Is $12,000 per year in travel enough

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Yeah...convenient when we fly out to Toronto via Icelandair....to get to downtown Munich we'll grab public transport...all part of the trip.

I almost always take public transit to get to my hotel from the Airport. In fact, I check that out. No point in saving $40 on a badly located hotel, if one has to pay nearly $40 or more to get there. Plus all the other assorted costs of a bad location, which often exceed the price of a better located hotel. My 2¢.

[Dreamer]

My first thought was I would prefer not to share bathrooms with other people. Then I remembered our 2 schooner trips and we definitely shared the 2 bathrooms with the other people on the schooner. Not so bad.

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

Can I recommend Andyer airplane foot slings? You can google them on Amazon. Just used them on the loooooong flight to Australia and they worked great, you can just put your feet in them, not your calves like it shows in some pics, but it gave me so much relief (i'm shortish) and I was able to sleep in my cheapo economy seat. You don't need to keep your tray table open, the strap can hang off the closing thingamajig joint. And they are under 10 bucks.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut I almost always take public transit to get to my hotel from the Airport. In fact, I check that out. No point in saving $40 on a badly located hotel, if one has to pay nearly $40 or more to get there. Plus all the other assorted costs of a bad location, which often exceed the price of a better located hotel. My 2¢.

Our preference is to be in a small studio within the urban core of a city, in an area where there's a close combination of residents and businesses, (usually stores/markets), and this generally takes us slightly further afield from the 'obligatory sights' locale where many hotels are situated*........but still easily accessible by metro/buses/streetcars, (we often/always buy passes).

We find it enjoyable to be where people 'live' and conduct their day to day activities, so as to feel the proverbial 'pulse' of the cities.

(*Back in the mid/late 1980s, due to my late wife's association with Air France, we were comped, for layovers in Paris, at Hôtel Concorde La Fayette, (now the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile), or Le Meridien Etoile.........worth every penny we paid for them...which was zero. )

We all have our own preferences...I'm not suggesting that ours are better, other than that they are better for us.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut I almost always take public transit to get to my hotel from the Airport. In fact, I check that out. No point in saving $40 on a badly located hotel, if one has to pay nearly $40 or more to get there. Plus all the other assorted costs of a bad location, which often exceed the price of a better located hotel. My 2¢.

Yup, I will rarely stay near the airport.

Even for one night, I'd rather stay in the center next to restaurants and so on.

Airport hotels feel like ghost towns.

And I also take public transport when I can. As long as I can lift my 45-50 pound suitcase, I will continue to do so.

Last month, I went from North Sydney to the airport for a flight to Melbourne. I would have liked to take one of those shared shuttles but they won't pick up anywhere north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, even though it's just a couple of miles from the CBD.

So I considered Uber but decided to take the train, which required changing at the main station. Only saved about $10-15 I think, but old LBYM habits die hard.

This was on a Sunday morning so the trains weren't too crowded. If it was a weekday, my understanding is that those trains are packed in rush hour so I probably would have used the Uber.

When I arrived in Melbourne, I took a shared shuttle and I think I was like the second or third drop off so it wasn't that much longer than taking a taxi.

A couple of days later, I had to go to pick up a rental car and the Victoria transport site didn't show any trams or buses which would have avoided walking some distance with my suitcases.

So I used an Uber for a 1-2 mile ride, came out to $5. No tipping in Uber in Australia yet. Also used Uber when I returned the car to get to my hotel before flying out.

Used a share shuttle again to get to the airport. I did have to leave for the airport probably an hour or two earlier than I otherwise would have. Uber would have been about $40-45 USD.

[NW-Bound]

"Is $12,000 per year in travel enough?"

I used to think that for us, it might not be enough. And that's not because we traveled luxuriously, but because we loved to travel.

Just a few years later, I now think it's enough, unless we do extravagant style that we are not accustomed to. I am getting tired already, and may not travel as much as I thought I would.

That's kind of sad, as I reflect on this. Maybe the wanderlust will come back. I dunno.

[Surewhitey]

We do 5 weeks annually and still only spend around $5k to 4-5 locations annually. We did a 40 day trip to Europe and 10 days cruise to Istanbul (and others) for a whopping $9k a few years ago. Learn how to travel on off-times and enjoy very economical travel.

[gayl]

2018 booked so far:
2 weeks Australia inc cruise to Tasmania 4k
3 weeks to Budapest - Bucharest still to pay for over summer --- gotta be under 4k, more like 3k
Week whitewater / camping 1k
2 weeks in November to Singapore inc 10 night cruise 4k

So yeah, I can do it for 12k

[Teacher Terry]

We won't spend as much on travel this year because our old big dog was heartbroken in Feb. when we were gone on a cruise for 11 days even though my son moved in. So instead of a cruise this summer we are taking a month long RV trip on the Oregon coast. This way we can bring him with us. We do have a cruise planned in 11 months so if he is still alive he will have to suck it up)

[YVRRocketSurgery]

It's obviously not our first choice but we've stayed at a handful of places where we've had to share the washroom. I wouldn't rule it out again but it'd have to be in the right conditions.
Once in Madrid where the toilet was down the hall but you had a sink in your bedroom.
Once in Bern where we booked a private room in a hostel hotel.
Once in Munich near the Octoberfest grounds where the washroom was down the hall.
Once in a very basic hole in the wall in Amsterdam near Central Station.

We've never had a bad experience with these shared bathroom situations. The guest to washroom ratio has been pretty good where we're not waiting for access. For example, the private room in the hostel was pretty good in that it was on a dedicated floor with only two private rooms that shared the washroom. I guess it also comes down to timing if you're getting ready at the same time as everyone else, which I guess we typically don't. The exception was the Munich place where everyone was getting up around the same time to catch the complementary breakfast.

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gayl 2018 booked so far: 2 weeks Australia inc cruise to Tasmania 4k So yeah, I can do it for 12k

Just got back from 3 weeks in Tasmania! Loved it and now my favorite vacation ever!

[gayl]

Tasmania is my favorite down under only got 2 days there

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gayl Tasmania is my favorite down under only got 2 days there

What, you didn't visit Camooweal?

Camooweal, QLD - Aussie Towns

(Late 1962...left the Dam in Kununurra and three of us drove east......Camooweal had an old 'western' type pub, batwing doors, (I kid you not, and it's probably still there), right out of High Noon.

On the 'main intersection', (dirt roads, not a soul around.....well, other than two old guys sitting outside the pub).........somehow we obtained a cricket bat.......the batsman stood in the middle of the intersection, and the 'bowler' (having a sip of beer in between bowls), would run out of the bar, through the batwing doors, and hurl the ball.

Ah, youth. )

[audreyh1]

In Europe we prefer to stay in nice hotels in the central area within walking distance of key sites even though they are more expensive. And sometimes we take taxis from the airport or major train hub - gasp! If we are relocating with luggage, we often do the taxi, otherwise pubic transportation is fine.

Even with those expenses, you could still easily do two major European trips for two from the US for $12K a year.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 In Europe we prefer to stay in nice hotels in the central area within walking distance of key sites even though they are more expensive. And sometimes we take taxis from the airport or major train hub - gasp! If we are relocating with luggage, we often do the taxi, otherwise pubic transportation is fine. Even with those expenses, you could still easily do two major European trips for two from the US for $12K a year.

I dunno. From where we are, airfare to Europe may run more than $1K a piece for economy, then that's $4K already for a couple for 2 trips. The $12K is doable, but each trip cannot be too long.

If one wants business class, then the $12K is not enough for airfares.

[Scuba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I dunno. From where we are, airfare to Europe may run more than $1K a piece for economy, then that's $4K already for a couple for 2 trips. The $12K is doable, but each trip cannot be too long. If one wants business class, then the $12K is not enough for airfares.

I agree. Even booking part of our air with miles and the rest on a discount carrier, air for two from LAX is going to be close to $2K. If we hadn’t had the miles to offset the cost, our air would have been between $3.5K-$4K. If you multiply that by 2, that’s $7-$8K for air alone before any lodging or ground transportation. I don’t see how anyone could do 2 trips to Europe in a year for $12K, at least from the West Coast.

[Freedom56]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I dunno. From where we are, airfare to Europe may run more than $1K a piece for economy, then that's $4K already for a couple for 2 trips. The $12K is doable, but each trip cannot be too long. If one wants business class, then the $12K is not enough for airfares.

We fly business/first class when we travel for flights longer than 4 hours. The extra comfort of a lie-flat seat for a long flight is well worth it. Remember you can‘t take your money with you and for us health is more important than anthying else. If you shop around and are flexible with your dates, you can get pretty good prices for business class seats. Business class seats to Europe are discounted during the summer months when the demand is lower from business travellers. Flights out of LAX are very competitive and there are lots of deals. LAX to FLL or JFK sell for $1200 return on JetBlue Mint which is buy far the best domestic business/first class service. We booked our LAX to LHR seats on Virgin Atlantic business class for this July and returning in September for $3500 each. It's an eleven hour flight so for us it's well worth it. We booked Alaska air first class this June for $802 each return. That was a no-brainer given that the return economy seat was $521 plus luggage fees and meals. We also accumulate more mileage flying business class and use out points to buy free tickets. Plus it keeps my wife happy. Happy wife = happy life.

[DEC-1982]

"Is $12,000 per year in travel enough?"

We have cheap trips and we have costly trips and they average out to below that number.

[Dtail]

It might also matter what expenses are included for travel. We include every expense incurred while travelling as a "Travel" expense. Many others don't include food or possibly gas which could add up.

[flyingaway]

If you are retired to travel, $12,000 is not enough. However, it is enough for two persons to do two to three nice vacations each year, if you have something else to do in the rest of the year in retirement.