A Beginner's Guide to Planning Your Travel Budget

When you start planning a trip one of the most important things to consider is your budget and with that comes many questions that need answering. Equally important is how to go about saving your money to begin with and I've written about that before! Click the photo below to read that post!

How much?
First and foremost I find it really helpful to consider how much I am willing to spend and therefore what my bank account should look like when I get home, we (almost) all have bills to pay after all! If this doesn’t coincide with the plans you make in the next steps you will likely have to re-evaluate. Save more and spend more or change your priorities while travelling to fit into a tighter budget.


What kind of trip would you like to take?

Will this be a luxury trip full of spa days at 5-star hotels and dinners in fancy restaurants before drinking the night away in exclusive clubs? Or perhaps you will only bring what you can comfortable carry on your back and your nights will be spent in dorm rooms with as many other people as possible? Maybe something in between?
Of course, nothing has to be black and white like this but I highly recommend you have a general plan. Maybe you want to stay in nice hotels, but to help even out the cost you’re planning to take public transit or walk. There are tons of great ways to keep the overall cost low(er) without having to sacrifice everything.

When should you book?

As far as I’m concerned, giving yourself as much time as possible is always best. Have you ever seen those articles that state plainly that booking on Tuesday between 2-6pm exactly 4 weeks before travel is GUARANTEED to be the best price you will get? I personally think that's a bunch of BS. Of course, depending where you live and depending where you are going makes a big difference too. Travel within Canada is very expensive, but seat sales come up all the time so starting to look as early as possible is best. Plus, if the seat goes on sale before you leave, many airlines will refund the difference! I have also found that when booking and paying for flights far ahead of time the trip doesn't feel like such a big expense all at once.


If you aren't tied down to a specific date, I would recommend the WestJet low fare finder as it shows you the best prices for an entire month. As well, try the Hopper app! It will watch all airlines for the best price on the days you select, it will also let you know if the price is going up or down and when the best time to book will be.

When is the best time to go?
Consider what you would like to do. Now consider the most ideal weather to do that. You want to swim in the alpine lakes so maybe November isn't the most ideal time to visit Switzerland. Are you open to whatever adventure is thrown at you and have a flexible work schedule? Go during the cheap season then! Cheap season also means it isn't tourist season so it's a win-win really.

How long is the trip?
Is this going to be a weekend getaway or an open ended exploration? The latter is clearly the one that would take more planning. What should you do about your vehicle/job/home/etc.. If it's long term will you work along the way? Do you need a visa? Will your health and lifestyle allow you to be on the road for a long period of time? There are a great many things to consider when deciding how long to be away for.


The Details
Once you've answered some of these bigger questions you can break it down into the smaller areas.
Will you stay in a hotel, hostel, camp or perhaps try couch surfing? Could you stay with family or friends?
Are you planning to eat in restaurants, have fast food or buy everything from markets and cook for yourself?
Is renting a car realistic or would public transit be better? You could also rent a bike or walk.
Will you be going to museums, galleries or events? Maybe you simply want to see the city and it's architecture.
Is your destination road trip-able? Could you take a train or do you need to fly?

So many things will affect the over-all cost of a trip, but in the end the best thing you can do is get on Google and look up as many real prices as you can. Find out the average cost of a hotel stay at your destination. Try to find out if food is more or less expensive than what you have at home. If you have things that you MUST see or do, find out exactly what they will cost you.


Be specific!
Create a DAILY budget. Have $x available to spend on accommodation, $x on food, $$$ on transportation, entertainment, etc.. Knowing what you plan to spend in one day will then give you the total for the whole trip. And don't forget to include incidentals in the budget! You never know what could happen and having that extra money might just save you! I budgeted $50/day of my trip in the event I had to cover something significant like a new plane ticket or medical expense.

Write it down!
My final tip is to write everything down. Scribble it out on a napkin or type it out on the computer. Whatever you decide to do, having a set budget that is tangible can help to keep you within those guide lines when you really want to spend more than you should.
If you said it would be $35/night at hostels you should do your best to stay within that price range. If you want to splurge on 1 night in a gorgeous hotel, consider taking it out of another area to keep everything balanced.


But don't forget, spend your money on what YOU love! Just because The Eiffel Tower is a "must see" does not mean you must see it.


If you are interested in seeing some real numbers you can read THIS POST. I break down the cost of 5 months in Europe and also share a few other stats.


I hope this has been helpful for you!

Cliff Jumping at the Mermaids Lagoon; Abraham Lake

For the first time in many years I got to go camping with my family. We used to go a lot when I was younger but as life changes so can those family trips.

Abraham Lake, Alberta is located very near to Crescent Falls where we used to camp, about 3 hours from Edmonton.

Ryan and I have visited Abraham Lake twice before but have never stayed there or ventured overly far into the area. The camping area isn’t the easiest to access as the “roads” are quite steep in areas and are frequently washed out.

My parents Jeeps got us in and out really easily and my dad already had his campsite picked out before we ever left. I’m using the term campsite somewhat lightly though as this isn’t an actual campground at all. No picnic tables, bathrooms of any kind, wood piles or anything else. It’s just you and nature so if you can’t handle peeing in the woods you should probably stay home.

As is always the case the first thing we did after claiming enough spots for 4 tents was to set up. Everyone got their tents up, beds made and then turned the focus to food (or knives and other pointy things in the case of my brother.)

Is it too early start a fire? Will it rain and put the fire out? Can I live on marshmallows?

These were a few of the things that went through my head. While considering these very important things we had water boiling for tea, and then it rained. A bunch.

Everyone retreated to tents except Ryan, dad and I who pretended that it was better if we were under a tree.. We were not protected at all under those trees and got good and soaked. We eventually went to our tents as well but only had to stay there for a short time before the sun was back and we could start the fire and get the roasting sticks out.

Roasted vegetarian hotdogs are not the most delicious thing out there but when they are followed by chocolate chip cookie s’mores I can live with them!

Ryan and I were the first up on the morning of our first full day and took the time to walk along the rocky edge of the water while we waited for the vehicle to unlock so we could get breakfast. It’s a very calm, quite area with the only background noise being the water hitting the rocks and the breeze rustling the leaves, a pretty perfect escape from city life.

In time other people started emerging from their tents, we got breakfast and then we did not much of anything for a while. Isn't that the beauty of camping though? Having nothing to do and nowhere to go. You dress yourself appropriately for your surroundings, feed yourself and then do what makes your heart happy. 

On the subject of happy hearts, I absolutely adore the water. I have loved swimming for as long as I can remember and being in a place this beautiful makes me want to spend as much time as possible in or near the water. 

My brother, his friend, Ryan and I all got our suits on and headed for a rocky area that allows for a pretty significant cliff jump into the lake. Kevin did it once before and so he was able to assure me that the water was deep enough. 

Side note* Abraham Lake is actually a reservoir with a dam, not a lake, and as such the water levels rise and fall, be smart about it. 

The four of us stood on top looking down for several minutes before anyone even considered the jump and then out of nowhere Evan made the leap. There were a few shouted profanities as he hit the water and some more as he swam as fast as he could to get out of his icy hell. The boys were all more concerned with the water temperature rather than the 25ft leap off a cliff, I was quite the opposite. 

Kevin went next and took it like a champ. Once he was out of my landing area I took the leap too. 

Let me just tell you, it was horrifying. I screamed bloody murder. Standing on the rocks and looking down gives you a good sense of how high up you are, but once you jump and there is no longer anything under your feet it sure seems a lot higher. 

It hurt like hell when I hit the water and the icy pins and needles start as soon as you are submerged, fortunately it's cold enough that everything goes numb pretty fast. And you know what, once you're numb and start to adjust to the water it's really beautiful. The jump was scary and painful but also thrilling and exhilarating. And as I'm writing this 5 days after the experience I have several bruises and also a new sense of how brave I am. 

The cove where we jumped is such a beautiful place. The water is perfectly, almost unnaturally, blue. It's around a bend from the rest of the lake and therefore slightly protected from sun and wind. Do you remember that scene in Disney's Peter Pan when Wendy first sees the mermaids? I think that's what goes on here when no one is looking. 

I momentarily considered jumping again, only from about 5 feet this time, but I couldn't get myself to do it so I swam a bit more before going back to camp for lunch. 

Because that is the way of camp life, everyone else went for an afternoon nap and Ryan and I took ourselves for a little hike around the area. 

We went back to the jumping rocks to get pictures and then decided to cross the highway to see what was on the other side. We found a canyon with a river flowing through it and then I felt odd for having never noticed it before. We threw rocks in the water, tried and failed to cross the river and then noticed that the river flows into a culvert, under the highway we just crossed and then flows into our mermaids lagoon. There was a second culvert much higher up that would presumably allow for the lake to flow through if the water got that high but since it was currently empty I decided to walk through it and get a new perspective of what I had so recently jumped from. 

We continued to explore more areas, see what else was around us and generally enjoy the beautiful day. I can only take so much sun before I need to hide away so we took ourselves back to camp, found a shady spot to put our chairs and stayed there for a long while. As the minutes passed by I started to realize just how much sun I got and how burnt I was. Why do I never learn??!

The rest of our day was spent alternating between playing in the shallow water, hiding in the shade and eating snacks. By the time it was dark we got our fire started, supper cooked and marshmallows ready for roasting. Really, it's the only way to end a camp day. 

Nova Scotia 2016 - Bucket List

I don’t think I’ve mentioned on here yet, but after making all kinds of plans for many different locations and finally deciding to visit British Columbia this summer, I’m going to Nova Scotia... again…
We leave September 6^th.

I know, I was just there a year ago and I need to visit more new places, which I plan to, but I couldn’t resist!! The East Coast and its ocean call to me in a way that I can’t explain. It’s the place for me and I cannot pretend otherwise.
I do have a secret ulterior motive to going, but that’s irrelevant.


Just like last year, we aren’t making any real plans for our trip, just looking at general areas and what they offer that we may want to experience. The 1 thing we do know is that we will be spending the majority of our time in Cape Breton and if we have extra time (fingers crossed!) then we might go to PEI. There are certain places we want to see or things we want to do, but we won’t decide when or what order to visit or for how long until we arrive.

In no particular order, here are a few things on my Nova Scotia 2016 Bucket List

1. Eat a whole crab. And all the other seafood.
2. Hike the Skyline Trail
3. Drive the entire Cabot Trail
4. Find a beautiful spot with a beautiful view and have a picnic
5. Get ON the water! A boat, canoe, kayak or SUP board will do!
6. Get IN the water
7. Sleep somewhere unique - I’ve been collecting a list of cool accommodations in NS
8. Visit the Fortress of Louisbourg
9. See a sunrise and a sunset
10. Go to the most northern point of Cape Breton
11. Don't get a sunburn through the fog

Childhood

How often in our adult lives do we get to revert to our childhood selves and truly feel the freedom that comes with that?

As an unmarried 24 year old with no children and no significant bills I may have it easier than some in this area, but most of the time I do need to be an adult.

Over this past weekend I was in one of my favorite places, my grandparents house. When I think of my childhood this is the place I associate with it. I feel like they raised me and influenced who I've become just as much as my parents and I've become a better adult because of them.

That being said, they've also allowed me to be a child amidst my adult responsibilities.

Saturday afternoon in +33c weather I sat in the backyard with my Grampa. I've spent so much of my life out there and I love that space dearly. I turned on the sprinklers just because and started to walk around the grass, avoiding being hit by more than a few drops at a time. After a minute, fully clothed and make-up on, I allowed the water to hit me a little more but still avoided getting my face or hair wet.

And then it happened, my childhood came back to me. No one cares if wear make-up, the soggy curls cascading down my shoulders suit me well and my clothes will dry so why shouldn't I run? I did. I ran and kicked and cartwheeled my way through the water. I squealed and laughed.

Grampa laughed too. He never questioned why I would do this, he never judged or scolded. As he has my whole life, he smile and laughed and watched me enjoy myself.

In the end I came out dripping from head to toe, blades of grass all over me and dirty feet. I hope these moments will continue to present themselves to me. I'd like to have wet hair and muddy feet more often.