Budgeting your travel Plan | Smart Travel Tips

Travel budget! A familiar term for travelers, and one of the most crucial things that decide every aspect of your trip such as transportation mode, accommodation, destination, food, facilities, trip activities, etc.

An experienced traveler knows the importance of budget planning for the trip. And, those who dare to go unplanned on a tour, sooner or later, realize its necessity. Without any planning, the cost of travel upsurges to unexpected heights. Returning empty pockets from a tour, not just forces you to compromise with the day-to-day requirement but also demotivates you for the next journey.

Hence, travel budgeting or travel cost planning is a requirement for all travelers before any trip.

Travel costs include all the expenses you made from the moment you step out from home, till you are back. And, allocating the right amount of budget to each of the expenses based on their priority is what travel budget planning is. The majority of your travel expenditure can be classified into the following majors:

Pre-trip cost:

It involves the money you spend in preparing for the trip such as getting a visa and passport, vaccination cost, purchasing packing bags, getting travel and health insurance, etc. In other words, expenses you make before the commencement of the trip.

Transportation cost:

To reach your destination, you need to either take flights, train or bus depending upon the distance and time availability. All those expenses are counted in transportation costs. It includes the cost incurred in going as well as returning back to home.

Accommodation cost:

On reaching your destination, you will either have a pre-booked hotel room or homestay. Depending upon the span of your trip, the quality of accommodation, you will need to pay for it.

Food Cost: Your regular nutritional and healthy diet must continue even during your tour, which can include fruits, vegetables, food, cereals, drinking water, eggs, meat, fish, milk, and other yum dishes of the place you are visiting. Additionally, health and medical expenses can also be included in the cost.

Activities & Recreational cost: You must be traveling to a place for some reason, like trekking, bungee jumping, camping, etc., or when visiting a place having some entrance fees like a park, zoo, museums, concerts, etc., all make a major part of your traveling budget. While planning, you must include these things.

However, with all these expenses there are ways to minimize the cost of travel when a few important points are taken care of which we will discuss in the next section.

Tips to Minimize Travel Budget

Is your budget turning against your traveling plan? Is money shortage compelling you to stop thinking of visiting your favorite place?

Traveling is the soul of so many people; a refreshment to mind, their favorite desire! However, lack of money often leads to plan cancellation, or compromises with the travel destination, adding the worst vibes to their lifestyle.

The good news is; there are still ways to avoid such mishaps.

Proper management of money expenditure at different stages of your tour can significantly reduce travel costs.

The tips we will share below will help you to minimize your traveling expenses. These tips will add confidence in you because, in fact, traveling isn’t an expensive activity. Rather, those unexpected expenses make it expensive. If you reduce those, or cut down those unnecessary expenses, plus follow the few below-mentioned tips; traveling will be possible at a much lower budget.

Let’s get started with our first point.

1. Plan Your Travel & Allocate Budget

Planning places to travel is great! But, planning how much money to spend at a certain place is necessary!

Your entire tour may go wrong if you don’t plan your traveling budget. You may make the mistake of spending more at one place and less at another or end up with an empty pocket, leading to a really undesirable situation.

Planning budgets include; fixing the amount for travel fares, accommodation charges, shopping (minimum), eating expenses, recreational activities budget, health budget, and emergency budget.

You can start saving a portion of your salary much before your travel month, fix a justified budget, and divide them into sections based on their priorities.

Also, when you are traveling, track your expenses, make a note so that you know what, where and when you went against the plan.

2. Early Booking

Avoid creating emergency situations whether it’s about booking travel tickets, hotels, or other things.

Early booking gives you enough time to check other options, bargain, and even catch offers if any. Procrastinating can make your trip cost more. Sign up for newsletters of travel companies and keep a close eye on their offers, grab immediately if you come across any profitable travel trip.

3. Choose Bus/train over Flight

Traveling by air is costlier than by bus or train. So, if traveling between cities, opt for a bus or train instead of a flight. But, when traveling overseas, the flight is the only option you have!

A bus is found to be the most affordable mode for traveling, however, it takes more time, and tiredness is a common outcome.

4. Plan in Off Season

Most of the vacation spots are season-based. The timing matters, and when it's at its peak, the rates of hotel, products, food, and other things naturally are at their peak.

Therefore, if you are planning to visit any place, try to visit either in the beginning or later phase of the season. You will get enough space for yourself. The crowd will be less. In fact, it will be easier to manage.

However, make sure that you don’t visit a place during the offseason. Off-season may end up giving you a blank travel experience, with no major activities, no facilities, and added risk. For example, traveling hills during rains, not just risk landslides but also add unexpected expenses with unexpected situations.

5. Plan Your Eating Expenses

When traveling, we all have plans to enjoy the yummiest local food or dishes of that place. And, out of excitement, we make unplanned expenses on the food that we aren’t aware of whether we will eat whole or dump after the first bite.

It’s often seen that tourists put a large portion of their order in plates, that not just add to food waste but also wastage of money that could help in your travel journey.

Here is some advice:

• When traveling, try to take some durable food with you. Your own cooked food products not just make you healthier but also save money for you.

• Before trying any new dish, order the lowest size. Try it, if you like it, eat more.

• Don’t eat in big restaurants. Try the street food. Prefer seasonal fruits as well; cheapest as well as healthy.

• If you are staying longer at a certain place. Try to cook your own food. Again, cooking your own food can help you save money as well as be healthy.

Remember, planning your eating expenses doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy the local food or dishes of that place. Planning an eating budget majorly means enjoying the best food at the most affordable budget.

6. Cut off Unwanted Stuff

Tracking your expenditure is one of the best ways to avoid investing your money in unwanted stuff. If you are planning for a tour, then get a savings piggy bank for yourself where you save for traveling.

When traveling, extra luggage means extra costs in flight or bus. Therefore, take only those things that are really needed, and cut off unwanted things.

How to identify if anything is unwanted or not?

Well! It matters more on where you are traveling and what are your plans for that destination.

7. Travel Insurance

When traveling, risks are obvious. You may lose your luggage or get into a minor or major accident, or get any health issues during your travel.

Having travel insurance will help to compensate for your loss.

Another suggestion that is highly recommended is to discuss your travel plan with friends or the relatives who have visited there. They are ones who can share valuable, experienced suggestions to help you avoid the mistakes they have made.

Wrapping Up

To be a regular and a practical traveler, planning your budget and executing it can be a good lesson to learn. Being aware of what and when to spend your finances gives you control over all the levels or stages of your trip.

Further, the tips that we share in the post, will reduce the travel expenses. Ultimately your dreamland travel and exploration will continue even at a low budget.

Happy traveling! Stay connected with our blog for more amazing articles. Let us know your opinion in the comments and where are you planning to travel next.

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Contributer:

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Satya Prakash Mourya

Satya is a digital enthusiast, who has a unique perspective of looking at the world