One of the most frequently asked question we get is "How much does it cost to cruise?"
Honestly, there's no simple or straight answer to this question. Cost of cruising depends on many factors such as (but not limited to):
We track our expenses everyday on a spreadsheet and when we're on the go, we use a free expense tracker app like 'Spending' or 'Track My Spend' on our phone. For more information about the apps, you can read our 'Top 11 Favourite Phone Apps' post.
Our biggest expenses at the moment go to Boatyard fees and Boat Stuff. We hauled out in March 2015 and left Raptor unattended on the hard in May for 16 months - unplanned of course. We got back last September and have been working diligently to complete our long list of boat repairs & maintenance and hope to get her shipshape by January 2018.
If you're interested in seeing some numbers, we found some great blogs that have done an amazing job in capturing and sharing their cost to cruise {thank you}.
We know every cruiser & boat is unique. You may have the same type & size of boat with the same number of people onboard in the same location as someone else, but you may have different boat projects, unexpected expenses and lifestyle choices.
Much like living on land, everyone spends differently. Having said that, it's great to find more and more cruisers sharing this information so that others can learn and get a sense of how much it costs to cruise.
If you're trying to work out if this lifestyle is feasible for you, using other people's budget/expenses as a reference point is a great start but of course ultimately, only you know what your needs are, the lifestyle you want, and what you can or can't live without.
It's always good to budget for more than what you think you need, but also don't let that stop you from sailing away if you're just slightly under your goal (and by this, we mean the budget for cruising which does not include the cost of acquiring a boat). You'll find that you can live on a lot less than you think.
You can also look into ways to make money to fund your travels while underway (we've recently been looking into this... more on this later) or take a break, get back into the rat race to earn and save again whenever you need to (provided you can find a job or have portable skills).
Surprising as it may sound, when you weigh it all up, the costs of cruising is actually more affordable than most people imagine. In fact, it's not uncommon that some find it cheaper to cruise than to live on land (depending where you choose to cruise geographically).
Perhaps it's because when living aboard, your mindset and priorities change. The money that would be spent on clothes, shoes, entertainment, drinks and eating out can now go towards boat costs and travel kitty!
Hope this was somewhat helpful. Oh, and if you're interested to read more sailing blogs, check out our 'List of Sailing Blogs' post.
Happy saving, costing, budgeting & sailing! 😁
- Location - Cost of food, local travel, cruising permits, visa fees vary from country to country. For example, we found that in general, sailing in Asia (e.g. Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand) is a lot cheaper than sailing in South America/Caribbean (e.g. Brazil, French Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago).
- Type & Size of Boat - Catamaran or mono-hull? Cost of mooring, marina, haul out, boatyard fees vary based on the type and size of your boat. Being on a catamaran, we're a lot wider than a mono-hull; even though we've seen plenty of mono-hulls taking up the same space in a berth, we get charged almost double the mono-hull rate. And of course, the longer your vessel, the more expensive it gets. We love it when we anchor for free!
- Condition of Boat - Old boat or new boat? They all have their issues. It helps of course, if the boat is well maintained, but pretty much everything (and we mean everything) on a boat requires repair/replacement/maintenance/upgrade at some point. This means there will be costs for boat stuff i.e. parts, equipment, tools, materials, etc. As you know, BOAT stands for break out another thousand!
- Hire or D.I.Y - Additional costs of boat repair/maintenance/upgrade can also vary if you hire someone to do it for you versus doing it yourself. Depending on where you are, labour cost can be steep. From experience, we find that (more often than not) it's better to do it yourself (if you can); not only to save on cost, but the hired help may not necessarily do a better job and you may end up having to re-do it (of course, there are exceptions). Unless you have very deep pockets, it's best to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.
- Motor or Sail - As much as we'd love to sail at all times, we still need to motor when approaching a marina, an anchorage or when we don't want to drift for days in light winds to our destination. We also have an outboard on our dinghy which we use to take us to & from shore and to explore where we can't go with the boat. So the cost for fuel will depend on how much we use. We do try our best to fill and stock up in places where fuel is cheap whenever we can (but petrol has a limited shelf life so that's not always advised).
- Unexpected Expenses - All is well until you hit reefs, or large floating objects (a log or a whale for example), sustain damage when caught in a bad storm (or worse, a hurricane). We've had our fair share of unexpected costs to replace electronic equipment and conduct repairs after being struck by lightning on one occasion & hitting power lines on another. It's wise to set aside some funds for such instances.
- Other Expenses - Boat or personal insurance, safety equipment, communications cost, charts and sailing guides, flights and travel cost to visit family or friends, gifts and memberships are just some examples of other expenses to consider as well.
- Crew - Are you sailing alone, with your partner, family and kids, pets, paid crew? Obviously, the more mouths to feed, visas to pay (where applicable), etc the higher the cost.
- Lifestyle - This cost can vary significantly as well. Since we have no income and travelling long term takes a toll on our savings, we need to manage our finances carefully. This means we consciously choose to anchor for free over going into a marina, cook onboard over eating out, skip expensive attractions, take the bus or walk over taxis, do our own repairs vs. hiring people, drink water instead of champagne, you get the idea. Won't lie, this lifestyle can get tough at times; counting pennies is no fun. But on the bright side, we get fresh air, free water & power (when we're out at sea, that is..), fish (if we're very lucky), no deadlines (well, kind of) and healthier meals when we cook onboard! :)
We track our expenses everyday on a spreadsheet and when we're on the go, we use a free expense tracker app like 'Spending' or 'Track My Spend' on our phone. For more information about the apps, you can read our 'Top 11 Favourite Phone Apps' post.
 |
| Categories of our expenses |
Our biggest expenses at the moment go to Boatyard fees and Boat Stuff. We hauled out in March 2015 and left Raptor unattended on the hard in May for 16 months - unplanned of course. We got back last September and have been working diligently to complete our long list of boat repairs & maintenance and hope to get her shipshape by January 2018.
If you're interested in seeing some numbers, we found some great blogs that have done an amazing job in capturing and sharing their cost to cruise {thank you}.
We know every cruiser & boat is unique. You may have the same type & size of boat with the same number of people onboard in the same location as someone else, but you may have different boat projects, unexpected expenses and lifestyle choices.
Much like living on land, everyone spends differently. Having said that, it's great to find more and more cruisers sharing this information so that others can learn and get a sense of how much it costs to cruise.
If you're trying to work out if this lifestyle is feasible for you, using other people's budget/expenses as a reference point is a great start but of course ultimately, only you know what your needs are, the lifestyle you want, and what you can or can't live without.
It's always good to budget for more than what you think you need, but also don't let that stop you from sailing away if you're just slightly under your goal (and by this, we mean the budget for cruising which does not include the cost of acquiring a boat). You'll find that you can live on a lot less than you think.
You can also look into ways to make money to fund your travels while underway (we've recently been looking into this... more on this later) or take a break, get back into the rat race to earn and save again whenever you need to (provided you can find a job or have portable skills).
Surprising as it may sound, when you weigh it all up, the costs of cruising is actually more affordable than most people imagine. In fact, it's not uncommon that some find it cheaper to cruise than to live on land (depending where you choose to cruise geographically).
Perhaps it's because when living aboard, your mindset and priorities change. The money that would be spent on clothes, shoes, entertainment, drinks and eating out can now go towards boat costs and travel kitty!
Hope this was somewhat helpful. Oh, and if you're interested to read more sailing blogs, check out our 'List of Sailing Blogs' post.
Happy saving, costing, budgeting & sailing! 😁
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