Anonymous wrote:We don’t have the same travel budget as a lot of people here in dcum. And neither dh nor I work jobs that have us travel that would get us miles/hotel points. We go to the beach once a year with in laws and sometimes do another trip over spring break, but nothing lavish (ie Williamsburg, Va—not France).

We want to do more, but we get frozen with indecision. But we have two teens who will not have spring breaks that align for much longer.

If you’re on a budget, but want to travel—How do you decide where to go and how much to spend?

Any recommendations for this spring break with two teens?

London
Iceland

Lots to do with teens in both places. Bite the bullet and take the trip now before they're too old.

OP we travel a good amount but one thing we have been doing re budget is booking flights etc 6 months out. We know schedules anyway bc of kids school breaks etc so we are trying to get better at planning.

We did a big trip this Xmas and completely skipped presents and most other holiday stuff. Kids were excited about the trip and fine with it. So sometimes X instead of Y is part of it too.

If budget is more important than destination, sign up for flight notifications and keep checking for good deals. When you see one that is within your budget and to a place that would be on your yes list, book it! You can often find decently priced accommodations in airbnbs or cheaper hotels. You can buy most of your meals at a grocery store or supermarket and eat out occasionally as a treat. There are many free things to do in a lot of places so you can only spend on excursions that are very important to you.

I travel a lot but on a tight budget. It is very doable.

Anonymous wrote:This doesn't directly help with decision-making, but try home exchanges. We do it a couple of times a year and it frees up a lot of money you'd spend on lodging, plus food to some degree since you can cook sometimes. It's not for everyone, but I love getting to live like a local while I'm somewhere else.

What websites do you use to find home exchanges?

I apparently have a smaller budget than you since I am definitely not going on two vacations of any kind each year. I decide by where the funeral is. If it's in NY, that's where I travel. If it's in Florida, that's where I travel.

The way we travel now - kids are 12 and 15 - it's about experiences. So not going somewhere to actually see the place but because going there gives us an experience we would enjoy or are interested in. I do think there's a lot to see in this country v going abroad and I've been around including studying abroad.

It's hard to do things without enough funds however I mean it is what it is. If it were me I would look at a 2 year timeframe and budget and save accordingly to plan those thrips out. Do yes, by all means same money and drive to a couple places but also fly to do stuff you like.

We like rafting. You can find a lot of places drivable to do this but you can go west as well. For Europe it's about getting there. Once you're there they offer easy train travel. It's not like it is here it's easy and even cheaper to do in Asia. So you mix and match but don't go somewhere because of the hype. I mean I once Paris is great but it's not that big a deal where you must see. It only makes sense if you wanted to see and do something only found in Paris. There's so much nature also to be explored and that's def easy and cost effective.

I also think where we are, going to Canada isn't hard. Also going to S American countries - flights are $$ but once you're there it's not too bad. So that kind of thing - really understand budgeting is for transportation and it's possible in certain countries to not break the bank.

It takes a lot of planning. Good luck!

You can visit most places and pay a lot of money or pay much less. It’s up to you.

For example, you can stay at a luxury hotel or choose a much, much cheaper vrbo hostel, or even camping! You can eat fancy dinners every night or you can visit local markets or supermarkets and eat like the locals do (this will be much cheaper). You can take taxis/Ubers everywhere or you can take local buses/metros/etc.

Travel is possible on all budgets, you just have to plan well. The most expensive part will be flights of course. But you can avoid flying by driving or taking the bus. Or as PPs suggested, looking for cheap flights.

First we decide on our budget and how much time we can take off. Then we see where we can go on that budget.

Location considerations:
Activities at destination- we prefer hikes/nature over cities
time of year- some places are too hot or cold certain times of year

Cost considerations:

Fly or drive
cost to get there
lodging costs
other expenses

Op here — holy cow these are such incredible answers, I have a ton of work but when I get a break later I will digest. To answer some questions, yes we do all want to travel and we are up for different adventures, my teens are good eaters and good travelers. One prefers more chilling than the other, but is amenable.

Thank you! Always up for more info and specific suggestions too, yes places as much how to overcome paralysis.

This doesn't directly help with decision-making, but try home exchanges. We do it a couple of times a year and it frees up a lot of money you'd spend on lodging, plus food to some degree since you can cook sometimes. It's not for everyone, but I love getting to live like a local while I'm somewhere else.

I don't think you're asking for which locations to choose but how to overcome decision paralysis, right?

I used be an expat and traveled TONS - and there was no decision paralysis; we just sort of went wherever we happened to be able to get a flight that matched up with the amount of time we wanted to get away. Also I was with a person who LOVED travel, and so that was just something we did a ton together.

Now I'm not an expat and am married to someone who doesn't travel like that - now most of our travel is to see family (so that's not a lot of decision making).

But we do usually take a weekend or two away by ourselves every year - and for that, we do try to approach this from a sense of bounty rather than scarcity. In other words, we don't do this like, this is the only trip we're ever going to take and so every second has to COUNT. Instead, we usually just pick someplace we've have a bit of itnerest in that we can drive to within 3 or 4 hours, and where we can find a nice place to stay (a cool hotel or nice airbnb). Then my spouse watches about 1000 youtube videos about the place and comes up with a rough itinerary, and it usually ends up being a lot of fun.

We usually rent a place with my family for a week over the summer - and some parameters help make that manageable, decision-wise. My parents want to drive, not fly, so that limits the geographical area; then we start looking for VRBOs and Airbnbs to see where we can find a place we all like at the price we've all agreed on. Then we find consensus.

In both those cases, it's important not to feel like this trip has to be THE TRIP but is just "A" trip we're going on, hopefully one of many. We can enjoy it without having to feel like it has to be EVERYTHING.

When we take a bigger trip just us - we do run into more decision paralysis. I wish we didn't but it's honestly hard to just pick a frigging place to go when there are so many places we'd like to go to and there's no great reason to choose one over another (and our vacation time/money is so limited). Then one of us just finally says, let's go to XX and the other says yes or no.

But I think there, too, we really need to change our approach to one more of bounty and not scarcity. Scarcity makes you feel like it has to be EVERYTHING - bounty just means you're going somewhere new and will hopefully see some cool stuff and eat a really good pastry while you're there. I find the latter a much more pleasant way to choose, and to live - but I don't always actually get into that mindset.

The big question is - what are your interests? Are you trying to get to Europe for the first time? Let us know -

When we were young and poor, I'd take advantage of time share offers in exchange for a 5-night stay in Orlando or some such. I'd also get a credit card with a big points bonus to help with airfare. Both you and DH can do this.

Spring break with teens: if they eat as much as mine, I'd say look at an all-inclusive in Mexico. But not one that does a lot of advertising because rates will be too high, look at Iberostar, Palace, Sandos (this is not a misspelling of Sandals) which are more affordable.