What to Budget for When Traveling &
Tips on How I Travel More for Less
Airline Tickets:
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Tickets are cheapest if you buy your plane ticket on a Tuesday and leave for your trip on a Wednesday.
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Priceline is usually cheapest (from my experience). At least start here to get an idea of how much you will be paying.
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When looking online for tickets, use an incognito browser so the flights and destinations you are looking at are not tracked and prices raised.
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Buy tickets as far in advance as you can- the further away, the cheaper.
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Watch flights for a few days or weeks before purchasing them.
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This is one area that can make or break a trip in terms of budget.
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It is way cheaper if you travel out of "peak season.”
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TIP: Often, I have a few destinations in mind for my next trip, and instead of being set on one that may have very expensive airline tickets at that certain time of the year, I will search for the destination with the cheapest airline tickets and take that trip!
Travel Insurance:
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I only buy this if I will be gone for an extended time in certain countries (bought for my 3 week trip to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, & China).
Itinerary: Check out the Itinerary Page for specific itineraries!
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You don't have to have every single hour planned out (and I definitely don’t recommend doing that), but at least know what area you will be at during what days.
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I do not book every hostel/airbnb ahead of time. I usually have at least half of my housing booked ahead of time and then wait until I am there to finalize the rest. If you book every night ahead of time, you might not make it to your next destination in time and will lose money by having to book another place to stay for that night without a refund of the original planned housing. Make sure to have some “wiggle days” for being spontaneous and finding cool things off the beaten path!
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Even if you plan out what you think you will do every day of your trip, there will always be changes. Know that ahead of time, and be open to taking other people’s suggestions when you are there!
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Make sure you stay in touch with your Airbnb hosts and make sure you have the address ahead of time! I learned from experience… I did not have an international phone plan on my 25 day Europe trip, so when I got to my Airbnb in Oslo, Norway, it was a self check-in (which I didn’t realize ahead of time, so I didn’t know I needed to check the messages for the code). Needless to say, it was 10pm, dark, and I had no way to get into my Airbnb. I had to walk until I found a place with WiFi (which at 10pm was extremely hard…). I learned my lesson! Don’t make the same mistake!
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Research ahead of time! The more time you put in, the better your trip will be! The more you will know, the smoother it will go!
Visas:
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Always check weeks/possibly months in advance to see if you will need a visa for the country you are traveling to.
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For certain countries, you need to apply for a visa weeks in advance; other visas you can get at the airport.
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In some countries (Cambodia, Laos), visas obtained at airports are paid for in American Dollars, so look up the country you are traveling ahead of time and make sure to have the right amount of cash for visas with you!
Food:
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I cut a LOT of costs in this category.
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When I travel, I like to focus more on activities and hiking rather than sitting down to eat 3 meals per day.
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I always have my breakfast bars, cliff bars, oatmeal packs, and some snacks with me, especially if I will be hiking and may not be close by to a place to get food.
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I generally eat 1 large meal a day (lunch or dinner, depending on what I have planned for the day) of a famous dish known to that area or country!
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If you care more about eating food, expand your budget and time a little!
Activities: Check out the Places Page to see top things to do in an area!
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This is all up to what interests you and what you want to get out of your trip/ what your budget is.
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Can include tours, museums, water activities (kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving), city activities - whatever interests you have!
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I rarely do long multi-day tours, because I like to plan things myself and go at my own pace (which ends up being a lot faster than a tour). I sometimes do day tours if there is an activity I am very interested in (for example, in Thailand I did a day snorkel tour on one of the islands and a day tour of the elephant sanctuary & I loved both!)
Gear: ​
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Check out the Packing Lists & Gear Page for great options for budget-friendly travel gear & to know what to pack for your trip!
Vaccines/ Meds:
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Check the CDC website days to weeks prior to leaving to see if you need any vaccines, prophylactic antibiotics, or malarial pills, depending on which country you are traveling to (this way you can make an appointment and get prescriptions filled in time).
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Make sure you have enough of any medication you need prior to leaving and a little extra in case there are delays in travel if it is a longer trip.
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Rental Car:
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Cheapest if you get it and drop it off at the same location and same time (2pm- 2pm).
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If you are going to be traveling long-distance (especially in rural areas), strongly consider diesel (In Iceland, diesel was way cheaper than gas - at least it was in 2015 when I was there).
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If you can drive stick-shift/ manual (and can do it safely and well), these cars are sometimes a cheaper option.
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ALWAYS make sure to get a car with unlimited miles on it! Especially if you are doing a road trip. If not, you will pay for every extra mile, and it’s not cheap!
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Always fill up your own gas before dropping the rental car off. Don’t let them talk you into filling it up for you once you drop it off; you will pay way too much for that tank of gas.
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Try to look up some basic driving rules before you go to any new places or ask the car rental company. For example, know which side of the road you are supposed to drive on (In New Zealand, you drive on the left side of the road, so you better know that before starting to drive there!). Also make sure to know if the country you will be driving in requires an international drivers license- some do!
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Ask your car rental for PAPER maps. That way, in case you lose your GPS signal or your phone dies, you have back up. Mark you routes and circle destinations or stops!
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Always be careful when and where you park! In Norway, someone hit my rental car when I was parked going on a hike. I saw it when I came back, but nobody around saw it happen. So the car rental company said I was responsible for the damage since I didn’t have the responsible party's license plate/ insurance information. This situation wasn’t fair, but unfortunately things happen like this all the time… Lesson learned: always buy car protection through the company (not through Priceline) and always have emergency money set aside when you travel, because you never know what you will need it for.
Rental Car Insurance:
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I always buy rental car insurance- the one that covers all damages!
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You never know what will happen, and it's better to pay a little more up front than thousands if you damage the car.
Other Transportation:
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If you aren't getting a rental car: use the bus, subway, or uber (depends on the city and what they have to offer).
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Consider getting ‘transportation passes’ or ‘city passes’ if you are staying in one city for any length of time.
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ALWAYS get a paper map just in case. You never know when your phone will die or when Google will be wrong. Always have a backup option!
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Keep in mind that when using public transportation, you need to be much more diligent about timing between activities, especially if tours or events have a hard start time.
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Know how fast you walk. Then add on at least 5 to 10 more minutes. This buys you wiggle room in case you get lost or go to the wrong platform in the terminal. Plus, you always walk/run slower with backpacks and luggage.
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If you don’t know where you need to be, ask someone! I’ve been traveling for years, and I still have to ask locals were to go- it’s all about learning curves! Ask for directions right away; don’t try and figure it out and lose 1 hour of exploring!
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If you are traveling large distances and using public transit to do so, consider investing in sleeper cabins on trains (or even sleeper busses in parts of Asia). This way you are paying for transportation and lodging all in one.
Places to stay:
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The cheapest are hostels (great for solo travel) and airbnbs (great for group travel).
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If you are using an Airbnb, always communicate with your hosts ahead of time! If you are not traveling with an international phone plan and instead only using WiFi sources, be sure to know where you are going ahead of time!
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If you are going on a trip with the primary goal of relaxing, consider an all-inclusive resort (it may not be the most authentic, but it can save money and reduce the stress of juggling multiple places to stay).
Phone/ SIM card:
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If you do not have an international phone plan (which I don’t, and paying for one is too expensive), you can get a SIM card at the airport or somewhere in the city so you can have data on your phone.
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I only ever buy a SIM card if it is extremely cheap (In Thailand, I got unlimited data for 8 days for $10 USD) and if I am solo traveling (to be safe). Otherwise, I just use WiFi occasionally.
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Consider downloading WhatsApp (it’s free, and you can call/ text for free too!) to communicate with family/ friends when you are away. However, the person you are communicating with also has to have WhatsApp for it to work.
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Hostels/ Airbnb’s have WiFi. You are traveling and exploring another country, so get off your phone! Enjoy immersing yourself into another culture!
Emergency Fund:
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Always have some amount of Emergency Funds in your bank account before you leave for a trip. You never know what will happen or if you end up staying longer and need some extra money.