Category: Travel Terminal

When my friends and I find ourselves discussing traveling, it’s inevitable that at some point the conversation will turn into a sort of interrogation- with everyone trying to see if someone else has some Golden Secret of how to afford traveling, in terms of both vacation days and actual cash.

The short answer I have is this: If something is a priority to you, you’ll find a way to make it happen.

For example.  If you buy lunch every day you’re at work, that $10 a day can turn into a $200 monthly expense in no time, takeout adds up fast, and don’t even get me started about going to bars.  Most people fortunate to live above poverty could afford to travel, but maybe you don’t like cooking meals at home, or you can’t live without the newest technology or thousand dollar handbags.  It’s all about the choices we make every day, and so the first step in being able to travel more is to take a look at your daily or weekly spending habits.

It’s also been said that more frequent, short trips have the ability to make us much happier than one big long trip; and I completely agree with that.  I’ve tried to adopt this by traveling locally as much as I can.  Going to places like Maine, Vermont, and New York City over long weekends is pretty affordable (no airfare cost and very reasonably priced hotels), plus it’s super easy to do from Massachusetts and requires few to no vacation days.  Last year, B and I spent a rainy Memorial Day Weekend in Portland, Maine and it rejuvenated my spirits like nothing else.

Another way I embraced the shorter trip mentality was 2016 into 2017.  My best friend and I went to Austin for five days, which was just enough time to get a feel for the city.  Then, six months later, Mac and I went to Nashville for another five days.  Having to use only six vacation days total, I got to spend *almost one week* in two different cities, that didn’t need much more time than that.  Plus, spreading the trips out gives you a bit of a chance to catch up and earn some extra cash!

Another way I afford to travel is by tagging along.  I’m very lucky in that my parents offer me to tag along whenever they’re traveling for business (or even for pleasure).  My sister and I will always tag along with my dad when he is going to Manhattan for a business trip, since the hotel is already being paid for.  I also joined my mom on a trip to Ottawa when she was meeting up with her friends for a weekend.  She got company in the car and I got to see a new city.  (I do immensely regret not buying a plane ticket to join my dad in New Orleans when he was going to a conference, so I’m trying to learn my lesson).

The next obvious cost friendly way of traveling is to visit your friends and family!  I usually end up more excited to see people than to save on the hotel room, but it’s a nice bonus perk.  My mom’s family lives in New York City, and we love to visit them whenever we are welcome, with the added bonus of being in a pretty fantastic location.  B and I are spending the weekend with his family in California, and I haven’t spent much time with them since we started dating, so it’s nice to get the chance to do so and see their turf.

Traveling during shoulder seasons is an amazing way to maximize your dollar without sacrificing good weather.  A quick Google search will usually yield some pretty helpful results in terms of peak tourist season and average weather forecast.  Then you have the chance to capitalize on lower airfare and hotel rates, plus quieter attractions!

“Just do it” is frequently my motto for traveling.  B and I were watching the prices for our San Francisco tickets, and the price dropped significantly and suddenly.  In fear of not seeing such a low price for San Francisco again, we just took the plunge and bought the tickets.  As a result, we were forced to save the extra cash we needed for lodging, food, plenty of activities, and even wine/Ubers in Napa on a two month notice.  The truth is, we probably would have ended up spending much of that money restaurant hopping on the weekends or getting takeout on a lazy weeknight.  But booking the trip forced us to save the money based on the decision to just go ahead and book it.

Traveling loyally is something I’ve heavily embraced as well.  Even though these days it seems like airfare is the most affordable part of traveling, I think every piece adds up.  My primary airline loyalty is to JetBlue.  This is for a plethora of reasons including, but not limited to: FlyFi (free Wi-Fi in every seat, on every flight), most legroom in coach, the most flights out of Boston, best free snacks, and the best inflight entertainment (including a full Amazon experience).  For hotel loyalty, I always try to stay with Marriott when possible. I don’t travel as much as my parents do, but ever since I saw their membership points pay for two hotel rooms for two full weeks in Hawaii, I’m doing my best to catch up.  Brands like Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Inn and Suites are generally my go-to’s for the low price, that includes wi-fi, breakfast, and usually parking.

Traveling based on your vacation days tends to totally contradict everything I just mentioned.  My family almost always traveled the week between Christmas and New Years when we were all off, and B and I love taking a long weekend getaway whenever a Monday holiday rolls around.  Annoyingly, airfare in particular tends to skyrocket on around these times; but there are still plenty of ways to finagle your schedule to maximize your time.  While I love taking an early flight, sometimes (particularly when traveling to the west coast) I find it best to take an evening flight.  This allows the opportunity for a full day of work instead of losing a full day for traveling.  It also tends to work out great for jet lag, just having one really long day, and waking up nearly adjusted by the next morning.

What are your favorite tips on making travel affordable??  Let me know in the comments!  Hope you all have a great weekend!

xo, C

(The pictures in this post are all from NYC!)

Traveling is one of my favorite parts of life.  I love exploring new places, whether it’s a two hour drive or an eleven hour flight away, and so this makes deciding where to go on vacation the most exciting part of planning a trip!  It’s also only natural that it’s the first part in my “Planning A Trip” series!

In the front of my travel notebook (yes, I have one, and it goes everywhere with me-but we’ll get to that later) is a quote that I like to remind myself of regularly, especially when I’m ready to go on a vacation.

What kind of destination leaves your heart happy, or makes your mind wander with ideas?  What kind of destinations feed your imagination?

Go There.

For me, this place is somewhere filled to the brim with personality and culture.  Somewhere with a great food scene, and a place where the “things to do” aren’t just museums and monuments, but places with soul and vantage points that make you feel so small, or a street that takes you to another place in time.  It took some time to admit that places that excite other people (all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean that you never leave, for example) are just not for me.  And that’s okay.  You should never spend your vacation time and money doing something you don’t actively want to do, just because everyone else likes it.  And if waking up at 6am to catch a sunrise isn’t your jam, that’s okay too!  I recognize that my energy level is overwhelming and does not exactly match everyone else’s (even my own sister, sometimes).

If you don’t already have a very specific idea of the type of traveler you are, there are a few types of questions you can ask yourself.  Are you looking to explore or relax?  Does weather matter?  Are you looking for a cultural immersion or a list of attractions to see?  How important are meals, the outdoors, and the amount of required walking to you?  Once you answer these questions, a clear idea of your ideal vacation will present itself pretty clearly.

Even though I know exactly what type of vacation I love, I have such a long list of places I want to see, it usually still requires some narrowing down with follow up questions.  Once I’ve decided it’s time for a new adventure, I usually follow this general formula.

• Who am I going with?  Whether it’s my sister, best friend, mom, or boyfriend; who I’m traveling plays a big part of where I’m going on vacation.  For example, my sister and I do best together in cities where there’s a lot of activities (think NYC, Nashville, Chicago), while B is my best bet for a place that I just want to wander and take in the culture or scenery someplace (Vermont, Coastal Maine).
• How many days can I go for?  The next time I only have four or five days to travel, I’m hoping to go to Charleston or New Orleans.  Both flights are under 4 hours, nonstop from Boston, meaning we could be there and exploring by lunchtime.
• What’s on sale?  This one kind of makes me laugh, but it’s true.  Jenn and I knew we wanted to go on vacation to celebrate our Friendiversary, so we looked at the sale Southwest was having.  The flights to Austin were the best nonstop, so we booked them.  It was one of the rawest, coolest places I’ve been, and I’m so glad the sale brought us there.

If we’re being honest, Pinterest and Instagram play heavily into inspiring me to visit certain places.  There’s an endless stream of drool-worthy locations being paraded in front of us, and every time I see one that stops me in my tracks, I make sure to file it away mentally for a future trip.

My travel notebook is where I keep track of my highlight reel locations.  It ranges from my ultimate dream trips (Marrakesh) to the top of my general travel bucket list (the Pacific Northwest) and very attainable trips (Charleston).  Every time I’m on Instagram, or talking to a friend, or reading a magazine in a waiting room and see a restaurant, sight, or attraction at one of these places, I always try to remember to jot it down in my notebook under the corresponding section.  This seems really excessive to the average person, but again: traveling is one of my passions, so planning trips I’m not even taking is right up my alley.

What are some ways you gather inspiration for your trips?  Let me know in the comments, and make sure you stop by next Wednesday for the next installment of Planning A Trip!

xo, C

(The first picture in this post is from Hawaii, the last is in Bermuda).