Illustration of a balance scale weighing a stack of coins against a small suitcase, for a guide comparing the daily cost of travel by country
For US travelers

How much does a day cost, country by country?

Checked July 2026 to September 2026

A typical day's cost for a US traveler, 59 countries ranked cheapest to priciest. Each bar is a room rate plus the on-the-ground spending (food, local transport, activities) for one day. The room rate here is the rate a hotel or booking site displays, not the final invoice. What gets added on top of that rate varies a lot by country, so use a country's own calculator for an all-in figure.

These are the True Trip Costs desk's own estimates of a typical day for a US traveler, room plus on-the-ground spending. They are meant for comparison and planning, not an official cost-of-living index and not a precise quote. What these bars leave out is whatever a country adds on top of a displayed rate, and that differs by market rather than by tax level. Across most of Europe and in Japan a displayed rate already includes the sales tax, so only a small nightly city tax is added at checkout. In much of the Caribbean, the Gulf and Mexico the displayed rate excludes tax and a fifth or more lands on the bill. So a destination that bills its taxes separately sits lower in this ranking than it would on an all-in basis, and one that folds them into the rate sits about where it belongs. Each country's guide has a calculator that adds its own charges to a room figure you choose. Checked . Switch the travel style to see how the ranking shifts.

Scale runs to $500 a day for this travel style. Each style is scaled to its own range, so compare the dollar figures, not bar lengths, across styles.

  1. Laos$110
  2. Vietnam$120
  3. Thailand$120
  4. Cambodia$120
  5. Sri Lanka$130
  6. Georgia$135
  7. Colombia$140
  8. Indonesia$155
  9. Philippines$155
  10. Mexico$160
  11. Egypt$165
  12. Brazil$165
  13. El Salvador$170
  14. Argentina$175
  15. Morocco$175
  16. India$180
  17. China$180
  18. Taiwan$185
  19. Ecuador$185
  20. Turkey$190
  21. Hungary$205
  22. South Africa$210
  23. Poland$210
  24. Namibia$210
  25. Portugal$215
  26. Japan$220
  27. Czechia$220
  28. South Korea$225
  29. Croatia$225
  30. Greece$230
  31. Spain$235
  32. Germany$250
  33. Costa Rica$250
  34. Oman$250
  35. Italy$255
  36. Dominican Republic$260
  37. United Arab Emirates$260
  38. Jamaica$260
  39. France$275
  40. New Zealand$280
  41. Bahrain$285
  42. Ireland$285
  43. Netherlands$290
  44. Saudi Arabia$290
  45. Hong Kong$300
  46. Sweden$305
  47. Qatar$310
  48. Kuwait$310
  49. Austria$310
  50. Singapore$310
  51. Australia$310
  52. Canada$330
  53. United Kingdom$335
  54. Denmark$335
  55. The Bahamas$340
  56. Norway$355
  57. Iceland$390
  58. Switzerland$460
  59. Aruba$470

The same costs, by region

Pick a region to see its covered countries shaded by typical daily cost: lighter is cheaper, darker is pricier. Mid-range travel style.

Georgia$135Hungary$205Poland$210Portugal$215Czechia$220Croatia$225Greece$230Spain$235Germany$250Italy$255France$275Ireland$285Netherlands$290Sweden$305Austria$310United Kingdom$335Denmark$335Norway$355Iceland$390Switzerland$460

Cost is only half the question. For the other half, see which months each country getsbusy and pricey, and which go quiet and cheap. And because a quoted room rate is rarely what a hotel bills you, see whattaxes, levies and resort fees add on top, country by country.

Want the detail behind a number? Open any country's guide for how we get to cash, cards and daily spend. Figures are the desk's own, checked , and refreshed as we re-check each country.

Compare a whole region

Weighing up where to go? See how the countries in a region stack up on cost, cash, tipping and getting around, with a clear pick for each.

Southern EuropeWestern EuropeCentral EuropeThe NordicsSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaSouth AmericaMiddle EastThe GulfAfricaAll comparisons →