3 Ridiculous Things My Husband and I Have Done in the Past to Travel on the Cheap

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My husband and I enjoy traveling. But read on to see how we’ve gone to extremes to keep our costs down. 

Travel is a priority for a lot of people, and understandably so. There’s something about seeing new things and escaping the daily grind that’s inherently good for the soul.

The problem with travel, though, is the cost involved. Forbes says that in a recent survey, half of respondents were budgeting $4,000 or more for travel during the year. That’s not a small sum of money. And while the right credit card can help offset some of your travel costs, you may need to go to certain extremes to pull off your next trip on the cheap.

That’s something my husband and I are certainly familiar with. Traveling is a big hobby of ours, but we’re also money-conscious people who realize we can only afford to spend so much on travel year after year. And so we’ve done the following somewhat ridiculous things to trim our travel costs.

1. Stayed at super-budget hostels

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with staying at a hostel rather than a hotel if you’re someone who’s not particularly picky about privacy or accommodations. But years back, my husband and I were trying to pull off a low-budget trip to Panama (this was pre-kids) and found a hostel that charged less than $20 a night. We assumed that at that price point, it would be a really basic room with no frills. But it was actually way worse.

Panama’s weather tends to be hot. And so air conditioning at night is essential. The room we rented had an air conditioner. Only every time we turned it on, it sparked repeatedly.

Meanwhile, we knew we’d have to share a bathroom in that hostel setup. What we didn’t realize was that other guests would just walk in freely while we were in the shower and join us. I guess for under $20 a night, we had no right to complain. But making small talk with naked strangers generally falls outside my comfort zone, so that was an unwanted part of the experience.

2. Driven through the night to save on lodging

My family has been to Disney World several times, but we’ve always tried to visit in the most frugal way possible. Years back, that meant making the 16-hour drive from New Jersey to Orlando in one stretch without stopping at a hotel.

The upside? We saved ourselves a night of lodging. The downside? The drive left us utterly exhausted. And when you’re doing Disney, which is tiring in its own right, that’s not a good thing.

3. Driven cross-country to save on airfare

My husband and I like taking road trips. They give us a chance to get off the beaten path and discover things we’d probably miss out on by flying. But years ago, when we decided to drive from New Jersey to the far corner of Montana, our decision was fueled more so by a desire to save money and less so by a desire to discover more of rural America.

We were looking to visit Glacier National Park, and the cost of airfare was coming in at around $950 a person. Throw in baggage fees and the cost of getting to and from the airport for our family of five, and we were looking at about $5,000.

Instead, we made the 2,400-mile trek each way by car. Our minivan gets about 24 miles to the gallon, and at the time, a gallon of gas was around $3. So 200 gallons cost us around $600. We also had to pay for four nights of lodging at around $200 a pop, plus food while we were on the road. But all told, it cost us about $2,000 to drive to Montana, as opposed to spending $5,000 to fly out.

It’s all about priorities

I’m very grateful for the fact that my husband and I have gotten to take some awesome trips — both with kids and without. But a big part of the reason we’ve been able to get to so many places is that we’ve subjected ourselves to situations that a lot of the people I know wouldn’t be willing to deal with. Most of my friends, for example, wouldn’t make the 16-hour drive to Disney World by car — forget driving to Montana.

If you’re willing to be frugal, you might manage to travel more. But there does come a point when you need to consider your personal comfort during your travels.

I don’t regret driving to Montana, as it was a cool experience. But the next time I’m tempted to book a stay at a budget hostel, I’ll remember that flame-throwing air conditioner and group shower experience and will most likely spring for a hotel room instead.

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