Budgeting for Bucket List Travel
One of the first things to sort out when deciding to travel is… how to PAY for that trip!
I mean if we could travel without worrying about the costs that accrue with those bucket list trips… I for one would definitely NOT work. I would travel for a living. Hands Down. Hello Passport. Goodbye 9-5 job. Kidding… my job isn’t 9-5.
So what do I do in order to afford my international (or domestic) travel? I save. I plan. And I definitely budget. I also split up my large expenses over time to help offset the financial hit to my bank bottom line.
If you’re on my blog… you’re probably asking yourself how do you set up a budget when planning a trip? For starters, where are we going to travel today?? Is the destination dependent on the cost of flights? Time of year? Time off requests from work? Weather/Season during trip? Holidays or special events? In order to travel you should know where it is you are planning your trip. In other words… PICK YOUR DESTINATION.
We all have bucket lists in life. If you don’t… please please please create one! Then start checking off that bucket list! You only live once. So lets live it!
How To Pick Where to Travel
I’m planning a trip to Australia. I’m planning this trip now because I’m visiting my bestie during her gap year. I’m also planning this trip to escape the frigid winter of New England. Ergo… my reasons for traveling. Also my “when” for my trip.
I narrowed down the “where” of my trip to Melbourne, Cairns, Sydney. I picked these locations based on hot ticket items in Australia… and where my friend was starting out.
How to Pick WHEN to Travel
When it’s winter in the frigid Northern Hemisphere… It’s summa time in the Southern Hemisphere. Hello Sunshine and Beach vibes!
Okay now I have a time frame to narrow down further. It was a combination of re-arranging schedules between my best friend and work schedule. And also the length of trip was dictated by my vacation allowance. Hello 9-5’er. :\
I picked late March for my travels. It was a combination of work time off requests (A coworker is going on her honeymoon just before I leave) and squeezing in the summer time weather.
How to Budget large Travel items
Some of the larger items of travel include:
– Airfare
– Accommodation
– Higher priced attractions
So how to start? Well… start at the beginning. Things to think about are tracking the cost of flights (I like using Hopper) to see the trend of overall price on tickets to your destination. Price watch to determine the best time to buy and the site to buy them from. Usually international travel is best about 3 months out from your trip.
Next up is the cost of accommodation. How many nights are you going to be in each location? What’s the average cost of your hotel stay? Price check against AirBnb, VRBO, and TripAdvisor. I recently just booked the first 2 nights of my 15 night trip. Well technically I lose 2 nights due to the LONG FLIGHT. YUCK. But my first 2 nights in Oz are booked.
I reviewed the cost and features of places listed on all 3 sites. TripAdvisor worked out best for these bookings. Don’t forget to read the reviews also! I’ve limited my budget to <$90 per night for hotel stay total. While the hotel is split between two of us… I still don’t want to spend more than $100USD for a hotel I only plan to sleep and shower in. However… I’m also not in my twenties anymore. Hostels…. they just aren’t for this girl. Nope nope nope. I pay for or reserve my bookings in chunks to help offsite the cost of my trip. This way if the majority of my bookings are paid for in advance, limiting the cost during my trip.
I typically try to plan an itinerary for each place in advance. Reviewing the local attractions to determine if I need to save more for a particular day, excursion, or event. While I like to leave a little room for spur of the moment activities or out tings…. things like snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, Rainforest Skyrail, rental cars, or flights between cities are things I need to anticipate prior to jet setting. While I may not book all of these events in advance of my trip. I at least wanted to make sure I have the money to cover these must see bucket list adventures.
Here’s my budget for my current trip:
– $1500 for flights (Between tickets and seats – Um don’t skip that part… it’s a 22+ hour flight)
– $1000 for hotels ($90/day for 10 days) – After splitting the cost, my cost would be $500 ish bucks. And I’m saving by staying for a friend at the end of my trip..
– $100 for car rental (Roughly $20/day) – Again after splitting the cost. . . Hopefully these doesn’t go over my cost of $100.
– $2500 for food, adventures and misc expenses.
The grand total for my budget comes to $5100. That’s a LOT. But if you split it up over several paychecks… the cost is less painful…. and the trip is more epic!
Sort out how much you can afford to “miss” of your paycheck. I scraped together $500 a month, or paycheck depending on the cost of my monthly expenses. It always feels bit tight when I pay the bigger items off… but sneaking money into my savings to use during my trip is less painful. Regardless the most important thing to remember? If you save now… your can enjoy it so much more later.
I hope this blog helps. Happy Travels bloggers!