Budget/Backpacker Travel Guide: Eritrea
Experience authentic local culture on a shoestring budget with hostels, street food, and public transport
Daily Budget: $29-76 per day
Complete breakdown of costs for budget/backpacker travel in Eritrea
Accommodation
$15-35 per night
Basic guesthouses, government-run rest houses, and simple pensiones in Asmara and coastal towns like Massawa. Rooms are no-frills, shared or private baths, city noise drifting through louvered shutters. Luxury is absent. The worn-tile charm of older Asmara guesthouses feels more atmospheric than spartan. Many travelers prefer it.
Browse budget/backpacker accommodation →Food & Dining
$6-18 per day
Local injera bread with savory stews of lentils, chickpeas, or slow-cooked meat forms the backbone of a budget diet in Eritrea. Neighborhood eateries serve generous platters scented with berbere spice and clarified butter. A full meal is possible if you eat where locals eat. Street tea and thick espresso round out the day cheaply.
Transportation
$3-8 per day
Shared minibuses and collective taxis navigate Asmara and connect towns for very little outlay. Routes feel unhurried, bodies pressed together, diesel warmth part of the ride. Walking is practical within Asmara's compact, flat center. Save your soles.
Activities
$5-15 per day
Eritrea's extraordinary Italian Modernist streetscape in Asmara can be walked for free. Cathedrals, mosques, and the old market district charge nothing to absorb. Minor entrance fees apply at a handful of museums and heritage sites. Days stay culturally full without significant outlay.
Currency: Nkf Eritrean Nakfa
Money-Saving Tips
Eat injera-based meals at neighborhood restaurants rather than tourist-facing establishments. The same dish costs two to three times more for no discernible improvement in quality or atmosphere. Choose wisely.
Use shared minibuses and collective taxis for all urban travel instead of private hires. This typically cuts transportation spending by more than half on any given day. Simple math.
Combine permit applications for multiple excursions at once rather than making separate trips to the permit office. Saves administrative overhead and any per-application fees. One visit suffices.
Take full advantage of Asmara's walkable center and its rewarding modernist streetscape. This delivers hours of cultural immersion at no cost. It often becomes the highlight travelers remember most vividly. Lace up.
Stock provisions at local markets for day trips and long overland journeys. Food options outside the capital can be scarce and priced for a captive audience. Pack snacks.
Travel with at least one other person and split the fixed costs of permits, hired vehicles, and guide fees. These costs often do not scale proportionally with group size. They represent the biggest line items in an Eritrea budget.
Common Budget Mistakes to Avoid
Arriving without enough hard currency is a serious misstep. ATMs are unreliable and scarce in Eritrea. The ability to exchange or access cash outside Asmara is limited to almost nothing. Running low on funds leaves travelers in a difficult position with no easy remedy nearby.
Ignoring the cumulative cost of travel permits is costly. Permits are required to leave the capital and visit most sites of interest. Fees add up across a multi-week itinerary. Naive per-day budgets miss this until the money is gone.
Spending exclusively in tourist-adjacent areas of Asmara carries a markup of fifty to one hundred percent. Walk a short distance to neighborhood restaurants or markets. The same food and services cost far less.