Travel in Budget

Stuart S. Travel asked:


One you can afford – seriously. 

 

Look at how much you earn. What can you put aside for a trip? What are you prepared to sacrifice to make your trip a reality? Maybe you’ve been saving for a while and have a few thousand dollars in the bank. You do? Great. Well that’s your realistic budget. If you want to fly to Europe tomorrow and you only have ten dollars in the bank then you are not being realistic. But it might be enough to get you in to the local museum for a few hours escape.

 

When you are setting your budget, be practical. Everyone has different needs for their travel experience and if your travel plans include overseas flights, you will need to budget accordingly. Sure you can find great deals and get there cheaper than you might have expected, but make sure you have enough money in your budget to not only get you there but to travel around, find a place to sleep, oh and have enough money to be able to eat! 

 

So how do you go about setting a budget? Following these steps might help:

1. Draw up a table with two columns.

2. Column A is for Expense Items. Column B is for Approximate Costs.

3. In column A write down all the things you can think of that will cost you money while traveling. These might include: air flights, car hire/fuel allowance, travel passes, sight-seeing tours, accommodation, food, insurance, immunizations, and souvenirs.

4. In column B write an estimate of how much you think these things will cost while on your trip. You can research your travel costs quite easily on the Internet. Food allowance might be a bit more difficult. If you are traveling alone, as a couple or in a family you will need to budget food costs accordingly.

5. Now add up the costs. This will give you an estimate of how much your trip will cost. Can you afford it? Yes – then this is a realistic budget for you. If not, then you may have to rethink your destination and the type of travel experience you want.

 

Remember that this table will only be an estimate of your travel costs. You must also budget for incidentals and prepare yourself for things to not go to plan. For example, have you got enough money in your budget to buy new clothes if your luggage goes missing? A realistic travel budget will have extra built in to it to cover emergencies. Setting yourself a budget of about sixty-five dollars a day, if traveling alone, is a reasonable amount. If you are traveling as a family or in a group, this number will be vastly different. 

 

Also consider if you will be traveling and working. If this is the case, then you may not need as much to start with, just enough money to get you to your destination and a place to live while you look for work. (And enough money to buy you food until you begin earning a wage.)

 

Start making your travel plans with your budget in mind. Don’t exceed your budget, always keep a little in reserve so you can buy that fantastic Italian leather handbag or go jet-skiing in Hawaii if the desire takes you!

 

This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru

www.stuartstravel.com



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Stuart S. Travel asked:


So you’re going on a trip. Fantastic! Exciting! But what sort of trip are you planning to take? Is it for business or pleasure? Where are you headed? Who are you going with? Just what kind of travel experience do you want?

 

Traveling on a budget can give you all sorts of experiences, depending on a) your budget, b) where you want to go, and c) what you want to do. Everyone’s budget will be different, and traveling on a budget means knowing how much money you can afford to spend and sticking to that amount. So if you have a budget of two thousand dollars, your travel experience will be different from someone who has a budget of ten thousand dollars. It’s all relative to the dollar amount, but knowing some tricks to help you save money while traveling will make your dollars stretch further therefore increasing your travel experience.

 

Do you want to travel overseas? Do you want to travel around your home country? Do you want to stay in luxury accommodation or are you going to back- pack? Are you traveling with children or are you honeymooning? Are you traveling with a bunch of friends or are you keen to experience a group tour with strangers? Do you want to go to popular tourist sites or do you want to experience a destination’s way of living in remote areas? 

 

All these questions are things you need to ask yourself before you begin to plan your trip. You can either plan your trip with your budget in mind, or plan your trip, work out how much money you’ll need and save until you can get there. The first is probably a little easier to do because when the travel bug hits, you generally want to take off as soon as possible. Knowing your budget can guide you in making your decision of how and where you will be traveling. But if you have your heart set on a trip of a lifetime to an exotic island in the Pacific then you will need to save accordingly. It’s your choice.

 

Once you know what type of experience you are after, it’s time to work out the best way to get it on your available funds. Traveling on a budget is easier than you think these days. No longer does it mean living on stale food and sleeping in questionable accommodation. If you are wise and spend some time investigating deals to your chosen destination you could be able to enhance your traveling experience more than you thought possible. A bit of research will get you a long way when traveling on a budget.

 

This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru

www.stuartstravel.com



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Paul Hata asked:


The budget for food can be one of the most expensive parts of any vacation, and many travelers underestimate how much they will spend on food while traveling and end up busting their budget as a result.

There are a number of ways to keep the food budget under control while still enjoying delicious, satisfying and healthy meals.

For many people, good food is a large part of the travel experience, and sampling the local cuisine should be a goal of every traveler to a foreign location.

Saving money on food does not mean skimping or missing out on the special food that makes many regions of the United States, Europe, Asia and other destinations so special.

It is important to eat a healthy and hearty breakfast every day while traveling. Many hotels include a daily breakfast in their room rate, and if this is available it is important to take advantage of the perk.

Starting each morning with a healthy breakfast will give you the energy you need for walking around and seeing the sights, and it will help deter you from splurging on expensive and unhealthy snacks before it is time for lunch.

Lunch can be a very important meal when traveling, and it is the best time to get the most value from some of the finest restaurants in your destination city.

While lunches in the working world are often rushed affairs eaten quickly, or even in the car on the way back to work, vacation lunches can be long, restful, relaxing and delicious.

If there is an expensive restaurant you’ve been itching to splurge at, why not head there for lunch instead of dinner? You get the same great food, often at a significantly lower price.

One great way to sample the local cuisine and save money at the same time is to eat where the local people do.

Ask the staff at your hotel for recommendations of restaurants they eat at. Restaurants with a large concentration of locals are usually high quality and low priced destinations.

Eating dinner or lunch in ethnic neighborhoods is another way to sample the local cuisine and culture while saving lots of money. Sampling the food in the local Chinatown, Korea town, Little Italy, Little Saigon or similar neighborhood is a great way to meet local people and enjoy some great food.

For a quick pick me up or snack, try packing a few granola bars, a bag of trail mix or a few pieces of fruit in your backpack or purse before you head out for the day.

These items can be bought inexpensively at local markets or grocery stores.

A quick trip to the local grocery store for supplies can be a great way to save money while traveling.For instance, many travelers will spend a half hour at the local grocery store, stocking up on bottled water, cereal and other low cost foods.

Keeping those foods and water on hand in the hotel room is a great way to save money on eating.

Having your own picnic is another great way to both have a great time and save money on food while traveling.

Try packing a picnic lunch and enjoy the spectacular views as you hike to your favorite spot in the mountains.

Or pack a romantic dinner for two and head for the local outdoor concert. Picnics are great, and very memorable ways to enhance any vacation experience.



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