How To Be A Budget Traveler
Want to travel but not sure where to start? You have a flexible schedule but your wallet doesn’t agree with you? Look no further. I’m here to shed some light on the subject. It’s possible and pretty easy as long as you stick to your goals. Here are some tips that I have found helpful for myself.
Keep an eye out for other blogs coming soon about specific trips I’ve made, routes I’ve taken, and more about places/apps that make life on the road affordable.
*Side note: My standards aren’t that high so take what I say with a grain of salt!
Choose a location
Picking an end location or having a place to start feels like an easy step. But maybe you’re from New York and you want to head to San Francisco, for example. Are you driving or flying? Do you have a rental car plan or taking your own? What is the weather where you’re headed? Is the weather changing along the way? Who is worthy of spending so much time in the car with you? These can be small decisions that affect a lot. If it were me and I was going cross country, I would most likely fly to save on gas money. I would search for cheaper flights beforehand and hopefully have a flexible schedule to pick the cheapest pricing. If I landed in San Fran, I would chose not to rent a car because this particular city has a great transportation system. If I were to drive from San Francisco to San Diego, I would rent a car (if I didn’t already have one there) and make sure the person coming with me was super pumped. They’d have great music taste (to be DJ, duh) and agree to split gas with me. We may decide to detour to Yosemite National Park because we have extra time. Since it may be more chilly in San Fran than San Diego, I’d make sure to pack for warmer weather and the beach but I’d also pack hiking clothes and a jacket or two for Yosemite (scroll for more on clothing).
Making a timeline
Timelines can be super helpful. As a wedding photographer, I make daily timelines quite often. I already go into what I’m doing with at least an idea on how the day will shake out. I’m more-or-less like that for trips, depending where I’m going. If I’m headed out of the country, I like to make an itinerary for myself and either print it or save to my phone. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy. Just a few details on places I know I want to see and eat / what makes the most sense to bundle with other things in the same day. If it is a city somewhere that I have so many interests in, then I’ll make a Google Map of it. Bless Google, really. Their mapping system is great because you can plan a whole organized route in there (see Map Out Route below). If I’m hitting a few states at once by driving in the US then I’m more just go-with-the-flow. I’ll hit cities or attractions I’m curious about, mostly with free or cheap outdoor actives. Again, a great thing to do with someone else. Splitting costs like food, gas, and tolls takes a load off. I check prices on most activities before I go or before heading into the next state. Heading out of the country I'd like to be gone for 2-3 weeks. If it’s a multi-state trip then a week or so. If it’s one city then a few days. Just for you to get an idea.
Picking clothing and packing
This one kind of ties along with deciding what season you’d like to travel in. Can’t really know what clothes to bring unless you know what season it is first. Unless it’s somewhere that is warm or cold all year. Then you can just skim through this one I guess! Still, I think it is important to pack light and smart no matter where you’re going. If you check back to an earlier blog here, I write about what products are useful to me. Along with these items, I’m checking the weather the week I go. I know, I pack last minute. Like…a day before for my clothes. Gotta make sure all my laundry is clean for all my options available to me, right? I don’t usually stuff a suitcase. I’m bring my two Osprey’s with compression sacks to be organized and a waterproof/see-through bathroom bag. I’ll do this for any trip. Always am bringing one pair of jeans, travel pants, sweats/sweatshirt, fuzzy socks, leggings, and jogging shorts. Don’t care. I get cold at night so I need options and I LOVE to be comfy. Like I said, my standards aren’t high but when there’s a chance to be comfy I’m taking it. Okay I’m weird and I like to sleep in socks and I also prefer to wear jeans when walking around. Just don’t tell anyone, I’m sure you have weird needs too. Anyways, try not to overpack. The compression bags are helpful but how much do you REALLY need? This is a budget blog post so we ain’t goin to no fancy restaurant, put away the dress and heels. My jeans, travel pants, leggings, and jogging shorts are going to be the bottoms I’m wearing. I’ll bring bike shorts or jean shorts if I know I’ll be biking or walking in warm city. I’ll have up to 5 t-shirts, undies, and socks (doesn’t matter how long the trip is, as long as I have access to laundry). I try to bring mostly wool items because they are breathable and a natural antibacterial (you’re less smelly)! If it will be warmer, definitely swimsuit, waterproof sandals, and sports bra. If it’s colder then layer. Layering is important so you can shed if you get hot. So beanie, flannel, hoodie, and puffy. All of these will fit in my backpack besides puffy. But I can carry or wear anything through the airport until I get to where I’m staying. Obviously will wear my hiking shoes since they are bulkiest. I refuse to check my bag at the airport after finding how easy this is. I also don’t trust anyone with my camera equipment. It’s all compact enough to fit in the overhead and simple enough to open out in the back of my car to find everything. Sometimes I’ll bring the fanny pack I use at weddings for flights. It’s super convenient to have headphones, gum, sleep mask, charger, and phone in one small place.
Map out a route
To make sure you have an organized idea of what you’re doing, make a route! It’s hard for me to give an exact plan for you here because I do this in multiple ways. If I’m doing one big city, then Google Maps is the way to go. I like to organize sights, attractions, food/drink, and hikes/walks by color. You can even do day-by-day on there and add photos with info on the items. All accessible by phone and shareable. If I’m doing more than one state at a time then I usually will just make a note in my phone of the cities I want to go through with things in those cities I want to do. It usually isn’t a detailed list because I don’t have enough time to spend more than the day in each state. I like to eat the local food, walk or bike the city, see/do the cheap tourist attractions or go off recommendations from friends or baristas. Happy hour for anything in the US is best (more on food and where to sleep in a paragraph below). Make sure to bring a student ID if you have access to it, student discounts rock. On one city or multi-state trips I’m usually on-the-go 24/7 to fit in as much as I can in a day. For out of the country trips, I have less wiggle room to mess up, especially in a country that doesn't speak English. I like to have a physical itinerary printed out in case something happens to my phone. Have another copy if I’m going with someone else. Again this isn’t super detailed but it is enough to fill the day. I don’t beat myself up if I can’t hit everything on the list. There are so many factors that can play into how my days will go. This could be from how long transportation takes, how long lines are for food, or how long I spend at attractions. These trips are usually longer than my in-state ones. If I can do most things I came to the country to do then that’s a solid trip for me.
Deciding what season
I feel like people are quick to decide on this one. They don’t want cold weather so winter is usually out of the question. Summer is too hot unless they’re at the beach. Spring and Autumn are the popular choices. For me, it depends where I want to go. Colorado is a fun one - I swear I’m not being bias! There’s something to do in every season. However, I would recommend coming in winter here if you don’t have snow where you are. There's no humidity so it doesn’t bite like the northeast does. Plus is pillow-y soft snow. Really enjoyable. Plus it gives an excuse to have hot cocoa every day. But hey if you don’t like spending all of your time in the cold, I get it. You could visit in summer here and STILL find snow on high drivable mountains. Isn’t that nuts? Okay if you don’t care for winter activities, figure out what you want to do where you think you might want to be. You want to see fall color so driving up to Vermont, New Hampshire, or Upstate New York sounds like a good idea. You like waterfalls so Oregon in the Spring would be nice when it’s most lush and the water is rushing. You like fresh fruit and coastal air so picking blueberries in Maine would be a relaxing choice. Whatever you decide, think about activities that sound enjoyable to you first. Make reservations in advance in case you go somewhere in it’s busy season. Or decide not to go in that season because it would be touristy. What makes most sense for you and your budget?
Food and sleeping arrangements
I’m lucky to have made a good bit of friends that live all over or have family that is pretty spread out. This is why I give discounts on plenty of locations through the US for shoots. Especially if I’ve been there already and have a place that I like to stay. If I don’t have somewhere, I like to go off recommendations. Most of the time though (if I’m not staying with someone I know) I’m going to stay at a hostel or sleep in my car. You say what you’re crazy! You’re a woman, are you sure? Yeah I’m sure. I try not to stress so much. I’m most likely not going to sleep in my car alone in a city that I don’t know. Either way, there are designated places to park for people who are doing the same. This includes BLM land (public land to camp/car camp) and 24/7 parking lots like Planet Fitness, Cracker Barrel, and Pilot gas stations. These are just a few options to save money on expensive hotels or Airbnbs. I have an air mattress set up in the back of my car that makes life a lot easier. If I don’t have my car then I’m looking into hostels. You can share dorms or get a private room for a little more. They’re cheap because you share bathrooms. However I like it not only to be cheap but because its so easy to make friends in the common area! I’ll do hostels in different states or different countries. Wherever I plan on eating, I check for happy hour pricing. If I end up not having a planned meal that day, I REALLY hope I don’t have to eat at a chain. I try my hardest to eat all local food unless I’m road tripping and pulling off an exit. Look up ‘cheapest food near me’ on Google and I’m sure you’ll find quick answers. Obviously take into account the amount of stars and reviews a place has. Then you can compare these places to ‘best food near me’ and see if any overlap. Talking to baristas on places to eat, where to stay, things to do really helps me out if I want last minute ideas. They are usually my age and know the good stuff.
I hope this can help you plan out the trip of your dreams or even just the cheapest trip you’ve ever done. If you have questions on anything or have tips to add, please feel free to reach out. I love making new friends and photographing clients in areas they’d love to visit.