130 World cities ranked cheapest to most expensive: Backpacker Index for 2015

We have all heard that some parts of the world are cheap to visit while others are expensive but most people have a hard time quantifying any more precisely. That s why Price of Travel launched our Backpacker Index numbers for cities all over the world in late 2010. Now totally updated in its 5th year, below you ll find all major destinations around the world ranked by price for backpackers.

More specific information can be found by clicking on the regional articles just below, or by clicking on the individual city names in the main list.

There were some major changes on the list this year, mainly due to large swings in currency in much of the world. Compared to the US Dollar, all European currencies weakened, as did the Canadian Dollar, while most Asian currencies hovered around the same level all year. Once again, Asia dominates the cheap part of the list with the first 7 spots, while Europe dominates the expensive part at the bottom.

Detailed information available by region

What the prices below mean

There is a longer explanation of the Backpacker Index on each of the regional pages, but the short version is that we found the price for a group of things for each destination, and then translated that into US dollars in late January 2015. While this data is meant for backpackers and budget travelers, the proportions will be nearly identical, so the list should also be useful to those with more money to spend.

For each city this daily total includes:

• A dorm bed at a good and cheap hostel
• 3 budget meals
• 2 public transportation rides
• 1 paid cultural attraction
• 3 cheap beers (as an entertainment fund )

Backpacker Index: 130 global destinations for 2015