# Nomad Mac Travels - City Pricing Review Draft **Prepared:** August 14, 2026 **Purpose:** Review before publishing any budget or Route Builder pricing. **Traveler model:** One adult making a 30-day-or-less exploratory visit. Costs must reflect a private furnished room, apartment, guesthouse, or hotel; local food with some cafes/restaurants; local transport; normal sightseeing; and a small buffer. They do **not** represent a long-term retirement lease, a family budget, flights, visa costs, insurance, or a luxury vacation. ## How to read this draft - **Ready:** Two or more current sources, including evidence relevant to a visitor or furnished short stay. Candidate for a published range after your review. - **Provisional:** Good current evidence for some categories, but no reliable 30-day exploratory-stay total yet. Keep "Research in progress" on the site. - **Hold:** Too little current, city-specific short-stay evidence. Do not show a numerical total. ## Candidate estimates ready for your review | City | 30-day exploratory estimate | What the figure covers | Confidence | Why this is usable now | |---|---:|---|---|---| | Da Nang, Vietnam | **USD 900-1,300** | Private accommodation, local food, Grab/motorbike transport, modest activities, ordinary day-to-day spending | Medium | Multiple current 2026 expat and traveler sources converge around this range. It is not a luxury beach-resort budget. | | Jakarta, Indonesia | **IDR 12.2M-21.9M** before live USD conversion | Private room, local food, ride-hailing/transit, one paid activity at a time, snacks and buffer | Medium | The total is transparently assembled from a current 2026 city travel breakdown, not copied from a resident lease guide. | | George Town / Penang, Malaysia | **RM 3,000-4,000** before live USD conversion | Hostel/cheap apartment or modest room, hawker food, local transport, basic entertainment | Medium | A current Penang guide expressly describes this as the budget-traveler range. A second 2026 guide independently supports local rent and food costs. | ### Da Nang evidence - Vietnam Relocate's current 2026 guide provides a USD 700 shoestring, USD 1,300 comfortable, and USD 3,000+ premium model, and explicitly describes the lower model as suitable for someone testing Vietnam before committing. - A current local Reddit spending report documented a four-week Da Nang spend of USD 514 for room plus food/coffee in a basic setup; that is useful as a floor, not the site recommendation. - A current resident/traveler discussion gives a USD 60 nightly hotel and USD 50 daily food-and-coffee example, which is a higher short-stay reference point. Sources: - https://www.vietnamrelocate.com/monthly-budget-in-da-nang-2026/ - https://www.reddit.com/r/DaNang/comments/1qyf6ji/expenses_report/ - https://www.reddit.com/r/DaNang/comments/1valjgq/what_should_my_budget_be/ ### Jakarta evidence and transparent calculation Current 2026 city travel components: | Category | Daily range in IDR | 30-day range in IDR | |---|---:|---:| | Private room | 200K-400K | 6.0M-12.0M | | Food | 100K-150K | 3.0M-4.5M | | Transport | 50K-80K | 1.5M-2.4M | | Activities | 25K-50K | 0.75M-1.5M | | Water, snacks, buffer | 55K-75K | 1.65M-2.25M | | **Transparent total** | **405K-755K** | **12.15M-22.65M** | The displayed candidate estimate rounds this to IDR 12.2M-21.9M. The final website should convert this to USD using the live currency panel on the date the visitor is planning, rather than permanently baking a conversion rate into the city data. Sources: - https://www.jakartatourism.org/budget-travel-jakarta/ - https://www.expatden.com/indonesia/cost-of-living-in-jakarta/ ### Penang evidence - A current Penang guide lists RM 3,000-4,000 monthly for budget travelers using hostel or cheap-apartment accommodation, hawker food, local transport, and basic entertainment. - A separate 2026 Penang expat guide lists George Town one-bedroom apartments at RM 1,200-2,500 monthly and notes that someone eating mainly at hawker centres can eat well for under RM 700 monthly. Those are resident-style components, so the visitor range should remain a range rather than a single promise. Sources: - https://www.visitpenang.com/living-in-penang/cost-of-living - https://www.visitpenang.com/guides/expat-guide ## Provisional evidence - stay unpriced for now | Country | City | What we have | What is still missing | |---|---|---|---| | Thailand | Chiang Mai | Current resident and visitor-style daily examples | Second independent short-stay lodging source | | Thailand | Pattaya | 2026 guesthouse, hotel, local-transport components | Complete activity and food evidence outside nightlife-focused sources | | Thailand | Phuket | Current hotel and food component evidence | Season-aware 30-day furnished-stay comparison | | Thailand | Ao Nang | Current evidence that it is costlier than Krabi Town | Reliable private-room and activity total by season | | Thailand | Hua Hin, Koh Samui, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Rayong | Recent long-stay estimates | Visitor-specific accommodation evidence | | Vietnam | Hoi An, Nha Trang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat, Hue, Vung Tau, Phu Quoc, Can Tho | Recent resident components in several cities | Short-stay lodging plus activities for a transparent total | | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Malacca City, Ipoh, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Langkawi, Subang Jaya, Kota Bharu | Current rent/food evidence in several cities | Visitor accommodation and transport evidence; Kota Kinabalu also needs a ride-hailing allowance because transit is limited | | Philippines | Manila, Makati, BGC, Cebu, Dumaguete, Davao, Baguio, Iloilo, Subic Bay, Puerto Princesa | Current furnished-rent, food, or local reports | Reliable 30-day visitor lodging and attraction cost data | | Indonesia | Canggu, Ubud, Sanur, Seminyak, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan, Senggigi | Current long-stay rents and some traveler data | Location/season-aware furnished short-stay evidence | | Cambodia | Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampot, Kep, Sihanoukville, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Krong Svay Rieng, Poipet, Pursat | Several current resident totals, especially Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampot | Short-stay accommodation and activity evidence city by city | | Laos | Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Pakse, Savannakhet, Thakhek, Luang Namtha, Phonsavan, Muang Ngoi, Nong Khiaw | Current aggregate prices for Vientiane and rent references for Luang Prabang | Reliable traveler/expat breakdowns for nearly all locations | ## Important cautions for public wording 1. Use "planning range" or "estimated exploratory-trip fund," never "what it will cost you." Real prices change with season, neighborhood, AC use, bookings, food preferences, and activities. 2. Show the date the evidence was reviewed and link the source list from each city. 3. Keep long-term retirement budgets separate from the Route Builder. A 12-month lease can be much cheaper than a furnished 30-day stay. 4. Do not use imported-food, nightlife, alcohol, flights, health insurance, visas, or private medical costs as assumed defaults. Make them optional add-ons later. 5. The currency card should handle conversion. City source data should remain in its original local currency so it can be audited and updated. ## Recommendation for the website after approval Launch the three reviewed city ranges above as a labeled beta: **"Current planning range, reviewed August 2026."** Keep every other city visible in the Route Builder but show **"Detailed pricing research in progress"** until it meets the same evidence standard. This is more trustworthy than showing 70 polished-looking numbers with uneven support.