Getting deals/paying for a vacation

The most common questions Wayne and I get about our travels are: 1. "How can you afford to travel so much?" 2. "Aren't you still in school?" 3. "Where do you get such good deals?"

1. "How can you afford to travel so much?" I think a large number of people are under the impression that you have to be financially well-off to travel. I can see where they're coming from. You can easily spend $1000 on a plane ticket, $200 per night in a hotel, $50 per day for food, $100 per day for spending, and $50 per day for taxis and transportation. A two week vacation at this price would be $6600. Double that price for two people. So if it cost 13,000 for Wayne and I to go to Europe for 2 weeks, we could never have afforded to travel. However, an average budget for one of our trips would include: Airfare - 500, Hotels - $100 per night, Food - $20 per day, Spending - $25 per day, $10 per day for transportation. For two people this is $2670. Our trips have ranged in price from $600 to $4000. Yes we have to save, scrounge, and starve, but it was worth it!

2. Yes Wayne is still in school. But traveling while you are in college can have huge advantages. How many jobs give you a month off in December, spring break, and summer vacation? Since we don't have kids and rent an apartment we feel very flexible to travel whenever we want or whenever there's cheap airfare. Also, there are lots of travel discounts for those under 25 in Europe (think hostels).

3. For our next trip we booked tickets to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. We were excited to get the tickets from Denver to St. Thomas for a bargain $261 per person. I heard about this deal through travelzoo.com. Travelzoo e-mails a weekly report of travel deals around the world every Wednesday. Just sign up on their website. So I saw the deal on the weekly email, and went to orbitz.com to book the tickets.
Wayne is the king of researching on the internet. So he also finds good deals for us. Just looking around and reading reviews of other travelers can help you get more bang for you bucks. One of my favorite review sites is Travel Advisor.
Using budget guidebooks can also help you to be well informed and save more. I've used Let's Go and Rick Steves. Rick Steves is the best. He'll not only gives advice on how to save money, but also time, which is valuable, especially during a vacation. We have saved hours of standing in line for tickets by learning how to get tickets in minutes from his books.

4. Final Thoughts - Save, Scrounge, and Starve
We have also made travel possible by saving, scrounging, and starving. We have spent many a night sleeping in a car. We have skipped more than one meal. During our first trip to Europe we eat out three times. We bought fast food, groceries, and simply didn't eat. Wayne lost 15 pounds, I lost 5 pounds during that trip. No joke. We have also taken advantage of airline mileage programs. We enjoy camping, so several of our trips were centered around camping. This has always saved a huge amount. We have camped in the US, Canada, Europe, and the Carribean. We have paid $5 to $30 per night for campsites. That has saved us hundreds of dollars. More than anything, I think the secret to being able to travel is to just get out there and do it. If you dream of going to the Amazon you may never do it. But if you go buy tickets to Brazil, it will be real and you can save and plan and make your dream come true!

So get out there and plan a trip!