How to Plan the Best Vacation on a Modest Budget

Vacations and getaways are great ways to break the monotony of our daily lives. You get time to experience a great time and a taste of something new and great. However, vacations don’t come cheap. Whether it’s a small weekend getaway or a luxurious trip outside town, there is always the potential of a huge financial debt.

You need to have some money set aside for any eventualities during the vacation. Also planning ahead of your vacation helps a lot especially if you are on a budget. In this article, I will highlight a few ideas I have discovered that make it possible to have a vacation on a modest budget.

Location Picking

Places that many tourists frequent are generally and obviously very pricy. When I’m on a budget I put into consideration countries that are not popular with tourists or better still, find unexplored or unvisited places in your country. For instance, if you have not visited the capital city of the US, that is Washington D.C., you could discover better places and find out so much more about your own country. And for the accommodation part, finding a luxury hotel in Washington dc would also become easier! That said, I also ensure to consider towns that are near major destinations. In these locations, prices are not exaggerated. Also if you select a town near a major tourist destination you might get lucky and stay at a Historic Hotels USA. I have discovered that most of these unsung destinations are more scenic and fulfilling than some of the hyped cities and parks.

Travel Off-season

During the peak of the travel season and holiday flights, hotels and other things tend to get very expensive. Choosing to travel during the off-season drastically lowers your expenses and you will be able to enjoy a lot of services and places you might not have been able to afford when the travel and holiday seasons are at their peak. I enjoy taking my Europe vacations during winter because during summer almost every hotel is either fully booked or charging a leg and an arm.

Consider the Package Deal Offers

I find it cheap and convenient to get package deals. When you have an offer with housing, transportation, and all your daily expenses bundled in a package it gets very cheap and easy to budget for the vacation. I mostly find vacation packages on travel websites and advertisements. This helps greatly while planning and budgeting for the trip. It also helps me track my expenditure during vacation. For accommodation, you could also consider looking into timeshares in vacation resorts as well, if you wanted a guaranteed place to return to. However as with every other type of contracted agreement, it is worth considering having contact with timeshare exit companies and lawyers, should you ever need or want to exit this agreement. Sometimes saving up to buy a small holiday apartment can be cheaper in the long run as well.

Choose Transportation Wisely

Before settling on a location I ensure to do thorough research on the mode of transport available and how much it will cost me. If I’m on a budget I ensure to use the available public transportation. I avoid at all costs using taxis because they are mostly very expensive especially in foreign countries where I’m not very familiar. For road trips within the destination country, I know that companies like Rent.is hire out campervans – so that’s transport AND accommodation, which could save some money?

For my flights, I ensure to use the same airlines in and out as this will have an added advantage of return flights which come with a substantial amount of discount. Don’t forget to pack light while flying because most airlines check your luggage and you might be charged extra for heavier luggage. Also, don’t forget to leave some space to put some souvenirs to bring back with you.

Choose Pocket-Friendly Travel Styles

If you are on a budget, avoid hotels and travel tours. Choose backpacking. Instead of sleeping in hotels and restaurants, you can decide to rent a house or a hostel. Choosing low-cost accommodation is one way to stay within your budget and also make some savings. You can avoid having tour guides and rely on technology like Google Maps to get around.

Make Your Own Meals

Eating in hotels and restaurants is usually very expensive. Budget travellers will agree with me that cooking your own food saves you a lot of money. On my last trip I met up with some travellers and we cost-shared the cooking expense by shopping for groceries and cooking together in my rented house and I made some substantial savings.

Taking a Longer Vacation

Yes, taking a longer trip is more cost-effective than a quick weekend getaway. When I take longer trips I find myself being able to take better advantage of rental services than when I would have taken it for a short while. I get more discounts for longer stays than shorter ones. Actually, long-travel gives you time to enjoy the place, unwind more, and learn the local ways and life more than when you would have visited for just a weekend.