If you’re really looking forward to getting out of the country and getting away from the hubbub of your everyday life but worried about how much you’re likely to spend, then why not create yourself a handy holiday budget before you go away on your travels? A regular travel budget would include factors such as travel, a comprehensive yet cheap holiday insurance policy, (e.g. worldwide travel insurance, winter sports travel insurance etc.), accommodation, and spending money for food, shopping, souvenirs, drinking and other fun jaunts. It’s really not hard, and it could mean the difference between having a stressful holiday fraught with money worries and a serene break over the course of which you’re completely in control of how much you’re spending.
Initially, you’ll need to set an overall budget – the very maximum total you can afford. Next, look at where you’d like to go and how much it’ll cost to get there (including flights, train, airport transfers, taxis, buses, vehicle hire etc.).
Then, figure out what the accommodation will cost there. Search high and low for the best deals and see if what you want and what you can afford are in sync. There are plenty of options – couch surfing (for those who really do want to do it cheaply), camping, hostels (great for meeting new people), hotels, private apartments, and even homestays in places like India.
Next, calculate what’d you’d be able to afford on food. Now this is where you can really make savings. You can choose accommodation that would allow you to prepare food (hot or cold) there, which will mean that you could shop incredibly cheaply locally, leaving you more money for sightseeing and going out. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and the odd snack soon add up if you’re eating out every day!
If you’d like to eat out, do some research before you travel to find out where’s cheap – and good. tripadvisor.com is great for first-hand reviews of restaurants, hotels – just about anything you could think to review, in fact. Fail to plan ahead, and you could end up being ripped off by a sub-standard tourist-trap eatery.
If you have any money left over, consider what you’d like to do most. You could either keep the amount as a contingency to do as you feel when you arrive or you could find out about that sightseeing you could do – tours, experiences etc. – outdoor adventures, eating out or shopping. The choice is yours
Any leftover money you can keep back for emergencies, opt not to put it towards your holiday, or divvy it out between the categories you’d like to spend more. And that’s it! It really is that simple to create a workable budget – and it doesn’t have to mean that you’re penny pinching – it’ll just mean that you’ll be in the driving seat of your own holiday finances.