FINANCE

HOW DO YOU VACATION

ON A BUDGET?

ARTICLE & PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENNAN HALLOCK

Ijust returned from vacationing in Europe for three weeks with my family of five. And the itinerary included about a week in two of the most expensive cities in the world—Zurich and Geneva, Switzerland—among other incredibly expensive cities in France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein. I love traveling, but I don’t like spending excessive amounts of money. So when preparing for this trip it brought up the question How do you vacation on a budget?

There is the obvious answer to this question: Just travel to a cheaper location. But this eliminates traveling to some incredible destinations and experiencing what they have to offer. For example, it eliminates most of Europe. So here are some tips for traveling on a budget—even when visiting expensive countries like Switzerland.

Be flexible with your flights and destinations: Your flights are often the most expensive piece of the trip, but they don’t have to be. Be flexible about what day you travel on—midweek is usually cheaper than the weekend; be flexible about what city you fly into—check out cities near your destination; and be flexible about where you fly out of—if you drive to a nearby city it may be cheaper.

If you plan to vacation soon, start paying attention to flights in the general area you’d like to vacation. For example, pick a certain month you’d like to vacation and a certain country or region you’d like to visit, then consistently check flights in multiple cities in that region and multiple dates in that month. Google Flights (google.com/flights) is a good site for doing this. Click on their map and use their “Flexible Dates” option.

Be flexible with your schedule: You should create a schedule for your trip, especially if you are visiting multiple locations, but be ready to change plans. If you’ve never visited a location, you’ll know a lot more about it after you’ve arrived. You may learn there are cheaper ways to travel between cities or find hotels or entertainment.

Above: Vaduz Castle, official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein

Travel on the edge (or outside) of tourist season: Prices increase during tourist season. If you travel out of season, prices for hotels, entertainment, flights, transportation—nearly everything—will decrease.

There is a reason tourist season is during a certain time of year, and this is usually weather. Outside of tourist season it may be much colder (or

Above left to right: Duomo di Milano Cathedral in Milan, Italy

hotter), rainier, or snowier. And sometimes entertainment is closed out of season. But if you travel on the edge of tourist season, you can sometimes get the benefit of both. You may get cheaper prices, and still have good weather.

Create a budget—but don’t let it rule your trip: It’s essential to create a budget if you want to travel frugally. Diving into a trip with no idea of the cost will always mean you’ll spend more than you expect. The budget doesn’t need to be complicated; you can create a simple Excel spreadsheet. But you need to go through your itinerary and find prices for all of your planned lodging and anticipated entertainment. And estimate costs for food and transportation. These can be estimated costs, and you don’t have to let them take the fun out of your trip, but you need to have them available as you pull out your card every day. Think about how closely you’re following your budget and let it be a guide for your financial decisions.

Bring (frugal) friends: This is a great way to spread out some of your biggest costs, such as lodging or a car rental. Sharing costs with friends can be a game changer in very expensive locations. For example, sharing an Airbnb or Vrbo can lower your lodging expenses to relatively normal numbers, even in cities like Geneva.

But be warned: if you bring friends who like to spend lots of money this will backfire. Make sure your friends have similar financial guidelines.

Find free entertainment in your destinations: In expensive cities, there’s an incredible amount of free or cheap entertainment. For example, in Europe the architecture is incredible and most of it is free or cheap to visit. There are also many outdoor activities such as beautiful hikes or incredible mountain ranges you can drive to. Another example is just exploring the old parts of the cities. Many of these old downtown areas are nearly 1,000 years old. Limit eating out: Eating out is one of the costs that will destroy your budget the fastest. For example, in cities like Zurich it is nearly impossible to find a restaurant with food under $25-$30 per plate. Take a family to a restaurant and you will spend $100$200 for one meal.

But eating out is also one of the best ways to experience a culture and enjoy a trip. You don’t need to eliminate eating out; just limit it. For example, eat out once per day, and for the other meals buy food from a grocery store. Grocery stores are a great way to see what local people really eat.

Use public transport: In large cities this will be considerably cheaper than renting a car. If you’re going deep into the countryside or you’re in an area with poor public transportation this won’t work. But most expensive countries have excellent public transportation, and some of it is even free.

Use credit card rewards: Finally, credit card rewards can help cover some of your expenses. Many credit cards— such as the Capital One Venture card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred card—are designed for travel and come with excellent intro rewards. You can use these to wipe out plane ticket costs, lodging costs, and more.

Above: Brennan Hallock (SIMPLYkc writer/editor) with his wife in Chamonix, France