What do you save on?
 

What area would you usually save on to spend more another area: flight, hotel or expenses?

I'm a middle sort of person so I like to have a balance between all 3.

Well, if it's my Asian vacation to CEB, then I definitely save on the flight as I use miles.

Depends where I am going. If I am flying domestically, I will pay for my flights and stay in a cheaper hotel, whereas if I am flying internationally, I will use miles for business class flight and stay in a nicer hotel.

When totaling up actual costs afterward, I'm often surprised by how high the rental car + gas part was. My formative travel-booking years were back in the early 90s, when rental car rates, rental car taxes and gas prices were much lower. Three weekend days in many cities in a midsize might total $39 all-in with gas under $20 total even if you did a fair amount of driving. No mo. Nowadays that $59 total could be more like $159 (much more for weekdays or hitting a "gouge" situation like PDX in summer).

The bulk of any of my spending is on business class airfare. I save on hotel and food-related expenses - but then again, 3* hotels and restaurants where locals eat are my style.

But, I'm willing to spend a lot on experience-based tours, such as scuba diving excursions or safari trips.

We are among the ones who will allocate most of our travel expenses on F class air travel than say a 5* hotel, limousine, or fancy dining. So it is common to see us fly in F but only take the cheaper mode of transportation to/from the airport and/or stay in 3-4* hotels. Same pattern also applies to how my business travel (where the majority of my F class air travel take place) expenses are allocated. We also rarely spend money to buy expensive clothing nor do we frequently eat out at fancy expensive restaurants.

Retired. Income: social security, public university pension, a bit of part-time teaching.

I try to save on all three. The alternative is not to travel. That ain't gonna happen!

I save to save, not to spend it on one of the others. If I got a good deal on a car for a week someplace, I would not take that money and say I can go to a better hotel. I don't plan a trip with a set dollar amount in mind to spend up to no matter what. I may have a dollar amount I'll consider the maximum I'll spend, but if I am able to cut my airfare in half by flying the next day I won't spend that on better restaurants.

I have learned that anything much above a Holiday Inn will be lost on me so I don't splurge on hotels for amenities reasons. At the same time I also don't venture far below that quality/price point. I will spend more for a better located property as that will let me avoid rental car/parking costs.

I have also chosen destinations based on public transit availablity. There are enough excellent places I haven't yet seen I can make this choice without really limiting myself. Money saved means more travel.

Pretty much my pattern too. If traveling alone I will cut expenses: Super Shuttle or bus instead of taxis, takeout instead of room service or tablecloth restaurant. If traveling with family on vacation I will amp up expenses (excursions, rental car, etc.) but perhaps do a 3* hotel instead of a 4*.

Air: we now fly only Business TATL because Coach is so miserable. Coach is fine on shorter hops.

Hotel: in Europe we typically redeem points and end up in places much nicer than we'd get using our cash; if we're paying for it, we choose smaller, family-owned places but prefer convenient to attractions/transportation, with an elevator and Wi-Fi.

Other expenses: we can get very frugal here. We eat maybe one meal every other day in a traditional sit-down restaurant. We get a lot from the local grocery stores, which is also a good way to see how the locals live. I'll hunt around on the Internet to find out how to get to a nearby attraction rather than book a more expensive day tour with a guide. We rarely buy souvenirs except for a refrigerator magnet, a piece of jewelry or the local adult beverage.

Over the years, though, we're starting to spend more for comfort and convenience. My husband is 72 and has a little bit of a balance problem, particularly on steps. Negotiating public transport to and from the airport with a couple of suitcases and a change of trains is getting dicey and more often now we book a car to and from the airport, particularly for early flights. That's also the reason we want to be near the center of things: he can put his feet up in the late afternoon and I can still explore if I want to. We'll also take the train even if flights are cheaper because we like the train.

But, in general, we don't focus on thrift on vacations.

Expenses like food and excursions are the reason you take a vacation. No reason to fly all the way out there and then stay in your hotel to avoid paying $80 for a lift ticket or a snorkel trip. Hotels can vary, but overall you won't find very different prices for the same level of service.

I save on travel. I'm young and can manage reasonably well with red-eyes and sitting in coach for hours on end. Even if others can't, there's just so much more variability in the fares you'll find if you're willing to say, travel on Thursday instead of Friday, or at 11 AM instead of 7 AM, even if you want to stick with a favored airline.