Traveling on a budget

 

For example, unconventional lodging can save money and simultaneously enhance the authenticity of any vacation. Substituting hotels for renting apartments, staying in a monastery, private home or even on a farm can not only save you money but provide a closeness to the culture and life of the destination.

 

Another example is how you eat. This writer enjoys a weekend getaway to Vegas a couple times a year, but leaves the food budget low on the totem pole of fun. For a weekend away, I’ll spend about $25 a day on food and eat fine for it. No over-priced fancy restaurants here; I’m content with a bagel and coffee for breakfast, pizza & salad for lunch and some Chinese or a sandwich for dinner. Wherever you go, simply eating simple can save you tons of money while still filling your tummy. Whether indulging in a lighter meal from a local cafe, or “grab ‘n go-ing” a nibble from a street vendor…or sampling some local cuisine from a source of home hospitality (think Bed & Breakfast. Or…check out this website: http://www.hospitalityclub.org/), you can seriously save serious cash on your travel budget.

 

One final suggestion on saving money: TRAVEL LIGHT! With airlines charging per piece and for overweight luggage, plus with many tour operators and transportation companies limiting the size and space of the cargo (even the taxis in many cities will charge you extra per piece from the airport), you have no choice but to trim your tram. Even if the cash doesn’t bother you, just the ease and comfort in lugging your luggage will be an ease of the mind. There is rarely the occasion that you need everything you think you need. Traveling light saves you money and time in more ways than you think.

 

Whatever you and wherever you go skimp on the things you can, but remember that its the journey that counts the most. The destination and insuing experience that will come your way will be the ultimate value added vacation package.