How Do You Finance a Long-Distance Bicycle Tour?

Make some savings and you can travel with not really that much.

You will need money to legally cross any borders. You might need first aid, a doctor and/or vaccination as well. Maybe your dreams are not realistic.

I sold my business and nonprofit but don't use any of my savings. Last 5 years of continuous travels, I work winter seasons as a full cert snowboard and ski instructor trainer and freestyle/freeride coach and guide in Japan to ride out the winter months, get a break from being alone on the road, and do my other passion - passing on my winter sports passion. What I earn in Japan is more than enough to fly anywhere, afford hotels when I need to be spoiled, and even save more than half my earnings. And the best part, I get residency there to compliment my other 2 citizenships. The company takes care of my work visa and finds me an apartment. I just need to show up :)

And I take one credit card (Venture by Capital One) that has zero international charges and earns me miles. When I need cash, I use a Schwab debit card. They don't charge ATM fees anywhere in the world. At the end of each month, they pay all the ATM fee charges I incur so I don't need to think about the high costs of pulling out small amounts of cash in the currency of the country I am in.

find a sugar daddy.

Work some months and go ride for a while. Perpetuum mobile. And so on. It's about sacrifice, or you live a normal boring uninteresting life or you live free, it's all up to you.

I am lucky to own a small studio flat that I've been renting and that's the only but best stable income that might be, even though we talk about like 300 EUR/ month. Enough to live on in many countries like SE and Central Asia. Apart from that, I started to work a bit online, but with that, you have to rent a place and plan. And last 3 years lots of housesitting. Have been doing that for 8,5 years. Good luck.

If you want to travel because you don't want to be a modern slave to a job. Then find a job that you love and enjoy going to work to do. I have been a sailmaker for 18 years. I work 5 hours a day 5 days a week. My job is what stops me from travelling as I like going to work. But I may retire next year. We have savings, good pensions, no children, and the house is paid for. Your question is often asked. But few attain it and even if they do it is only for a short time. I'm glad we did it our way.

Work as a farmer... Pay every month for visas, food, drink, if necessary, hotels, approx. 10.000 on one side. The cost of flying, emergencies, insurance, repairs, you have to charge extra. On a tour to Tumien (ccp) I had to go to the hospital for 2 weeks, during which time my bike was stolen. Extra expenses!!!!! Those who are not foreseen... Always have a good trip and greetings from Thailand.

At 20 yrs of age, I was already of the mindset that 12 hrs of work per week was enough to keep me going. I valued my free time more (to read, sleep, to travel) than working the standard 40 hrs/week. So I reduced my needs, always sought out cheaper accommodation, etc. Of course, over the years I had periods when I worked a lot, even 60+ hrs/week (especially when I had my own business), or in "corporate" jobs, but at the end that never made me any "happier" nor did it change my lifestyle much. Once or twice I was able to live for a year or two years solely from my savings, but eventually, I got back to a "normal" lifestyle/budget of 300-400 EUR per month, including the occasional flight, bikes, accommodation, internet, food, everything. For the past decade, I've been mostly making that amount by translating or teaching languages via Skype. And now, with Covid, less "work for money" but fortunately I'm receiving (started at 62+) a "pension" (retirement benefits, so, some advantage from being "old"!) and that basically covers my budget. So as a young person, which I assume you are, my advice is: work hard at whatever jobs you can get, save money, and travel with that wisely while at the same time investing or developing some sort of passive income (like renting out an apartment, or having some kind of business that doesn't require your constant presence, maybe with a partner, and you take turns travelling), and find some work that you can also do online as you travel (e.g. when I'm cycling, I often have to stop for an hour or two and connect with my clients during the morning or afternoon, or I'll work on translations from coffee shops or rent a room for a few weeks if I need to concentrate on a big job).

Sell your trip on YT like most do, just one video a week and you’ll have enough to live ok while cycling. About 500€ a month is what most YT bikepackers receive.

And donations via Paypal or Patreon are accepted by them. Some bikepackers don't ride for their own pleasure anymore primarily (obviously), Because their main focus is describers hence YT income

I would get people's opinions with a grain of salt as the economic situation (jobs, salaries, opportunities, security, etc) vary greatly between countries so some people are more privileged in this regard than others just because of pure luck. I know this from personal experience as I'm Brazilian and lived 15 years in Australia - so I know it's way easier to have a job, earn good salaries, save and have support from the government (if need be) in Australia than in Brazil.

I totally agree... I'm from Bosnia&Herzegovina, here you hardly can make enough for a living, I'm saving many years and didn't save a thing. so if you live in a poor country it's way harder but not impossible.

No, definitely not impossible. But not as easy as it is for some who take this fact for granted...

Hi , I started building my future long before I was ready to travel! I advise you to start now. You can start your own business and slowly develop it until it can replace your current income. You need to have all your processes automated so that your business generates passive income, even when you are sleeping or riding your bike. It won't necessarily be easy, let's be clear about that. I'm not offering you a magic solution that will make you financially free overnight. But I can offer you a business model that works like that. That's what I've been doing for a little over a year and I can work from anywhere, knowing that my business is working for me, even when I'm not in front of my computer. But yes, it takes work. But at least you're working for yourself and not a slave to the system as you say. If you think this is something you might be interested in, you can tag me in the comments. I'll be happy to give you access to free training that explains in detail how it works. For me, it was really eye-opening. Either way, I wish you the courage to follow your dreams. There are ways to get there and you can be the hero of your own movie. With hard work and determination, anything is possible! Have a great trip!

I got tired of working 12 hours a day in a factory... days, nights, always switching. After 22 years of this, I called it quits and took early retirement at 58. Now I want to travel and see as much as I can, preferably by bike..(first attempt) If I watch my spending and camp/rent hostel rooms, I may just be able to live my dream.

My husband and I have been bikepacking through California for a while. He walked from Idaho to San Diego where he met me and from San Diego we headed North. When we began, our ultimate destination was Talkeetna Alaska but now we'd like to start a home base in Montana. However, we are in no hurry as we have been working professionals most of our lives and ultimately decided that we didn't want to get to the end of our lives and only have mediocre jobs that paid measly shillings and caused a lot of stress as the only thing that we did with our lives. I made the decision to take a leap of faith and just know that somehow we would be provided for and we would figure it out along the way which we have. In order to support a very simple but fulfilling lifestyle. What I usually do is I post on each community's Facebook page that we are backpacker/bikepacker's traveling the coast of California and living off the grid in an attempt to discover all that we can about living free and unbound whilst discovering some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. I would post that we could do odd jobs like house cleaning, landscaping, building projects, pet sitting, catering help, and even shopping. Or if any local businesses need any assistance for a meal or anything else that we may need. The response has been overwhelming. We have not needed or wanted anything. Instinctively people genuinely want to help. And then by helping you out you are in return giving them a gift of being able to help. Also, we go through all the local churches and food donation Banks. Bike co-ops are usually where we do our tune-ups or trade in our bikes. I like to refer to our means of travel as hobicycling since I lovingly refer to our journey as "On Hobo Road".

never heard of anyone in a developed country who has starved to death because of a lack of funds. People are very kind to others. With that perspective, living with a small amount of money might not be a problem.

Yes. Work hard and put away as much money as possible. Buy the gear you need. Quit when the weather breaks and travel till your money runs out. Then repeat. Work winters travel summers. Keep your eyes open for opportunities along the way to make a few bucks. Or be a trust fund baby. Maybe a rich girlfriend could be an option. You're welcome!