hen planning a trip, we ruthlessly search for the cheapest airfare. Scanning sites like Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity, Booking.com and others looking for the absolute rock bottom price. There are countless apps and strategies to find the lowest fares. Fly on weekdays, late nights, to secondary airports, etc.
If the normal fare from Manila to Amsterdam is USD 740 and we find a fare for USD 495 we celebrate. We won the lottery. I’m guilty, and often rush to book an incredible fare because I couldn’t pass it up, and FOMO – it might not last.
I recently found a fare from Bangkok to Copenhagen for USD 231 one way on Norwegian Air no less. I couldn’t believe it, and the ticket was booked within a few hours.
We often think of airfare as the primary travel cost. If we secure a bargain fare we will gladly fly halfway around the globe and feel proud for it.
Sometimes a cheap fare can even lure us to a place we didn’t initially want to go. I’ve traveled to Bangkok because I found a super cheap fare from Manila – even though I’ve already been multiple times. That USD 120 RT fare soon becomes 4 nights in hotels, food, spending, sightseeing and partying and is closer to USD 2,000 gone from your pocket.
In reality, your airfare is usually the smallest expense of your entire trip. Unless of course, it’s a very short trip, like a long weekend.
Cost Breakdown
As an example, I’ll take an 80-day trip I took to Europe last year and break it down. Everyone travels differently, some want luxury others are fine with hostels, I’m somewhere in the middle – taking Luxury where I can afford it and even taking private hostel rooms if it’s close to the nightlife.
1. Accommodation
Let’s just say an average hotel in western Europe will cost around USD 160 a night. Airbnb slightly less, but by the time you add taxes and cleaning fees you get close to that number – depending on the city. In big cities like Paris and London – it’s considerably more.
2. Daily spending
We all have our budgets for sightseeing, food, transportation, shopping, etc. But from experience let’s say the average for two people in Europe is USD 225 a day. That’s all-inclusive; motorbike rentals, museum passes, all food and nightlife, trams, ski lifts, car rentals, food walking tours, tickets to concerts or ballets, visas, trip insurance, etc.
3. Interior travel
Just getting from Asia to Europe via that cheap fare isn’t enough. Now you have to get around to all the different countries and cities. Trains, buses, short flights. Although low-cost carriers offer amazing prices – even these add up as they now charge to reserve seats.
On our 80 day trip, we took 12 flights, 8 trains, 2 overnight ferries, 3 buses, and a boat. For a total of USD 2,500 per person (USD 5,000). (not including our original airfare).
4. Total cost
In the end, you have a hypothetical budget that looks like this:
- USD 16,000 – Daily spending
- USD 12,000 – Accommodation
- USD 5,000 – Interior transportation
- USD 1,490 – Initial low-cost airfare for two RT that lured you in.
- USD 35,000 Total
By far that budget flight you booked was the cheapest part of your trip – accounting for just 4.2% of your budget.
Another example
I’m in Paris and want to go to Edinburgh for 4 nights. However, the cheapest last minute flight for two people is USD 350. NO WAY I’m paying USD 350 for such a short flight I complain… Once again I forgot to factor in the cost of the trip – my hotel coming in at USD 800 for the four nights, a tour to the Loch another USD 150, and daily spending for 4 nights, maybe USD 1,000 or so. That USD 350 is the least of my problems for a trip that costs USD 2,300.
However, there are strategies to combat this airfare-shock or maybe just plain bargain-greed. In the case above I could have just visited Edinburgh for 3 nights instead of 4 and shaved off USD 500.
Small savings on long trips add up to big savings
I’ve learned if you want to save money on a trip, forget that initial airfare rush and all the excitement that comes with it – that’s the worm on the end of the hook to catch the fish.
On an 80 day trip if I had managed to save:
- USD 30 per night on my hotel, I’d have saved USD 2,400
- USD 50 on spending per day – going to the grocer, walking more instead of taxis – USD 3,200
A not inconsiderable 15% overall trip savings from making small daily changes. (USD 5,600)
Shaving days
Another way to shave serious money from an itinerary is just to shave a few days.
If you know your average spend (USD 225 spend + USD 160 hotel = USD 400-ish per day). Spend one or two fewer days at longer destinations and come home 3 days early. An 80-day trip could easily have become a 72 day trip without much difference – but saved nearly USD 3,200.
Combine that with the savings above (hotel and spending) and you’re now looking at 20%+ overall savings. (USD 7,000) Nice!
Packing small
Another ‘hack’ is to only bring a carry-on rolling suitcase. And one shoulder bag. This physically limits the space you can fill up with things on the road. No, you won’t be able to carry home that 18″ model of the Eiffel Tower made in Shenzen China, nor the wool Jacket from Norway, or the Guinness pub glasses from Dublin that you stole from the bar, not even the day-glow pink David from Florence… But – not having the (lack of) space forces you to save money you would waste on typical travel ghetto junk.
A few money-saving tips
When planning trips, especially long ones, try keeping a spreadsheet to see what you spend a day, look at your hotel, every euro, dollar or yen you spend and figure out how much an average day costs you – per person.
- I use a spreadsheet on my laptop and an app on my phone called Checkbook.
The app allows me to quickly record how much I just spent when out around a city. You’d be surprised how much you forget if you just try to recall at the end of the day what you spent on lunch, or how much you spent in the 5 bars you hit at 2 am before the pizza, etc. tapping the numbers into the Checkbook app as you spend them helps. I don’t start with a balance – just start recording deductions. I just round up to the nearest dollar. You can also just use the notepad app on your phone – whatever works.
Once you know your average daily spend, and add in the interior transportation you can stop focusing on that ‘deal’ of the initial bait-flight and instead count the number of days and assess the total cost of the trip. Knowing you’ll probably spend USD 35,000 for 80 days traveling through Europe will put that USD 231 flight to Copenhagen in a whole different perspective.
