Creating a Vacation Budget Keeps You Out of Financial Trouble

If you’re an avid traveler, then you know how imperative it is to have a travel budget. This is particularly true if traveling has become a hobby or you’re a frequent vacationer. Traveling can easily wipe out your savings if you are not careful.

One of the best ways to avoid overspending while on vacation is to create a travel budget and stick with it. In this article, you will find seven important steps that you can use as a template for building your travel budget.

1. Start Searching for Your Flights Now

Let’s start with one of your big-ticket items. Your flight. Because flight costs vary tremendously, it’s important to start looking into your tickets early. According to a CheapOAir.com study (2021), the best time to book a domestic flight is three months and weeks in advance. However, for international flights, it is dependent upon the region of the globe you’re traveling to.

Many people rely on OTAs or online travel agencies like Expedia and Priceline to find cheap flights. OTAs strike deals with airlines to offer cheap rates and can most certainly offer the cheapest prices.

However, that’s not always the case. Be sure to utilize a non-third-party service such as Google Flights to search for cheap flights. Google Flights is a search engine that pulls prices directly from the airlines. With Google Flights, you book directly through the airline rather than through a third party.

Tip: Try using Google Flights or Skyscanner for fare alerts to keep an eye out for price drops.

2. Research Your Accommodations

Accommodation is another big-ticket item you’ll need to consider. Finding the cheapest lodging will likely depend upon your preferences and comfort level.

The obvious free option is staying with friends and family. But if that isn’t available, your options are vacation rentals, timeshare rentals, hostels, and hotels. Websites that can help you with your research include Airbnb, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Hostelworld, RedWeek, and Vrbo.

3. List Your Activities and Record Costs

Next, you’ll want to make a list of the activities you’re interested in. Do a little research and determine how much each activity will cost you. Will you be going hiking? Well, that is likely free.

However, the sunset cruise you want to go on won’t be. Be sure to search adventure and tour booking websites such as Viator and Get Your Guide for deals.  

Tip: This step will also help you to create your travel itinerary.

4. Consider Your Other Transportation Costs

Now, you’ll need to consider how you’ll be getting around. Will you need a rental car? Or maybe you’ll be using a ride-share app like Uber or Lyft. Maybe you want to hire a driver. No matter if you’re taking the bus or a train, this is an additional cost you’ll want to consider.

5. Create a Meal and Alcohol Budget

Food and alcohol can eat up your vacation budget–and quickly! Another handy step that’ll help you with your travel itinerary is researching where you’ll be dining. Make a list of places where you’d like to eat, browse their menu for an idea of the prices, and set a budget for each location. Or, you can just set a daily food and alcohol limit and stick to it.

6. Other Miscellaneous Travel Costs

Don’t forget to consider other miscellaneous things you may need to spend money on. This may include souvenirs, shopping, travel insurance, vaccinations, lost currency value, tipping, and laundry.

7. Create Your Travel Budget

Now that you know what your trip will cost, fine-tune your budget. If you’re under your travel budget, great! Add another activity or two to your list. If you’ve gone over your max budget, swap out a few paid activities for free ones!

Photo Credit: [@surasaki/DepositPhotos]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandrea Sumuel is a nationally syndicated travel writer and founder of the Wander With Alex travel blog. Her work has appeared on MSN, YAHOO!, Euronews, and FOX, ABC, and NBC affiliates across the United States. 

Alex travels to experience, eat, explore, and occasionally escape! She collaborates with destinations, vacation property management companies, and hospitality technology firms to provide her readers with exclusive insights and information.