Curious about how much it actually costs to travel in Afghanistan? One of the biggest questions I had before going was what a realistic Afghanistan travel budget looks like. After spending 11 days exploring the country, I tracked every afghani I spent to give you a real Afghanistan travel budget breakdown.
While Afghanistan isn’t your typical tourist destination, it’s surprisingly affordable once you’re inside the country. The biggest cost is the visa (around 90 USD) and perhaps accommodation, as there are no hostels, but aside from that, everything else is “cheap”. I paid no more than a few USD for most meals, and the table was full! Afghans know how to eat! In general, Afghans are incredibly hospitable, and there’ll be many moments on your trip where you’ll be handed fruits, sweets, and sodas without any expectation to pay.
Back in September 2024, I travelled through Afghanistan and thankfully, the friend I was travelling with recorded everything we spent (thank you, Jacob!). Below is a brief breakdown of our expenses in Afghanistan, allowing you to budget accordingly.
Is Afghanistan open for travellers?
Four decades of almost continuous war kept tourists away from Afghanistan. But when the Taliban seized control more than three years ago, they began actively promoting tourism in an attempt to gain international legitimacy. Despite this push, the country remains largely isolated due to severe human rights violations, leaving its 41 million people cut off from much of the world.
Last year, I was one of just 9,000 tourists who visited Afghanistan, and while I do not condone the actions of the Taliban, I believe it’s important to separate the people from their rulers. I want to encourage others to consider visiting—not to endorse the regime, but to engage with the Afghan people and support them directly. Of the money I spent, only $90 went to the Taliban (in the form of visas and permits), while over $400 went to local people and small businesses.
Afghanistan travel budget Breakdown
Visa cost for Afghanistan
While Afghanistan may seem inaccessible, obtaining a tourist visa is definitely possible. As I was travelling overland through Central Asia, I went for the visa-on-arrival option and paid the equivalent of $90 at the Afghan-Tajik border crossing. Read about my experience and advice at the Sher Khan Bandar border here.
There are several countries where travellers have successfully obtained a tourist visa for Afghanistan—among them Dubai, Pakistan and Turkey, to name just a few.
Total spend on visa: $90
Clothes for Afghanistan
Just before crossing the border into Afghanistan, I visited a local market in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and purchased a long black dress and a headscarf, spending a total of $10. I originally planned to buy more outfits once I had entered the country, but I ended up wearing the same thing every day. I washed my dress in the sink every other night and let it air dry as it was so warm.
If you’re a woman, I’d advise buying an appropriate outfit and headscarf beforehand. If you’re a man, it’s perfectly acceptable to enter wearing your regular clothes (just not shorts), and you can buy a traditional outfit when you arrive.
Total spent on traditional clothes: $10
Insurance for Afghanistan
As you would expect, many insurance companies do not cover Afghanistan. That being said, you might be surprised to learn that many do! I use SafetyWings, a digital nomad insurance provider, all year-round, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they cover Afghanistan.
I pay $56 a month, so for the 11 days I was in Afghanistan, I paid around $18.
Other insurance providers that cover Afghanistan are Rocky Road Travel and High Risk Voyager.
Travel permit cost in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has 34 provinces, and to travel within the country, the Taliban require permits for each province you enter. Many travel agencies offer to organise travel permits for travellers in Afghanistan in advance (for a small fee). But don’t worry; you can easily obtain these from the Ministry of Information and Culture (وزارت )once you arrive for free. If an official worker asks you for money for the permits, refuse. Below is what the permits typically look like.
Daily Afghanistan Travel Budget Breakdown
I spent AFN 23,666 ($331) for 11 days in Afghanistan, totalling AFN 2,000 ($28) per day. Below, I go into more details.
Cost of Accommodation in Afghanistan
Accommodation will likely be the biggest expense during your time in Afghanistan. Just over a third of my Afghanistan travel budget went on accommodation.
Since Jacob and I were able to split the cost of the room, my total spend on accommodation was thankfully reasonable. However, if you’re a solo traveller, expect to pay more as there are no hostels. Most single rooms at the hotels we stayed at were around AFN 1000/1500 ($13-20).
Here are some examples of what we paid for accommodation in Afghanistan:
Twin room in a hotel in Kabul (including breakfast): AFN 1500 ($21 / $11 each)
Twin room in hotel in Bamyan (including breakfast): AFN 1800 ($25 / $12.50 each)
Triple room in hotel in Kandahar: AFN 750 ($10.50 / $3.50 each)
If your budget is super low, you have the option of staying in a chaikana.
Chaikanas in Afghanistan
What is a chaikana, you may be wondering? Most chaikanas are local restaurants with basic rooms and a shared bathroom or sometimes just a toilet. Expect to pay between AFN 100 and 500 per room. You’ll find a carpet, a mattress, and a few pillows. If you stay in a chaikana, it’s likely the Taliban will come and check on you. We stayed in a chaikana in Yakawlang; the Taliban came to check on us and proceeded to sleep next door.
Many of the chaikanas in Afghanistan can be found on the iOverlander app.
Chaikana close to the Minaret of Jam (including dinner and breakfast): 1000 AFN ($14/ $3.50 each between 4 of us)
Transport costs in Afghanistan
The cost of travelling to Afghanistan will vary depending on how you plan to enter the country. Lots of travellers enter Afghanistan as part of an overland trip, like I did, while others choose to fly into Kabul International Airport.
Cost of entering Afghanistan overland
As I mentioned, I travelled overland from Tajikistan via the Sher Khan Bandar border. From the border, I paid AFN 200 to travel for 1 hour in a shared taxi to the nearest city, Kunduz. If you’re entering at the Iran-Afghan border (Islam Qala) to head to Herat, I’ve heard that a seat in a shared taxi costs around AFN 1000.
Cost of flying into Kabul
Flying into Kabul (Hamid Karzai International Airport) requires some planning, as there are no direct flights from Western countries. Most travellers connect through Istanbul or Dubai. A friend of mine flew to Dubai to obtain his Afghan visa. It was issued within 6 hrs, and then he flew into Kabul.
Return flights typically cost $250 return from Dubai, depending on how far in advance you book. You can check flight deals here.
Getting around Afghanistan: Public Transport
While you can opt to fly domestically to the major cities in Afghanistan, I’d recommend taking the local transport. There’s plenty of public transportation in Afghanistan, just like in any other country. Most take the form of shared taxis, although large, air-conditioned buses also operate on certain routes, such as those from Kabul to Herat or Kabul to Mazar-i-Sharif, for example.
While we took a fair number of shared taxi journeys in Afghanistan, we were incredibly lucky to meet Bart, a wonderful Belgian man who hired a local driver. We joined him on a 4-day trip to reach one of the most difficult UNESCO sites in the world, the Minaret of Jam. He kindly offered that we only pay the cost of the shared local transportation.
Here are examples of the prices I paid for shared transport in Afghanistan:
Shared taxi from Kunduz to Kabul (9hrs): AFN 1100 / $15
Shared taxi from Kabul to Pakistan (Torkham) border (4hrs): AFN 700 / $10.45
Food and drink costs in Afghanistan
When I think back to my trip to Afghanistan, one of the clearest images that comes to mind is the sight—and smell—of kebabs sizzling over open flames. For vegetarians, it’s worth noting that Afghanistan can be a tough place to travel—meat dominates nearly every menu. Dishes like kebabs and pilau are at the heart of Afghan cuisine.
A big portion of kebab, served with bread and salad: AFN 150-200 / $2-2.50
Afghanistan also has incredible juices and fruits, and every day I’d take at least one roadside smoothie. Price?
Smoothie: AFN 80 / $1.
Magic soda: AFN 25 / $0.45
Sheeryak (Afghan ice cream): AFN 80 / $0.99
Fresh bread from the bakery: AFN 5 / $0.15
Activities and entrance fees in Afghanistan
Many of the best sights in Afghanistan are its mosques, which are usually free. We visited both the Central Blue Mosque in Herat and the Red Mosque in Kandahar at no cost.
Other attractions, however, have two different entrance fees— one for locals and a much higher one for tourists. For example, to visit Babur’s Garden in Kabul, the cost is AFN 40 for locals and AFN 300 for foreigners. For the Minaret of Jam, we paid AFN 1000 ($14) while our local friends paid a 10th of the price.
Paying a higher rate than locals didn’t bother me—our salaries aren’t even comparable, so I was happy to pay more. But I just want to give you a heads up so you know what to expect.
Other costs when travelling in Afghanistan
During my trip to Afghanistan, there were very few unexpected costs. One thing I want to mention is buying a SIM card. I went to the Afghan Wireless SIM shop when I arrived in my first city, Kunduz, and paid AFN 700 ($10) for a 10GB SIM for a month. Just a heads up, while it was useful to have a SIM, outside of the major cities, we had no signal.
Also, tipping isn’t expected in every situation, but it’s appreciated. I gave a few tips to our taxi drivers, who were really thankful.
Total Afghanistan travel budget
I spent 11 days travelling through Afghanistan, visiting Kunduz, Kabul, Bamyan, Band-e-Amir, the Minaret of Jam, Herat and Kandahar. As I mentioned, I spent $118 on visa, insurance and clothes and aside from this, I spent AFN 23,666 ($331) in total, which works out to around AFN 2,000 ($28) per day. Pretty good.
Obviously, if you’re flying to Afghanistan or plan to take domestic flights, your Afghanistan travel budget will need to be much higher. My budget was also particularly low because I shared hotel rooms with my friend Jacob, and Bart, the Belgian traveller I mentioned, really helped us save on transport.
One thing to note is that there are no ATMs in the country accepting international cards. So, whatever you expect to spend, you need to bring in cash—preferably USD—and exchange it for AFN when you arrive. In Afghanistan, cash is king, so don’t expect to be able to pay via card.