They say a penny saved is a penny earned. And through ‘Penny Wise’ article we try our bit to save your as much penny as possible. In this article we will talk about Kyrgyzstan, another Central Asian country. Now the question is how much money do you need to travel in Kyrgyzstan? Well the answer is not much. Kyrgyzstan is the cheapest country in Central Asia from the travelling point of view. Food and accommodation is available here for handful of dollars only.
Do you wonder why Kyrgyzstan is a delight destination for travellers in the first place? The answer is that Kyrgyzstan is gifted with captivating and breathtaking sceneries. To add to that people here will win over your heart with their friendly and warm welcoming nature. Now you may say all this is fine but what about the cost for different aspects of your travel in Kyrgyzstan? Let see a bit about them.
Your budget depends on where do you stay and what do you do in the country, doesn’t it? If you choose to stay in double bed rooms in guest houses here and go for plenty of excursions with delicious food it may cost you little over 50$ a day. Stay in Kyrgyzstan is of different kinds. You can stay in Dorms, Nice rooms in hotels, tents or yurts. But any of the place you stay you would not incur too much. In Kyrgyzstan one can get good food in Bishkek which offers both continental and local dishes in plenty. Meal here for two at quite a good restaurant costs less than 30 $ while some local food at local restaurants costs you around 2-3 $ only.
When it comes to activities, Horse riding trips in Kyrgyzstan is quite popular given the fact that country is full of high mountain peaks and high altitude lakes like Issyk – Kul lake and Song – Kol lake. In a country composed of 88 distinct mountain ranges, the options for exploring the natural world are beautiful and at times seem boundless. Horse riding trips including accommodation and food can be organized through Community Based Tourism (CBT) for $50 per day or less. Apart from this in cities one can enjoy the cultural performances at Opera on regular basis for just a few bucks.
Transportation in Kyrgyzstan is getting better which once used to be frustrating part of the travel. A share-taxi seat between Bishkek and Osh can be $30 or more, while getting to Issyk-Kul lake even on a minibus starts at less than 10$. Kyrgyzstan happens to be one of the most exciting travel destination and costs you quite less when compared to other Central Asian and other Eurasian countries. Let’s look here the cost of some of the vital items that will help you know the penny that you would need to incur once you are in Kyrgyzstan.
| Item | Price in Kyrgyzstani Som (KGS) | Price in dollars ($) |
| Meal for 2, in inexpensive Restaurant | 306.06 | 5.01 |
| Meal for 2, in mid range Restaurant, Three-course | 1808.77 | 29.60 |
| Combo Meal at McDonalds | 185.67 | 3.04 |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) | 68.39 | 1.12 |
| Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) | 122.22 | 2.00 |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 97.48 | 1.60 |
| Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) | 35.32 | 0.58 |
| Milk (Regular, 1 Ltr.) | 50.19 | 0.82 |
| Water (0.33 liter bottle) | 21.56 | 0.35 |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 305.55 | 5.00 |
| Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro) | 56.71 | 0.93 |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 91.66 | 1.50 |
| Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) | 12.49 | 0.20 |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 305.55 | 5.00 |
Prices are our approximations and may vary slightly.
Prices in dollars are calculated taking exchange rate of 1$= 61.1096 KGS
Prices of water etc are market prices and may vary at restaurants and hotels.
