How to budget your trip?
We plan all our trips by ourselves! Why? because we like to do things at our own pace!
Changing our plans during our journey if we really like a spot is very nice, and can’t be a possible option with travel agencies' prescheduled tours.
Being fully immersed, meeting the locals, getting a glimpse on their way of life and how they’re seeing life with their culture really matters to us. However, it is all up to you and your interests at heart!
Aloha! Picture taken by a local during our hike at the Diamond Head trail: he explained to us the history of the place and showed us how we could see all of the Hawaiian islands from that spot.
The main items to think about
To start budgeting, you need to first think about transport: how to get where you want to go?
Then you can consider lodging, what to visit, how to go from one spot to another and don't forget about food ;)
Transport
Plane, train, car, ferry: what are the different transportation means to travel to your destination and what are the costs?
Once you have this main component, you will then be able to start comparing to find the cheaper and/or best practical mean of transportation that will best suit your travel plan. You may use well known online booking companies that will allow you to compare different rates for plane tickets or car rental companies. If you have stopovers, keep the timetable in mind to make the right connections.
We will come back in another article with more details about preferential companies (by having loyalty cards or miles point system with some for instance).
TIPS: Price comparison websites will give you names of local companies for your destination which will allow you to check each one of your interest on fees, public rating and time schedule. Looking directly at companies’ website enable you sometimes to have discounted rates and no fees from online booking websites.
LOdGing
Look for the average rates for the number of days of your stay. Are you looking to treat yourself and live la vida loca in starred hotels? Would an Airbnb be cheaper? hostel? camping?
Lodging choice won't solely depend on the means you have but also, on the place you're going to visit.
In our experience, many South-Eastern Asian countries have really cheap hotels: you can enjoy the commodities of a 4 or 5 star hotel easily for 2 to 3 weeks at a price that wouldn't be the same if you were to be for the same length of time in the US or Western Europe for instance.
So what do WE do? We adapt our lodging according to our feelings and the places we're going.
For our boot camp in Vietnam, since we were traveling as a group and needed a nice resting place after our workouts, we chose a luxury hotel. It was great to be able to enjoy star rated hotels’ nice amenities.
In the US, we were more looking to experience living with a local, especially in Hawaii: being directly advised on spots to see was an undeniable plus!
Which bring us to our next item:
What to visit?
You may already have precisely in mind some major sites that you want to see during your stay. Days are certainly counted but if you can explore more and want to get new insights, look on the internet for the best 5, 7, 10 or 15 things to do in the city you're going to. We like to use at least 3 to 4 different websites and blogs to compare. If English is not your first language, you may want to use 2 English websites and 2 of your mother tongue. You may come across recommendations on:
restaurants and places to eat
entrance fees for some museums
other sight-seeing spots that may be free of charge or not.
When you come across that type of information, don't forget to write it down: this will help to finalize your total needed budget and even come to a decision if needed ;)
Make your list, map it out even on your phone for instance.
TIPS: For practical use, we always share our map so that each one of us can put his/her major sites on it.
How to go from one spot to another?
By foot, bus, taxi, car, train and in some places, bicycle, subway, motorcycle, ferry, plane… Consider all the possible transportation means if you will need to travel from one city to another locally.
We know in Europe and in the United States for instance, some places have subways, tramways, train...public transportation that can be cheaper than renting a car and avoiding to be stuck in traffic.
In many African or South East Asian countries, taxis are really cheap and can be the best way of hoping from one spot to another.
If you have a local friend or if you’re traveling with someone who speaks the local language, it can be even easier to bargain (yes, bargain is still part of many cultures and you can give it a try. We'll have some tips on this for you very soon ;)
So these are the main items to think about. It does take some work, so do take your time to compare, read on reviews to ensure that you make the best choices that will work for YOU.
Food and other extras
We all need to eat! Make sure to include this in your budget and when you’re looking for lodging,
Do note what each has to offer as it will all depend on your preferences to eat familiar items: Continental breakfast or not? Are any other meals included? Is it possible to cook? Store food? Warm some up? Are there any close stores or restaurants?
TIPS: To be sure to leave with some souvenirs for you and your loved ones, think about budgeting this too. Winning combo = T-shirt, mug and magnet.