What It Actually Costs to Take Those Once-in-a-lifetime Trips

The most affordable trip on the Experiences of a Lifetime TripIndex is a weeklong journey for two to the Cambodian “City of Temples.” Even with a day trip to the 12th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site, a four-star hotel stay, and meals, travelers can spend as little as $2,971. That’s thanks largely to the county’s affordable food and accommodations.

Outdoorsman Aron Ralston (the inspiration for the film 127 Hours) says a trip to the Grand Canyon in his adolescence made him fall in love with the National Parks. A weeklong trip for two to watch the sun rise over the rim may also be considered a “value” for some travelers, especially those based in the U.S. Expect to spend $3,003.

While you can save big on meals in Beijing, it’s the round-trip airfare that will really get you. A round-trip flight will cost, on average, $1,020 per person. Add in the tour ate and hotel room costs, and this bucket-list experience will cost upwards of $3,990.

It can easily cost a couple $4,330 to fly to Agra and to admire the Taj Mahal’s masterful Mughal and beautifully manicured grounds. Fortunately, the white-marble mausoleum now boasts free Wi-Fi.

Safaris have long had a reputation for being expensive, and TripAdvisor only confirmed this fact. Couples will spend more than $4,332 on a South African safari—especially if you consider that many trips to the African continent last closer to two weeks than one.

Six hundred miles off the shores of Ecuador lie the Galápagos Islands. TripAdvisor expects pairs to drop $4,616 to hang out with blue-footed boobies, the planet’s only marine iguanas, and extremely rare tortoises.

If you want to see one of the world’ most fragile ecosystems before it’s irreparably changed, allocate $1,634 for round-trip airfare, per person, and $376 for a tour. The grand total for a week on Australia’s famed coast will cost over $5,598.

Unless you score a crazy flight deal (we’ve seen flights for as little as $99 one-way) you could drop $1,093 on round-trip airfare from the United States to Iceland. Your grand total could be $5,877, thanks largely to pricey hotels and expensive taxis.

A pilgrimage to Machu Picchu isn’t a small commitment: after all, you’re on your way to find the Lost City of the Incas. Each person in the party will pay $899 for access to the Incan citadel, totaling $5,890 for two over the course of a week.

According to TripAdvisor, your dream trip to Heaven on Earth could be the most expensive trip-of-a-lifetime you take, thanks to round-trip airfare costing $2,500 per person. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a thing on the activity, if you don’t want to. Just find a nice viewpoint and watch the sun transform the white-and-blue island with its brilliant glow.