How do you afford to travel!?!?!
It's been my sincere hope that one day I would be able to help someone get to their dream destination. I've done my best to be an avid traveller, but of course the hardest part about it is gaining the financing to fund your dream vacation. So the most common question I've received related to any trip I've taken....
How do you afford to travel?!?!?!
Answer: Carefully.
There really isn't a good answer for this. Some people are in a position to afford travel and some aren't.
Here are a few helpful tips to keep it cheap though.
1) Be a college student. Don't have kids, don't have a mortgage, don't have car payments. I know everyone can't do this (obviously), but honestly, this is what's helped me the most the last couple of years to finance my trips. At this point in life you don't have a lot of expenses to take care of, and now's the time to scrap together every penny you have to making your summer vacation worthwhile. And honestly...forgo some of that alcohol money. Your drinks will be better downed in an exotic country. Another advantage to being a student are the discounts you can get abroad. Get yourself an ISIC card. This card is proof in most countries that you're a student, and will get you some major discounts to attractions and museums. For example, I purchased my ticket to Machu Picchu + Huaynapicchu for $35 instead of $59.28 (or 152 Peruvian Soles) by being a student. I also received 20% off my hotel stay in Cuzco, another added savings of $22.00.
2) Budget. Again, an obvious one, and something most everyone are already doing. There's always something you can cut out that isn't essential in your life. Whether it's eating out, nicer clothes, or a designer shoe fetish, something can be done to tighten that belt. And especially when you don't have a good hold of your finances, spreadsheets are your friends. USE SPREADSHEETS. always. My boyfriend and I kept a running budget while we travelled through Europe, and we knew everyday where we could afford to eat, what we could afford to do, and where we could afford to stay. You can do this home to meet your budgeting goal. Know where every penny goes!
3) Plan well in advance. For the last three years, I've made it my goal to go on one big vacation a year. There are always a lot of factors that go into this, but this has been a distinct advantage to funding my trips. Buying sooner = saving money. The first thing you should purchase, and usually the most expensive part of your trip, is your transportation there. I always purchase international flights at least 4-6 months in advance, sometimes even sooner. Its a big commitment to plan that far ahead, and its scary, but its oh so worth it. For example, I purchased my ticket in February 2011 for a trip to Europe in July 2011. July is HIGH season in Europe, but my ticket was almost half the price of the same flight when I checked it a couple of months before I left. I have a lot of tips about flights in general, but I'll go into more detail about that in another post.
4) The Internet is by far, the most useful tool ever. USE IT. I'm a planner. It's one of my favorite parts of the trip, and I know this part can be aggravating for a lot of people, but again, I assure you, it will pay off. I research everything to do in the place I'm going, read reviews (I LOVE trip advisor, great site), blogs, travel magazines, articles, anything. If it has something to do with where I'm going, I want to know about it. The best part about it is not only saving cash and heartache from other's experiences, but you also find some really great hidden treasures along the way. While researching Florence I found an awesome wine museum in Greve in Chianti. Going to this small town was one of the best days of our trip.
5) Cut some corners on the road. There are a lot of ways to keep your budget low for a trip; One of the most expensive parts of your day is going to be eating. Depending on where your going, it could be 11 dollars for a refreshing small beer (Pisa, Italy), or 60 dollars for a seven course French Cuisine meal at the finest restaurant in the city (Cuzco, Peru). One way to cut corners....go to a grocery store. In Paris, where a sandwich is going to cost you 10 Euros from the street vendor next to Notre Dame, we went to a grocery store near our hotel and made lunches and dinners for ourselves for three days for about 30 euros total. This made it okay to splurge on our big night out. You may have to stay at some gritty places to save money of hotel stays, but this is where you're considering quality over quantity; Do you want yourself a nice weeklong trip to your destination, or a nitty gritty 5 week trip across the country with more memories than you can hold onto?
My parting words of wisdom: Besides finding funding for the trip, the largest setback for people is one thing: fear. For most people, it's terrifying to travel. And it really is. Going outside your comfort zone is hard. Going to a place where you don't speak the language is terrifying. And doing all this without someone holding your hand the entire way seems impossible. It's not. You can do anything with enough spreadsheets and research ;).
More to come...tips on how to get those cheap flights you've been dreaming about.
How do you afford to travel?!?!?!
Answer: Carefully.
There really isn't a good answer for this. Some people are in a position to afford travel and some aren't.
Here are a few helpful tips to keep it cheap though.
1) Be a college student. Don't have kids, don't have a mortgage, don't have car payments. I know everyone can't do this (obviously), but honestly, this is what's helped me the most the last couple of years to finance my trips. At this point in life you don't have a lot of expenses to take care of, and now's the time to scrap together every penny you have to making your summer vacation worthwhile. And honestly...forgo some of that alcohol money. Your drinks will be better downed in an exotic country. Another advantage to being a student are the discounts you can get abroad. Get yourself an ISIC card. This card is proof in most countries that you're a student, and will get you some major discounts to attractions and museums. For example, I purchased my ticket to Machu Picchu + Huaynapicchu for $35 instead of $59.28 (or 152 Peruvian Soles) by being a student. I also received 20% off my hotel stay in Cuzco, another added savings of $22.00.
2) Budget. Again, an obvious one, and something most everyone are already doing. There's always something you can cut out that isn't essential in your life. Whether it's eating out, nicer clothes, or a designer shoe fetish, something can be done to tighten that belt. And especially when you don't have a good hold of your finances, spreadsheets are your friends. USE SPREADSHEETS. always. My boyfriend and I kept a running budget while we travelled through Europe, and we knew everyday where we could afford to eat, what we could afford to do, and where we could afford to stay. You can do this home to meet your budgeting goal. Know where every penny goes!
3) Plan well in advance. For the last three years, I've made it my goal to go on one big vacation a year. There are always a lot of factors that go into this, but this has been a distinct advantage to funding my trips. Buying sooner = saving money. The first thing you should purchase, and usually the most expensive part of your trip, is your transportation there. I always purchase international flights at least 4-6 months in advance, sometimes even sooner. Its a big commitment to plan that far ahead, and its scary, but its oh so worth it. For example, I purchased my ticket in February 2011 for a trip to Europe in July 2011. July is HIGH season in Europe, but my ticket was almost half the price of the same flight when I checked it a couple of months before I left. I have a lot of tips about flights in general, but I'll go into more detail about that in another post.
4) The Internet is by far, the most useful tool ever. USE IT. I'm a planner. It's one of my favorite parts of the trip, and I know this part can be aggravating for a lot of people, but again, I assure you, it will pay off. I research everything to do in the place I'm going, read reviews (I LOVE trip advisor, great site), blogs, travel magazines, articles, anything. If it has something to do with where I'm going, I want to know about it. The best part about it is not only saving cash and heartache from other's experiences, but you also find some really great hidden treasures along the way. While researching Florence I found an awesome wine museum in Greve in Chianti. Going to this small town was one of the best days of our trip.
5) Cut some corners on the road. There are a lot of ways to keep your budget low for a trip; One of the most expensive parts of your day is going to be eating. Depending on where your going, it could be 11 dollars for a refreshing small beer (Pisa, Italy), or 60 dollars for a seven course French Cuisine meal at the finest restaurant in the city (Cuzco, Peru). One way to cut corners....go to a grocery store. In Paris, where a sandwich is going to cost you 10 Euros from the street vendor next to Notre Dame, we went to a grocery store near our hotel and made lunches and dinners for ourselves for three days for about 30 euros total. This made it okay to splurge on our big night out. You may have to stay at some gritty places to save money of hotel stays, but this is where you're considering quality over quantity; Do you want yourself a nice weeklong trip to your destination, or a nitty gritty 5 week trip across the country with more memories than you can hold onto?
My parting words of wisdom: Besides finding funding for the trip, the largest setback for people is one thing: fear. For most people, it's terrifying to travel. And it really is. Going outside your comfort zone is hard. Going to a place where you don't speak the language is terrifying. And doing all this without someone holding your hand the entire way seems impossible. It's not. You can do anything with enough spreadsheets and research ;).
More to come...tips on how to get those cheap flights you've been dreaming about.
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