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

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]

Breakfast

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

[Sumatran Coffee]

Lunch

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

[Nasi Goreng]

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]

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.