Budgeting for an international trip is never easy... especially when you're going to be gone longer than a few days. There are so many things to take into consideration... what you'll eat, where you'll stay, and how you'll get around. These are all very important things to consider, and having a general idea of what to save up for will help you out tremendously.
When Dylan and I started talking about how much to save, we thought about our lifestyle and how we wanted to spend our money during our trip. We concluded that one of the biggest expenses would be food and sleep accommodations. We wanted to make it as cheap as possible, so we decided that we would stay in hostels, find cheap street food, and take public transportation.
What you set aside will differ based on your lifestyle choices. If you want more of a luxurious vacation, you'll definitely want to set more aside. However, you can also travel cheap if you plan accordingly. Dylan and I found ourselves somewhere in the middle.
After doing general calculations on what we would spend, we decided that we would both aim to save $2,250 for our trip (not including the ticket to Europe). This would cover everything for our two week vacation.
Here is a general breakdown of what we spent...
Category | Spent | Description |
Transportation | $943.57 | $344 flights within Europe; $310.49 four-wheeler rental; $289.08 ferry ride & other public transportation |
Hostels | $751.37 | Cost for 14 nights; 7 hostels, 1 campground |
Entertainment | $155.04 | Colosseum, Olympic Stadium, Museum/Tower in Venice, Acropolis, Cliffs of Moher |
Food | $679.55 | Airport food, snacks, meals, coffee stops |
Cash Withdrawals | $1,313.35 | Includes ATM fees; Also used for food, entertainment and transportation categories |
Bank/International Fees | $82.12 | Non Wells Fargo fees, international transaction fees every time we used our debit cards |
Miscellaneous | $254.69 | Gifts, souvenirs, clothing, etc. |
TOTAL: | $4,179.69 | $2,089.84 each |
Overall, we did a pretty good job of maintaining our budget! We actually spent less than we budgeted for, which indicates that It was a successful trip! However, our calculations for some categories were off, and we completely blanked on having to set aside money for bank and international fees.
From our experience, here is what to keep in mind when budgeting for an international trip:
Transportation:
There have been so many times where I've forgotten to include transportation into my travel budget. I'm extremely grateful I didn't this time around, but nonetheless, it cost us more than we thought it would! We knew we would be taking public transportation, and other than the few flights in between countries, we didn't think it was going to be a huge chunk of our savings.
However, we spontaneously decided to take a trip to Mykonos, so we had to buy a ferry ticket which cost a pretty penny (but was very much worth it). We also didn't do our research beforehand, and found out that there wasn't really any public transportation on the Greek island, so we needed to find our way around. We decided to rent a four wheeler for the 24 hours we were there, and even though it cost a few hundred dollars, it was one of the highlights of the trip. If we hadn't gone to Mykonos, we would've saved about $500 on transportation costs.
Keep in mind that transportation costs vary from country to country. We found that in Italy, metro prices were fairly cheap. In Greece, we paid $20 each for unlimited bus rides for the three days that we were there. Ireland had cheap intercity light rails, but it cost a bit more to travel from city to city.
The best thing to do before including transportation costs in your budget is to do your research. Look up what the country has to offer for transportation services, and go from there. In most places, you can take taxis, but this can add up extremely quickly. It's up to you how you'd like to travel from place to place, but make sure to look up which options are available.
Hostels:
It's always a little challenging to budget for overnight accommodations because prices vary so much, especially from city to city. Bigger cities like Rome and Dublin had much more expensive hostels than anywhere else we stayed. I would recommend doing preliminary research in each city before you go to get the general idea.
In Venice, we were able to save a ton of money just by staying at a cabin just outside of the island. We had to take a train everyday to get to Venice, but it only took ten minutes and cost a few euros. Had we not done our research, we would have had to pay much more to book an island stay.
Hostels are obviously the cheaper way to find overnight accommodations while traveling, but some places may offer Airbnb or Vrbo. If you know someone in the country you're visiting, ask to stay with them! There are also couch surfing apps for travelers, however whether you decide to take that route depends on your situation. You always have the option of booking hotels, but they may fall on the more expensive side. Make a list of the cities you're visiting in, decide what type of accommodations you'd like, and then research your options for a ballpark price.
Entertainment:
The amount you'll want to budget for entertainment depends on the type of travel you're hoping to do. If you're going to a city with a ton of museums and that's something you're interested in, include that in your budget. Entertainment can also include things such as paying for WiFi on a plane, going to a movie, or going out for drinks.
Our entertainment costs were pretty low compared to the other categories. We still did plenty of sight seeing and visited different landmarks each place we went, but we did enough research to book some deals. For example, in Greece we purchased a package deal to see a majority of the monuments for a set price. This saved us a ton of money in the long term. In Ireland, we booked a tour to get into the Cliffs of Moher which included transportation, a guided tour, and the entrance fee. Sometimes package deals don't actually save a ton of money, so research all your different options and their prices. We also don't drink alcohol, so we didn't spend any money on drink outings (other than some coca-colas at a pub in Galway).
When you do your preliminary research before your travels, make a list of all of the attractions you're interested in seeing while you're there. Take note of how much money each attraction costs, and look up if there are any package deals available. We used GetYourGuide to book ours.
Food:
Ah, the joy of trying international food during your trip. I don't know about you, but trying food from different parts of the world is one of my favorite aspects of travel. Before you start budgeting for meals, think about how you eat now. Do you eat breakfast, or usually skip it? Do you have any dietary restrictions or meal preferences? Dylan and I are vegetarian, but we knew that we didn't want to miss out on some of the authentic foods where we visited, so we ate meat while we were there.
Some ways to save money on food are...
Eat the complimentary hotel/hostel breakfast if it's offered
Buy food to make your own meals if it's feasible
Eat at food trucks for meals
Bring local snacks with you to keep you full throughout the day
Since we were staying at hostels, we didn't prepare our meals because there was no refrigeration. However, we did buy lunch at supermarkets some days to cut down food costs. Of course, there were plenty of times that we went out for meals and splurged, but it evened out pretty well. It helped that Italian breakfasts consisted of coffee and croissants which was pretty friendly on the wallet.
Cash withdrawals and fees:
I like to pride myself in knowing how to be well prepared for travel, so when I looked at my bank statement when we got home, I was shocked by how many fees were taken out from either ATMs or my bank. When I used my debit card, there was always an international fee taken out that was typically less than a dollar, depending on how much was charged. However, that added up quick.
Unfortunately, you can't really get away from these fees. Of course, different banks will have different protocols, but even when you withdraw cash, there is an ATM fee waiting for you at the end of your transaction. You can always bring cash and have it converted into the countries currency, but then you're dealing with the exchange rate fee.
Sadly, there isn't really a way around these fees. Just remember to account for them in your budget.
Miscellaneous:
After all is said and done, you'll most likely want to buy a souvenir or gift for a friend. Even if you travel and tell yourself you're not going to buy gifts, there will be times you'll need to buy things you need - like wet wipes, chapstick, a toothbrush, or whatever else.
The miscellaneous category serves as your safety net. If you need something while you're traveling or forgot to pack something, you have extra money that is there for you. Additionally, if you realize you've went way over budget, it won't be the end of the world - you just may need to cut back on whatever else you'd use this money on.
When I went to Europe, I wasn't really planning on buying gifts, especially because we were backpacking and I didn't have a lot of room. However, Dublin was colder than we realized, so I bought a hat and warm jacket so that I could dress comfortably for the weather. It's little things like this that are easy to forget about!
The most important thing about budgeting for your travels is to take into account your lifestyle and how you spend your money. There is no "one-size-fits-all" for a travel budget since everyone is unique in how they live their lives and their financial situation. You may even need to include another category into your budget. Do your research, high ball what you'll spend, and you'll do great!
Happy travels!
Kommentare