Well you won’t be traveling to Monaco and staying at a five star resort on a budget, will you? Maybe so! Mostly, traveling on a budget means finding the cheapest price for the experience you want. When traveling on a budget it’s best to keep in mind the following points: 1. Travel in the off-peak seasons. You can save up to as much as fifty per cent off air flights and accommodation costs if you plan to travel in low season times. 2. Stay away from popular tourist spots (unless they are on your ‘must-see’ list). If you can go off the beaten track with your destinations, things can be cheaper to see and do and your cultural experiences will be richer. 3. Try camping. Not only is it the cheapest form of accommodation it’s a great way to get up close and personal to nature. It’s the best way to see National Parks and Heritage listed areas. 4. Look for special travel offers (or packages). But make sure you check everything that they include – and don’t include. 5. Invest in a travel pass where you are able. Most developed countries have a rail or bus transport system where you can obtain day, week or monthly passes that will get you around cheaply. 6. Get a work permit if you aim to gain employment while traveling overseas. Working can help subsidize places that aren’t so cheap, such as Europe and Australia. 7. Look for good exchange rates on the dollar. This may help you decide which country to travel to. 8. Think about shortening your visit to destinations that are expensive and increasing your length of stay in cheaper places. 9. Where possible use your credit card. The exchange rate is better. 10. When staying in a hotel, avoid paying for ‘extras’. Don’t touch anything from the honor bar. Don’t watch the in-house movies and don’t use the hotel phone. And try not to use room service too much! On the world scene there are some great places to travel on a budget for under thirty dollars a day. In Asia you can try India, Laos, China, Cambodia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Thailand, Sumatra and Burma. In Central and South America you can visit El Salvador, Bolivia and Ecuador. If you are after a budget experience in the Pacific, try Fiji or New Zealand. Over in Africa there are some great budget destinations such as Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ghana. Don’t forget the Middle East where places like Iran, Syria and Turkey provide excellent value for money and wonderful experiences for the budget traveler. There is no ‘best place’ to travel on a budget. Just be prepared to look around, avoid the pitfalls of unwanted costs in package deals or hotel bookings. If you want to travel and your budget doesn’t meet your expectations, be flexible [...]
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What is a Realistic Budget for Traveling?
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 [...]
How to Use 6 Simple Tip to Plan a Budget Family Vacation
The need for a budget family vacation is getting more and more important as the standard of living keep on rising. Having the joy of a family get-together is often viewed as a time to bonding with the children. It is also a great opportunity to rest and relax after a hard day’s work or from school. Your children will love to go on an adventure trip for the summer and you will enjoy spending some quality time with your family in a beautiful setting. With the increasing cost of airfares and lodging, many people feel they can no longer afford to go on vacation. The good news is that with a bit of extra effort, you can plan a budget family vacation that everyone will enjoy. I have some interesting ideas to share with you. In fact, there are 7 simple tips to explore. #1 Prepare early is one of the keys to saving on your family vacation. You have to start planning in advance. If you start your search in advance, you have a better chance to find a special offer that provides you with a budget family vacation package to a dream location. You will get lots of fun planning together as a whole family. #2 Choosing during the non-peak period is often the best bet. A holiday vacation during the non-peak period can be cheaper than peak periods. Travel agency have special offers in May and September. It is much easier to plan a budget family vacation during these 2 months. This period happens to be near the summer holidays. #3 Location flexibility is also one of the factors to a budget family vacation. Some airline companies often have promotion for specific vacation spots. Although they don’t fly anywhere, if you happen to enjoy one of their vacation destinations, you will get cheaper airplane tickets for your budget family vacation. Finding an attractive location within 300 miles from your home can be also another tip for a budget family vacation. Thus reading gas and traveling expense altogether. #4 Rental vacation is quite popular among people seeking budget family vacation. There are researches that shown the average holidaymaker spends more on food than on accommodation during a family vacation. If you find a vacation rental with a kitchen, you can cook some of your own meals. This way you will spend less money on dining out. #5 Do you want you friends to join you? The 5th tip is to invite your friends to join you for a budget family vacation. It is more of sharing the accommodation costs, traveling in a larger group has plenty of other advantages. You kids will be able to play with your friend altogether if you are going to invite them to join you for a budget family vacation. They can turns babysitting so you can enjoy a romantic dinner in a fine restaurant. #6 Another [...]