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Indonesia on $15 a day in Tuk Tuk, Sumatra.

June 8, 2009 By James Clark 8 Comments

Cost Of Living: Tuk Tuk, Sumatra – Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the best value countries for travel in Asia. To give you an idea of the cost of living I have kept track of a days expenditure for where I am staying in Tuk Tuk, Sumatra.

The following expenses are food, accommodation and other sundries. Travel expenses are not included here as I will not need to travel for a month.

Daily Expenses

The Indonesian Rupiah is highly denominated but it is easy enough to keep track of as 10,000 INR = $1 USD.

Accommodation 60,000 INR ($6.00 USD)
Internet (2 hours) 30,000 INR ($3.00 USD)
Bottled Water 5,000 INR (50 cents USD)

Lakeside accommodation: Tuk-Tuk - Sumatra
[Lakeside accommodation: Tuk-Tuk – Sumatra]

Breakfast

Banana Pancake 9,000 INR (90 cents USD)
Coffee with milk 5,000 INR (50 cents USD)

Sumatran Coffee
[Sumatran Coffee]

Lunch

Nasi Goreng 12,000 INR (1.20 USD)
Banana Shake 10,000 INR (1.00 USD)

Nasi Goreng
[Nasi Goreng]

Lunch at Tuk-Tuk

This lunch of Noodles and fresh orange juice was 16,000 INR (about $1.50 US) The view of Lake Toba is an added bonus.

Dinner

Veg Rendang 15,000 INR (1.50 USD)
Rice 4,000 INR (40 cents USD)
Sprite 6,000 (60 cents USD)

Vegetable Rendang
[Vegetable Rendang]

So tallied altogether my expenses are:

Accommodation 60,000 ($6.00 USD)
Internet 30,000 ($3.00 USD)
Water 5,000 (50 cents USD)
Breakfast 14,000 INR ($1.40 USD)
Lunch 22,000 ($2.20 USD)
Dinner 25,000 ($2.50 USD)

Total: 156,000 ($15.60 USD)

This total is kept down as I have no daily travel expenses here. I also only eat meat a couple of times a week so a vegetarian diet tends to be less expensive.

My $6 accommodation consists of a cottage room with a king size bed, a bathroom with hot water and a view of the lake. Rooms without hot water and a view can be found for $3.

If you are a meat eater and like to snack more during the day you will still come in under $20 USD a day. If you really wanted to you could get the expenditure down to $10 a day, making it one of the best value countries in Asia.

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: cost of living, food, indonesia, samosir, sumatra, tuk-tuk

Comments

  1. Radze says

    July 9, 2011 at 3:19 am

    $15 day in indonesia is inspiring !! i wonder if you have visit the capital, Jakarta. How much the living cost there that you managed in Jakarta ?

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      August 7, 2011 at 5:01 pm

      I did visit Jakarta it it is more expensive than living in Sumatra. The biggest expense in Jakarta is accommodation.

      Reply
  2. Spasibo says

    June 7, 2012 at 2:08 am

    How did you find your accommodations? And did you plan them ahead of time or not until arrival? Thanks

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      June 9, 2012 at 10:21 am

      I just looked around when I arrived. There are so many guest houses there that it is easy enough to find a place.

      Reply
  3. Spasibo says

    June 7, 2012 at 2:08 am

    How did you find your accommodations? And did you plan them ahead of time or not until arrival? Thanks

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      June 9, 2012 at 10:21 am

      I just looked around when I arrived. There are so many guest houses there that it is easy enough to find a place.

      Reply
  4. Belekoy says

    August 20, 2012 at 4:43 am

    This is a good “find” in terms of frugal travel.

    Reply
  5. Belekoy says

    August 20, 2012 at 4:43 am

    This is a good “find” in terms of frugal travel.

    Reply

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James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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