JANUARY 2016:
OVERVIEW:
My costs start in Puerto Princesa (PP) City Centre and include:
- Transport to the PP Bus Station and a Minivan to Sabang
- 4 nights in a BELOW GRANDPAcking Standard hotel
- Food & Drink
- Mobile Data / Communications
- Visa cost apportionment
- Trips & Tours
- A party night
CROSS REFERENCES:
For more detail, read about Sabang – Philippines – Information.
Click here to read about Retirement Locations in this country.
Click here for detailed Travel Information and more Travel Budgets in this country.
Read About – GRANDPAcking Costs if you don’t know how to interpret my figures.
SPREADSHEET SUMMARY:
MY ACTUAL 1 PERSON GRANDPAcking COSTS:
Cost Of Existence (COE):
Accommodation: My accommodation was 1 night in a BELOW ‘GRANDPAcking Standard’ Double Room with fan (breakfast included) followed by 3 nights in a BELOW ‘GRANDPAcking Standard’ Double Chalet with fan (breakfast included).
Transport: I did not need any transport.
Communications & Fees: In Manila Airport, I purchased a 1 month Globe SIMcard with ‘unlimited’ data and no texts nor calls; this was still ‘active’ for my time in Sabang.
Food: I averaged PHP250 / day… this was usually a cheap lunch in a local cafe and something from my resort’s restaurant in the evening. I bought big bottles of water for drinking and ablutions.
My ‘Cost of Existing / Day’ was PHP790 / NZ$27 / US$17 / €16 / £12.
This put a ‘basic’ roof over my head, gave me necessary transport & other basic necessities, fed me 3 times each day in a local cafe, and paid for my refreshments.
Cost Of LIVING:
My available ‘LIVING Funds’ each day were PHP1582 / NZ$53 / US$34 / €31 / £24.
Visa: The Philippines Visa isn’t cheap, so I have apportioned the Visa costs against my nights in Sabang. It comes out at just over US$1 / day.
Bars: A small San Miguel in most bars starts at PHP60 but (as I don’t like warm beer) I drank Rum & Coke purchased from a local store. I average PHP80 / night on drinks. I had one big party night (PHP530).
Personal: I didn’t need to purchase any personal items.
Trips: I did an Underground River Trip including a return hike on the Jungle Trail for PHP1000.
Shopping: I didn’t do any shopping.
My actual GRANDPAcking costs came in at PHP1458 / NZ$49 / US$31 / €29 / £22 per day. This was 61% of my total budget… I still had 39% of my budget left.
I had enough LIVING funds to have fun as and when I wanted to.
WHAT IT SHOULD COST 2 GRANDPAckers:
Cost Of Existence (COE):
Accommodation: You will struggle to book a GRANDPAcking Standard room online for under PHP1200 / night; for that price, start you search for online deals in advance. Once in Sabang, you should be able to find somewhere nice for PHP900 / night including breakfast.
Transport: You won’t need scooters nor taxis. For your ‘weekly break’, I have included a budget to go on a weekly trip to Puerto Princesa at PHP400 return each.
Communications: I have included a prepaid 1 Month Globe ‘unlimited’ data package with no texts and no talk time.
Food: You should be able to get breakfast included in your hotel rate. For Lunch, I have included a budget for eating in a local cafe. For Dinner, I have included a budget for eating one of the cheaper items from your resort’s restaurant.
The ‘Costs Of Existence’ of 2 GRANDPAckers is about PHP1858 / NZ$63 / US$40 / €37 / £28 per day.
Cost Of LIVING:
This is about PHP514 per day to LIVE on (i.e. 22% of your GRANDPAcking budget).
With that money you could:
- Upgrade your lunch to an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet (and still have PHP200 left)
- Upgrade your dinner and eat in a nice restaurant (and still have PHP200 left)
- Drink 10 small San Miguels
- Save up for 3 days and both go on a boat trip
With that amount of LIVING funds things will be ‘tighter’ than in other places but you should still be able to have many good days.
CONCLUSION:
Sabang is worth a visit… it is one of the few places where a GRANDPAcking couple can afford to live in a chalet on a beach.
Personally, I think that after 1 month you will have had enough of the place and will want to move on.
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