Five Things that Will Bust Your Travel Budget in a Hurry (Part 2)
Updated: Jan 7, 2023
In my last post, I told you about some of the things that can send your trip from a jaunt to a voyage, budgetwise. In most cases, the extra expenses won't add much to your trip. In fact, those added splurges may actually take away from it since you'll have your empty checkbook in the back of your mind the whole time. (Does anyone actually have a checkbook anymore or does that just make me seem old?)
That said, let's move on to the final 3.
Rule #3: Don't plan every minute of your time.
If you are in a rush, it's tempting to overplan your days and try to cram an entire country into less than a week. I have friends who are leaving soon on a trip to see 8 European countries in 15 days. While I love that they are going to check a lot of boxes, I'm afraid it will be just that---seeing the highlights quickly.
In my experience, most group tours are all hustle, no happenstance.
There won't be any time to find the best cannoli in Vatican City, stop to listen to the street musicians in Paris, or discover a secret beach in Croatia. Something about finding stuff on your own makes it even more special.
After all, the downtime is where the magic happens.
Try to keep your schedule fairly wide open. I like to plan one (max two) activities per day and maybe one food or restaurant I want to try. Yes, that means that I might miss an Instagram must-see, but I've already seen everyone else's photos in that exact. same. spot. Instead, pare it down to what you really want to see and leave yourself time to savor the little moments.
On a recent trip to Spain with my niece, I was worried I didn't have enough planned for one particular day. (This is the problem with trip planning for others. You're never quite sure what they think vacation looks like. Fretting ensues. )
It turned out to be our favorite day of the trip. On our way to Park Guell (my one planned activity for the day), we ended up finding an awesome Saturday morning market, a killer churro shop, and a seamstress who made gorgeous flamenco dresses for the local dancers. Not to mention the best sangria in all of Spain. If we had booked a direct route to the park in order to fit in another activity, we would have missed all of this.
The activity I planned was great, but the trip there was even better.
Rule #4: Stalk your flights (or have a company do it for you).
I've said it before and I'll say it again---Scott Keyes is my travel hero. He literally changed my life.
When I was starting to explore international travel with my kids, I would find a "good" flight deal....and then multiply it by 5 and promptly do a spittake.
It just wasn't possible. At least not without stealing from my 401K.
But then I found what would later become my daily go-to: Scott's Cheap Flights. You pay a small yearly fee, tell them what airports you can leave from and where you want to go, and they send you two emails a day with mistake fares, price drops, and deals that you wouldn't think possible.
Google Flight Tracker (which I was using previously) will only track a particular flight. If you're not married to a certain destination, airline, date, or time of day, you might end up missing out when fares drop somewhere outside of that specific search.
Keye's company takes a broader view and tracks for the deals and then you can choose among the deals they find. Keyes calls it "planning backward." Once I discovered this method, the world opened up. Literally.
Our first family trip to Europe was a multi-city flight designed around a deal they sent me. In the end, our peak summer fares were less than $600 per person including luggage.
Ready for takeoff on one of their first international flights.
A few years later, my husband and I went to Greece for $600 each.
Santorini in October 2021
And then there was the one that got away.... Six months before COVID, airfare to Tokyo randomly dropped below $300. Seriously. In the summer. All the way across the globe. We booked...and then the world shut down.
The flights were cancelled and refunded (like millions of others) and the deal was lost.
And so began our family's travel dirge. 😭😭😭
Screenshot proof of the epic "deal that got away" (from Scott's Cheap Flights' archive)
The best part is that Scott's will rank the prices from COMMON to EXTREMELY RARE and tell you how long they think the deal will last. That way, you know when to jump and when you have time to think about it.
For more info on planning backward, see our earlier post "How to Take Big Trips on Little Budgets."
To sign up for Scott's emails, click here. You won't regret it.
Rule #5: Don't go fancy on accommodations that you won't be in much anyway.
Last but not least, the real kicker: where to stay. We have done all types of trips, and you probably have, too.
Consider this my version of those "How-many-points-do-you-have?" Facebook quizzes:
(Here, I'm probably supposed to tell you how many points the average American has, but this is a very un-scientific poll, so I don't know the answer to that.)
Have you stayed in ... ?
a tent
an RV (aka "glamping")
a yurt
a budget hotel
a mid-range hotel
a luxury hotel
a cruise ship
a car
an Airbnb/VRBO
a friend or relative's home
couch surfing
a shared home
a home swap
a farm
a dorm
a church
a lodge
a cabin
an ice hotel
NOTE: The ice hotel is a work in progress for me. Major bucket list item.
So we've all stayed in a lot of places. But what's important here is how little we cared about any of them.
Did we care about the cruise room? Only insomuch as it gave us access to the rest of the ship.
Do we remember the hotel in Venice? No. We were out wandering the canals and battling seagulls.
Do we remember our cabin in the Georgia foothills? No. We only remember the view.
In short, location, location, location.
Don't break the bank worrying about the quality of the accommodation unless the accommodation is the main attraction.
For example, if you are going on a couple's weekend in the mountains and you plan on staying in the cabin and reading novels in the hot tub for two days, then splurge on the one with the hot tub. But if you are going to the mountains to hike and shop and be outside, don't worry about what your bedroom looks like at the end of the day. As long as it's a bed, you'll probably be pretty happy with it.
With accommodations, our top priorities usually are...
1. Basic Location
Don't be the one person at the wedding who booked a hotel 30 miles away to save $20. There's that.
But also, don't pay triple the price to stay in downtown Stockholm when the cheaper "suburbs" are a 10-minute bus ride away. The same is true in many places. The price between oceanfront condos in Florida and those two blocks offshore is astronomical. If you are OK with walking a bit to and from the beach, save the money. Plus, it's good exercise.
At the beach in Michigan
2. Walkability/Drivability
Could booking closer to your destination save you from having to rent a car? If so, it's probably worth the extra expense.
Also, be sure to see if it's on the metro line or if Uber operates there. If not, that might be why that low price is too good to be true.
Is the area around the hotel/apartment/cabin safe to walk in at night? Naples, Italy was particularly sketchy. One street over from our hotel and you were in a danger zone. Be sure to check this factor if you are deciding to walk or even if you are driving but using street parking.
Walking through Hyde Park in London to our hotel.
And drivability? We once slid off a gravel road getting up the mountain to a rental cabin. The "suggestion" that you have 4WD should have been a requirement. As TWO tow trucks were simultaneously dragging us up and out of the ditch, I added drivability to my mental checklist.
3. Reviews
I mainly look at cleanliness and customer service. Is the room clean and well maintained? Is the receptionist surly or sweet? These little things can make a huge difference in whether your budget accommodations FEEL budget-y.
4. "Necessary" amenities
If you're like my husband and require eggs in the morning, a breakfast buffet is a seemingly necessary amenity. He may be being a bit dramatic, but there are some creature comforts you actually might need:
AC can be a lifesaver in some places.
A washer/dryer can save you tons in luggage fees.
My friend with Muscular Dystrophy needs an accessible shower and reliable elevators.
Consider what is really important to you and what isn't. Book from there.
Every situation is different, and it might take some trial and error before you find your ideal accommodation style. Even then, don't be too hard on yourself if you accidentally book something that's not quite the right fit. That lumpy bed might seem annoying at the time, but remember:
You're going to remember what you saw and did far more than the room you stayed in.
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