Are you preparing your trip and trying to figure out how to budget for a trip to Nepal? It has been a week since we came back from Nepal, where we completed the famous Everest Base camp trek. On top of that, we spend 10 days in Kathmandu. As we always do, we decided to travel independently and do the trek by ourselves, without any guide or a porter. In this post, we have broken down all the expenses in a great detail, so you can easily budget for a trip to Nepal.
When we searched for an info before our departure we were eager to find out how to budget for a trip to Nepal. We wanted to find out how expensive Kathmandu and the Everest base camp trek really are. We knew that Nepal was supposed to be a cheap country, but we could not find any specific blog posts about the exact costs. There are posts about budgets for treks but not as detailed as we wanted to. Does anyone have the same problem? Any planning and budget freaks out there? 🙂
And because we could not find it, we decided to create it for you. We put together a list of basic supplies with current prices (October 2018). So you have a better idea of how to budget for a trip to Nepal.
How to budget for a trip to Nepal?
In this post, we have broken down the average costs for supplies both in Kathmandu and on the Everest base camp trek. With our detailed price list you will be able to plan your budget for a trip to Nepal in a minute.
So are you ready? Here we go.
A budget for a trip to Nepal - Kathmandu:
We tried to break down the costs for several categories, like food that you can buy in supermarkets, beverages, bread and toiletries.Â
In October 2018 the exchange rate was 1 USD = 114 RPN
Food in supermarkets:Â
| Food | Price in NPR | Price in USD |
|---|---|---|
| Cookies | 150 - 450 NPR | $1.35 - $3.95 |
| Pistachio 100g | 300 NPR | $2.65 |
| Almonds 100g | 250 NR | $2.20 |
| Cashew 100g | 300 NPR | $2.65 |
| Muesli 500g | 110 NPR | $0.95 |
| Instant soup | 70 NPR | $0.60 |
| Chocolate bars | 100 - 400 NPR | $0.85 - $3.50 |
| Tuna can 185 g | 170 NPR | $1.49 |
| Box of tea | 200 NPR | $1.75 |
| Instant coffee 150g | 1 100 - 1 500 NPR | $9.65 - $13.15 |
| Chips | 45 - 100 NPR | $0.40 - $0.85 |
| Pringles | 350 NPR | $3.00 |
| Peanut butter 700g | 500 NPR | $4.40 |
| Dairy milk chocolate | 360 NPR | $3.15 |
| Yak cheese 200g | 400 NPR | $3.50 |
| Olives 250g | 250 NPR | $2.20 |
| Snickers/Mars | 90 NPR | $0.80 |
| Crackers 300g | 100 NPR | $0.85 |
Beverages in supermarkets:
| Drinks | Price in NPR | Price in USD |
|---|---|---|
| Bottle of water 1l | 15 NPR | $0.15 |
| Coca Cola 500ml | 70 NPR | $0.65 |
| Soft drinks 500ml | 50 - 70 NPR | $0.45 - $0.65 |
| Local beer can | 300 - 500 NPR | $2.65 - $4.40 |
| Heineken can | 350 NPR | $3.10 |
| Bottle of wine | 500 - 5 000 NPR | $4.40 - $44.00 |
| Bottle of spirit | 1 700 - 5 000 NPR | $14.95 - $44.00 |
Bread in bakeries:
| Bread | Price in NPR | Price in USD |
|---|---|---|
| Croissant | 70 NPR | $0.60 |
| Chocolate croissant | 90 NPR | $0.75 |
| Bread | 120 NPR | $1.05 |
| Cinnamon swirl | 100 NPR | $0.85 |
| Lemon cake | 70 NPR | $0.60 |
| Cheesecake | 130 NPR | $1.15 |
| Baguette | 150 - 200 NPR | $1.30 - $1.75 |
| Pizza slice | 90 NPR | $0.75 |
Toiletries in supermarkets:
| Toiletries | Price in NPR | Price in USD |
|---|---|---|
| Toilet paper roll | 70 NPR | $0.60 |
| Small hand cream | 150 NPR | $1.30 |
| Deodorant | 220 NPR | $1.95 |
| Sunscreen | 550 - 750 NPR | $4.80 - $6.55 |
| Body lotion | 360 NPR | $3.15 |
| Shampoo | 200 - 600 NPR | $1.75 - $5.25 |
| Toothpaste | 100 - 200 NPR | $0.85 - $1.75 |
| Toothbrush | 150 NPR | $1.35 |
| Razor blade | 20 NPR | $0.20 |
| Soap | 55 NPR | $0.50 |
| Shower gel | 300 NPR | $2.65 |
A budget for a trip to Nepal - Everest base camp:
We closely monitor the prices for dishes or beverages for the whole Everest base camp trek, so it is easy for you to budget for a trip to Nepal. We chose the most common dishes, so you have a better idea about the food expenses. All the prices in the table below are in Nepali rupees (NPR).Â
| Village | Lukla | Phakding | Namche | Pheriche | Thukla | Lobuche | Gorak Shep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tea | 100 | 70 | 100 | 150 | 180 | 180 | 200 |
| Water 1l | 80 | 80 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 350 | 400 |
| Toasts | 300 | 300 | 350 | 400 | 450 | 450 | 550 |
| Breakfast | 650 | 400 | 500 | 500 | 450 | 600 | 600 |
| Potatoes | 400 | 400 | 500 | 550 | 750 | 700 | 750 |
| Momos | 450 | 550 | 550 | 600 | 750 | 750 | 800 |
| Noodles | 450 | 400 | 550 | 550 | 700 | 800 | 850 |
| Dal Bhat | 550 | 500 | 650 | 750 | 850 | 850 | 850 |
| Soups | 200 | 300 | 350 | 350 | 500 | 450 | 450 |
| Pasta | 350 | 400 | 500 | 600 | 700 | 800 | 850 |
| Breads | 350 | 350 | 400 | 400 | 650 | 500 | 600 |
| Egg dishes | 400 | 350 | 400 | 450 | 600 | 600 | 650 |
| Hot shower | 200 | 350 | 450 | 500 | 800 | 800 | 1 000 |
| Wi-fi | FREE | 500 | FREE | 600 | 600 | 600 | 600 |
A total budget for a trip to Nepal
At the end, we spend 25 days in the Nepal with total costs of $1 808 for a couple. That is on average total costs of $900 per person. It doesn´t look like the budget trip, but when you divide it by number of days, you get the costs of $33 per day per person. That is not bad at all when you consider that we completed one of the most famous treks in the world.
The total costs don´t include internatinal flights and travel insurance.
As a bonus, we have broken down all the expenses for our 10-day stay in Kathmandu, including accommodation, food, miscellaneous and sightseeing. We also broke down the costs for the Everest base camp trek.
Have you been to Nepal? Would you like to know more about Nepal? Let´s us know in the comment section down below.Â
