Traveling solo & running out of money (vacation, reservation, airlines)

[parentologist]

Try Uber and Lyftt if no public transit. Consider AirBnB closer to where you need to be.

If desperate, can try couchsurfing for staying over.

[tone77]

You can stay in a hostel or cheap motel for several nights for the cost of one night at a three star hotel. Greyhound bus may be your cheapest option for getting home.

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by tone77

You can stay in a hostel or cheap motel for several nights for the cost of one night at a three star hotel. Greyhound bus may be your cheapest option for getting home.

Hostel will probably be nicer and safer than a dirtbag motel. Odd as that may sound.

I watch some Youtube videos of a few people who travel, and they often stay in hostels. One guy was at one in vegas for like $25 a night. North end of the strip.. It looked halfway decent for what it was.. Far better than Circus Circus, honestly.

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by Klassyhk

Things I've had go wrong or unexpected for a three city visit on the west coast:

-Travel buddy not do any of the planning they agreed to do. A few days before trip, back out citing numerous unexpected personal problems wirh family come up.

(snip predictable depend-on-bums story)

Thankfully, I'm with family as of today. It was scary having little money while traveling solo.

Sure, I can help with most of this:

1. Don't hang out or travel with bums. Even my friends, decidely not bums, are busy with BS wives and children in their 40s, and "money problems" despite making $200K/yr between college at $40k/year for some kid, $3K note on the house, and "relationship problems" with the wife or SO. I've had people backout all the time. I had two of them backout on plans with me in some number of years, so I've since started traveling solo; screw 'em all, I have none of the above (= travel light, a lifeline plan).

2. Don't buy non-refundable, I wouldn't buy beyond a month out on anything. Confirm, confirm, and triple confirm they aren't being just nice about a place to crash. I have exactly one friend I trust to crash with, in Santa Barbara. With him I do the same, though: triple check up to week prior.

3. Uber, obviously. I only discovered it a few years ago, but there it is. Cabs a distant second possibility? WTH?

4. LOL: see no. 1. "Money problems" and "families" are not something you need to be involved with when traveling.

If you're traveling with only a few hundred bucks to spare, you're broke and I'm amused you're "traveling" at-all, unless that is a euphemism for "a bum on the rails."

Yeah, I did some of that when 18 and into college. After, as a professional, thought it more prudent to mostly travel Business Class (chuckle). I camped in Maine, NY state, and New Hampshire, brought a hot plate, and cooked coffee, beans, and raviolis plus stew from cans. I survived on meager funds.

Do...not...count...on....families or old people to come through. Brats or new girlfriend around your travel buddies? Don't believe anything whatsoever they say, or plan out.

Couple observations doing what you did, back in the day, the previous. Only one doing my travel planning today is me.

[misnomed]

1. Take at least one credit card, two doesn't hurt as sometimes you get declined for unknown reasons. ATM card as gas pumps can get you $250 hold on account for 3 days for $20 in gas.

2. Then pay the credit card bill in full at end of month.

3. You had money saved to cover trip before you planned to go. You saved for trips.

4. Emergency fund you can access from ATM card.

5. Stay in suburban hotels and don't look flashy or take big electronics unless you do business on that thing while away. Keep the electronics in car while gone. Take wallets/purses to pool or hotel gym in bag.

6. If you've ever had car break after a service appointment, don't get it worked on just prior to trips. May want to consider using rental cars to leave town if you have bad mechanics experience or you drive a beater. For some reason, area around here left many people paying for BIG car repairs during trips..... Had my rental car's check engine light come on during drive to airport to fly out but drove Highway 101 beautifully BTW. Thank you so much Gawd. Was lovely trip.

7. Travel with people of your income level or just visit at wealthy friend's home instead. If poorer friend ever borrowed money and could never pay it back, the trip is a gift to your friend and make sure you can cover ALL expenses before you book it. If the friend has history of excessive drinking or drugs, skip traveling with these for your own good.

8. AirBnb is allowing some predators accused of harming guests to remain landlords...I've used it happily until I saw a local predator taking in people to steal from...Few get anywhere filing a police report there as she's a somebody........She used people's information to steal long term from a lot of locals.

9. Uber had a few accused of rapes or assaults. Nothing was done until the police picked him up after multiple complaints. Crazy Uber guys are almost the norm in some places...

I'M SORRY. I didn't see the second post until I put this together. Advice is helpful so I will leave it.

[JanND]

If you are with family, stay there until your atm hold is resolved with that expected deposit. Personally, I'd go home after that, and follow the advise given above for future trips.

Get home safe!

[StealthRabbit]

plenty of issues (Since I am usually gone...)
I never give up (returned from trip this morning, will cut some firewood, feed the cat, leave in 2 days..).

Love to travel solo (or Duo) but Solo is SO much simpler.

suggestions:

1. A car you can sleep in... I like my 50 mpg 'sleeping wagon', but can manage fine in my 20 mpg campervan,
2. Guest homes (free to $20 / night WW) 100+ stays / yr... been doing it for nearly 30 yrs EXCELLENT (for me... here come the nay-sayers...as always ) https://wikitravel.org/en/Hospitality_exchange
3. Plan your trips within your budget and where you want to be / go / do. ($10 / day for food and entertainment is plenty for me)
4. Think WAY outside the norm (If it is normal... it will not be an adventure, and I would not waste my time (or money). Tourist stuff (not for me... YMMV))
5. You often don't need to go far to enjoy the trip.
6. Call the kids / relatives "Help, I need Money"... Our kids helped us out when we were gone for a yr and the CC company decided to change banks and dropped over 20 autopays and cut off our card (we had 2, and the other had got hacked). Credit union (ATM) cut us off.. decided we were logging in from too many different locations / devices, of course... we were TRAVELING (yes we had "travel notifications" set and had CALLED and listed each (of many) countries.

[coschristi]

Oh gosh, this used to happen to me all the time.

Okay it happened in 2014 too. But I wasn’t actually by myself ... I had the 3 youngest kids & the dog with me.

In a 19 year old Nissan with electrical system issues (later determined to have been a Katrina car). The last thing I said when we left to “drive until we reached the ocean” was “Hopefully I make it through the desert without breaking down & being picked up by some Cartel guy.”

As it turns out; I break down just 100 miles from home (on our way back), at midnight, during an epic thunderstorm, on Raton Pass, NM. A 20-something year old kid from Mexico/recently moved to Roswell who spoke zero English named Leo ended up driving us home, right to our front door.

I used to get stranded in OB, San Diego. Honestly, there are worse places to get stranded. Like the 4 days I was stranded at a truck stop in Orange, CA. That place was a little sketchy but I can be ... resourceful. And I’m friendly, that helped.

This wasn’t a travel incident but I used to commute to work an almost 2 hour drive one way, across a sparsely populated region of the high plains & at all hours of the day & night. One night, my engine blew. I heard a big ka-bam & the interior filled with black smoke. I bailed with the box of diapers I just bought prior to leaving town onto the side of the highway. It was 1am & 13 degrees out & I was so glad someone picked me up, at that point he could have been Ted Bundy & I wouldn’t have cared.

I actually told him “Thank you for picking me up & not being an axe-murderer!” When he dropped me off.

I’ve never been a first-class traveler & I’ve learned how to travel on a budget. I don’t go to tourist traps; I’m just happy if there is an ocean. I use public transportation in cities. If I don’t know where anything is (including myself) I just ask the first person I see “which way is the ocean?” & hop on a bus. & I can cook a hot, 5 course meal with all the healthy food groups as long as there is a Walmart & a hotel room with a microwave & mini-fridge.

Eating out is the budget killer; if you can eat 1000 miles from home the same way you eat while at home you can save hundreds of dollars.

Skip the expense & waiting in line at theme parks & buy a sand bucket at Walmart for $0.99 & let the kids play.

Editing to add: unless it’s my kids, I’m always solo. I tried doing it with a BF once & he couldn’t keep up. The first ticket home I had I used it to send him home & I worked it out myself a week later. He was so anxious about stuff all the time it was annoying.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by Klassyhk

- A relative I'd planned to visit at her home for 3 days cxl 3 weeks ago saying she'd like me to reschedule for another time although she & I had made these plans during the summer. I'd already purchased the flight. Now, I'd have to get a hotel for those 3 nights, which I did.

I once had a situation with a trip planned months ahead using a frequest flyer ticket (which was either use the miles then or lose them completely!) where my uncle's wife suddenly claimed that she never agreed for me to come stay with them. So I found a copy of the email with her agreement and forwarded it directly to my uncle's email address and lo behold his wife/my aunt changed her turn and my visit to stay with them was back on! This visit was a part a larger trip where there were also visits to other relatives in different areas which there no problems with at that time.

[Atlguy39]

Oh yeah, this happened to me on a much smaller scale as far as someone sharing expenses 2 months ago when I went to Europe. It was an awful experience overall, as I hate traveling solo (never again unless I'm meeting someone in the city). Anything that could go wrong did. Got sick on last night in Amsterdam. Flew to Germany for 2 days and didn't enjoy that city, as I was getting sicker while there. Connecting flight on Eurowings to Barcelona (which I was most looking forward to) was cancelled and I lost a day at the airport/hotel room. Finally got to Barcelona the next day and friend was supposed to come along. I had paid excursions for both of us and lost that money. Meanwhile, full blown nasty cold in Barcelona dna spent half the first day looking for some meds. Aimlessly walked around the city, which was fine thanks to google maps. Went to museums and stuff, but all alone. Nobody to enjoy it with. It poured rain my last day there, a day which I had planned to go to the beach. It was my birthday and I still felt horrible. Wasted day. Restaurant service terrible and they don't like Americans. It reminded me of what I would expect in Paris, though I've never been there. In all, a trip I shouldn't have taken. Didn't run out of money, but overspent on a bad experience. Good news is Eurowings refunded my ticket and their partner airline Lufthansa, sent me a check for $250 because they left my suitcase in the rain in Germany, soaking my clothes. Never again solo!