |
| Cambodia | 15 |
| Laos | 14 |
| Ireland | 11 |
| Scotland | 11 |
| Croatia | 9 |
| Belgium | 8 |
| Slovenia | 7 |
| China | 7 |
| Mongolia | 6 |
| Russia1 | 5 |
| (Trans-Siberian Railway) | 5 |
| Germany | 5 |
| Switzerland | 5 |
| France | 5 |
| Czech Republic | 4 |
| Austria | 4 |
| Hungary | 4 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 4 |
| Netherlands | 4 |
| Latvia | 3 |
| Serbia | 3 |
| Northern Ireland | 3 |
| Lithuania | 2 |
| Wales | 2 |
| Slovakia | 1 |
| Belarus | 1 |
1includes four days on the Trans-Siberian railway
Cost of living:
| Country | Cost per day (2 people)1,2 |
Notes |
| New Zealand | $180.75 | campervan hire increased cost per day by ~50% |
| Netherlands | $156.75 | |
| England3 | $146.81 | |
| Australia3 | $124.45 | |
| Scotland3 | $121.09 | |
| Italy | $110.33 | |
| Ireland3 | $106.27 | estimate excluding rental car: ~$80/day |
| Switzerland | $105.40 | |
| Croatia3 | $100.33 | estimate excluding rental car: ~$88/day |
| France | $95.60 | |
| Belgium | $92.00 | |
| Northern Ireland | $91.67 | |
| Austria | $87.25 | |
| Wales3 | $86.50 | |
| Slovenia3 | $82.14 | estimate excluding rental car: ~$65/day |
| Latvia | $68.00 | |
| China | $67.71 | |
| Czech Republic | $66.00 | |
| Poland | $65.71 | |
| Lithuania | $63.50 | |
| Hungary | $61.50 | |
| Thailand | $60.42 | |
| Serbia | $53.00 | |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | $52.25 | |
| Cambodia | $48.80 | |
| Laos | $47.64 | |
| Vietnam | $40.00 |
| Overall average cost per day | $88.22 |
| Overall average cost per overnight stay | $60.06 |
1includes lodging, food, local transportation & gasoline (does not include optional activities/excursions)
2the following countries are excluded from cost per day analysis:
- Russia & Mongolia – booked as part of a Trans-Siberian tour package
- Slovakia – stayed only 24 hours in Bratislava and ate meals out (data likely inflated)
- Belarus – no overnight stay; day bicycling trip only
- Germany – did not pay for lodging (stayed with friends in Munich)
3countries including a rental car for all or part of the visit
Sleeping around the world:
| Accommodation type | Nights | # of ‘beds’ |
| AirBnB | – | 71 |
| Guestroom/hotel | – | 29 |
| Campervan (New Zealand) | 25 | 1 |
| Elephant Nature Park | 7 | 1 |
| Camping (Vietnam) | 2 | 1 |
| Friends’ home (Australia) | 2 | 1 |
| Friends’ home (Germany) | 5 | 1 |
| Family rental (Tuscany) | 6 | 1 |
| Overnight transit1 | 16 | 13 |
| Total | 344 | 119 |
Average: 2.9 nights/bed (3.7 nights/bed excluding single-night stays)
1flight to NZ (1 night), Tasmania ferry (2 nights), Thai trains (2 nights), Thai bus (1 night), Vietnam train (2 nights), Vietnam boat (1 night), China train (1 night), Trans-Siberian Railway (1 night China–Mongolia + 4 nights Mongolia–Moscow), Moscow to Riga bus (1 night)
Extremes:
| Southernmost point | -46.6607 | Curio Bay, New Zealand |
| Northernmost point | 57.6845 | Duntulum, Scotland |
| Easternmost point | 176.0702 | Taupo, New Zealand |
| Westernmost point1 | -9.8547 | Sneem, Ireland |
| Highest point | 3,883 m (12,740 ft) | Klein Matterhorn, Zermatt, Switzerland |
| Lowest point | -18 m (-60 ft) | Hastings Reef, QLD, Australia |
| Max. daytime high temp2 | 52°C (126°F) | Hue, Vietnam |
| Min. daytime high temp | -2°C (28°F) | Broughton Mills, England |
1westernmost point (stopover) was at Fa’a’ā International Airport, Tahiti (-149.6067)
2including heat index
Photos taken by country:
| Country | # Photos |
| Australia | 2,596 |
| Italy | 1,525 |
| Thailand | 1,459 |
| Vietnam | 1,134 |
| Cambodia | 1,102 |
| New Zealand | 930 |
| England | 907 |
| Poland | 869 |
| Ireland | 657 |
| Slovenia | 606 |
| Mongolia | 580 |
| Switzerland | 557 |
| Scotland | 508 |
| Laos | 487 |
| Croatia | 451 |
| France | 355 |
| Hungary | 325 |
| Czech Republic | 288 |
| Austria | 251 |
| China | 249 |
| Belgium | 247 |
| Northern Ireland | 237 |
| Russia | 215 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 194 |
| Germany | 173 |
| Latvia | 133 |
| Serbia | 131 |
| Netherlands | 125 |
| Lithuania | 109 |
| Slovakia | 88 |
| Wales | 48 |
| Belarus | 46 |
| Total photos taken | 17,582 |
| Total photos posted to blog | 5,412 |
| Shutter snaps (D7000) | 20,147 |
| Shutter snaps (D7100) | 23,320 |
| Total shutter snaps | 43,467 |
| % photos (snaps) saved | 40.4% |
| % photos taken posted to blog | 30.8% |
| % shutter snaps posted to blog | 12.5% |
Blog data:
| # Blog entries | 195 |
| Pages typed | 301 |
| Words typed | 176,518 |
Hiking data1:
| # of hikes | 42 |
| Distance hiked | 360 miles (579 km) |
| Elevation gain | 81,666 ft (24,892 m) |
1Data is reported as complete as possible. We were unable to provide elevation gain for two hikes in Asia. Also, many of our shorter hikes (≤5 miles) were not GPS tracked.
