Breaking Down The Travel Budget: How Much Do You Really Need?

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How much money do you really need to spend a month or more on the road traveling to different locations, how much are hotels, how much is food, and much should you budget on travel like airfare?

There are lots of different determining factors that go into all of this, a lot of it determined by the location that you're going to. However, this article we're not going to talk about numbers, but moreover this article is a general high-level thinking process for starting a budget for traveling. Some points and ideas to keep in mind when you start to plan travel.

Let's get to it!

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The Costs of Traveling

As mentioned above, the cost of traveling is different for each location, more so if you go global, so try to break your trips budget into four sections.

• Transportation
• Hotels or accommodations
• Meals
• Excursions

Then ask yourself what your costs could look like for each of these points over the course of your trip, per person, per day:

Transportation: When picking a location getting there, could be the largest part of the budget. It should be no surprise that traveling can be pretty expensive, especially when you factor in flights, car rentals, and public transportation. For transportation, you also should include fees such as visas or shots you might need.

Hotels and accommodations: Generally this the next large factor of costs but it could be cheap depending on what level of comfort you might need. Example, a five-star hotel or hostel or tent. After that, its up for you to decide based on how much you want to spend.

Meals, snacks and drinks : This could again be very expensive or very affordable depending on your level of luxury and calorie count that you need each day. Generally speaking though supermarkets or local are the best way to go for the most cost-effective options, and try to limit your alcohol drinking to save the most.

Excursions and adventures : Do not forget to include in planning your budget for the fun adventures, such as seeing a temple, takeing a tour, or renting a bicycle for the day.

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The Cost of Flights

There are a number of online sites that cater specifically to the cost of airline tickets. Such websites will break down the price of a particular flight into multiple components and help you determine how much one airline price will cost you.

To have an idea of the cost of a specific flight, a number of online tools are available that will help you compare ticket prices.

There are airline comparison sites such as Airlines.com, Booking.com, Kayak, CheapOair, Google Flights, Orbitz, and many more.

All of these sites provide information on the cheapest fare, the cheapest times to buy tickets, when a sale may occur and more. You can also check the "Instant Rewards" section on these websites to find points for free flights or reward certificates.

This is a great site that I use as well that I recommend wander.am.

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The Cost of Hotels

The average price for a hotel room (*in Western countries) is averaging around $118 and most are about $90. Therefore, you need to figure out roughly what hotel room should cost you in a destination city.

But there are more cost effective methods, for example if you are driving around in an RV or camping, then you will need to rent your space for at least 2-3 nights in that city, but then you'll need to figure other expenses in such as what a full tank of gas for the RV or your car may be and a second full tank of gas to get around when on location.

I have found that a hotel room for 2-3 nights in Western countries will cost on average is about $75.00 to $90.00, which is a good budget for planning. You can check out this web page for a bit more information on hotel costs HERE.

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The Cost of Food

When traveling for work, it is so important to budget and plan on how much to spend on food while on the road. Eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner will add up quickly, especially if your business brings you to restaurants that are not only expensive, but may not meet your health or dietary needs.

Make sure to order food that you can eat at room temperature, including salads and sandwiches. Your budget should also include the cost of alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as other snacks.

** Pro Tip : Don't forget to drink a lot of water and sometimes not all tap water is safe. Dehydration will make you weak make your adventure less fun. Rule of thumb, if your Pee is not clear, drink more water.

With meals, make sure that you always include a breakfast because it is often the most important meal of the day. A lot of hotels you stay at do include the commentary breakfast that can offset your food cost for the day in a positive way, you can also grab an extra Apple or bagel from the breakfast bar as an impromptu snack you can keep in your day bag.

Remember also that, traveling with a baby or child can be extremely challenging, especially in a rural city where specific dietary needs might not be filled from stores. Extra plan ahead with younger travelers is needed.

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Other Random Cost to Keep in Mind, The Cost of Visas

How many times have you looked at the list of countries you will be traveling to and on the very bottom of the list were the countries with high visa costs?

The Visa fees can be anything from $50 to $500 a piece.

This can put you out of your travel budget and out of a country that you are headed to as well as actually end up cancelling your trip.

It is very frustrating to go to a travel agent and when you ask her about getting a visa, you are literally laughed at and told that you cannot come without spending thousands of dollars on a visa.

I think this is one of the most frustrating things you can go through when traveling. This happend to myself at the airport when getting on my flight to Vietnam, a Visa hickup almost canceled my trip.

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Travel Budget Tips

You can't just expect to be able to pull an online magic wand and have your money magically come together, no matter how you choose to shop.

There are plenty of ways you can determine what you can afford on the road. While the traditional method of writing a budget for your trip is typically recommended, you can use the travel budget feature in the app version of Mint.

If you're a Mint user, you can set up an account before you begin your trip. This will allow you to set up budget categories and to compare your data against your overall budgets.

You can also add in your income. For instance, if you spend about $1,000 a month at your local grocery store, you could be spending $250 a week on groceries, cut that back to and keep it to around $200 a month, and keep the extra $50 for your trip budget.

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Conclusion

Try to learn what is reasonable to spend on your journey.

There are thousands of pieces of gear that will change your experience. Whether it's a hot spot that can be reached by air, car, or boat, you will be spending thousands on this adventure.

Before purchasing anything, do your research and try out gear before you purchase. Only by testing out all the gear and scenarios that are possible should you be able to determine what will work best for you.

Thanks for taking the time to read I hope you have a great day!

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