It’s a scene from a getaway no traveler wants to experience: your trip is only halfway through, but you’ve already run through your entire travel budget.
Doh.
Not only can this scenario cause mild anxiety, but if this is a trip you wanted to take vs. one you’ve been thrust into, it can spoil your enjoyment of what could have been a relaxing and fulfilling getaway.
We’ve put together some advice for avoiding this budget-busting scenario — travel budget tips curated from the experts and our collective getaways. With the right planning and attitude, it’s absolutely possible to get from Point A to Point B (and back again) without cutting your trip short or calling home.
But before we share the proactive steps you can take to travel on a tight budget, let’s dig into what might be the reason for punching a ticket when your when your wallet says “no” but your heart says “yes.”
Why Travel When Your Budget Is Tight?
There are a number of reasons you might be packing your bags to embark on a trip in which you really need to be disciplined about spending. These include:
- You’re a thrifty traveler. Maybe your travel budget is small because you’re just an economical person. You could spend more, but for you seeing new sights and places trumps five-star meals and suite accommodations.
- It’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Bad timing happens all the time. Maybe your friends are organizing a sojourn to the French Riviera — and you just bought a house. It’s not ideal for your new house-poor lifestyle, but you’re willing to make it work.
- It’s not a trip you weren’t planning to take. Whether a family member has taken ill or your kid’s travel soccer team just earned a spot in nationals, life has a knack for presenting us with unplanned events that mean unplanned travel. It’s not easy to conjure up a robust travel budget at 11th hour, meaning you might take any shortcut you can find.
Tips & Advice for Traveling on a Modest Travel Budget
Whether we’re reinforcing common sense or illuminating your cash-strapped itinerary with some bright ideas for doing more with less, we’ll take it. Here is some sound direction for making your travels work out on a modest travel budget.
- Shop around. When is the last time you booked the first airfare or hotel you found? Probably never, right? As savvy consumers — we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt here — we’re trained to comparison shop for the very best deal. You may be familiar with Kayak.com, which aggregates hundreds of travel sites to find you the best deals on airfare and hotel rooms. Likewise, you may also be wise to Stubhub.com and SeatGeek, virtual secondary markets for sports and entertainment ticketing. So, we’ll dig a little deeper for this advice: beware the lowest price. Recently, we booked airfare for a major domestic carrier on a third-party travel site and immediately went for the cheapest airfare. But it wasn’t until after we booked that we realized that this special economic fare wouldn’t allow us to bring a carry-on — we’d have to pay both ways to check bags — in addition to charging us to pick our seat, any seat, even the completely unspectacular back row middle seat. Be sure to do the math before you sprint for the lowest price. We did, and we ended up paying more than we would have had we gone another route to book.1
- Time it right. Planning a low-cost Disney World trip during Spring Break? Good luck. Plotting a budget ski weekend in Park City, Utah during the winter holidays? No, you’re not. When it comes to thrifty travel, timing may not be everything, but it is something. Avoiding a destination’s peak season is critical for going there without breaking the bank. It’s about supply and demand. With crowds come greater demand, and with that demand comes more expensive rooms and flights. Sure, you’ll have to make some trade-offs, so measure the pros and cons carefully. For example, Las Vegas is relatively cheap to visit in June, but you can also expect relentless, triple-digit heat. And that Park City trip? Schedule it for June, too, if you can. You might not catch quite as many trails, and the conditions may a tad bit less ideal than peak season, but the lift tickets and lines will be much more reasonable.2
If you’re flying, dialing in budget-friendly timing extends to finding the most cost-effective day to depart and return. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually cheapest, if you can make it happen.3 - Prepay away! Prepaying for travel expenses such as hotel rooms and tickets — especially tickets on the secondary market — not only takes away some of the stress early on in the trip planning process, but it can also save you money. Take, for example hotel and third-party sites that discount rates if you pre-pay vs. simply inputting your credit card info and getting charged later or upon check-in. Sometimes prepaying isn’t a choice, but a necessity. You might need to prepay deposits or the total cost in advance whether you’re renting a river house, getting a pontoon boat, or making a reservation for a large party at a fine-dining restaurant. Now pause right there for just a moment. Prepaying can be a savvy travel move, but it can also come with some risk, especially if some of your prepaid costs are nonrefundable. Thankfully, there is travel insurance. And if you have a travel insurance plan from Allianz Global Assistance that includes a trip cancellation benefit, and you find yourself in a scenario that requires you to cancel, you can get reimbursed for your covered prepaid, nonrefundable costs. There are conditions you need to meet, for example, you need a covered reason in order to cancel and take advantage of the benefit. You can learn more about these terms and conditions and select the best Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance plan for you right here.4
- Pick your spots. Maybe you’re someone who needs a big bed with a pillowtop mattress, so a hostel is out of the question. On the other hand, you’re A-OK making your own meals in your hotel room’s kitchenette, so you’ll save considerably on meal costs. Planning a trip with a tight travel budget is all about knowing yourself and making the right choices. If you’re good with maps and fairly street smart, then you can take advantage of a destination’s public transportation. If you’re more comfortable in a more costly rental car, or prefer taxis or ride-sharing, you’ll just need to find some area to skimp on, maybe even making your trip a bit shorter. Lastly, don’t attempt a major change in the way you live your life while traveling just to save a few bucks. For example, if you need a big breakfast every morning, don’t think you’ll be fine with just a granola bar or banana. Find a reasonably priced diner or café, and choose some other trip cost to downsize instead. Otherwise, you might find yourself eating through your travel budget by lunch time.
- Choose your travel companion(s) wisely. If you’re taking a low-cost trip, and have your choice of travel companion(s), then it makes sense to choose someone with a similar pint-sized budget. If you can’t make the match, then just be sure to talk about how your different budgets may make impact your daily routine before you depart. (We have some tips for handling group travel when your itineraries are the same, but your travel budgets are miles apart.)
- Go the travel rewards route. If you’re a Points or Miles person, and find yourself with a more restrictive travel budget than you’d like to have, then by all means dip in and claim your freebies. This isn’t a strategy you can start overnight, but if you’re interested in learning how to earn future flights or hotel rooms at a discounted rate or even on the house, we have some travel rewards pointers.
Traveling on a tight budget doesn’t need to be a downer. With the right planning and attitude, you can immerse yourself in a destination or simply get in and out without stressing. By following these thrifty tips, you can successfully make an escape without crossing the red line of your travel budget.
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