Budget/Backpacker Travel Guide: Asmara
Experience authentic local culture on a shoestring budget with hostels, street food, and public transport
Daily Budget: $25-58 per day
Complete breakdown of costs for budget/backpacker travel in Asmara
Accommodation
$15-30 per night
Budget rooms in Asmara mean shared bathrooms and thin walls. But you sleep within a ten-minute walk of the main avenue. Expect simple beds, cold tile floors, and a ceiling fan that works half the time. Still, the central neighborhoods are flat and safe for strolling after dark.
Browse budget/backpacker accommodation →Food & Dining
$5-12 per day
Start the day with a strong macchiato pulled at a street-side kiosk. Lunch is injera loaded with shiro, scooped up with your right hand. Grab fresh mango or papaya from market stalls for pennies.
Transportation
$2-6 per day
Hop on shared contract taxis that run fixed loops through the city. Walking the compact city center takes thirty minutes corner to corner. When rain threatens, hail a solo taxi.
Activities
$3-10 per day
Self-guided walks past Italian modernist facades cost nothing. Duck into Art Deco lobbies and pretend you are in 1938. Open-air markets are free. Museums charge a modest 50 nakfa or two.
Currency: Eritrean Nakfa (ERN) is the official currency. USD is widely accepted. Foreign visitors rely on cash because local banking is limited.
Money-Saving Tips
The Italian modernist streetscape along the main avenue is a free open-air museum. Walk south into the Art Deco blocks and giggle at the chrome. A half-day costs nothing and covers the most visually striking part of any Asmara visit.
Eat injera with shiro or zigni at neighborhood restaurants. Skip hotel dining rooms. You will cut meal costs by fifty to seventy percent and taste better spice.
Learn the shared contract taxi routes. Pay a fraction of solo taxi fares. Savings compound across a multi-day stay.
Carry your entire budget in USD cash. Local ATMs spurn foreign cards. Exchange at the official window when needed.
Team up with other travelers. Split vehicle hire costs for day trips toward the escarpment or nearby towns. Everyone saves.
Hit local market areas before 9 a.m. Buy tomatoes, onions, and fresh bread. Self-catering one meal a day trims serious cash over a week.
Travel during the cooler dry months. Avoid peak holiday periods. Limited accommodation stock keeps rates steady.
Common Budget Mistakes to Avoid
Hotel restaurants overcharge. Asmara's best food hides in modest local establishments. Markup erodes budgets fast.
Arrive without sufficient USD cash and you will regret it. ATMs can be inconsistent. Running short of local currency mid-trip causes logistical headaches.
Hiring a private vehicle inside the compact city center is pointless. Asmara rewards walking. Save money and see more.