Trips, whether domestic or international, can be expensive. Many costs must be covered, including travel, lodging, meals, recreation, and sometimes even insurance. Additionally, as prices rise amid inflation, it’s more important than ever to stick to a budget while you’re planning your getaway.
But don’t let budgeting cancel your dream vacation. These five tips can help you stick to a budget, while still having a trip to remember.
Tip 1: Research costs in advance
Before you get into the nitty-gritty details of your agenda, do some digging into what’s available, and set your financial expectations.
Each destination has its own set of costs. For instance, if you’re traveling internationally, some countries have less favorable exchange rates than others, meaning your money won’t go as far. In other instances, the U.S. dollar is stronger than the local currency, meaning you’ll comparatively be able to do more with less money.
Additionally, don’t assume that costs are similar across each country or even U.S. city. Some destinations often charge more for food or lodging than others, for example. Having a sense of average costs in a city or region before you nail down a destination can keep you on budget.
Plus, anticipating what you’ll need to spend for essentials can help you form a budget as well as avoid sticker shock when you arrive.
Tip 2: Explore transportation and lodging alternatives
You may have certain arrangements in mind, such as taking a plane and staying at a hotel. However, you may want to consider alternatives to help lower your costs and better adhere to a budget.
This can take many forms. You may find it’s less expensive to take a train to a destination instead of driving, for example, especially as the cost of fuel is rising. (If you’re driving, you may even find it’s less expensive to rent a fuel-efficient car than use your own.) Similarly, you can explore alternative options, such as bed and breakfasts or apartment rentals, in lieu of hotels, or even shape a vacation around an experience like camping.
It may take time to do comparative research and crunch the numbers, but the investment can be worth it if you’re able to save and adhere to your budget.
Tip 3: Consider all-inclusive options
Some destinations, especially abroad, offer all-inclusive packages that cover essentials, such as lodging, meals, and recreation, for one fee. Some even include transportation.
Additionally, there are often tiers of costs within all-inclusive packages, so you can right-size your selection to your budget, while still enjoying the benefits of these kinds of vacation arrangements.
Choosing an all-inclusive package will be a different experience than planning your own trip piecemeal, but for budget-conscious travelers, these types of arrangements can provide big savings — and even ease the stress and time investment of planning logistics.
Tip 4: Be flexible with dates
It’s possible you may only have a select time period in which you can travel. However, if you have some wiggle room with dates, being flexible with the timing of your trip can help you save big.
Most destinations have peak travel seasons, during which costs are almost universally higher. Travel, accommodations, and even meals and recreation often increase during peak season. Think: a beach destination in summer or a ski destination in winter.
However, even smaller peak periods exist within these larger seasons. For instance, many costs also increase during school breaks, since families tend to travel during children’s school holidays. Transportation and lodging are also generally more expensive on weekends versus weekdays.
Flexibility can help you stay under your target spending limit and perhaps even help you find money to expand your plans.
Tip 5: Set a daily spending limit
You may have an overall budget for your trip. However, setting a daily budget within this framework can help you stay even more on target. You can do this effectively a few ways.
One option is to set a spending limit each day, which can be an easy way to see what you’re spending, and not have to worry about too much tabulation throughout your trip. Or you can create daily budgets specific to each day; for instance, if you know you’re going to spend on a big meal one night, you can create a larger spending limit for that specific day, and lower the budget for another day, to make sure you can pay for your marquee event.
Ultimately, planning for a vacation on a budget may seem difficult, especially as costs rise. However, adopting savvy ways to keep yourself on track can help you take your dream vacation and keep it within your budget.
