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Once you decide to take a vacation, the next goal is to figure out its ultimate cost. Knowing this figure allows future travelers to pinpoint exactly how much they must save per month in order to afford their planned excursion. (Divide your anticipated trip budget by however many months remain until you leave to determine how much you have to save per month in order to afford it.) The destination itself naturally factors heavily into how much the ultimate price will be. After all, nobody expects an international trip that includes London or Venice to be as affordable as lying on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean.
Where you go and what you plan on doing when you get there matters.
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Of course, the first thing to do is make sure that there are affordable plane tickets and that accommodations that don’t exceed your budget can be found at your chosen destination. If you plan on visiting several different towns during the course of your trip, you’ll also want to make sure that getting from point A to point B doesn’t wipe out your budget. Good sites to check out for basic information on these particular details include: Rome to Rio, Man in Seat 61, Hipmunk, Kayak Explore, Google Flights, Momondo, and Booking.com. If the given prices aren’t in your local currency, be sure to convert them on Xe.com or Google Exchange Rates before continuing on.
Planes, trains, and buses:
the costs quickly add up!
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After you’ve determined that the biggest trip expenses are financially doable they’re when combined, you can start making a price list for trip activities such as museum visits, day tours of nearby spots, and cooking classes. Since these things aren’t as variable as some other expenses, they’re a good place to start coming up with an exact budget. Using travel guides and/or the internet, it’s very easy to create a basic price list.
Don’t forget to factor in your eating costs!
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Depending on your normal food consumption rates and the price of a meal in a given area, you’ll also want to factor in enough cash per day to cover your anticipated meals. If you don’t have time to look up everything, try to create at least a rough estimate instead.
I’ve found Price of Travel a very good spot for determining the average basic cost in several cities I’ve visited in the past. (They have 3 star and budget index so you can use whichever one best suits you.) However, this site does only take in the basics in their daily averages. So if you plan on doing something that is bound to cost extra, such as an extended scuba diving trip or chartering a private boat, be sure to factor that in as well.
If your calculations start to look like this, you may want to take a break for a while.
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Once you’ve got an accurate price estimate for your activities, you can then start researching transportation and hotel costs in depth to get a more accurate picture of how much your trip will cost. Of course, we at Gaba Travel are always happy to help!
If you plan on purchasing travel insurance, don’t forget to add that into your calculations. You’ll definitely want to shop around and compare costs so that you don’t find yourself in a bad spot. Other things that you may need to consider include the cost of transportation to and from your home airport as well as any additional supplies you might need for your trip such as a new suitcase or updated passport. Travelers with pets or children that they are leaving behind may also need to consider the cost of such care in their final estimates.
Not someplace you’d want to find yourself with no money for a taxi.
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Finally, be sure to make sure you have an extra couple hundred dollars in the budget to act as a buffer if something goes wrong. After all, we’ve all arrived at our destination only to realize that our luggage ended up on a different flight. Or that we have nothing to wear to dinner at the new fancy restaurant in town. Or that we somehow ended up in the wrong city at midnight. It pays to plan ahead so that your budget isn’t completely thrown off kilter by an unexpected taxi ride or shopping trip.
As always, good luck and happy travels!
