Travel expenses can add up faster than you think. After deducting travel fares and accommodation, you also have to consider the additional costs of your food and drinks, public transport, rental car hire, entertainment, travel insurance and possible visa costs, phone and internet expenses, and so on. Do you make careful calculations before you set off to your holiday destination, or do you try and save money as you go along?
I never spend a lot when I'm holiday because most of the time I'll get free accommodation and food in the house of some relative who lives in the place I'm visiting. I always pick my destinations thusly [since I don't travel out of the country anymore]. If I have any holiday plans then probably what I'd budget for is the little money I'd spend exploring the area, buying a gift or two for the kids in the home I'm staying and a few other expenses. So I never spend much.
I never sit down and write it out but I do have a rough estimate as to how much the trip will cost me. As you said there are lots of little expenses that add up, I find transportation once you get to the destination and food are the top two for me. Not including the cost of a flight if I am traveling domestically I do not like to spend more than $2500, international I allow myself a little more because the dollar is so week and like to keep it around $4,000.
What I do is I save money and then make the most out of the money that I have saved. If I was not able to save enough for a decent holiday vacation, I cancel it and treat myself something else, so really having a holiday vacation is not among my priorities, but I am religiously saving for it.
Uh, the thought of all of that seems so nauseating but luckily for me I don't travel much during the holidays. Having a simple celebrating at home works out fine for me. And if I did travel more I would be looking for the cheapest rates and would be staying with a relative to save on hotel costs.
