We know travel is a huge part of your experience abroad and often ends up being most of your personal spending budget. But since you and your ILP group are planning where to go, where to stay, and how to get there, you can have some control of how much you’ll spend.

How much you spend on vacation will vary — flying is going to be more expensive than taking trains or buses, certain countries are going to be more expensive than others, etc. Traveling to another country on vacation is going to be much more expensive than staying in your own country.

Volunteers have told us that a budget of around $1,500-4,000+ will enable you to make the most of your time abroad, with most volunteers saying they actually spent somewhere in the middle of that range. Just remember: how much you spend abroad is completely up to you.

If you cannot afford to travel, you are welcome to stay in your city during vacation times. Certain ILP countries do require that you leave the country at some point to abide by visa rules, so if you’re planning to not travel, please let your representative know so that you can be placed in the right country for you.