Travelers, vacationers, cost on average?

[ToomuchStuff]

Wondering what your average vacation costs? What about traveling ones?


When I bought my home, many years ago, I took a staycation to do things to it. Three or four years ago, I planned on going on a vacation, when 50% of our workforce came back on crutches, from the "company Christmas ski trip". (I've never skied and didn't go) So that trip died. I wrote before about one opportunity to go on a trip, but choose surgery instead.
The last time I went on a trip, I was under 14 (don't remember exact year, so unsure of age). So I really don't have a clue about costs, but have been thinking the last couple of years, about what it would be like to go somewhere!?! I figure since I haven't ever had the travel bug (barely been out of my state, haven't seen a lot of my state), I should probably start with saving up for one (the budget) then start trying to figure out what or where would I want to go.:confused:
Thanks

[awakenedsoul]

It depends on my budget. I can do a short vacation to see my parents and it costs me about $90.00 in gas. I stay with them for free, and I bring groceries to cook a few meals for us. We usually will go see a show. They pay for the tickets. I stay a few days, (they let me bring my dogs,) and then I come home. I also pack sandwiches and coffee for the trip. I try not to spend money at restaurants or Starbucks.

I did splurge on an expensive vacation last year. I had inherited some money when a family member died. I flew to NY for a 30 year cast reunion. It was incredible! The dinner was at Sardi's. I stayed at the Westin, and went out to a few nice restaurants with friends from 25 years ago. Cost me $3,000.! Ouch! But, it was the only time I've done that, and I had the cash. It was also really good to renew my business contacts.

[Float On]

A few weeks ago we traveled by rental car from SW MO to the barrier islands off SC cost us just under $1000.00 We only had 2 hotel nights and the cottage we stayed in was free to us. We had a few meals out but otherwise I cooked in. I like renting one place (something with a kitchen) to have as "home base" and then do little car trips. That might be something you consider because it can be stressful changing hotels every day if you haven't traveled much. We use to be out 36-42 weekends a year. Some of our conversations about where we were when or what hotel where or even trying to remember hotel room numbers were pretty darn comical.

[catherine]

I'm not going to answer.. I'm too embarrassed.

We go on vacation as a family every year. For years, it was Vermont, and last year it was Maine. We rent a house big enough for our 4 kids+SOs and friends. It has been a pure source of joy for us ("priceless" as they say in the commercial). As a result of our family vacays, three of my kids now live in Vermont, and one of my sons went to UVM and has bought a house in Burlington. We are all Vermonters at heart (of course true Vermonter will NEVER confer the honor on a flatlander, but so be it), and let us say that the expense was what turned out to be an "investment" in a wonderful quality of life for my kids.

HOWEVER.. we tend to spend a lot of money. I try to avoid it--but DH is a spender, no doubt about it. We eat out too much (even though we always rent places with a gas grill so we can cook in), and everyone but me in the family are golfers, which is a very expensive hobby. And, as I said, the house alone is expensive because we look for 5+ bedrooms. And there's usually a pet fee because we're NOT leaving our dog home.

Unfortunately, unless my adult kids ante up and pay for the whole vacation, this will be the first year in probably 30+ years I will feel we just can't afford it. I have way too much debt, and we seemingly have a really hard time with resolutions to "go cheap." I'm truly sad about that.

[tetrimbath]

My vacations have been either long journeys (bicycling across America, walking across Scotland) or hiking and skiing. If I'm staying in motels my costs average out to $140/day, unless I'm at a ski resort in which case it doubles. If I'm in the backcountry it still costs about $20/day - $40/day because of gas to get there, higher price of food or the fuel and equipment cost for preparing food, and fees for trail passes and such. (I've documented some of this in my books that are up on amazon (http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0035XVXAA).) The best way to bring the price down is sharing. Lightens the load in so many ways.

[lmerullo]

I'm sorry you may lose your vacation, catherine.... sounds like lots of good memories have been made over the years.

I, too, should probably not comment - as our vacation lifestyle is in conflict with SL, at least financially.... We love to cruise, we love to go places in our motorhome, and we also love to travel by car. We have a second / vacation home in another state. We spend a lot on get aways, frequently throughout the year.

Having said that, I would budget based on your destination and travel style. I will throw out a very rough estimate of $100 / person / day as a starter, though. Are you single? As you add people, you would likely only need to add for food, as a hotel room doesn't cost more for two,etc - so maybe $50 -60 for add on persons.

[Spartana]

Costs for a vacation or a trip can vary wildly depending on what kind of vacation you take. A week at a luxury spa or resort will cost big bucks - probably $300/night and up. A self-contained camping bicycle or hiking trip might only cost $4/night if you stay in a hiker/biker campground. Staying at hostels or budget motels will be in the $25 - $50/night range. A package tour (say a 2 - 3 week long trip that is all-inclusive) can also cost a lot, or a little, depending on what you are doing and what's included. If you have to fly somewhere, it'll probably cost you a lot in airfare compared to driving. Renting a vacation house can also be expensive in-season but fairly low cost off-season - and you can often split those costs between a lot of people who you share the place with (Catherine - get those adult kids to help pay the cost :-)!). Cruises, train trips, excursions, etc... tend to be fairly expensive but you get to see a lot in a short period of time. So what you are interested in doing/seeing?

For myself I prefer budget self-propelled trips where I carry just a small knapsack and bike, walk or use public transit to get around and between places, and stay hostels or budget motels. But that is for longer trips. It's very inexpensive and I like the freedom of being unencumbered and free to just "come and go" where ever I want. I did this around Europe (and some other places) for many months and loved it.

My other 2 favorites are like Float on and Catherine - renting a vacation house (I do it off-season and longer term so it's much less expensive) and just doing things in one area. I usually bring my bike so can ride that rather than drive as much as possible. And doing a long driving road trip with a mix of camping and budget motels. This is what I generally do now as I have a dog who goes with me. Both are fairly inexpensive and I like the flexibility. I personally don't like package trips, cruises, or those "If it's Monday it must be Belgium" kind of excursions but I can see how they would be a great way to pay one fee and have everything included with no worry or planning.

PS - Wanted to add that I enjoyed reading your blog Tetrimbath. Very exciting life - awesome! That is the way I would love to travel once I'm dog free.

[Teacher Terry]

WE have been to europe 3x's but every time we did not take a vacation for about 3 years so we had the $ saved up. Those trips cost anywhere from $5,000-$8,000 for the 2 of us for 14 days. If we take our car we try to stay at budget hotels, only eat dinner out etc. Sometimes we fly to a frineds but then only really have the expense of airfare & some meals out. It will depends on what you want to do.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Well ok just for myself between 1-2k just in the U.S., so yea I like to have near 2k saved up. But it's been a few years since I've taken a real vacation. And the cost is for? Hotels, transportation - mostly, food and activities a little. I've often taken vacations by train, the train is not cheap (but then driving for vacation is no vacation at all IMO. I took a driving vacation once - I hated it). If your working at a place where you get a couple extra paychecks a year (because they do the biweekly rather than the twice a month paychecks - that's a good way to get vacation money)

[pinkytoe]

Our annual fall 8-9 day vacation to somewhere in the States usually runs about $1500-1700 whih includes airfare, lodging and some meals out along with misc expenditures along the way. That is just for DH and I.

[razz]

Just recently, I took a 7-day Road Scholar tour to a place that I really wanted to see. It was worth every penny with all gratuities and all but a couple of meals included. Very busy and well run.

It may give you an idea of costs to travel near and far to explore the site and see what catches your eye. Some of the people on my tour had been on beyween 12-19 trips over the years due to the degree of satisfaction.

www.roadscholar.org/‎

[Dhiana]

My SL lifestyle helps to ensure I have the funds, time and energy to travel to various countries or even just to visit family/friends which are spread throughout the states.

I prefer to keep things simple such as staying in a hostel but my husband prefers very nice hotels which I find mind-numbingly boring. Thankfully we've found a compromise with B & Bs and I love that some have kitchenette setups so we can save some funds on eating out. They are still about $100/night. We do still eat out some but mostly at places that will increase our experience in the area.

Our next vacation is for an Ironman Triathlon that my husband signed up for...it was about $800 just to sign up for the race alone =0 And we have hotels, flights, etc to do on top of that. I try not to do vacations that we need to rent a car for, I find renting a car to be one of the most disgustingly high priced items. I might rent one for a single day to visit a certain area but that's it.
It has been less expensive and less hassle to make airport shuttle arrangements/taxi/limo arrangements than to rent a car for my travels.

I try not to book too much ahead of time if possible. Doing my research ahead of time though has saved a lot of time and money, some activities do require advanced booking or good discounts but some things are very weather sensitive so I wait on those.

The best way to get your money's worth on vacation is doing things you really want to do and in a comfortable way for you. Be flexible; weather happens, things break down and realize many things will cost more than you'd pay at your hometown.

[Kestra]

This year was about $2800 CAN$ for two of us for one week in the states (flew in and rented a condo and car) Slightly less since we'd have been buying groceries at home anyhow.

We usually do 1 big trip a year now that we can afford it. We never travelled until we were 35 years old.

I plan on spending about $100-120 per month if you average it out. I can make that in less than a day of work so it seems a reasonable expense.

[shadowmoss]

There are ways to offset costs. If you plan to fly you can sign up for a credit card from the airlines. There is usually a yearly fee, but it will come with points towards flights that more than offset the yearly fee. I have Southwest's card, and for the approx. $100.00/yr fee I got enough points for a couple of flights. I also get points for what I put on the card, and I use it for my rent and utilities, which I pay anyway. So, my flights back to see my Mom and an occasional flight to Las Vegas are 'free'. Prio planning is key to this kind of savings.

[frugal-one]

Just recently, I took a 7-day Road Scholar tour to a place that I really wanted to see. It was worth every penny with all gratuities and all but a couple of meals included. Very busy and well run.

It may give you an idea of costs to travel near and far to explore the http://www.roadscholar.org/programs site and see what catches your eye. Some of the people on my tour had been on beyween 12-19 trips over the years due to the degree of satisfaction.



RAZZ... Your link did not work. Where did you go?

We also took a Road Scholar trip to Costa Rica that was relatively inexpensive since it included EVERYTHING and they did a wonderful job showing us the country. It was non-touristy. We did take another Road Scholar trip after that ... that was worthless and a total waste of money. I think the key is to do the "easy" trips on your own.

Also, we always rent a car to see the sites when we plan our own trips. If you look around and book early the rates are not that bad. We came below budget the last two trips. The things that are costly and a waste for us are to board the dog and leave the car at the airport. There is nothing we can do about either since we have no family or anyone to ask to help us out. So... if we want to go we pay the price.

You can afford a trip if you plan ahead and make it a priority. There are always places and things you can do in your price range. It just takes some planning. Good luck.

[razz]

Thanks Frugal one, I edited the link to Road Scholars. It is interesting to hear that do the simpler trips on one's own so will keep that in mind.

[Float On]

Regarding renting a car:
Avis has great rates and they don't hassle you to add on extra charges. My insurance through State Farm covers any rentals. A 9 day rental was $225 for a full-size and unlimited mileage and they don't limit the states you can drive to. The Camery we rented got such great gas mileage that we spent less than $200 in gas on a 2500 trip. If we'd taken our own car our gas cost alone, would of been equal to the rental cost and gas combined not to mention wear and tear on our car/tires. Also because we had a limited amount of time for our trip - if we had broken down in Oil Trough, AR (and we have broken down there before with our show truck)...it can be a long wait for a tow truck and repairs.

So for us, because we tend to drive our own cars into their graves, a rental car for a trip makes great sense.

[gimmethesimplelife]

For me, vacations have mostly been to Mexico, a place very close to me that I can access quite cheaply. A little over a year ago a friend of mine from my college days gave me a frequent flyer ticket on Southwest as he could not use it and did not want the ticket to go to waste. I had the chance to pick RT tickets for anywhere SW Airlines flew where they had seats for a freebie and I picked Austin, TX, and I'm so glad I did. I also went back to Austin two months later and totally fell in love with the place. In the future though, with airfares being what they are? I'm thinking Volaris (a Mexican discount airline) to Queretaro - a safe city in the middle of Mexico that I have always wanted to visit.

Very frustrating how high airfares and bus tickets and train tickets have become. Rob

[Spartana]

Regarding renting a car:
Avis has great rates and they don't hassle you to add on extra charges. My insurance through State Farm covers any rentals. A 9 day rental was $225 for a full-size and unlimited mileage and they don't limit the states you can drive to. The Camery we rented got such great gas mileage that we spent less than $200 in gas on a 2500 trip. If we'd taken our own car our gas cost alone, would of been equal to the rental cost and gas combined not to mention wear and tear on our car/tires. Also because we had a limited amount of time for our trip - if we had broken down in Oil Trough, AR (and we have broken down there before with our show truck)...it can be a long wait for a tow truck and repairs.

So for us, because we tend to drive our own cars into their graves, a rental car for a trip makes great sense.This is my experience with rental cars also. I generally rent thru Hertz and usually can get a compact - like a Nissan Sentra or Mazda 3 (2 cars I recently rented) - for around $100/week with unlimited miles. I use the discounts they offer from various sources - AAA, Costco, etc.. - to get those low rates and put it on a CC that covers the damage liability coverage. Often times I get free upgrade too. And I've gotten those rates consistently and during holiday periods. This past year (since mid-August) I have rented one car or another for a total of 3.5 months and all have been $100/week including taxes. And they aren't single seater Yugo's either but, besides the Sentra and Mazda 3, were a Chevy Malibu for a month, a Dodge Avenger for 2 weeks, and a Dodge Journey SUV (swanky!) for a month. I have an old gas guzzling pick up truck that will most likely break down at some remote place (and the costs to tow and fix it OUCH!) and I can actually often pay for the car rental just by saving so much on fuel costs. And if you're splitting the cost of transportation with others it can be really cheap per person. So check out various places, look for their discounts and specials, and figure out if it's cheaper to rent a car or use public/other forms of transportation.

[IshbelRobertson]

We try to have a number of holidays per year. A two week break on a Greek island in May, another 2 weeks in Cornwall in September. Long weekends to France (4 nights) and Italy. Short breaks in Scotland, England and Ireland, usually to visit friends. Weekends in London to visit offspring.

We have paid off the mortgage, European countries give generous, paid holiday entitlement, so we also try to schedule a 6-8 week break in Australia every 2-4 years, alternating with my sister who returns home for a long break.

How much? We have the cash because we invested wisely and have been lucky with profits on buying and selling homes. This has allowed us to spend on things we like. Holidays are one of our favourite things to do!

[Rosemary]

We drive old cars, we live in a small house, we eat at home almost 100% of the time (and I pack lunches for all 3 of us every day). No tv subscriptions, cheap phones.
We DO travel.

Spending money to travel to see family and friends is something we do every year. With 3 plane tickets to buy, it adds up quickly even when it's domestic travel to a place where we can stay with someone for free. Add to that pet care, parking at the airport (shuttles cost even more), and other associated costs....

This year we're taking a "real" vacation... to Europe. Haven't done this kind of travel in 7 years. We all value our travel experiences highly and expect that we will create lifelong memories.

As for budgeting, you really have to decide what kind of trip you plan to take. Roadtrip? If so, camping or hotel? Flying? Domestic or international? Hotel, rental car? It's pretty easy to get estimates for all of these costs online.

[frugal-one]

Thanks Frugal one, I edited the link to Road Scholars. It is interesting to hear that do the simpler trips on one's own so will keep that in mind.

So, Razz where did you go with Road Scholar?