Budget Your Trip » tips

Submit a Travel Tip and Get Noticed

Bryan — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:06:32 +0000

Did you know that you can read and share travel tips on our website and also get some attention for your travel blog? In addition to using Budget Your Trip to discover travel costs around the globe, you can also spread your knowledge to your fellow travelers. It’s super easy. Just log in and submit a tip for any city or country. And here’s the extra bonus: if you put the URL of your website on your Budget Your Trip member profile, the link will show up next to your name for each travel tip you submit, giving your travel blog more attention (plus a little linking love). When you log in, you’ll see links on the home page to submit a travel tip or update your profile.

If you’ve got some great tips, we’d love to feature you and your website on our blog, too!

Submit a travel tip and we'll display the link to your website next to your name.

Travel Post Roundup (Aug 14)

Bryan — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:30:07 +0000

It’s time once again to showcase some of our favorite travel posts and articles over the last few weeks. If you’re looking for some crazy stories, interesting photos, and travel inspiration, look no further! (And check out the videos at the end, too.)

Interview with Audrey and Dan of Uncornered Market at Go, See, Write
What to Expect on a Flight from the U.S. to China at Around the World L (We can actually confirm this from our recent experience!)
The Death of Random Travel Experiences by Wandering Earl
Savvy Tips for Traveling on a Student Budget at The Lost Girls
10 Guided Tours That Will Blow Your Mind at Pause The Moment
How to get a Russian Visa by Kate Going Global
A little bit of Asia in Sydney at Destination World (great photos!)
Attack of the Killer Squids – Lauren vs. Food at Never Ending Footsteps

These three amazing videos have been circling the internet lately. If you haven’t seen them yet, have a look.

Our Next Adventure: China and Mongolia

Bryan — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:15:15 +0000

We’re very excited to announce that in a few months we’ll be embarking on our next adventure: a two month journey through China and Mongolia. This is something we’ve had in the works for a while now, and we’re finally making it a reality. After our round the world adventure in 2009, we decided it was time to buckle down and make some money. Well, that got old. Now we need another vacation. And as many of you have learned, you can’t follow a year-long vacation with a one week vacation. It has to be at least a few months…. (If you haven’t learned the proper length of vacations yet, shame on you!)

Yes, this is my fantasy world (by Pablo Pecora on Flickr)

We’ll be departing at the end of May, where we’ll fly to Beijing. After a few weeks taking in all that is China, we’ll wander up to Mongolia. I’ve always wanted to stay in one of those large, round nomadic tents known as a “ger” or “yurt”. The ger-to-ger trekking program sounds very tempting. The scenery also looks amazing, and being avid photographers, that’s another big draw. But the nomadic tent thing is really the main reason – and the only reason I need. If you’re questioning that, we’ve been known to do a lot more for even dumber reasons in the past.

Another reason to visit this part of the world is that we missed it on our big trips in the past. We spent a few weeks in southern China on a previous trip, but missed the north. It was absolutely amazing when we went before, and returning to China has always been high on our list.

The Gobi Desert, Mongolia (by Pablo Pecora on Flickr)

Also, during our 2009 world trip, it would have been winter by the time we made it to northern China and Mongolia, and we’re not really down with visiting Ulaan Bataar, the coldest capital city in the world, in the middle of winter. Thus, we had to promise to reschedule it for a future trip.

Also, Mongolia doesn’t seem to have any travel cost data here at BudgetYourTrip.com yet. We’ll obviously have to fix that!

If any of you have been to Mongolia or China, we’d love to hear your tips, advice, or stories. So, let us know. We’re getting very excited….

Tips to Save Money During Business Travel

Laurie — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:26:17 +0000

Business travelers need to save money, too. Just like when we’re on vacation, in the business world money can be tight. In today’s economy, every Dollar (or Euro, or Yen) counts towards the bottom line. It’s still possible to be a budget conscious business traveler while still making a good impression on your clients. The following tips will help keep your company’s business travel budget out of the red.

Consolidate spending to one credit card. By limiting expenses to one card your business may more efficiently acquire frequent flier miles and other benefits such as spending discounts, reward points, or free stuff.
Use internet resources to find local tips. Travel resources geared toward budget conscious vacationers often list affordable restaurants, bars, or sources of entertainment. Consider searching online forums such as LonelyPlanet.com. Local resources like yelp.com also give excellent insider tips.
Ask for recommendations from your clients. Many clients will be eager to tell you about their home town, and inform you of their favorite affordable restaurant or venue that’s away from tourist trail.
Use public transportation. Many cities (yes, even in the U.S.) have some form of public transportation. Research your options ahead of time before you decide to reserve a rental car.
Limit the luggage employees may carry. For short trips, limiting luggage to carry-ons will not only save you money, but it will save your employees time.
Look into extended stay hotels in the area. If the trip is longer, you’ll not only benefit from discount rates, but also enjoy a kitchen for cooking. This will limit travel expenses from eating out.
Understand where your travel expenses are going. Use our business expense reporting tool (currently free in beta) to manage, coordinate, or understand the travel expenses of your employees and projects.

3 Tips to Navigate China Without Speaking the Language

Jeremy — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:25:14 +0000

A guest post by Jeremy from Living the Dream

The superpower nation of China is big, not just in land mass, but in population as well. With about 1.4 billion people (that is 4 Chinese for every 1 American), and 12-24 hour train rides between each major city, the country is only recently trying to integrate on the world stage. Even with this recent push, certain traits have not been adapted to the world scale. One of these is the language barrier.

Over the years, many countries have grown with English becoming a second language for most people, especially in the service and tourist sectors. Resulting from this, it is easy to navigate around many places throughout the world without knowing the local language.

In China this is different, as it is somewhat difficult to meet people who speak English outside of your hostel and major attractions. This article is not implying that everyone should learn English, just that when traveling countries that have not adopted the language, especially in China, a few things need to be done differently.

The following are 3 tips are recommended to make your stay in China less troublesome when you are not able to speak the language.

The Great Wall of China, by Jeremy

Always Carry the Name of Your Destination in Chinese
It is incredibly important that you have a piece of paper with your destination written in Chinese at all times, unless you know exactly where you are going. Metros in major cities (Shanghai, Beijing) have signs posted in English which help you get to where you need to go.The English displays end there, and smaller cities, where bus and taxi travel is the norm, will not have this luxury. Having a piece of paper with your destination written on it in Chinese from your hostel or hotel can be shown to anyone and a quick nod or gesture will help get you to where you need to be.

The most important time when this is needed is going to your next city. Always have the next hotel name, street name, and number written to give to a taxi driver. Likewise, it is important to have writing when going to a train or bus station as well, because even if your hotel claims a taxi will understand train station by seeing your ticket, most do not, and some cities even have more than one, so it is important to be precise.
Taxis are Unreliable in the Best of Times
My personal disappointment in China has always been with the taxi system. In the large cities, especially during bad weather and rush hour times, hailing a taxi is near impossible.With a nation of so many people, taxi drivers have been afforded the luxury of being lazy. If it is difficult to go somewhere, they’ll just refuse a fare because they know someone else will be a few feet away that they can pick up. If you are looking to go out of a city in a major holiday or busy period, don’t count on it, because the drivers are more interested in quick fares to earn more money. By not speaking English, the options are limited to barter fixed prices short of flashing money.

I found myself upset and lost a number of times due to not getting a taxi when anticipated. One experience even left me on the jam-packed Beijing metro at rush hour with my huge bag, and a random bus transfer to the train station. The only reason I made it is because people on the metro made me follow them, and they did not speak a word of English. How we communicated? Showing each other our train tickets that we had out, realizing we were both heading to the same city.
Book Train Tickets in Advance
Train travel in China is advancing at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. This is a great thing for the country; however one thing that is non-existent is a centralized booking system.In order to book tickets, you must be physically present in the city you are departing from. This is fine for most people, except travelers who only want to spend 3-5 days in a city may not have the best options when booking a bed, and may have to make a long journey in a seat or, heaven forbid, standing room only.

Generally speaking, the earlier you book your exit ticket, the better chances you will have getting the ticket you want. Like transportation, there are only a few places that have desks that speak English when selling tickets. In Beijing, this counter can have a wait for up to an hour at times. Shanghai is one of the few, or maybe even only city that has automated ticket sales in English at the station which can be sold well in advance.

The easiest way to book a ticket, even if with a premium, is via your hostel or hotel. You can give them a number of options and they will book the date you want with what is available, sometimes at a surcharge of only a few dollars. In some cities this is not possible, but it works in most, and is cheaper than spending the 100%+ premiums that the few online booking sites charge.

If you take these three tactics to heart when traveling China, your experience of getting around will be less hectic than those who go without. But at the current pace of growth in the country, it is only a matter of time before these problems are addressed and will never have to be thought of again. Until then, tread cautiously.

Travel costs for China

Travel Community Roundup for Jan 20

Bryan — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:59:26 +0000

Once again, here are some of the best travel related posts, articles, and photos from the blog-o-sphere.

9 Money Saving Tips for Travelers from Travelers at A Dangerous Business
33 Things We Love About Guatemala at Globe Trotter Girls
You’re Married. Why Would You Stay In A Hostel? at World Travel for Couples
Living With Less: What Travel Has Taught Me About Money & Material Things at Spunky Girl Monologues
Morals and Ethics of Travel Photography – When Shouldn’t You Take That Photo? at Chicky Bus
Muay Thai at Destination World (Great photos!)
Tongariro Alpine Crossing at Inspiring Travelers (More amazing photos!)
How To Pack For A RTW Trip: 100 Day Update at Married With Luggage
How to Stay Connected Abroad at Lauren’s Road Less Traveled

And if you’re a travel blogger with an eye for photography, come join the ongoing Travel Photography Roulette. This week it’s hosted by Travel With A Mate.

Travel Blog Roundup (Dec 16)

Bryan — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Here’s some of the best articles from around the travel community in the last week. All of them are very inspirational and worth reading.

Career Break to Antartica (2 parts) at Briefcase to Backpack
Ten Things I Learned While Cycling Round The World at As We Travel
11 First Steps to Becoming a Minimalist at Where is Jenny
Top 100 Tips for Traveling on a Budget in Europe this Summer at EuropeBudgetGuide
Booking Halong Bay: The Right Way at Dream a Little Dream
Our Low Tech Travel Gear of the Year at Uncornered Market
Six Highlights of Southeast Asia at Pause The Moment

Why You Should Always Negotiate

Bryan — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:01:31 +0000

If you’ve traveled in a developing country, you’ve probably been in a situation where you need to negotiate a price. Actually, you’ve probably been in this situation hundreds of times. Whether it’s a taxi ride or a souvenir, in many places in the world it is perfectly normal and expected to negotiate for a price.

Many tourists and travelers have trouble with this concept. Depending on where you are, the item in question might only cost a few bucks at the most. But to that local shopkeeper or taxi driver, it could be a lot of money. Why not just give them that little extra that they are asking for? What’s the harm? They need the money, and they are supporting their families, right?

At the risk of sounding like a totally stuck-up snob, there are actually some very good reasons why you need to be negotiating for the things you buy in developing countries. At a personal level it feels good to give a little extra, but from a macroeconomic perspective, you are actually doing more harm than good.

Here’s the crux of the problem. That taxi driver is just trying to make a living like everyone else in his town. You, a relatively wealthy tourist, come out of your hotel and need his services. The negotiation begins. His first price will be high, just as it would be whether you were a tourist or a local. But if you take the first price he offers, that taxi driver learns that he can make more money by driving around tourists than locals. Soon, all taxi drivers learn this lesson. (If you’ve traveled in developing countries, you probably know that they already have learned this lesson.) The real problem is that eventually all of the children in that town grow up wanting to become taxi drivers. Ultimately, that’s where the money is.

Being a taxi driver, a tour guide, or a souvenir salesman has become the best job in town for many cities and countries in the developing world. These jobs often require very little education. Instead of becoming a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, most adults avoid professions requiring expensive and time-consuming educations (which could also help their communities), and opt for the “quick buck” of making money in the tourism business. Wouldn’t you?

The Hmong people of northern Vietnam

Furthermore, the locals get priced out from the services they need. If a local person needs a taxi, he can’t afford it because the prices have gone up to reflect what tourists will pay.

Finally, these communities begin to rely on income from tourists. When most of the economy is dependent on one industry, a potential for tragic conditions arises. What happens if the U.S. or E.U. issue travel and safety warnings for these countries? Tourism declines and the local economy collapses, leaving thousands unemployed. Worse yet, the newly unemployed do not have much of an education to help them find another job in a community where most jobs revolved around tourism.

So, please think twice about giving any “handouts”, especially to people in the tourism business. Unfortunately, economic incentives are now in place to encourage people to not get an education. By negotiating, you keep prices fair and encourage the locals to covet your job instead of your money. Of course, you should always be fair when you pay for products and services – just don’t overpay, and don’t let anyone take advantage of you because you are a tourist. Ending the poverty and economic disparity in developing countries ultimately lies in raising the overall level of education and economic prosperity, a task which will be challenging and time consuming. It might make you feel better to give a little extra at that moment, but ask yourself if you are doing more harm than good.

For more information:

Meet Plan Go Recap: How To Budget Your Trip

Bryan — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:36:09 +0000

I was honored to be on the panel of speakers at Meet Plan Go in Austin, and it was a great event. I hope everyone learned something and became inspired to travel! Naturally, I spoke primarily about budgeting (being the co-found of Budget Your Trip and all that).

When it comes to long-term travel, everyone always asks, “how much does it cost?“ My wife and I have done several long-term trips, and over time we’ve learned how to put it all together. It’s hard to get all of that “expertise” out in one night during an event such as Meet Plan Go, so I wanted to try to put some words down in writing that will hopefully educate those of you planning a trip. No, we’re not accountants or financial planners or professional tour guides. We’ve just done this enough times to the point where we’re comfortable hopping on a plane, knowing what to expect when we arrive, and how to figure it all out along the way.

Here’s what I talked about at the Meet Plan Go event in Austin (both on the panel and to individuals after): how to figure out your budget, factors that affect your budget, planning not to have a plan, and how to save money.

First, how do you figure out your budget? Planning for a long term trip is very different than booking a two week vacation. Don’t worry, various strategies have been tried by many intrepid travelers before you. Some people leave with absolutely no plan – they aim to travel as much as possible given the amount of money they have in their bank account. This sounds pretty scary to most people, though (even me). Others pull out Excel or even Microsoft Project and plan everything to the last detail. This may sound like the perfect solution, but in the end you won’t stick to that plan anyway. If you do, you’ll be miserable and regret it.

The ideal solution is somewhere in between. I think someone quoted me when I was on the panel and said, “plan not to have a plan”. You’ll want to change your plans while you’re on the road. This is a good thing, it‘s the best part of long term travel. There’s no way you can know everything up front, and this is the beauty of exploration. Instead of going into too much detail with their trip budgets, I told people to figure out their average daily budget for a country or region. Then, multiply this daily average by the amount of time you’ll be there. Add on plane tickets to get there and maybe a little extra for unexpected costs, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of your budget. This will help you balance your need to figure out your total costs with your desire to wander like a nomad.

To find your average daily costs for a region, country, or city, you can…

Get a guide book (Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Let’s Go
) and check out prices for hotels, food, buses or trains, admission tickets for sites and museums, and so forth.
Look at the daily average costs for various countries and cities here at BudgetYourTrip.com where the information comes from actual travelers’ budgets. This is why we created this resource in the first place!
Talk to other travelers, either in person or online via travel forums.

Next, I talked about the factors that affect your budget. We’ve also mentioned these points in our How To Plan A Trip Around The World guide, but they warrant repeating. Your budget will be affected by the following variables:

The locations you visit: Europe, Australia, the U.S., and a few other places are expensive. India, Southeast Asia, and South and Central America are cheap, very cheap. Sometimes it’s hard to comprehend just how cheap. In India we spent $18 per day for both of us. That includes everything except the plane tickets to get in and out. In Europe you can spend that much just to have a glance at an old painting.
How quickly you travel: transportation costs add up. Moving faster and changing your location every few days will cost you more in the long run than taking it slow. Taking it slow will also give you a chance to absorb the culture. Most long term travelers have highly recommended a slower pace.
How you get around: Local buses and trains are cheaper than flying. Taking private tours or hiring private cars can get expensive. If you want to get in with the culture, go with the locals. Your experiences will be more authentic, and your wallet will thank you as well.
How luxurious your accommodations are: hostels are cheap and fancy hotels are expensive. Don’t worry though, if you don’t want to do the hostel thing, there are plenty of cheap, locally owned budget hotels to stay in. Yes, they are clean and often quite nice. Making reservations in most places can actually cost you more money than if you just show up. Over time, most travelers find that their standards of luxury go down. You learn a lot about the world and yourself, and you learn that life is not all about fancy hotels.

Finally, I talked to a few people about how to save money. There are a million books, guides, and websites that will tell you how to save your money for anything from travel to a new house to retirement. You can read all you want, but it comes down to one basic factor: your ability and willingness to actually do it. You must prioritize. Do you need that new car, iPhone, pair of shoes, or whatever? Think of each purchase as another day or week traveling. If you could spend $18 per day in India, how many days would those new shoes cost you? In our personal experience, we also found it good to pull out a specific amount of money from our paychecks each month and stick it into a savings account. Then pretend it doesn’t exist and live off of the remaining funds. This will force you to prioritize. Remember, being on a budget is easier said than done. You must stay focused.

Finally, here are a few travel budgeting myths and inaccurate advice I’ve heard from others.

Myth: You can’t do it for less than $20,000.
Well, no, lots of people do an around the world trip for less. It also depends on how long you travel, and where, and… I think we just covered these points. In other words, there is no set price – everyone is different.

Myth: Plan for twice as much as you think you need.
If you plan well, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what you need. But now that I think about it, if you have twice as much money, you can go for twice as long! Or maybe you’ll have some leftover when you come back, which can’t hurt either. However, I’m afraid that planning to save twice as much might scare some people away from traveling, though. It’s hard enough to save a lot of money in the first place, let alone twice as much.

Myth: Get an around-the-world plane ticket.
Seriously and thoroughly look into prices and the locations where you’re going. Sometimes these tickets are a good deal, and sometimes they’re not. It depends on when and where you go. Discount regional airlines are often a better alternative. Check out Ryan Air, Air Baltic, Easy Jet, Air Berlin, Air India, Air Asia, Kingfisher, Ethiopian, Jet Airways, and others.

That about sums it up. I hope everyone had a good time at the event! I know we did. If anyone has any questions they’d like to ask about planning or budgeting, feel free to post in the comments or shoot us a message directly.

Taking Better Travel Photos

Laurie — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0000

There’s no doubt that photography and travel go hand in hand. Many travelers hold their cameras as close to their hearts as their passports. But how do you snap those perfect images to capture the best moments of your trip? We’ve put together a few tips and resources to help you create the best travel photos for your album.

Take Photos of People

People are what make our world go ’round. Without them, there would be no history, culture, or reason to travel to the places we dream about visiting. Try to capture people in their local environment, and look for individuals that show off the special characteristics of the place you’re in. Fill the frame with their face and shoulders. Sometimes older and weathered faces make for the best portraits.

Mursi Woman, southern Ethiopia

Capture the Environment

If you’re visiting an interesting place, a photo that captures the essence of the entire scene will quickly tell the story of where you are and what you’re doing. Try to take a wide angle photo with multiple subjects, but at the same time, cut out any unnecessary space or items that don’t add to the composition. Note the lighting and the weather, and take several pictures to maximize the possibilities of a good photo. Sometimes putting an item in the foreground of a landscape will yield good results.

Dogon Country, Mali

Shoot The Light

A painter creates with paint, but a photographer creates with light. Watch out for the sun, fog, clouds, or other weather affecting the outcome of your photo. Pay attention to the atmosphere when the sun goes down, as well. If you find yourself indoors, keep in mind how light or dark the room is, and what type of light is available. Look for shadows, contrasts, smoke, and moody situations. Sometimes unique scenes can present themselves, so be ready to seize the moment.

In the medina of Marrakech, Morocco

Get Closer

Whether you’re taking a landscape, a portrait, or a close-up of something small, filling the frame with the subject will often lead to a more interesting and engaging photo. Robert Capa said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Think about the amount of space that surrounds the subject in your photo. Should it be there? Does it add anything to the image? If not, rearrange your composition or zoom in.

Dessert in Jerusalem

Don’t Center Your Subject

Various photography rules say such things like “use the rule of thirds” and “remember the golden ratio”. If you’re still uncertain as to what these mean, just remember this: don’t put it in the middle. When subjects are off to the side of a photo, the viewer is drawn in to a more dynamic image. Furthermore, this gives the photo a chance to show the subject within its environment, not just alone.

At the Eminonu Mosque in Istanbul

Put Yourself In Position

The best photos are rarely lucky shots. Planning ahead is crucial. Sometimes you see a scene that’s magical and you grab it. However, if you stick around for a little while, or seek out that special subject, your photos will tell a different story. Look around for interesting people and follow them until they are in a better place. Or, find a spot with ideal lighting and wait for activities to unfold in front of you. By working around a scene and a subject, you’re much more likely to capture an amazing shot than if you just wait for a lucky moment.

Bike delivery in the souq of Damascus, Syria

Get Off Of The Beaten Path

No one ever won an award by taking the same photo as everyone else on their tour. Go down those narrow back lanes, take the overgrown trail, and run away from the other tourists.

Old Woman, Kathmandu, Nepal

Looking for more photography advice? Check out Michael Freeman’s The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos. It covers all of the artistic and compositional aspects of photography without getting too technical. With beautiful and easy-to-understand photo examples and diagrams, the book explains what separates good photos from great photos in a language that anyone can understand. A great read for anyone who wishes to learn more and increase their skills in photography!

BudgetYourTrip.com lets you research travel costs for cities around the world that come from other travelers’ budgets. Sign up for free to create your travel budget, or subscribe to our blog for travel tips and advice.

Budget Your Trip » tips

Submit a Travel Tip and Get Noticed

Similar Posts

Travel Post Roundup (Aug 14)

Similar Posts

Our Next Adventure: China and Mongolia

Similar Posts

Tips to Save Money During Business Travel

Similar Posts

3 Tips to Navigate China Without Speaking the Language

Similar Posts

Travel Community Roundup for Jan 20

Similar Posts

Travel Blog Roundup (Dec 16)

Similar Posts

Why You Should Always Negotiate

Similar Posts

Meet Plan Go Recap: How To Budget Your Trip

Similar Posts

Taking Better Travel Photos

Take Photos of People

Capture the Environment

Shoot The Light

Get Closer

Don’t Center Your Subject

Put Yourself In Position

Get Off Of The Beaten Path

Similar Posts