Getting started
Oct 13, 2010 | 8:29 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2
Getting started
Just signed up for the forums, and I feel a bit overwhelmed. From my vantage, I'm most interested in budget travel (hence the post here). I suppose I'm wondering if you guys have any friendly tips for getting started. TYIA
Oct 13, 2010 | 8:36 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: HH Diamond, Marriott, IHG, Hyatt something
Posts: 34,516
Budget, or just cheap?
Define budget traveler first. Where do you want to travel? When?
Many people are looking at staying in hostels, bus rides and other ways to travel/stay/eat for $20-$30 per day. These days it's pretty hard to do that for international travel.
I myself, am a cheap traveler. I want as nice a hotel, airplane seat and food as I can get, on as little as possible. I travel close to 200 days per year, all on my own dime.
I'm currently at the end of a 26 night stay, at a 4 star hotel. The first night was paid (About $100), and the other 25 were "free" nights using points. About $25 in points each night. So 26 nights for about $1350 in cash/points. Plus I got back about $75 in points for the one night I did pay for, so $1275.
The hotel has a great breakfast, which usually ends up being brunch, so that's two meals a day taken care of. Another $10 or so each day for food, plus $5-$15 each day for buses, entertainment, etc. If I only take taxis it would cost me about $250 extra for my trip.
Many people are looking at staying in hostels, bus rides and other ways to travel/stay/eat for $20-$30 per day. These days it's pretty hard to do that for international travel.
I myself, am a cheap traveler. I want as nice a hotel, airplane seat and food as I can get, on as little as possible. I travel close to 200 days per year, all on my own dime.
I'm currently at the end of a 26 night stay, at a 4 star hotel. The first night was paid (About $100), and the other 25 were "free" nights using points. About $25 in points each night. So 26 nights for about $1350 in cash/points. Plus I got back about $75 in points for the one night I did pay for, so $1275.
The hotel has a great breakfast, which usually ends up being brunch, so that's two meals a day taken care of. Another $10 or so each day for food, plus $5-$15 each day for buses, entertainment, etc. If I only take taxis it would cost me about $250 extra for my trip.
Oct 13, 2010 | 8:56 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2
I suppose I'm probably somewhere in the middle of budget and cheap on the spectrum. I don't mind paying more if I perceive the value to be worth it. I'm a young adult and don't make too much money, but my expenses are low, my savings are healthy, and I've got no debt.
My first planned trip will be a flight down to Orlando at the beginning of December (live in Minneapolis). Lodging is taken care of, and the group of people I'm with will most likely split the cost of a rental car or two. Sometime in winter or spring of 2011 I'll fly out to San Francisco. So for those two, I'd probably fall more on the lines of cheap, but I don't mind hearing the true budget tricks as well.
Thanks for the response.
My first planned trip will be a flight down to Orlando at the beginning of December (live in Minneapolis). Lodging is taken care of, and the group of people I'm with will most likely split the cost of a rental car or two. Sometime in winter or spring of 2011 I'll fly out to San Francisco. So for those two, I'd probably fall more on the lines of cheap, but I don't mind hearing the true budget tricks as well.
Thanks for the response.