133 World cities ranked cheapest to most expensive: Backpacker Index for 2024
We have all heard that some parts of the world are “cheap” to visit while others are “expensive” but most people have a hard time quantifying any more precisely. That’s why Price of Travel launched our Backpacker Index numbers for cities all over the world in late 2010. Now totally updated in its 14th year for 2024, below you’ll find all major destinations around the world ranked by price for backpackers.
The 2024 update was a bit easier than the previous couple of years, but there was still inflation of between 5% and 10% in most of the world so research took longer than normal. A few places notably Argentina and Turkey had runaway inflation where prices changed every week or so locally, and the currency tended to drop by about as much at the same time. That will probably be true this year as well, so cities like Buenos Aires and Istanbul will get more out of whack as the year goes on.
More specific information can be found by clicking on the regional articles just below, or by clicking on the individual city names in the main list.
Those looking for the best travel bargains in the world will continue to find almost all of them in Asia and Latin America, although there are a few European cities that are surprisingly close to the top of the cheap list. It’s unwise to go to any given city simply because it’s “cheap” but every destination on the list below has something going for it and these are almost all of the world’s top travel destinations.
It’s worth noting that Moscow and St. Petersburg dropped off the list for 2023 and kept off for 2024. Not only are very few people interested in visiting Russia at the moment, but some of our partners including Hostelworld no longer list hostels there anyway. We brought back Beirut this year as their currency has stabilized again after being devalued by 90% in February of 2023.
All of the prices below are based on data that is researched and calculated as of January, 2024, and the exchange rates update automatically every day.
Detailed information available by region
It’s important to mention that the links just below are the REAL Backpacker Index information and are far more useful for anyone planning a trip. The long list of all 133 cities at the bottom of the page is just a summary to be able to compare the cities in one, quick place.
What the prices below mean
There is a longer explanation of the Backpacker Index on each of the regional pages, but the short version is that we found the price for a group of things for each destination, and then translated that into US dollars on a daily basis, so the list is always current after exchange rates. While this data is meant for backpackers and budget travelers, the proportions will be nearly identical, so the list should also be useful to those with more money to spend.
For each city this daily total includes:
- A dorm bed at a good and cheap hostel
- 3 budget meals
- 2 public transportation rides
- 1 paid cultural attraction
- 3 cheap beers (as an “entertainment fund”)
Backpacker Index: 133 global destinations for 2024
(Totals below are recalculated by exchange rate and re-ranked daily)
Cheapest to most expensive
Hi,
Do you plan to add Albania to your list? It seems a hidden gem, with less tourists than Croatia and Montenegro. Thanks!
We are planning to visit an international destination for 7 days in June 2022 on our way from Delhi to Vancouver. Can someone help us in planning our trip.
Rajeev,
Sorry about the slow response, but it should be fast from now on. If you are looking to stop somewhere for a week in June I’d recommend Paris and London, or you could spend the whole week in Italy. Let me know if either of those sound okay and I can help more. -Roger