subject: Budget Travel: When to Splurge [print this page] Budget Travel: When to Splurge
You may have walked for hours instead of paying $2 for a bus fare, gone without hot water for months, or avoided shelling out cash for a single restaurant meal while traveling. Shoestringers find all sort of creative ways to save money. At one point or another, nearly everyone has committed an absurd act to save a few travel dollars. While you may toss around change for coffee and a bagel at home, when traveling every penny pinched adds up to a sweet tour somewhere.
Budget travel doesn't have to mean surviving on bread and sleeping in the bus station. It is important to budget your money, but there are ways to be money conscious while still fully appreciating your destination. Couchsurfing, cooking for yourself, and overnight buses are common budget tips, but here are a few others that will save you money without turning you into a beggar.
Eat lunch out, not dinner. You have to eat a few proper restaurant meals to fully experience a destination, especially in foodie places like Lima, Peru and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sure you don't want to miss out on a defining part of a destination, but you don't want to break the bank. Sit-down meals can add up fast, instead of splurging on dinner, enjoy an occasional lunch out. Nice lunches are almost always less expensive than dinners.
Boil water. Clearly this depends on where you are and how sensitive your tummy is. In Latin America where most all tap water is not potable, bottle water costs add up. Boil water for 15 minutes to kill harmful bacteria and viruses. If you are in a location where tap water is potable, save the environment and your money by avoiding bottled water.
Stay just outside of town. In large cities, hostels and hotels can be relatively pricey. Stay in the city one night, then stay just outside of town the rest of time. Just be aware of transportation costs from outer areas back into the city, as they may cancel out your savings.
Make reservations as you go. Booking tours, transportation, and accommodation is usually less expensive when you do it in-country, rather than booking ahead of time from home.
Avoid bank fees. Exchanging cash can devalue your funds if you aren't receiving a good exchange rate. Credit cards and debit cards often offer the best exchange rate, but banks can charge exorbitant fees. Check with your bank ahead of time to find reasonable foreign ATM fees, or apply for a new card without foreign transaction fees.
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