How to Travel on a Budget in Retirement
Traveling and seeing the world is one of the great pleasures in life but it can get expensive. At some point, most people want to know how to travel on a budget so they can make their money go further and my wife and I have been doing this for years. We were able to see a lot more places than we ever thought possible when we were a poor couple who could barely scrape together enough money for a weekend honeymoon in Niagara Falls. One of the things we realized early on was that, if you’re flexible, you can make your money go a lot further.
If you’re flexible in your destinations and dates, you’ve taken a huge step forward in solving the problem of how to travel on a budget. Doing some research is important in your planning. If you’re locked into a place and a time, you’ve eliminated a lot of your potential savings because you always want to see the locations and dates that are “on sale” and plan your travels accordingly. Scan the internet and various travel companies like hotel chains and cruise lines for specials that they are offering. The savings can be substantial, especially if you have points or status with that company. We use a credit card for airline points because that seems to provide us with the greatest savings. Destinations and travel dates go in cycles, and you will always pay top dollar if you want to go at a “peak” time. Summer is the most popular vacation time (except for certain holidays), and you will not only be battling the crowds, but you’ll be paying extra for almost everything because the demand is higher. Flexibility is your best weapon in finding lower fares and accommodation rates and guess what retirees have? Being able to make your own schedule is one of the great joys and benefits of retirement and too many retirees still travel by “habit” without checking out the seasonality that exists for destinations and travel fares. With the number of travel comparison sites on the internet, overpaying for accommodations, airfares, cruise packages and car rental fees should be a thing of the past. Stay flexible in your plans and you will automatically know how to travel on a budget because the internet searches will shape your plans. Always keep in mind that traveling slower and staying longer can drive down your costs. You can travel slower with connecting flights and stay longer to get a better hotel deal. Keep in mind that connecting flights does not have to mean the “mad dash” to get to the next flight. It might mean that you stay in a location on the way and really maximize what you see. A direct flight to Rome might be more than a connection through Iceland and you can stop in Reykjavik for a few days and see the sights. That’s exactly what a friend of ours did and they enjoyed Iceland more than Italy so keep your options open.
If you want to know how to travel on a budget, start with being flexible in your planning.
Flexibility in looking for accommodations is also critical and a big area for substantial savings. While staying in the center of “everything” sounds nice, a place just outside may be a more budget minded choice. In looking for savings, let’s emphasize something we have found to be true only after experiencing the downside to choosing the lowest possible price in almost anything having to do with travel. A bargain is wonderful as long as it doesn’t mean a loss in quality. In researching prices, also research customer reviews realizing, of course, that even those need to be double checked. Do you really want to stay in a low-priced hotel that isn’t clean or in a very bad area? When you are learning how to travel on a budget, the amount of time you spend researching each part of your trip will pay off in the long run and, sometimes, it pays to spend the extra money if you want a particular experience. We do a couple of things when it comes to where we stay and the first is to stay at a property that is backed by an organization that we trust. Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton and Holiday Inn will always stand behind their product. Yes, you can have a bad experience in one of their units as well, and reading the reviews of the particular location you are looking at is extremely important, but they didn’t get to be as big as they are by not offering a satisfactory experience to everyone. We use their loyalty programs, and the points can add up. If you stay consistently with the same chain, you can get an upgrade without an additional cost.
One of the biggest costs for any trip or vacation is food and you can save a lot of money in this category. Of course, if a particular restaurant is on your list, you want to make sure you go there but, even with this seemingly inflexible requirement, you can look for ways to reduce costs by having lunch instead of dinner, checking to see if they have an early bird special and not having any alcohol at all. If you’ve come to sample their wine list or a particular cocktail, that doesn’t make much sense but keep in mind you can have drinks in your room and save a lot of money. Even better, you can get takeout and eat in your room or, if the place you’re staying has a small kitchen, you can even cook in your room. Even though we have timeshare which has spoiled us with space and amenities, we rarely cook in the room because dining out is such an enjoyable activity for us and we love to find that bargain restaurant that offers great food. Believe me, they do exist and that’s part of the fun of travel research and when you’re trying to figure out how to travel on a budget, there’s nothing better than completing a journey knowing that it was a job well done.
Transportation at your destination should also be an area where research comes in handy. Car rentals are a great example, and the rates can vary considerably. Check out your existing car insurance policy to see if it covers you during rental and keep in mind that sometimes paying with a certain credit card will cover you as well. Be sure about your coverage and try to avoid, if possible, paying the rates that the rental companies will charge. Fill up your car with gas yourself before returning it because it will be cheaper than one of their options. When I traveled extensively during my working career, it was nice to use the same rental car company and being able to walk to any car and drive off without waiting on a line, but I wasn’t the one paying the bill. Retirement has made me much more aware of the rates I pay, the places I stay and the variation of airfares for the time I travel. I like to think I was a fairly thrifty business traveler and did not abuse my expense account, but retirement has brought even more awareness to the fact that travel expenses can be controlled and sometimes drastically cut with no sacrifice in quality if you’re willing to be flexible. In the end, that’s how to travel on a budget and the great part is that you can travel more than you might think if you stay as flexible as you can and take a little time to search out the great deals. Go out and see the world. It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
Thanks for visiting. If you like what you see here, please tell your friends. If you haven’t done so already, be sure you take The Self Discovery Challenge for Retirement! It’s designed to help you make the most of this wonderful time of your life. You’re never too old to discover something new about yourself!
If you think it might be fun to start your own website (it is!) please look here.
Tired of joint pain caused by inflammation? There’s a company that has made wellness a reason for their existence. They have products that have helped me tremendously. I invite you to take a look here.
Please be aware that clicking on some of the suggestions made on this page may result in a commission being earned by the author.