# How do you afford to go on vacation? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119 "2011-04-20T19:29:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/81 "2011-04-22T16:35:31Z")
> [@Septima](#): > > Everyone else is aware that that travel costs are supposed to be 30% if the cost of a vacation, with hotels being the next 60%, depending on length of stay. 10-20% is the “fun” expenses. Not on any of my vacations. 🙂 I don’t stay in hotels very often on vacation; I’m more likely to be backpacking or skiing. I’ve never seen this metric; where is it from? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/82 "2011-04-22T16:49:47Z")
I’ve never heard of that metric either. And if you fly Southwest, Ryanair or EasyJet, your airfare might be only a very small fraction of the overall costs. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/83 "2011-04-22T17:12:17Z")
> [@Septima](#): > > Everyone else is aware that that travel costs are supposed to be 30% if the cost of a vacation, with hotels being the next 60%, depending on length of stay. 10-20% is the “fun” expenses. “Supposed to be”? Maybe. In other people’s books. I don’t need to have 90% of my costs just getting there and staying there. Like I said, Motel 6 is perfectly fine for me, cheap and clean and neat, with very little extra, and usually close to town. I just can’t imagine getting there and having hardly any money to enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/84 "2011-04-22T21:09:32Z")
Okay, “supposed to be” was a wrong turn of phrase: point being, unless you have cheap flights available, which the OP apparently does not, airfare will be the expensive bit of any journey, and if you stay in hotels, it eats the rest. I’m discounting backpackers, campers and people who stay with friends, obviously. I’m not sure where I picket up that metric, but it makes sense to me, since that is what things cost around here. Maybe it breaks down differently in the US. Meaning that, other people aren’t stressing about the airfare, because they are expecting it to be the expensive part of the budget. I’m sorry if I sounded snippy, I’m just really tired. I didn’t mean to. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/85 "2011-04-22T21:39:42Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Amtrak can be cheap if you have enough luck to get the timing right and you are willing to sleep in coach. I got a cross-country ticket for $100, and the trip was a blast. Occasionally, even with sleeping accommodations Amtrak can be a bargain. In '05 we came back to L.A. on the Coast Starlight–about 36 hours all told, and five full meals, and IIRC it wasn’t even $500 for my wife and me. Since we were traveling one way I’m not sure we could have done much better with flying. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/86 "2011-04-22T21:42:59Z")
Whoa, color me jealous. I’ve looked into doing a Milwaukee to San Francisco or San Jose train trip a few times when I’ve been on my way to visit family out there, and it was always ridiculously expensive even without a sleeper. I guess I’ll just have to keep checking in the hopes of finding a good bargain rate. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/87 "2011-04-22T22:03:10Z")
One way to really economize is to take fewer trips for a longer duration. Rather than taking a bunch of one-week trips, take half as many two-week trips, or a third as many three-week. The flight at the beginning and end are fixed expenses per trip, so you can make them be a much smaller proportion of the total cost. Not only that, but if you are traveling for a longer time, you can be more flexible and take cheaper intra-vacation transportation. Rather than flying directly to and from DC for a week, you could fly to Philadelphia, spend a few days there, take a cheap train to DC, stay for a week, then go back to Philly and fly out from there. That’d be a big hassle if you were trying to do all that in a week, but with more time, it’s easier, and more efficient than two trips out to the same general region, _and_ you can pick whichever place has the cheaper airfare to start and end your trip. I understand that work schedules mean it’s not always possible to take a two or three week trip, and you have to make do with one-week trips. But there are tradeoffs to make everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/88 "2011-04-22T22:10:42Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I don’t need to have 90% of my costs just getting there and staying there. Depends on where “there” is. If you want to visit London or Tokyo, absolutely you’ll be spending 90% of your total vacation costs on airfare and lodging; those are expensive destinations. If you’re camping in your local state park, not so much. You just have to mentally adjust the amount it’s “reasonable” to spend on those things when you know the end destination’s pricey. The cost of airfare and hotels tends to vary much more between destinations than the costs of “fun” things like museum admission fees or theater tickets. > [@](#): > > I just can’t imagine getting there and having hardly any money to enjoy. No, you definitely want to have a high enough budget for the trip to allow for a good time. But you also need to remember that some very fun things are free! Strolling down the street taking in the famous sights and soaking up the local color costs nothing. Many museums have free days, and most large cities have many fun free or low-cost entertainment options going on every week. And as I’m sure you already know, you can save a lot of money by visiting the expensive places during the off-season, and by buying food at the grocery store and limiting how often you dine in pricey restaurants. Just because you’re spending a high percentage of a particular vacation’s total budget on airfare and lodging doesn’t have to mean you’re not going to be able to have a great time once you get there. Like so many other things in life, it’s all in the planning. ---
**Author:** ![juliana123](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@juliana123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/juliana123)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/89 "2012-02-11T12:00:27Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > (Note: This is for people who are making ends meet and are even saving but by no means rich or even well-off.) > > I mean it. I know it’s a weird question, but here’s my issue. We make a decent salary between the two of us. We save, we buy things we both need and want. We don’t over extend ourselves and never live beyond our means. Both of us have used cars, for example. And we have money for vacations… > > but _not_ for airfare. And that is what kills us. I would love to travel the country more often (our out of the country!), but airfare is outrageously expensive. I just on a whim checked travelocity airfare to DC in September - $460 per person. That’s a thousand dollars that I can’t spend on the actual vacation at all. No way I’m spending that kind of money for a week. And it would be really hard for me to spend $1000 + other vacation expenses all at once, anyway. > > When I have told people in the past, they point out how cheap that is per mile, as if that’s supposed to comfort me - I could drive waaaaaaaaaay cheaper than that. And of course we end up driving nearly everywhere - up to about 5 or 6 hours, is our limit, though we have done a seven hour trip to Toronto. But driving obviously comes with its own set of problems. > > But I hear people all the time telling how they are taking their whole family to Disney, or some other place - 4 or 5 or 6 people! And I begin to suspect that everyone else is in on some kind of conspiracy where they know how to get cheap airline tickets and I am the only one who doesn’t know how. > > So am I missing something? Do you all just get packages or something? Is there a trick I don’t know? Go to travel agents? Please help! Well, quite frankly we are from a middle class family and the farthest I remember I have been is Kathmandu with my friends. I had boarded [flights to Kathmandu](http://www.flightstokathmandu.in) from Air India that was cheaper as compared to other flights. But as per your question, I think driving by road or going by train will have its own advantage. You can enjoy the beautiful sceneries out there on your own with your better half. What else one desires!! ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/90 "2012-02-11T14:01:04Z")
We vacation because my husband’s parents give us a lot of money at Christmas. Sorry, truth. If they didn’t I don’t think we would take many trips. Back when I was working, we just made so much money that it wasn’t a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/91 "2012-02-11T14:17:58Z")
I read about 7 financial planning books a few years ago when I was trying to start a Mommy group for some mom-friends (we all had kids in elementary school). Unfortunately, even though everyone expressed interest in being a part of the group, few actually followed up. You know- too busy with the kids and all. Originally, I was going to have each mom read one of the books and present the ideas to the group. I wound up doing all the reading myself and did no presentations. One thing I learned from the books, and this was borne out in my group, is that quite a few young families get a financial boost from their parents in the form of an annual gift. One of my mommy-friends got a $10,000 gift for Christmas every year and they used half for Christmas and half for vacation. Others also got cash gifts, usually for the holidays, but in amounts not so large. Also, lots of people use their income tax refund to finance a summer activity. I, unfortunately, picked my parents badly so have to solely depend on myself. So what we do is make sure we max out 401K contributions, then have our Credit Union parse our checks out to different accounts for different things when the paycheck hits the bank. Some goes to ‘bills’, some to ‘savings’, some to an ‘emergency fund’ for larger expenses like a car repair or plumbing emergency or an appliance replacement, etc., some to ‘Christmas’, some to ‘vacation’, and some to the kids accounts. I also keep a little ‘slush fund’ so if I overdraw my account (rare), the CU pulls the money from this account rather than ‘bouncing’ the payment. Plus, if this ‘slush’ account actually accumulates anything I can move the extra to any of the other accounts or splurge on something. It’s a real advantage to me to have the bank parse this money automatically for me because I was known for a lack of financial discipline in the past. Another advantage is that since all the business is taken care of, I don’t feel bad about spending the leftovers. Saving a little all year really adds up. If I kept finding that the vacation account ran short, I would increase the amount the CU sends to that account a little. Forty dollars a pay period would be about a thousand dollars a year. If you and your spouse make a comfortable income, forty bucks every 2 weeks should not change your lifestyle in any significant way. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/92 "2012-02-11T14:41:14Z")
Try planning your travel itinerary and budget on a 2-3 year cycle, instead of annually. Some of the people I know who love to travel to exotic locales, but who are on a budget, do this. So their vacation schedule looks like this: Year 1: a budget vacation in their home region, travel by car (a week at the beach, for example) Year 2: big international vacation by air So, for example, they may save $2500 a year for a vacation, but spend only $1500 the first year, and $3500 the second. This gives you more time to save to afford a plane ticket without foregoing an annual vacation, or raising your travel budget. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/93 "2012-02-11T14:58:44Z")
It’s good that you’re saving heavily for retirement but are you doing it to the extreme of not being able to do what you want to do now? Not everyone lives long enough to retire or retire for very long so there has to be a balance. Could you cut your retirement spending $50-$75/month and fly somewhere every other year? Probably. You have to get over the cost, as it’s part of creating a good memorable life. I read somewhere to spend extra money on experiences, not possessions and it’s good advice I wish I had heard earlier in my adult life. If you just cannot bring yourself to fly then try to think of the travel time as part of the fun and as extra together time for you and your husband. 5-6 driving hours is a pretty short distance to limit your travels to. If you want to go somewhere longer take advantage of leaving after work and getting a few hours in before bed. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/94 "2012-02-11T15:06:07Z")
We drive to the Outer Banks for a week or two every year. My dad and brother split the cost of the house. I buy all the food and drink and handle the cooking. It works out rather well. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/95 "2012-02-11T15:13:08Z")
Budget airlines are your friend. For instance, Aberdeen to London towards the end of March is £137 return by a main carrier, but £50 by EasyJet. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/96 "2012-02-11T15:17:54Z")
What we’ve done for the past few years is pick out a vacation destination based on what cheap flights we could find. We did a week in California and a week in Seattle and Vancouver, both because we found amazing sales. You need to be a little more flexible, but it can save a lot of money. Just book your time off from work, then start scouring the internet to see where you can go. The rising cost of air travel kept us from honeymooning where we wanted to - Italy. The flights would have eaten up over half our budget for the whole trip, so we had to adapt and pick someplace else. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/97 "2012-02-11T15:35:09Z")
Reported the post by **juliana123** as spam. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_I\_Am](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sam\_I\_Am](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_I_Am)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/98 "2012-02-11T16:38:41Z")
Our strategy is generally to make do with short road trips for years, and then plan for a big, long exotic vacation. I have trouble swallowing the cost of that with two young kids, though. Where we all most want to go is Africa, and given that we would likely only do it once in a decade or two, it makes sense to go for a month and do a lot. Plus we wouldn’t do it quite as budget with young kids as we would when we were just a couple. I wouldn’t be surprised if we could spend $20K for all four of us. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/99 "2012-02-11T17:54:47Z")
We usually find a package deal to make it easier. Like the trip we took to Waikiki ran about $1800 for the two of us and included air, hotel (right on the beach) and rental car. This year we’re looking at Puerto Vallerta for about $1600 for the same type of deal. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119/100 "2012-02-12T15:47:57Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > When I was a kid, family vacations were three-week voyages out to the western US in a station wagon towing a pop-up camper, staying at campgrounds for maybe $5 a night. We ate at a restaurant maybe once a week, and the rest of the time Mom cooked a complete dinner at our campsite. I saw and did incredible things at some of our country’s most amazing national parks. I have fond memories of those trips… This has been our solution for many years. We’re no longer in our salad days (the RV is much nicer), but it is still the best way for a budget vacation. We’re fairly adept at this and literally can be set up at a campsite quicker than we can check in and move into a hotel room. We eat exactly the same food as we do at home, so there is no food budget. Gas and campsite fees are always far less than airfare/hotel/restaurant/rental-car. Flying is fun, but we really enjoy seeing the country from the ground as we travel (choosing our audio books for the trip is a big part of it too.). I realize it’s not for everyone, but it’s a great way to keep the costs down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-afford-to-go-on-vacation/579119.md?page=6)