Budgeting
We always begin planning trips by including anything and everything we want to do, usually with a view to cutting or curtailing experiences we can't afford closer to the time. Luckily we never have to compromise as much as we think. Our attitude to budgeting has always been - once you commit to something you will find a way to achieve it. That said, we tend to stretch the budget to the max. On longer trips we keep a daily log and compare weekly budgets in order to stay on track - we're a hoot really!
|
The greatest luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted. — Bill Bryson |
Food Budgets
|
Accommodation Budgets
|
|
Food is very important! We always want to try local dishes and want to splurge on the best a city has to offer. Food is integral to the overall cultural experience for us, sampling street food and fine French dining in Vietnam was essential to understanding the influence of French colonialism and Michelin dining in Norway (despite being off-the-charts expensive) was the only thing that saved us from totally writing-off Norwegian cuisine. Setting a food budget is one of the easier things to do thanks to sites like www.numbeo.com.
ActivitiesWhen we travel we try to avoid pre-booked tours. It's a personal preference, we find that half the fun is in finding your own way. The only formal tours we go on are those provided and run by locals, including; 'with locals', 'butterfly tours' and 'backstreet academy'. We choose to give our money to ethical organisations while also fulfilling our bucket list experiences.
|
Accommodation is always pre-booked prior to travel (otherwise we'd break out into a cold sweat). We always use an online booking site, for which we have a loyalty discount. By pre-booking, we are not only able to accurately budget, we often secure excellent early deals like free bikes, free pick ups, free tuk-tuk rides and of course free breakfasts. We (*cough* she) are particularly fussy about cleanliness so we avoid dorm rooms and hostels which means adding a little extra to the budget. Accommodation can be a cultural experience itself, if you choose wisely you can have a diversity of experiences. For example, in Malaysia we are stayed in an over-water bungalow; in Bali we stayed in a private villa and in Hoi An we stayed in a home-stay.
Pre-Travel SpendingWhen planning a long haul trip, the majority of pre-travel spending goes on medication, prescriptions & first aid. We have used approx. 80% of the medications that we brought so it was money well spent. We have also found ourselves in situations where our vaccinations, particularly the rabies jabs have given us peace of mind. Initial outlay for backpacks, packing cubes, exo-mesh and TSA locks are an investment.
|