A once in a lifetime trip is usually a highly priced, super extravagant, and long winded affair. It’s the kind of trip that people save up all their lives for, with many waiting until retirement to finally go on that all expenses paid cruise or stay for a month in a sunny, five star villa.
And because of that, many people feel they won’t ever have the budget to go on a once in a lifetime trip. They’ll have to wait years to finally accomplish that sense of luxury travel we all wonder about here and there. In the meantime, they take more budget friendly vacations and do their best to see the world from an affordable viewpoint.
This kind of travel can be excellent too – of course! Budget vacations give you more of a chance to have a unique experience, and you get to meet all kinds of people along the way. You can really enrich your life by operating on a shoestring and setting off with just a backpack and some hiking boots.
But if the time has come for your curiosity to win out, and you want to know what the budget for your dream vacation would really be, you’ve come to the right place. Here are the questions to ask that’ll help you form the number you’ll need to reach in order to set off.
Where Do You Want to Go?
Picking your once in a lifetime spot needs to be a careful decision. Where you want to go will very much inform how much you’ll have to spend to get there and stay there.
Of course, some countries have a much lower cost of living than others, and if you’re coming from somewhere like the US or the UK, you may not have to budget too carefully for things like food and souvenirs.
However, depending on how far away your destination is, and what time you want to go, you could still be looking at a premium airline price. For example, it could cost over $1000 per person to go from North America to Asia.
You should also consider how popular your dream destination is as a tourist spot, as this could mean the prices suffer from a level of artificial inflation as well.
How Long Will You Be There?
This point is here to say one thing in particular: don’t plan to be on your once in a lifetime trip for too long. Unless it’s an all expenses paid trip, such as a cruise, where the cost of the whole trip (no matter how long it is) is required up front, try to limit your time frame.
Keeping this to a minimum will save your bank account, even if you’re willing to fork out thousands to get there and back again AND take the whole family with you.
You know you’re only paying for a certain period of time, and that means you can set an upper limit on the budget that cannot be ignored. If the expected cost gets anywhere near it, you can put your foot down immediately.
Where Will You Be Staying?
The cost of your accommodation will probably make up one half of the bulkiest costs in your trip. The other half will be how you’re getting from point A to point B. Because of this, be careful about where you choose to stay, on top of how long you’re going for.
You don’t want to overshoot and book amazing luxury apartments for a week and then find, after everything else is accounted for, that you can only afford 2 to 3 days instead. That is not a situation you want to land in when you’re checking out at the end of the best trip you’ve ever taken!
And that’s not to say you shouldn’t set your sights high and book accommodation like no other. Just remember, if you want to stay in luxury, make sure you’re planning for the same price level too! Really, at the highest end of the accommodation scale, you could be looking at around $500 a night depending on the season.
Who’s Going with You?
How many people will be going on this dream travel arrangement with you? If you’re part of a couple you’ll both likely be out there, and if you have a dual income, you can both put into the pot to make the cost easier.
Similarly, if you’re going with friends and adult family members, they can all contribute to the final cost to ensure everyone gets to do what they want. That way you’re not forking out for everything, and you’re not bearing the brunt of the bill entirely on your own.
But if you’ve got kids and you’re bringing them along, or maybe a friend or family member has children and wants them to come too, the cost is going to rise without any coverage. As such, this is the first thing to agree before you do anything else.
Who’s coming? Who’s paying? And who needs to be accounted for by someone else? If you all agree that it’s OK for the kids to be there too, you’re going to need to agree who’s paying for them. The onus will be on their parents, of course, but talking about this as a group may reveal who’s willing to help out with a few extra pennies here and there too.
Got an Idea For a Once in a Lifetime Trip?
Let’s make sure you know the kind of budget you’ll need to get there!
Keep the questions above in mind as you’re forming your plan, and always be liberal with your estimates. You don’t want to be conservative here and create a budget that only just about covers your trip. You’re going to want spending money and cash to dine out on too!
And remember, the more people coming along, the more likely you are to spend more – even if they can pay their own way.
