A study of the most budget-friendly backpacking destinations in 2024 ranked Uzbekistan as the third cheapest among 17 of the most visited destinations in Asia. With a minimum cost of $11 per day, Uzbekistan trailed only Sri Lanka and India in affordability.
Notably, the most expensive countries on the list included Japan, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with Japan requiring a minimum of $44 per day.
The research looked at the cost of a week of travel in two of the most popular cities of each country, taking into account only the bare minimum requirements for travel such as accommodation, a couple of meals a day, public transportation, and intercity travel.
The study was conducted by global backpacking website, The Broke Backpacker, which recently published a guide to backpacking in Uzbekistan.
To estimate these minimum prices, the study utilized various sources, including Numbeo’s cost of living database, as well as hotel, flight, and bus price comparison websites like Skyscanner and 12Go.
Will Hatton, founder of The Broke Backpacker, included some caveats with the research.
"Our study examined the absolute minimum requirements for a solo backpacker on a one-week trip in each country. Take it with a grain of salt - realistically, it would be challenging to sustain oneself on these prices. Our aim was simply to determine the bare minimum cost of travel in two of the most popular destinations within each country.
"As travel is a subjective experience and two different travelers can spend completely different amounts on the same trip, we opted not to include additional costs such as tourist attraction entry fees. This doesn't mean we don't endorse visiting these attractions - we absolutely do! Our aim was to provide a framework for estimating the minimal cost of visiting each destination.
For instance, Uzbekistan boasts magnificent architecture, and many tourist sites like those in Samarkand and Bukhara hold UNESCO World Heritage status, yet they only cost a couple of dollars to visit. This makes Uzbekistan an incredibly affordable destination for tourists.
Uzbekistan’s public transport costs were also the cheapest on the list, with Tashkent’s metro found to be the cheapest form of public transport of all the destinations."
Hotels in Uzbekistan were also among the most affordable on the list, with Tashkent’s Topchan Hostel priced at only $6 per night, inclusive of breakfast, and Samarkand’s Aisha Hotel offering the same for $10. As well as having some of the most affordable accommodation in Asia, Uzbekistan was recently found to have some of the highest rated hotels in Central Asia.
Bali was found to have the cheapest accommodation across all the destinations, with PACA'S Reggae Bar & Hostel offering bed and breakfast for only $3 per night.Despite having relatively cheap transport costs, Kazakhstan came 10th as it was found to have relatively expensive hotels and meals. Turkey, which has experienced an annual inflation rate of almost 70%, came 12th on the list, pushing it above South Korea.
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