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Airfares have skyrocketed in the past 10 years and there are almost no deals or low fares during the summer or winter break. Ticket to Africa in August was $2050 and to India was $2000 in winter. That ate up 1/3 of our budget. Safari for 10 days and a 3 day stay in Mombassa costs $7500. India has become expensive recently.
My pay and my vacation budget have not kept up with the rate of inflation of airfare and rental car prices, whereas in the past we flew, we now make the 24 hour drive. It saves us enough money to make the difference to be able to continue with our traditional vacation plans.
$300
Gas to get to the next state over...Visit my relative.
Wish I could make what some folks spend on vacations. Got a job but that goes to primal basics.
Enjoy your travels wherever they be, !
My pay and my vacation budget have not kept up with the rate of inflation of airfare and rental car prices, whereas in the past we flew, we now make the 24 hour drive. It saves us enough money to make the difference to be able to continue with our traditional vacation plans.
Earlier in my life I did not travel much and saved for my retirement. Almost a bit more than I should have. I now realize that if I do not travel now for the next 5-10 years I might never be able to do it. The facilities for people with handicap like arthritis are poor in international destination. If you cannot climb the hill then there is no way to see Parthenon up close. No elevator or funicular to the top. So I have decided to do most of my international travel now and reserve the US portion for my later years. Thus the expense associated with my current travel.
I drive 10+ hours within USA. I find it easier with no time constraints and taking as much baggage as I want.
Remember that you are looking at a very select audience. I think many families spend just a couple thousand per year on vacation or even less. Traveling can be expensive or affordable. I didn't travel most of my adult life until a couple years ago...
Excellent post. People who visit and post on a travel forum are highly likely to be the kind of people who prioritize travel in their lives, and therefore spend more on average than others who are less interested in travel. My wife and I are not car people at all, and choose to spend the minimum that we can to get a safe, functional car. My guess is that the kind of people who post on car forums are going to spend a heck of a lot more money than we do on cars, even if their means are similar or even less. It's just a matter of priority.
I'd also add that spending more money on travel does not always equate to having better travel experiences. We snagged an outstanding deal on both airfare and hotel for a week in San Antonio and Austin this winter, and it was an absolute blast. Loved the food, the people, the sights and the weather, etc. and everything worked out beautifully. If I were ranking my favorite all time vacations, I'd even put it ahead of much more expensive trips that we took to London or to Rome. I'm not arguing by any means that Texas is a better vacation destination than London or Rome, but for various reasons the Texas trip was a better vacation FOR US, and we spent like half the price.
Excellent post. People who visit and post on a travel forum are highly likely to be the kind of people who prioritize travel in their lives, and therefore spend more on average than others who are less interested in travel. My wife and I are not car people at all, and choose to spend the minimum that we can to get a safe, functional car. My guess is that the kind of people who post on car forums are going to spend a heck of a lot more money than we do on cars, even if their means are similar or even less. It's just a matter of priority.
True.. But.. I'm basically here to see where people go, what hiccups they might run into, get ideas for places I might go.. My problem is that most people here tend to do overseas vacations or cruises.. I don't care for going to another country for the same reason I don't want to go back to Hawaii.. Takes too long.. And I don't do cruises because I burst into flames in the sun. Considering I've had 2 solar keratosises frozen off my face in the past week.. The Sun is NOT my friend.
And families are freaking expensive. If I was going GSP to DC.. I'd fly. Why? A month out, I can get a roundtrip ticket for basically $200.
Now, if that were a family of 4.. That's $800.. Now, it makes more sense to drive the 7 hours.
When I was growing up(This would be the 70's), we never flew anywhere on vacation. While we were in SC, we would take 2 day trips down to Six Flags in Georgia, or go to a 3 game series for the Braves.. Went to Disney once.. Go to Maggie Valley in NC.. But, all relatively local stuff that we drove to.
When we moved to the DC area.. I was getting older, so a 'vacation' might be fishing out on the Chesapeake, heading out to Luray or the Shenandoah Valley.. Searching out the hidden things in DC (We found the Enola Gay in storage in the 80's.. Graves of the Lincoln conspirators)
Again, I must stress that I'm something of a cheap bastard. But I balance it by still being able to do the things that I want.. I just do them as cheaply as I can.
I had thoughts of flying up to NYC one weekend when one of the nephews is here to go see The Book of Mormon on Broadway and see a few NYC sites (NYC is NOT one of my faves, either).. Plane tickets.. We could do roundtrip for $100 basically.. Ok.. That's fine. Then I saw decent tickets for the show were about $500.. Nope..
About $14-17K. Usually a cruise and a couple of trips to US destinations. Often Nashville or Sarasota.
Just returned from liberal Seattle. You could blow your budget there alone! For some reason I like the city.
I had thoughts of flying up to NYC one weekend when one of the nephews is here to go see The Book of Mormon on Broadway and see a few NYC sites (NYC is NOT one of my faves, either).. Plane tickets.. We could do roundtrip for $100 basically.. Ok.. That's fine. Then I saw decent tickets for the show were about $500.. Nope..
Pity you missed the show at the Peace Center this Jan / Feb.
Wow, I thought this was going to be an interesting forum but, this is out of my league. We spend maybe $2K-$3K per year and that's a lot to us. Pretty much a weekend getaway budget to most of you guys. Sorry, can't help you OP.
Keep in mind my husband and I both still work full time jobs, the kids are all raised, educated, and in productive careers of their own, and our money is ours to spend on us.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snowtired14
My pay and my vacation budget have not kept up with the rate of inflation of airfare and rental car prices, whereas in the past we flew, we now make the 24 hour drive. It saves us enough money to make the difference to be able to continue with our traditional vacation plans.
Honestly, airfares and car rentals are a fraction of the cost they were 40 yrs ago when I started traveling on my own.
My flights this weekend were across the USA for under $100 each way (spouse comes for free this yr). Rental car was $8/ day + $11 airport fees.
Timeshare sales pitches 40 yrs ago were trying to create panic with predicting hotel prices going to the sky. Hotels are higher, but only about 2X what the were when I was starting to travel (on a $1.65/ hr job).
But I usually spend only $0 - $20/ night using private guest homes.
Food is higher if you eat out fancy places...(Which I do not do while traveling) Grocery and produce is fine for my taste and budget.
I am very sad that SWA is no longer overbooking flights. I collected $1400 in flight credits (+ free hotel) a few weeks ago by volunteering my seats on 3 flights. It was no problem for me to shift my schedule. That is how I have flown very CHEAP for many yrs.
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 04-30-2017 at 09:52 PM..
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