Let's Talk Travel Budget
Do you feel like you’d love to be able to travel but don’t think you can afford it? Do you feel like you don’t know how much you’ll need to take a dream trip? You’re not alone. People all over the world miscalculate their travel budgets all the time. So, let’s take a minute to break it down to simplify your planning a bit and try to save you money and a financial disaster that prevents you from traveling in the future while you recuperate.
Even if you save $1 every day for a year, you still only come up with $365 at the end. It isn’t much to show for saving but you can find roundtrip plane tickets for less than that. It depends on where you’re going but believe it or not, mini-vacations can happen for $365 per person.
There are plenty of tricks to finding the best deals on trips. As a travel agent, I’ve seen every budget you can imagine from $300 to $150,000. Yes. $150,000 for one vacation. For privacy reasons I’m not going into much more info on that but just know that’s an around the world trip over months for one trip. One of the most difficult questions we get from clients is to just tell them what deals we can get them without a specific location or real dates in mind. That is not how any system works anywhere. You need to narrow down at least an area you want to go, and have an idea what month(s) you’d be able to travel and we can go from there. If you just know you want to go somewhere with a beach, during a certain time of year, there are experts able to help you narrow that down based on your priorities.
If you’re really desperate, reach out to a local travel agent. Most travel agents don’t get paid unless you actually book with them, so please respect their time and work they put in for you. Rarely is their commission going to be very high when they do get paid. However, most are familiar with places enough to recommend an area of the world that may meet your personality type. We try to master matching places to personalities.
Anyway, back to finances. It’s a good rule of thumb to try to only finance your trip if it’s far enough out that you’ll be able to pay it off by the time you go. Unless it’s a once in a lifetime trip for you and you’re ok with making payments for a while on it. The perks to using credit cards for travel are: points- sometimes extra points or miles for airfare or rental cars, lower exchange rate fees, recognized cards worldwide - just to name a few. It’s just best if you can pay it off sooner rather than later. If it is a once in a lifetime trip, please make sure to get travel insurance to protect it especially. Don’t lose all that money if you can help it.
*If you are traveling internationally, please remember exchange rates, and fees.*
For airfare, this will likely be the most expensive part of your whole trip. Unless you like higher end hotels, or are doing a long cruise and paid for a suite. Apps like Wego are helpful for hunting cheap airfare. Sometimes you can find a great deal but you have to sacrifice some hours of your trip on stops between home and your destination. It can pay off though. There’s a site called justgetoutoftown.com where you can sign up to get really great airfare rates too. If you just want to get somewhere and don’t mind having stops, this can be a great way to get cheap airfare. Just be careful of airlines who charge a little up front and then stick it to you with fees once you fly. You can end up spending more on those fees than a ticket with a good airline.
I have always found good deals on hotels. You have to take into consideration the area you’re in, but I don’t go too high end, and I have been okay with a Motel 6 in the past just to see an area and keep the cost low. I have only lost the hotel roulette a couple of times really where I got stuck with something pretty bad. I survived though. My one requirement for my travels is not sharing a bathroom or a bedroom with people I don’t know. I have found hotels with private bathrooms that weren’t that much more a night than a hostel, and that little bit of difference is so worth it. Especially as I get older.
Getting around once you’re in a place: Sometimes depending on the trip you want to take, renting a car may be the cheapest option up front. It is important to factor in gas prices, insurance, tolls, and parking in some cases. Taking trains is a great option in Europe, but not so much in other parts of the world like the United States. There are certainly some cities in the States that have subways/metros, but long distance trains are not quite as ideal. Busses can be an option everywhere but a good factor to consider is timing of bus routes. Overall, it’s crucial to calculate all transportation options for any trip because it can add up very quickly. In Paris for example, I learned that buying a monthly metro pass was actually cheaper than paying every time I hopped on and off the trains.
Food is another thing to factor into any budget. If you are on a cruise, meals are included. If you do an all-inclusive resort, most meals are included but there are always upgrades to watch out for. There are fast food places available in most places around the world but it’s likely that if you are accustomed to America’s cheap fast food, you will be paying more for it in other places.
THE BREAKDOWN
Air will likely be your most expensive purchase. Airport taxes play a role in how much airfare will be. If you are flying somewhere specific, it’s good to start with the biggest airport in that area for your rates because a lot of the bigger airports actually charge less.
Lodging can be pretty cheap but when looking at hotels, make sure to look for private bathrooms if this is important to you. It’s safe to say you likely won’t be spending less than $100 (USD) a night for anything that is decent in most places. If you prefer hostels, that is certainly an option but lock your stuff, and bring flip flops for showering. I like to stay a little more middle of the road for hotel budget because I don’t want to feel dirty but I also know I won’t be spending much time in the room when I am in a new place that I want to explore.
Transportation is almost always miscalculated. Sure rental car companies get you in the door with low rates, but when all is said and done, you can easily end up paying three times as much as you budgeted, and then you have to plan gas and other fees once you actually have the car in your possession. Trains look cheap but it is definitely best to buy a long term pass to save money. Don’t expect to be able to hop on and off without paying more than you would with a pass. It is good to know how many times you will need to use that pass, and if you will have transfers, and the actual routes/zones of the trains because you can end up paying for every transfer too.
Plan your meal budget before going. What do you normally spend on groceries/eating out at home? It is safe to say you can easily double that during your travels.
Long story short, be aware that you may have gotten a good deal for your trip in some ways, but you still need to factor in all of the little things that get you around your destination, and back home. There are a lot of little things to factor and I didn’t even list everything here. We could go into souvenirs and all of that too because I am one that falls into the souvenir trap every time, and on my last trip I spent half of our trip money on souvenirs and that was even by saving money by buying chocolate and food things from the grocery stores over there. So, just remember it adds up very quickly.
Tips
Gas is more expensive on highways and over holidays, so plan around that if possible
If possible, be open to flying into a different city (in some areas a different country) that isn’t as expensive and train, bus, drive to where you actually want to be. Sometimes this can save you quite a bit on airfare
Buy activity tickets online before you go. This not only saves time by not waiting in line, but a lot of places give you a discount for buying online
Plan meals while traveling like you do at home. When possible, buy food to cook or make for on the go, and limit your eating out at more expensive places to once a day or maybe a couple times throughout the trip. Keep in mind that restaurants by tourist attractions will be more expensive.
Buy some souvenirs like chocolate or food from local grocery stores
Order foreign currency from your bank before you go. Airports tend to charge more. ATMs in foreign countries will not only charge you the exchange rate, but they will charge ATM fees as well. Try to use ATMs sparingly
Walk to more destinations. Try to map activities for the day in a route that makes sense that you can walk to each place when possible. Walking is a great way to experience any city. I love Europe for its walking options. You get to take so much in. I love that just walking around places like London, you come across ruins of what once was. Be safe when you decide to walk though and stick to areas that aren’t sketchy and keep walking to daylight times as much as possible.
Buy train or bus passes for an entire week or month when it is cheaper because you will likely be using these options more than you think you will
Buy travel insurance to cover you in case of any emergency
Use credit cards if you earn miles or points for cash back but try to keep the whole trip on one card if possible so that paying off is easier than tracking across multiple cards
If only we all could afford gold fences
